Category: Compassion

Harvest Festival for Refugees

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This FREE event is Saturday, October 27th, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm at Cornerstone Farms in St. Jacob, IL

  • Pony rides for children
  • Hay rides
  • Face painting
  • Carnival snack food
  • Fishing
  • Soccer, basketball, frisbee
  • Outdoor games
  • Live music
  • Chicken races
  • And more…

Drivers will be picking up at 11:45 in the parking lot at Oasis International in South City,  St. Louis. Bring a blanket and plan a picnic!

If you have a desire to help support this free event through the gift of your time or resources,  please contact David at 618-980-8300 or Cortland at 980-8303 or cstonefarms@gmail.com for more information.

Q Conference 2018

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NO TOPIC IS OFF LIMITS
 EVERYONE HAS A VOICE

From the ideas and current issues shaping society, to the truth that transforms the world, you will be informed and gain confidence that God is at work in his mission to renew all things. Education by thought leaders and stories from change-makers will inspire a hopeful way forward. Join us to be equipped for the difficult conversations and extraordinary opportunities that lie ahead.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

At Q you will experience thirty curated 9 or 18 minute talks, featuring the state of American culture and ways Christians can navigate the complexity of our changing society. With dedicated space for constructive debate, expert interaction and lively experiences, Q will be an investment.

Q Conference 2018

April 11-13 in Nashville, TN
We will carpool down and those who are interested in attending can share hotel costs. The cost will be contingent on the number of people who are attending. Please RSVP by March 15.

For more information about the Q Conference, please click here.

MLK 50

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Race is no longer an issue that can be ignored. Mercy and love compel us to look into, not away from, what divides us. The Gospel is not just the answer of our individual sin problem, it’s the answer to our country’s systemic sin problem as well. Come join us as we experience MLK 50 happening live in Memphis and live at the farm via simulcast.

It begins April 3rd at 1 pm and goes into the evening; then starts up again the next morning at 9 am. Come and go or plan to stay over and bring some money for fast food runs.

Click here for more info about MLK 50.

Oasis for Refugees

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If you’re ready to roll your up your shirt-sleeves and get busy serving refugees, look no further than South St. Louis. Over 400 Syrians have been relocated in our city since October, 2015 alone, and we are personally seeing what appears to be an equal number of Iraqi refugees in our work here. Numerous other nationalities are represented as well. St. Louis is home to the largest Bosnian community in the world outside of Bosnia!

Refugees are frequently closed off from the physical community that surrounds around them by the struggle of learning a complex language, adapting to a new culture, and now a polarized political landscape that has caused many to voice outrage over their presence here. Arriving here already traumatized and cut off from family and friends, they live isolated by their circumstances and in poverty.  Nonetheless, we consistently find them some of the most hospitable, hard working and hopeful people to spend time with.

The opportunity to meet felt needs is seemingly endless, but here is where we have begun:

Prayer – At Cornerstone, Tuesdays, 8:30 amimg_0264

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) or Driver’s Education (car required); assisting in childcare during ESL classes; and sorting & organizing donations. At Oasis International, Tuesdays, 10:00 – 12:30

Moving and delivering furniture & home visits – Various times, contact us

Serving as a volunteer for events or horse therapy for refugees with PTSD here at Cornerstone – coming in the Spring

We partner with Oasis International for many of these things. Please contact them directly if you have cars, clothing, furniture, household goods of fine quality, or time you would consider donating.

Do for the one…

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“Do for the one what you wish you could do for everyone.”

It’s a good word. Sometimes we don’t do anything because we’re so overwhelmed by the needs that surround us, it can seem like what we have to offer can’t possibly make a difference. Our experience has taught us that it almost always can, if we start in the lives of just one or two people.

We have that opportunity before us this week. There’s a homeless couple that one of our students is doing life with. Here’s a list of their needs we can meet:

From SAM’s Club:

  • Heavy Winter Socks
  • Distilled Water
  • Diaper Wipes
  • Men’s and Women’s Deoderant
  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrushes
  • Shampoo & Conditioner
  • Laundry Detergent
  • Dryer Sheets

They also need:

  • Three Large Laundry Bags
  • Rolls of Quarters for the Laundromat

If you can purchase any of the above items, or take care of the cost to do so, please contact Melissa by calling or texting at 618-973-6625 or email her at penguinjoy4life@gmail.com. Items can be brought to church on Sunday evening or dropped at Cornerstone.

