Transforming Lives at the Blackstone Elementary School Library

by Kate Reynolds

On Sunday, May 9^th, 2010, Liz Steinhauser, minister at St. Stephen’s church in Boston’s South End, came to the Parish of Epiphany in Winchester to preach about the important work she and Vicar Tim Crellin were doing.  Liz challenged Reverend Thomas Brown and parishioners at Epiphany to help re-open the library at the Blackstone Elementary School, labeled a “Turnaround” school, meaning that its leadership had been replaced and all staff had to reapply for their jobs. 

               The Blackstone library was located a block away from St. Stephens in a school attended by over 70 of the underserved students in their B-READY Afterschool Program. At that time, the Blackstone was the 2^nd worst performing school in the Boston Public School system.   St. Stephens reached out to the newly appointed principal as a community partner and offered to take on the library project as a visible symbol of change.  

               In order for Epiphany to create a library from scratch, they needed cleaners and painters to transform the dark and dreary space, haulers and sorters to organize the books, and people with library knowledge to catalogue and shelve the books. And, they needed books!  Betsy Walsh organized the effort scheduling the first work day for Saturday, September 11, 2010.  Throughout the summer and fall, volunteers from Epiphany and other churches collected new and gently used K-5^th grade level books.

               Four and a half years later, the library has grown into a formidable resource for the children and teachers at the Blackstone Elementary School, now labeled an “Innovation” school.   Under the leadership of Eileen Marks, Pat Hitchcock, Judy Cotton and Meg McDermott, School and Community Partnership Organizer from St Stephens, and others, over 9,000 books have been barcoded and entered into a Library World online cloud system.  Over 400 students and teachers from 23 classes have been assigned sequential numbers to check out books at the library.  Most classes visit the library weekly. 

               Volunteers from Epiphany, Winchester, Friends of the Blackstone Library, Simmons Library School and from 4 other St Stephens partner churches, serve a day or two each week.  In a world where suburban children from affluent communities are exposed to up to 3 million more words by the age of 3 than underserved children, library books open up new worlds of opportunity. 

               Readers share a book with each class, help children find books at their reading level and 1^st-5^th graders check out books for 2 weeks.  At the Blackstone library it’s free to travel the world from a magic treehouse, cast spells to help Harry Potter navigate peril or learn about the true meaning of Christmas from Dr. Seuss’s Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  Sharing the gift of reading, turns out to be a simple and rewarding way for volunteers to help underserved children begin to overcome the challenges of being born into poverty,  by building literacy skills together.   

Ephesians 4:25—5:2

So then, putting away falsehood,

let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors,

for we are members of one another.

Be angry but do not sin;

do not let the sun go down on your anger,

and do not make room for the devil.

Thieves must give up stealing;

rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands,

so as to have something to share with the needy.

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths,

but only what is useful for building up,

as there is need,

so that your words may give grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

with which you were marked

with a seal for the day of redemption.

Put away from you all bitterness

and wrath and anger

and wrangling and slander,

together with all malice,

and be kind to one another,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Therefore be imitators of God,

as beloved children,

and live in love,

as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

One Young Haitian Man

by Sandy Bristol

Last year I made my second trip to Haiti. Each day we set up our medical clinic in a different place. Thursday's clinic was supposed to be a return to a location in the mountains that we had been to previously. Instead we ended up in a small village, at an Episcopal church and school. Since we were at a school there were a lot of children of all ages present. During my lulls between patients I took pictures. One young man asked me to take his picture, I was happy to comply with his request. The beauty of digital cameras is that you can look at the picture just taken, so I showed him the picture. He wanted a copy but there was no way to do that. He said I could bring it next year. To which I replied that I didn't know if I would be back. His response was God would send me back. I am heading back to Haiti next week. I don't know if we will go back to that clinic but I printed a copy of that picture.

1Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Children Epiphany Sponsors at El Hogar

by Betsy Walsh

Epiphany has a long history of sponsoring children at El Hogar, a home and school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Read more about these three beautiful children and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Meet Ivis Leonel

Ivis Leonel Rosales Calix was born on January 9, 2000. Before coming to El Hogar, Ivis lived nearby with his parents, older brothers and younger sister in one room without windows or electricity. He and his 2 older brothers entered El Hogar in 2006 and Epiphany began to sponsor Ivis in 2007. Three years later, he and his brothers left El Hogar. In 2012, while Epiphany’s women’s team was visiting, their father brought Ivis and his younger sister, Maribel, to the gates of El Hogar and asked if El Hogar could take them in again. Their mother had died and he was unable to care for them. Epiphany picked up his sponsorship again at this time. (A team member sponsored Maribel too!).   Now 15, Ivis is a handsome, quiet young man who is embarrassed by much fuss from his padrinos (God parents, which is what we, his sponsors, are called). He graduated from El Hogar’s elementary school in November 2012 and will be entering his third year at El Hogar’s Technical School this month.

Meet Ana Raquel

Ana Raquel Valera Funez was born on February 23, 2000 in Tegucigalpa to a single mother who suffers from paralysis on her left side which makes it hard for her to find work. Before coming to El Hogar in January 2007, she lived with her mother and great grandmother in a wooden structure without beds or food. She entered El Hogar in first grade as part of the first class of girls. (El Hogar only took in little boys for its first 26 years.) Epiphany wanted to sponsor one of the new little girls so we added a second sponsorship. Now 15, Ana lives at El Hogar’s high school girls home in Santa Lucia. She has just started 9th grade at a private highschool. She is a tall, lovely young woman who is confident, smart and talented. 

Meet Jorge Francisco

Jorge Francisco Velasquez Sagastume was born on April 10, 2000. Before coming to live at El Hogar, Jorge lived with his mother, older brother and younger sister, Andrea. Unable to provide for her children and afraid of the violence committed by her oldest son, their mother enrolled Jorge and Andrea at El Hogar. Epiphany began sponsoring Jorge when he arrived at El Hogar in 2009. Though he was 9, he had not been to school so he began in the first grade. El Hogar offers older students, who are academically able, the opportunity to progress by 2 grades in a year. Jorge did this and graduated from elementary school in 2013. Now 14, he is beginning his second year at El Hogar’s Agricultural School. He is adorable, smart, musically gifted and a talented painter.

If you would like to learn more about these children, write to these children, sponsor a child or visit El Hogar, please contact Epiphany’s El Hogar contact, Susan Haskell at susanhaskell33@gmail.com.

www.elhogar.org

Ivis, Ana (in the brown jacket) and Jorge today in 2015.

Galatians 6:2

Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Saturday/Sunday's Bread

 by Judy Coltman

I don’t really like to cook.  I cook, of course, because it works for my family, but it’s not something I yearn to do.  So then why, I used to ask myself, do I look forward to giving up one Saturday afternoon a month to prepare and serve a meal for a room full of people?   

At Saturday Sunday Bread, we serve a hot meal to people in need in Boston.   Along with other area volunteers, our group from Epiphany gathers early in the afternoon on the 4^th Saturday of the month to set up the dining room, prepare a meal, and then cleanup for about 100 guests.  We welcome the guests at 2:30 and serve them salad, a main course, juice, coffee, bread and dessert.  My favorite job while the guests are with us is to serve the coffee.   Going from person to person at the tables and pouring coffee—black or with milk—allows me the chance to personally greet the guests and, sometimes, it provides me the opportunity for conversation.   I think what keeps me going back each month are these chances for connection.    These connections, whether a smile, a nod of acknowledgement, a chat, or just a request for more coffee, help me to see the individuals within the room full of strangers, most of whom are down on their luck.  They personalize the struggles that life presents.    They broaden my understanding. They help me feel God’s presence.  

Parishioners from POE were some of the first volunteers at Saturday Sunday Bread back in 1983.  Help us maintain this as one of Epiphany’s missions by joining us some 4^th Saturday of the month!