On the mission trip I was reading our next book for discussion Lifting Up hope, Living Out Justice. 

by Alice Knotts.  This book also ties into our Lenten Breakfast subject the Stewart house,with speaker, Rev. Katurah Johnson, and a mission project later this spring at the Stewart House in Gary working on a community garden.

 While I was away my copy of New World Outlook came, in this issue there is an article on the settlement house movement in United Methodism.  I will be sharing this article with you on my next few blog post.

The Settlement House Movement in United Methodism

by Mike Feely

In United Methodism we celebrate out connectional system-the way our members are liked together through mission, outreach, and evangelism.  Some of our historical connections are with mission institutions founded in the early 1900s during the settlement house movement.  The include the Bethlehem centers and Wesley houses, along with schools at Henderson Settlement and Red Bird Mission-- institutions that reflect the hard work of the Women's Home Mission societies and the deaconess movement. 

  The settlement house movement began in England as a means of coping with societal changes stemming form the Industrial Revolution, which caused a large population shift from rural to urban areas.  British social reformers were increasingly concerned about the desperate need for social services among the masses of people living in industrialized urban areas.  Settlement houses emerged as community centers to help solve these problems.

Early Settlement Houses

 One of the first settlement houses was Toynbee Hall, established in the East End of London in 1884.  It offered adult education classes, legal clinics, and family support.  Similar houses soon sprang up across Britain and other parts of Europe.  Settlement house workers lived in the neighborhoods where they worked, which brought them into regular contact with the poor.

  In the 1880s, the settlement house movement crossed the Atlantic to the United States, where settlement houses were first established in Boston.  Then, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr founded Hull House in Chicago, Modeled  in part on Toynbee Hall, Hull House was designed to reach out to the new immigrants communities in Chicago's 19th Ward with a range of classes and services.  Addams saw every immigrant as "either a citizen or a potential citizen" and designed her programs accordingly.  By 1916, there were more than 500 social settlement houses modeled on Hull House in the United States.

I will post more of this article next week, if you would like read more now it can be found in the New World Outlook March/April 2014.

This article was by Michael Feely who is the director of Mission Advancement at Henderson Settlement ,in Frakes, Kentucky.

Book Discussion

April 8th   6:00 p.m.

Church Parlor

Sign up sheets at Welcome Table
please sign up so we have an idea of how much food to have ready. 

Lifting Up hope, Living Out Justice

by Alice G. Knotts 

Our Lenten Breakfast is Maundy Thursday 

April 17th, at 9:30 in Fellowship Hall

This year our speaker is Rev. Katurah Johnson

This event is open to everyone.

Before flying off to a tropical paradise for Spring Break, stop in at The Shop for all your spring vacation apparel.  The Shop is now full stocked with clothing, shoes, and jewelry that showcase the fresh new color of Spring.

Crafting Weekend
Our crafting weekend was a success, so we decided to have a weekend each month. 
 Our next weekend will be April 25th 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
April 26th 8 a.m. to 3p.m.
Sign up sheets will be a the Welcome Table between services.

Save the Date
May 4th  1:30 - 3:30
Mother - Daughter Tea
$5.00 Tickets will go on sale April 6th