Thanks to all who turned out on November 23rd !

1) The meeting was opened by James Kingsley, who welcomed a fine group to the Resource Centre facility.

2) Leslie Damude talked about the book, "Toxic Charity", by Robert Lupton (read the summary here). The subtitle of the book is "How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)".

Special Offer: Dennis Funk of the Navigators is offering copies of "Toxic Charity" at 30% off the price! (Click here to get your copy of this excellent book)

According to Lupton, a lot of people's giving is about themselves, and not what is best suited for those they are trying to help. Leslie said that the book can be challenging to many, especially when one considers how long we've used the same, ineffective ways of helping others.

Real transformation requires a focus on a community's strengths, more than on its needs. It requires taking seriously the gifts and talents of the poor, and doing ministry "with them" in the community, rather than "for them". This is essential to protect and build people's dignity and the community's long-term success.

Examples include a food co-op instead of a traditional food pantry, and a free clothing closet transformed into a revenue-generating thrift store that teaches job skills.

The top three priorities given in the book for a healthy community are safety, decent schools, and a viable economy. Without these three ingredients, the author writes, community transformation is not likely to happen.

It is also important to have a geographically-focused vision and to use measurable goals.

Special Offer: Dennis Funk of the Navigators is offering copies of "Toxic Charity" at 30% off the price!

Click here to visit the Navigators' resource book store.

3) David Cottrill gave an overview of the recent CCDA event, which focused on three elements of education and poverty:

- Reconciliation
- Redistribution
- Relocation

In the US there are school boards that are rich or poor, based on taxes. People try to move from the poorer areas to the richer areas, leaving the poorer areas even poorer. David said that it is not as extreme here in Canada, but "It inspired me to see that there is so much that can be done."

David noted that there can be a lot of blaming of the school kids themselves, and that there are often few programs that the kids actually want to participate in. Instead, it is important to build relationships.

Some of the ways that churches can build relationships with schools are:

- Show that churches really want to work with the city and schools for the benefit of the community.
- Show that the goal is for churches to learn how to be more effective in serving their local communities and schools.
- Get to know the principal and teachers, along with the board members and the trustees, who are great resource people.
- Recognize that both churches and schools have answers that can be put together to help things get better.
- Be respectful and appreciative of contacts, and considerate of their time constraints.

David encouraged us to work on meeting people, and to ask for contacts. That leads to God opening doors and things happening. In David's case, he gets emails most weeks from teachers saying that there's something they could use help with.

David also encouraged patience and persistence, since principals each have their own style and focus. Sometimes one principal won't be interested in exploring help from churches while the next may be.

4) Bill Kinchlea gave an overview of his lengthy involvement (14 years) with churches helping schools here in London.

Bill reiterated that there needs to be a geographic sensibility, by having those helping be close to those being helped. He said that kids benefit from having a good meal, and it can actually reduce the number of students needing drugs such as ritalin. Bill says that it takes a lot of work and prayer, but it's worth it.

5) We had a breakout session, with 3 groups of around 8 people each. We talked about the themes of relationship, focus and perseverence. It was a spirited time of discussion and sharing. Afterwards, the groups reported some of their discussion, including:

- A challenge is to have people involved who truly love people, who are caring and focused on relationship building.
- Charity/help programs aren't always effective, including secular programs. It is important that the programs be helping, and not just giving the appearance of helping.
- There is a feeling that "something has shifted in London", with a growing interest in finding new ways for the municipality to work with churches.
- There is a shift happening in our society that many groups are experiencing, including the Occupy movement, of moving from a money-focused society to a relationship-focused society.
- Services need to be local, and not too far away for people to get to. There is a tendency with government to aim for efficiency and to have larger, "central" resource sites that many people can't easily get to. People need these hubs to be conveniently located and staffed by caring, knowledgeable people who want to build relationships, not just provide information.
- Homework clubs and reading buddy programs can be very helpful for the students.
- Everyone has talents that they can contribute.

5) We talked about the Helping Without Hurting event coming up at North Park on Saturday January 14th, 2012. (www.northpark.ca/whenhelpinghurts)

It is going to be a great day of learning and sharing, and we are encouraging everyone to attend. There is both a half day program and a full day program.

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