Let’s be praying for Jordan and Zeke that God will bless them and keep them. That He’ll make His face shine upon them. That He’ll turn His full countenance upon them and give them peace. (from Numbers 6:24-26)

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me….Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.  —  Jesus   (Matthew 25:35,40)

Harvest Festival for Refugees

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October 22nd, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm at Cornerstone Farms in St. Jacob, IL

  • Pony Rides for children
  • Hay Rides
  • Pumpkin Painting
  • Face Painting
  • Chicken Races
  • Lunch
  • Fishing
  • Horseshoes & Cornhole Toss
  • Soccer, Basketball & Frisbee
  • Cornerstone commemorative photo
  • Live Music

If you have a desire to help support this free event through the sacrifice of your time or resources,  please contact David at 618-980-8300 or Cortland at 980-8303 or cstonefarms@gmail.com for more information.

Drivers will be picking up at 10:45 at Oasis International in South City St. Louis.

Serving the Homeless

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Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Downtown, St. Louis – This week’s service project allowed our students to step into a new part of the city and minister to a segment of the population that most of us have little to no ongoing relationship with – those forced to live on the streets.

While Cortland was taping a segment on a local cable tv show that broadcasts from the studio at New Life Evangelistic Center (NLEC), a group of our students (Caleb, Katie, Isaiah, Jesse, Schuyler and Amber) served in this downtown shelter organizing storerooms, toddler watching and packing bags of toiletries and basic items to be handed out to those who come to NLEC for food and respite and leave having experienced a tangible touch of God’s love. It was a great way to kick off Schuyler’s 18th birthday!

sheltercrewNLEC is the largest homeless shelter in
downtown St. Louis, and while they often have their fill of volunteers around the holidays, it was clear from our experience this week that they are in ongoing need of volunteers.  We are praying this can be a monthly service project for our church. As the weather begins to turn colder, would you pray about joining us for our next outing?

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ – Matthew 25:34-40

Following God into Refugee Ministry

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September 3, 2016

Cornerstone Farms, St. Jacob – We kicked off our partnership with Oasis International Ministries with a visioneering trip to the Farm. Oasis’ founders, Mark & Joanie, urban missionaries Matt & Kim, and their extended families spent the afternoon with us and a number of our students blue sky dreaming about how God might use what He is doing, and inviting all of us into, to minister to refugees here in St. Louis.

The great gift of the day was the refugee family who came. Eman and her 3 daughters are from Jordan, and Eman’s husband is from Baghdad. While he was unable to join us, Eman immediately recognized the paintings of a mosque she and her husband knew well from his home town. After a few minutes of walking through our home, she said, “I feel as though I am back at home in Jordan, in my family’s home.” It was a beautiful moment.

Iraqi/Jordanian and American students sitting on a rug from Cairo, Egypt, playing spoons on a table that was made by a Palestinian carpenter in Amman, Jordan. More of this God, please! We want so much more of this.

Iraqi/Jordanian and American students sitting on a rug from Cairo, Egypt, playing spoons on a table that was made by a Palestinian carpenter in Amman, Jordan. More of this God, please! We want so much more of this.

Julie Tucker provided an amazing lunch spread and when Eman saw it she exclaimed, “Ah! Arab food!!” Well done, Julie! It was such a blessing, and no small accomplishment to succeed in showing proper Arab hospitality. We finished the visit with Arabic coffee from Amman.

Eman is a new follower of Jesus, and life is not easy. Let’s remember to pray for her and her family.  The Hendrick family are excited about joining her and her family at their home in a couple of weeks for dinner.

We are looking forward with great anticipation to our next Fall event – a Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 22nd. We want to be in a position to provide transportation for as many refugee families as possible. There will be pony rides, pumpkin carving, hay rides, face painting, live music, chicken races and more. It will be a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus with a great many people who may have never stepped foot outside of a city setting before. Imagine! Please save the date and think of who else might be interested in volunteering time and resources to this exciting opportunity.

Meeting our City

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Saturday, August 27

Tower Grove Park, St.Louis – Rene & Cortland had the joy of escorting students to the International Institute’s 2016 Festival of Nations to gain a better understanding of all the different people groups who have been re-homed here in the city of St. Louis.

Food booths, artisans, music, dance and sports demonstrations were just a few of the things offered by refugees from over 75 countries who now call St. Louis home. This was a wonderful opportunity for our church to see the global community that is literally in our backyard.  It was a significant first step in beginning the process of better discerning how we may serve refugees.  The more that our eyes are open to what surrounds us, the easier it will be to fully open our hearts as well.

intlfestivalgroup