On average we have 15-20 volunteers from Compass Christian who prepare and serve dinner, make and pass out salads, desserts, wash pots, pans, dishes, and clean up in the kitchen, serving area, and dining room in order to provide for 160+ deserving members of our community.
What is Stepping Forward and How Can I help?
Stepping Forward, one of the Faith Alliance Signature programs, is designed to help equip families with the skills and knowledge they need to move their lives forward. The program could not work without the support of our collaborative group of churches and their volunteers.
this outreach provides the following free services with the help of other churches and community partners:
Every Tuesday night, Stepping Forward includes:
Free Community Dinner • 6–7 pm
Free Job and Life Skills classes • 7–8:30 pm (see list below)
Referrals to needed services • 6:30–8:00 pm
Computer Lab • 6:30–8 pm
Homework Room and fun activities for the kids • 6:30–8:00 pm
Food Pantry for qualified families living in Butler County • 6:30–8 pm
Free English as a Second Language (ELS) beginning and intermediate classes (Clases gratis en inglés; Clases de principiante y intermedio) • 7:00–8:30 pm
“Just sending a message to thank you for arranging last night’s meeting with John. It was very beneficial, and he was able to help clarify several issues, provide positive reinforcement for some steps I’ve already taken, and suggest some additional steps to be taken. Best of all, as I Ieft that meeting, I felt a lightness of spirit that’s been missing from my life for far too long. I was able to once again glimpse that seemingly elusive ‘light at the end of the tunnel!’
And the hope remains in me today. So much so that I want to shout, ‘Thank you!’ at the top of my lungs! Perhaps I can even begin to address this financial mess with some semblance of a positive outlook, and honestly believe that there could come a day when I can put all this behind me, and move forward.
As I reflect on all this, I realize that it wasn’t actually just this particular meeting that resulted in the change in my outlook. This is the cumulative result of the many encounters I’ve had since that first evening when I half-heartedly attended one of Faith Community’s Tuesday Night Dinners(Stepping Forward). It’s the positive charge that flows through the people gathered there, from those serving with smiles, to those receiving with dignity, to those little ones so obviously feeling free to be young, enjoy life, and laugh out loud.
But it’s so much more than all that…..I don’t believe there are adequate words to describe all that it is, so hopefully you’ll understand the depth of meaning behind the words I choose, to say what I really think needs to be said:
‘IT’S A GOD THING!!!’
Please let John as well as Every Volunteer, and even those served by your church, who contribute a great deal as well, know that the impact they are having on individual lives is absolutely phenomenal!
At Faith Community Church(Stepping Forward), it is increasingly apparent that the words, “Come as you are….” are not only gently spoken, but also deeply believed!
I’m often reminded that I need to use ‘less words’ so I’ll just stop here and hope you understand all I’m trying to capture with my limited vocabulary. Just want you and all concerned to know that
We prepare, cook and serve lunch on the 4th Saturday of every month.
we need minimum of 8 volunteers. We start cooking at 9 a.m. to serve at noon to 1 p.m.
1620 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 241-5121
You do not have to be a member of this church, this faith, or any faith to volunteer: (email compasscorg@gmail.com and put Soup Kitchen in the Subject field if you or your family would like to volunteer.
To help alleviate hunger in our community in an environment of respect, care and hospitality.
In 2017, we served 50,704 hot meals, served 5,081 families in the food pantry, and were powered by over17,000 volunteer hours.
As Queen City Kitchen, we remain committed to nourishing our neighbors, and serving food with dignity, and offering a safe, welcoming environment for all who come through our doors.
“There are many reasons why people are caught in the trap of extreme poverty …while we are looking for answers, we can all do our part to alleviate some of the suffering.” — Reverend Thomas Bokenkotter
Our Service:
After 40+ years, Cincinnati’s oldest soup kitchen remains true to their mission of providing food with dignity for neighbors in need. This is a modern evolution of a neighborhood safe haven—a staple of the community that’s still on the upswing. Powered by a network of compassionate volunteers, we’re nourishing new perceptions of food insecurity, stripping away all stigmas, and feeding a force for good that can transform entire communities—one meal at a time.
