All for one, one for Hamilton

Principal David Downing Presenting to Church-School Partnerships Meeting

Thank you, to all those who participated in the first Church-School Partnership meeting at Hamilton Middle School.  Kingdom Causes was blessed to see the support of the local church for a local school.  It was a great witness to the city leaders (Monica Daley, Hughes Principal; Linda Ivers and Janet Surber, City Council field representatives; Dan Pressburg and Carina Cristiano Leoni, community leaders) who attend the meeting to see the Church come along side schools for the success of the students.  David Downing, Principal of Hamilton Middle School, presented current ways organizations, businesses, and churches are partnering with Hamilton and new opportunities to support Hamilton.  Participating in the Church-School Partnerships meeting was the first step.

Since the first Church-School Partnerships meeting, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism Christian Church partnered with Hamilton for their Teacher Appreciation Day on May 7th.  Teachers were happy and blessed due to many groups coming together to show how special the teachers are in Hamilton.  The Hamilton PTA contributed flowers to decorate the library tables.  Hamilton United Parents in Action (HUPA) decorated and cleaned the teacher lounges, main office, and the new parent center.  Students from the Student Council and Gear Up program made banners celebrating the teachers that were displayed around the campus.  One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism Church provided a wonderful continental breakfast including

 beverages, muffins, bagels, and plastic-ware for the teachers' staff meeting.  Leticia Espinoza was the connecting point that brought all these groups together.  Cindy Mendez, Hamilton staff member, praised Leticia a

nd Teacher appreciation day by saying, "Teachers were commenting all day about how nice the lounges looked and smelled!... Our teachers were happy about this treat!" 

 Kingdom Causes along with Hamilton would like to thank those who made Teacher Appreciation Day really special.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism Church also

received an award for helping Hamilton

Here are some possible ways to Partner with Hamilton and other local schools:

    * Back to School Drive

    * Campus Beautification (Serve Days, benches, barriers, waste containers/sweeper)

    * On-campus clubs and sponsorship

    * Intramural

    * Career Awareness

    * Assistance in establishing business partnerships

    * Student incentives

    * Student store

    * Books for Accelerated Reader

    * Promotion Ceremony set up (chairs)

    * Sports Banquet

    * Mentoring

Please contact Leticia Espinoza-Vopyan to get connected at Lespinozavopyan@lbusd.k12.ca.us or (562) 619-1434

Kingdom Causes is excited to keep you updated and share other stories of partnership!

 

"Having everyone making this possible gives us a sense of communit

y. I am so thrilled to  say that it was so much fun for everyone participating. Our partnership with the church is a wonderful experience that has benefited all of the Hamilton community.  Thanks!!!" -Leticia Espinoza-Vopyan

House of prayer on Signal Hill

I never know how God will show up at our Second Saturday prayer meetings. This Saturday, just two of our regulars showed up and....two students from CSULB. For about a year I was privileged to join with the Christian Club leaders on campus for prayer. It was a wonderful experience that I'll never forget. And for the last 2 years I have been unable to get there and have felt the loss. So guess what...2 of the student leaders showed up at 6am Saturday morning. They have a vision for a house of prayer on Signal Hill. The plan is to launch on the National Day of Prayer, May 7, at 7 pm. As of this moment they don't know the place and are walking in faith that Abba will show them. They asked for the blessing of the people who were there and have been coming so faithfully for so long and in turn we asked for theirs. That particular morning I had had a hard time getting my body out of bed and would have been just as happy to be not there - and then God showed up in this encouraging way. He encouraged us older ones with the enthusiasm and faith of the younger generation and let us see a peek into His plans. There has been much prayer offered from Signal Hill from so many believers in the City and I want to support this effort by letting you know what's going on.
They have a web-site for you to sign up for a time-slot - go to www.wejoinin.com/sheets/jvoyg and you can commit to pray for Long Beach with them...

An excerpt from the email I got stating their vision...
"Our vision is that it would be a place used to heal our broken generation. Our vision is that the workers who are heavy laden would find themselves restored in their first love with Him..and we pray that it would be used to sustain the revival that God wants to pour out in Long Beach...."

God is moving on the campus and in the hearts of the students He is bringing there. I pray His continued blessing and stirring in the hearts of His Church on that campus...join us will you in praying for/and with them?

Church Building Rental Opportunity

Pastor Brian Apodaca is the pastor of Victory Outreach in North Long Beach. He has asked me to help him by letting you know of their desire to rent their building. I've been there and it's really nice....and...they've filled it with the invited presence of God. If you need a place to meet - this could be just the opportunity you've been praying for. Below is his e-mail to me...with his contact information

Hi Judy... Good Morning.
Here is the info. for our church building rental.

15,00 sq. ft.
air conditioned newly remodeled sanctuary
4 classrooms
fellowship hall accommodates 60
kitchen, green room
available Tue. Wed. Thurs. Sat. (6:00 PM- 10:00PM)
Sun. (1:00PM-4:00PM)
$1750.00
for more info. call 562-533-1730

Thank you very much for your help Judy.

Sincerely,
Pastor Brian
Victory Outreach Long Beach

LBUSD Math Madness and English Extravaganza

Congratulations to all the winners from LBUSD Math Madness and English Extravaganza! Thank you for all who participated in providing and assembling snack packs for this event.  The students were blessed by you.

Here is a letter of appreciation from Assistant Superintendent, Gwen Mathews, Ph.D

March 24, 2009

Dear Kingdom Causes,

I wanted to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to you for helping to make our District-wide Middle School Math Madness and English Extravaganza competitions a tremendous success.  Thanks in large part to your efforts, our students were treated to a first-class event to recognize their hard work in the classroom.  By providing valuable volunteer services, as well as nutritious snacks for this memorable day, your time, talent and treasures provided the foundation for an unforgettable academic competition for over 800 students and their families.

