50 Days to 50 Years: Day 36, Elizabeth House and the Montrose Church
"Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 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, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’" — Matthew 25:35-40 NASB
I was blessed with the privilege of presenting a workshop to the women of Elizabeth House titled, "Job Seeking Skills for the 21st Century Worker." Elizabeth House is a 501(c)(3) organization which the Montrose Church supports. The organization exists to provide shelter, hope and support to homeless pregnant women and their children by addressing their physical, emotional, spiritual, and economic needs in a nurturing atmosphere. Elizabeth House has been serving women and children in the Los Angeles area for more than 20 years. With two houses in Pasadena, the staff and volunteers of Elizabeth House are committed to the health and welfare of adult pregnant women and their children; part of that health and welfare is offering programs to help them grow and thrive. Once we became members of Montrose Church, I knew I wanted to pick up the work I had started at the Congregational Church of Northridge through Tuesdays with Transitioners. I felt a distinct loss when I ended the ministry, and knew that I would continue it in some fashion somewhere down the road. After a Sunday service, I spoke with Debbie Unruh, Executive Director of Elizabeth House, to see if they would have need for the type of career help that I could offer. She passed my information to Terry Bright, the Programs Director, and we had a very lovely meeting where I shared my ideas with her, and she explained some of the needs of the women who are residents of the house, as well as alumni—women who have been able to transition out of the house. From that meeting, the workshop was born, and a month later, I was presenting it. While it was a different challenge from many of the members who attended the T-w-T meetings, it was a good one. The bulk of the workshop was spent walking the ladies through LinkedIn, explaining the benefits and features of the social networking site, and helping them get a profile started. We also touched briefly on how to deal with gaps in employment, and learning to tell a compelling story about their job history and job skills that reflected positively on them and the work they could do for a potential employer. I supplied handouts and articles that they could reference later, and each woman asked insightful questions and shared key information on what they desired in their next job or career. Some of the women who attended remembered me from church, and we talked about the services, and how Pastor Dave had just returned from a mission in Swaziland. They seemed intrigued, and some of the women who hadn't attended church in a while talked about returning. So when I arrived on Sunday, I was highly encouraged to see most of the women from the workshop in attendance! Debbie said that they had to take two trips to get everyone there. One of the women greeted me warmly, and we talked for a bit before service began. I hope I have opportunity to do more work with Elizabeth House, but even if it was just this one time, I believe it made an impact on the lives of these women and for the Kingdom. One of the alumni even asked about my reinvention services, and wanted to talk further on this. I encouraged them to connect with me via LinkedIn and to give me feedback on the seminar via my website. I hope to hear good things, and desire to see these small seeds sown reaping a harvest for these ladies. https://youtu.be/UJFeEuDdang