Every day after we bless our food, we thank our Guests for visiting the Kitchens and Pantry. Inevitably, their response rings throughout the room: “No, thank YOU for being here.”
Our History:
History
The Reverend Thomas Bokenkotter founded the Over-The-Rhine Kitchen, the Oldest Soup Kitchen in Cincinnati, as well as the Walnut Hills Kitchen and the Walnut Hills Pantry.
The Over-The-Rhine Kitchen was established in January of 1976. Fr. Bokenkotter visited Dorothy Day’s House of Hospitality in New York City and realized Cincinnati needed a kitchen to provide a meal without obligatory religious service for the 80 percent of the 10,000 residents in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood lived below the poverty level.
Reverend Thomas Bokenkotter, QCK Founder
Fr. Bokenkotter recruited volunteers and with just $700 he started serving meals in a building on Main Street. Word spread, and soon hundreds were lining up daily for a warm meal. A second location opened in Walnut Hills in 1984. The Over-the-Rhine kitchen moved several times before settling, in 2003, into its current location at 1620 Vine Street.
The Walnut Hills Kitchen is housed in the Geiger House, a property named for a student of Fr. Bokenkotter’s. Geiger helped open the Over-The-Rhine Kitchen in 1976. Tom managed the Kitchen and developed its program, and because of his devotion to helping the poor and homeless, he moved into the back room of the Kitchen to be available whenever someone needed him. At the age of 33, Tom Geiger died suddenly. The Tom Geiger Guest House, a residence for abused women and children on Gilbert Avenue, which houses the Walnut Hills Soup Kitchen, was named to honor his memory.
In 2018, the organization changed its name to Queen City Kitchen to better reflect its mission to serve all Cincinnati neighbors.
Fr. Bokenkotter taught that there are many reasons people are caught in extreme poverty. While we are looking for answers, we can all do our part to alleviate some of the sufferings. This reflection continues to inspire the work of the Queen City Kitchen today.
L: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
P: And now are feet are standing within your courtyards!
U: From the soles of our feet to the crown of our head we offer total praise to God!
Scripture (Micah 6:1-8)
Our reading comes from the prophet Micah.
1Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
2Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
3“O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”
6“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Here ends our reading. May God bless our understanding.
@Copryrighted by Guest Speaker Rev. Steve Simmons Sermon: “Church: What does the Lord require of us?” (Micah 6:1-8) Sunday, June 24, 2018
Our hope is that you will find what you need to consider visiting our church family Sunday 10:30 service 6771 Tylersville Road Mason OH 45040
Develop a closer relationship with God
Join us in our many missions to end poverty, racism, and heal the brokenness in our community
Come to share the joy, fun, excitement, and energy that is CCC!
Come as you are and leave feeling loved and accepted.
Many of our members are new to the community and find that they miss the support of friends and family.
Others are long-term residents that have simply never found the right church home.
Our worship services are a blend of old and new,
traditional and contemporary,
comfortable and sometimes challenging moments.
Indeed it is a stressful world full of confusion, stress, anger, and isolation. We hope sincerely that you will take a few moments to review this newsletter and get a feel for the commitment, diversity, acceptance, and love that God has bestowed upon Compass Christian Church.
From baptism & first communion to graduation to joining a church, to accepting a call to go on a mission, this past month saw Compass Christian Church marking important passages for individuals in the congregation
Matthew L.
was baptized and received his first communion on Pentecost, May 20, 2018.
Katie H.
was recognized for her completion of the Pastor’s class, presented by Laura D.
Aniyah J.
Also recognized was regular CCC attender, Aniyah J. baptized two days earlier in a Catholic Church.
Michelle M.
On Sunday, May 20, CCC commissioned and asked blessings on Michelle M’s call to mission work She will serve in Port O’ Prince, Haiti as Program Assistant on Christian Education, Children Ministries, and International Networking. Michelle’s last Sunday in the U.S. with us will be July 1. We hope you can be here!
Drew D.
graduated summa cum laude from King’s HS and was the only National Merit Finalist from King’s Local School District. He will study Mechanical Engineering at Cooper Union Institute for the Advancement of Science and Art in NYC. Founder Peter Cooper believed in equal opportunity for education, so everyone admitted receives a half-tuition scholarship.