By all accounts, this year's academic competitions exceeded everyone's expectations.  Countless family members joined students, staff and community members to cheer-on our students.  While we have been fortunate to enjoy this high level of enthusiasm and participation for athletic events, I know you will agree that it is inspiring to see this type of support and encouragement for students who are determined to be champions in the classroom as well.

Thank you again for being an integral part of our District-wide Middle School Math Madness and English Extravaganza Competitions.  This wonderful event simply could not have come together without the determination of dedicated community partners, such as Kingdom Causes.  I am quite confident that the smiles on students' and families' faces, and the sense of pride that comes from participating in such a unique event, will remain with us all for a very long time to come.  We look forward to working with your organization again, as we continue to provide world-class education for every student, every day.

Sincerely,

Gwendolyn H. Mathews, Ph.D

Assistant Superintendent

2nd Saturday Prayer

"Wow! I've really missed this!" "Being here I realize how much I need this." These comments are among the many we heard this morning after our 2nd Saturday prayer meeting. I had to miss last month because I was in traffic school...my second ticket in 49 years of driving...And it was so good to be back in corporate prayer with others who love it too. We had 5 churches represented and one person from Corona Del Mar and one from Laguna Beach and two regulars were sick with the flu. As I looked around the table I realized that God is really happy with us coming together with such diverse backgrounds to join Him in His throne room to ask for the Kingdom to come in Long Beach as it is in heaven. People come in rubbing sleep from their eyes, they come in hurting or sick, they come not knowing quite why they're there and sometimes wishing they weren't, and always go away refreshed and energized and "re-faithed." We can't be in His presence and not be changed and there's just something about corporate prayer that is different than private prayer - maybe it's His pleasure in His kids being together!!??? We prayed, we repented, we invited His Holy Spirit, we worshiped His holiness, we prayed for churches and organizations in the City, and in particular the church going out to hand out Valentines with words of encouragement to people on the street. We laughed and we cried, we joked and we sought our Father's face on behalf of His people. So many different ways of praying, some louder, some quiet, some vocal, some with tears and all in love with the same Jesus...what a wonderful way to begin a week-end. As you can tell, I'm excited and can't wait until our next second Saturday meeting...who knows, you might like it too!
xoxox...judy

The world of policy governance and boards

They say that one way to not get old is to keep learning new languages. I became an official senior citizen in November, 2008 and I'm learning a new language that's as foreign to me as Japanese! It's called "Policy Governance" and "Board Formation". My previous 65 years have been spent studiously avoiding mysterious and unnecessary rules and regulations and I perceive them to be hampering, binding and stifling. Enter Brad Fieldhouse into my world and Kingdom Causes. As KC has grown and our visibility has increased and people want to connect with us, we have realized we didn't have the capacity to receive them in any kind of structured way. (that may not be quite the accurate word) We began to work with a consultant and develop a document that embodied our heart and gave structure and language in places we didn't have any. While much of it is still a mystery to me, it has been so valuable and opened my mind in a way I never even wanted it opened! It has provided our cities and our staff with guidelines for growth and daily business that we really need - and I'm learning how to do "monitoring reports". I'm the one who wants to talk with you and pray and invite God to come - not do reports!...and in seeing their value, my resistance is dwindling, thankfully. God at work, His wonders to perform!
As I began to look at the New Testament from a Jewish viewpoint, I discovered that our word for the old testament is law, and from theirs it's guardian. Big difference in how we relate to the same words. Same thing here. I'm seeing that policy governance isn't a bunch of rules and regulations to snuff the life out of Kingdom Causes, rather, it's a guideline for helping us to "achieve appropriate results for appropriate persons at an appropriate cost and avoids unacceptable actions and situations."
On to the world of boards...Brad has gathered such a wonderful group of people to serve on our Long Beach KC board. Seeing God at work in and through these people who love Him and our city makes my heart happy. We had our first official board meeting the first week of the month and hearing from each of them just is such a total faith builder in God's sovereignty. We have people in ministry, business, the pastorate, prayer and even a lawyer and all of them have joined us to help us best serve the City of Long Beach. Most of my life has been spent in prayer rooms and in local congregations and seeing this broader picture is causing me to stretch my heart and mind to receive more of Him and His body.
My mantra for this year of 2009 is "God is good, God is sovereign and I am grateful for whatever is in my life as His good provision." - even policy governance!!!!
Blessings to you all...judy

and counting...

"Everyone Counts"

2009 Homeless Count

On Thursday, January 29, 2009 volunteers will be counting people who are experiencing homelessness in Long Beach for the U.S. Department of Housing.  The homeless count happens every two years.  Long Beach is divided into 47 map segments.  Volunteers will be in teams of three people represented by a community volunteer, service provider, and homeless or formerly homeless person.  "Everyone Counts" is a great opportunity to meet our homeless neighbors and to be an asset to the city.  For more information call Susan Price, Homeless Service Officer, at (562) 570-4003 or see the flyer.

Attention: North Long Beach

Do you have any stories about North Long Beach?  Do you have any artwork you would like to contribute to the North Long Beach Anthology?  

Smolarcorp in conjunction with the Connected Corridor Project is now accepting written works and art works reflecting the experience in North Long Beach until March 15th.  Selected works will be published in a Book by Authors - North Long Beach Anthology.  It is an opportunity to contribute the real flavor of North Long Beach.  Be creative!

To learn more about the guidelines and submission of works please visit www.bookbyauthors.org