Category: Letters
Pointing Kids to Jesus
With Father’s Day coming up, I’d like to share with you the story of a Bethesda staff member who is a father figure in the lives of many of our Community Center kids and teens. Andre Cooper has worked at the Community Center since 2009. Though he’s always loved working with kids, he felt called…
A Light in the City
Have you ever had a chance to meet Serina Brown, the Community Center’s current director? You can’t escape the feeling that she’s ready to take you under her wing at a moment’s notice. It’s clear that this sense of safety and nurturing that Serina has cultivated permeates throughout the Community Center and has been a…
An Update on the Blessings and Challenges at the Men’s Mission
By Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director John 1:16 says, “From His abundance, the fullness of His grace, we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” In the midst of those blessings, challenges emerge every day, which reminds me of a beloved hymn, written by Johnson Oatman. The opening stanza reads: When upon life’s billows you…
The View from Above
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director When you walk into the Men’s Mission, to your right next to the check-in window is a letter board that lists all of the staff at that facility. Right at the top in big white letters it reads, “HEAD OF HOUSE: JESUS.” We often talk about the day-to-day activities around…
Light Has Dawned!
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director I think C.S. Lewis had it right in his beloved The Chronicles of Narnia when he observed how truly depressing it would be to live in a world where it was “always winter, but never Christmas.” Winter can be bleak, cold, and dark, but Christmas breaks in to provide joy,…
Together We’ll Go Far
An ancient African proverb says, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Our guests at Bethesda Mission rely on support from others to go far in their recovery journey and so do we. Those struggling with drug/alcohol addiction find the holiday season to be particularly troubling…
At a Crossroads
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director Can you pinpoint a time in your life when you came to a crossroads? Did you make the “right” choice? How different would your life have been if you had chosen the other path? Often times we find ourselves facing these decisions as teenagers or young adults. And this is something…
How Effective is Long-Term Recovery?
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director On June 21, Wilbur shared, as he graduated from Bethesda’s long-term recovery program, “I don’t want to go back where I was. I mean, I was in the gutter, but the Mission pulled me up out of the gutter. As long as I believe in Jesus, it’ll be alright –…
“Life is starting to look beautiful to me again”
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director Bruce grew up in Philadelphia, the 2nd of 12 children. Both his mom and dad were alcoholics and abusive. In spite of that, “my dad was a hard-working man. He had dreams; he wanted to become an entrepreneur and open his own stores,” Bruce explained. At the age of 17,…
Hope for Mothers
by Scott Dunwoody, Executive Director Have I ever shared with you the importance of holidays to our guests at the Mission? I’m not just talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, which tend to take center stage in the rescue mission world. But every holiday is important and provides a valuable opportunity to create memories for our…