Jackson F.
graduated cum laude from Fairfield High School and received the Phi Nuxhall Scholarship, the “2018 Outstanding Actor” award, and 3 Thespian Stars. He is planning to attend Xavier University where he was awarded an Academic Scholarship & the Muskie Grant, a musical theater scholarship.
Cole H.
graduated from Skyward Academy. After taking a “gap year” to work, he plans to attend college in the UK the following year.
Recognition of twelve new members
Another life event marked on Sunday, May 20, was the recognition of twelve new members who have joined Compass Christian Church since last Pentecost. Already an active part of the congregation, these folks are most welcome!
Linda H., David & Lynn L.
Caroline, Katie & Jennifer H. (not shown, Michael H.)
Lacey S. & Kirk T., Dave & Nancy T. & Wilma W.
Donne, you will be missed
Friends, I have resigned from my position as CCC Office Administrator in order to serve in the “regional office” of my own denomination, i.e., the Wilmington Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). My last day in this office will be June 28. I have enjoyed my sojourn among the Disciples of Christ, and deeply appreciate the kindness you have shown me through my daughter’s illness.
Your Friend, Donne Hayden
Children’s Moment
During the summer Worship and Wonder is held in the sanctuary
Our ABLAZE Choir
As a community,
we share in the joys of life and comfort one another in times of sorrow.
We stress individualism and a respect and tolerance for those differing in race, religion, age and the other things that cause us to be isolated and saddened.
We challenge each other to share our talents.
We believe each person has a responsibility to create their own relationship with God through our Savior Jesus Christ and rely upon His words to guide our daily lives.
Now after the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. Matthew 2:13-15
Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day when across the globe we remember those displaced by war, violence, or persecution that are forced to flee their homes in hopes of finding welcome, safety, and protection in another country. They are not criminals but among the most vulnerable of all. As U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says, “Their story is one of resilience, perseverance, and courage. Ours must be of solidarity, compassion, and action.”
It was after the devastation and refugee crisis created by WW2 that the U.S. led efforts to draft the 1951 Refugee Convention. Under this Convention and Protocol, the U.S. is prohibited from penalizing asylum seekers “on account of their illegal entry or presence” because after WW2 many nations treated refugees as “illegal entrants.” Under both U.S. and International law, those fearing persecution in their home country don’t need the approval to seek asylum here. Criminalizing those seeking asylum is not only illegal, but immoral, and a revocation of the best part of our national history, civic identity, and moral authority.
For a country that claims to be founded on Christian principles, it’s also a fundamental rejection of the core biblical practice of hospitality found in both Testaments. Refugees have a moral claim on Israel because Israel was once a refugee people (Ex 22:19). Refugees have a moral claim on Christians because Jesus himself was a refugee. Jesus only escaped the murderous Herod because of the hospitality of Egypt, the site of Israel’s former slavery. When the Holy Family returned to Israel they did n’t resettle in their hometown Bethlehem but lived as refugees in Nazareth. That sense of displacement marked Jesus as one who had nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20) and who promises that how the hungry, thirsty, stranger, sick, and imprisoned are treated is how he is treated.
Our world currently faces a refugee crisis that hasn’t been seen since WW2: How shall we respond?
Greater Cincinnati’s first-ever Festival of Faiths on Sunday, June 24, 2018, at Xavier University’s Cintas Center will bring together neighbors, families and spiritual leaders to celebrate the area’s religious diversity. The day will feature faith-based exhibits, dialogues, workshops, art, music and fun activities for all ages. The event is free and open to the public.
Modeled after popular long-standing festivals in Louisville and Indianapolis, Cincinnati’s festival will showcase the many faith traditions of our region. It also includes a day of community service for interfaith groupings of volunteers.
Organized by the local Bridges of Faith Trialogue, the Festival’s objectives are to promote awareness of Greater Cincinnati’s religious diversity, celebrate the variety of cultural contributions to our community’s quality of life, and educate families about the world’s religions.
