[this post originally appeared on March 11, 2010 on the website Purple Pastor, and was written by Chad Lacy, a member of Lake Forest Community Church, and North Mecklenburg H.E.L.P.]
Sojourn into Acting for Justice Locally (By Chad Lacy – Lake Forest Ministry Partner, business executive, Leadership Charlotte member, husband and dad)
I remember seeing a bumper sticker in college that read ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ and always thought it was poignant. The concept stuck with me and when I became a Christian in 2003 it still seemed to resonate with me as the way Christ would have us live our lives. Think of the larger body of Christ and what Christ can and does mean to so many people around the world. Then live that out in your daily actions. Lake Forest Church has held that same concept in its mission to “make more and better disciples of Jesus” and meet people right where they are when they introduce people to the Good News.
As I’ve heard Mike Moses say so many times, “Lake Forest Church is to be a blessing to the community, not just its members.” Lake Forest Church has been purposeful in making connections outside of the walls of the building on Gilead Road. It started with Mike meeting the pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church, Byron Davis. A friendship was established and during their conversations, Pastor Davis informed Mike about an organization in Charlotte called Helping Empower Local People (H.E.L.P.). This organization exists to help provide a voice to those people in the community that may not be heard. It cuts across religious, racial, ethnic, class and neighborhood lines for the good of the public. It is driven by the belief that the member congregations are the cornerstones of a vibrant democratic society and hold the key to mending and reweaving the social fabric essential for strong families, healthy communities and a just world. Pastor Davis invited Mike to partner with him and get this organization started in North Mecklenburg.
So, for the past two years Lake Forest Church and H.E.L.P. have been making connections and reaching out to other faith institutions and neighborhood organizations in the North Mecklenburg area. 2009 was spent aligning these relationships. In a short time, 15 member organizations were identified, made up of diverse churches and neighborhoods across Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville. The rest of 2009 was spent building a consensus of what we, as a community of North Mecklenburg residents see as issues in our communities. What are the unfulfilled needs of the people that live amongst us? What injustices do we see every day that are left unanswered? As an organized body we decided to listen to each other and a multitude of others, to get ideas of the needs in our communities. Approximately 900 conversations were conducted and this fed into our main areas of discussion:
- · Seniors
- · Traffic and Transit
- · Economy
- · Youth and Education
On October 29th, 2009, H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg made its public debut by hosting its first public assembly at Torrence Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. We invited the mayoral candidates from the three towns, introduced them to our collective mission as H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg and our areas of concern. Then, we took action on our first campaign. We obtained commitments from all the mayors to work in partnership with us – as a collective body called H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg – and announced our plan to help provide and insure senior and low-income residents within the three towns receive weatherization services for their homes. Together, we have partnered with Gaston Community Action who is designated by the state of North Carolina to distribute federal stimulus dollars for weatherization assistance to Mecklenburg County residents. As brothers and sisters in Christ, through H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg, we have gone out into the communities to identify those who need this assistance. Saving them money on their energy bills, and upgrading their homes.
As 2010 unfolds, H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg is poised to act boldly and collectively on the issues important to us. In Huntersville, we’ve held meetings with Karen Bentley (Mecklenburg County Commissioner) and Danae Caulfield (Huntersville Town Commissioner and H.E.L.P. liaison to Mayor Swain). The results of these meetings are:
- Support to secure a sidewalk in front of St. Mark’s and an interest to identify other areas with similar needs (through H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg);
- Support to coordinate an educational event and neighborhood outreach for the weatherization stimulus program – Huntersville officials want to hit the streets with us to promote the program. Join us this Saturday, 10am at the Angels and Sparrows soup kitchen on Statesville Road in Huntersville for this effort!
- Interest to explore with H.E.L.P. North Mecklenburg other issues and actions re: the use of $27 million in approved bond money for a youth/senior center in North Mecklenburg, a town hall meeting with Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones about social services and access to services in North Mecklenburg, and securing a magistrate in North Mecklenburg, among others.
It is very exciting to see the faith community in North Mecklenburg organize to give voice to issues and pursue action with the local business and political leaders. It’s also exciting to see Lake Forest Church express our values and beliefs publically for the betterment of our community. We are living into the body of Christ that we hear about in worship, in study and in prayer. We will continue to grow and address more issues as the organization progresses, and as our relationships with others grow. This is just one very powerful way that Lake Forest Church is – and will be – a blessing to the community.