The theme for this inaugural event is “Compassion through Action” in recognition of the role the faith community has historically played and continues to play in advancing a civil, socially just and welcoming community for all who live, work and visit Greater Cincinnati. The event will also serve to unify our community, focusing on our similarities and celebrating our differences.
Co-Chairing the Festival’s Steering Committee are the Rev. Canon Manoj Zacharia, sub-dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Sandy Kaltman, president of the local American Jewish Committee, and Maria Munir, a board member of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati. Heading up the Program Committee are the Brueggeman Center’s James Buchanan Ph.D., Umama Alam of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Sarah Weiss, director of the Holocaust and Humanity Center, and Nazly Mamedova, an attorney with Waclaw.
“Religions worldwide contribute in many ways to the soul of a community – its values, mores, human relations and ultimately its progress. Regardless of creed, religions universally lift up compassion as a pathway to enrich spiritual and personal relationships that build a community’s vibrancy and livability for all,” said Maria Munir, Festival Co-Chair.
Faith Alliance
Compass Christian Church is a part of Faith Alliance, a community of twenty churches who come together to perform missions like eliminating poverty in our region. Here are some of the programs we are currently involved in:
The Summer Lunch Program is one of our most recognized ministries. Many people remember making sack lunches in church kitchens to deliver to children in sponsored neighborhoods. Since its inception, the Summer Lunch Program has become so much more than lunch! Bobbie Turner, our amazing Summer Lunch Leader, (pictured) has
The Faith Alliance Summer Literacy Program 2018 is well underway. Elementary students are working with our experienced team of educators to strengthen reading skills and reduce “summer slide”. Books, new vocabulary and a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo ensure students have a blast on this learning adventure. We are thrilled
Compass Christian Church, along with 10 other local congregations, supports the Faith Alliance program Stepping Forward, which provides an evening meal for deserving neighbors in our community every Tuesday at Faith Community United Methodist Church on Cox Road. On each 5th Tuesday, (which occurs four times a year), CCC and its ministry partner, Bethany UMC, prepares and serves a meal.
While providing a meal for those in need is important, there is much more to the evening than just good food. An after-dinner program offers guest families tools and relational support in order to move their lives forward. The program, for instance, maybe a job-skills or life-skills class or ESL (English as second language) instruction; support can take the form of a homework room and fun activities for the kids; information and referrals for a food pantry for qualified families living in the Lakota School District, or referrals to various other services available in the community. As in any such ministry, help is deeply appreciated. If you have skills which could be utilized in the after-dinner programs, please contact Ed V.
Run 4 Home 5K Interfaith Hospitality Network of Warren Cty
Our library banner says it all – “Congratulations!”
June is when we honor our graduates, our teachers, and those who have agreed to fill the various positions of church leadership.
Support, encouragement & guidance can all be found in our church library.
We’ve all experienced times of utter chaos. When Life is a Zoo God Still Loves You guides us to see that that’s when we need to rely on the One who calmed the storms. By Bob Russell, this book lets the animals of Bible stories show us how God cares for all of his creation.
Growing in Grace by Bob George helps us see that outward appearance is minor to our inward, true growth as Christians. Again, our perfect Savior will lead us to become the best we can be.
Some people say, “There is no such thing as a coincidence.” In the Guidepost book Amazing Coincidences, you’ll find that they are right. These true accounts show that God will guide & direct us to answer all our needs.
Come to the library to find these books and more that can help you become the best you can be.
L: The earth is the Lord’s and all that is within it!
P: Therefore let us join our voices in praise to our Creator!
L: Praise is befitting our God who comes to save us.
P: Therefore let us join our voices in praise to our Redeemer!
U: God our Sustain-er, pour your Spirit upon us that we might worthily praise, magnify, honor, and glorify you!
Scripture (1 Thessalonians 1:2-6; 2:9-12)
Our readings come from the first letter to the Thessalonians.
2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly
3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you,
5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.
6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,
9You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
10You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.
11As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Here ends our reading. May God bless our understanding.
@Copyrighted by Rev. Dr. Troy Sybrant Sermon: “Father Knows Best” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-6; 2:9-12) Sunday, June 17, 2018
