Clifton Sanctuary Ministries

PLANNING BEGINS FOR CLIFTON AT TRINITY

donaldL — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:20:35 +0000

What does a church do when they have unused space and a heart for serving others??? Well, if you’re Trinity Presbyterian Church in Decatur, GA, you begin the planning process to serve your neighbors who are homeless! This is exactly what is going on at Trinity, Decatur, and the board of Clifton is delighted to be a part of the plan.

Trinity’s original chapel and education building are not fully being utilized and the congregation became aware that there are many homeless folks who live in their area. Cecelya Taylor, stated supply minister at Trinity and Clifton Board Member, approached the CSM board last year with the idea that we begin thinking about how the two groups could work together. Through very intentional planning and thought, we have set a goal of establishing a case manager program to be housed at Trinity in the space that is craving to be used during the week. This case manager will work with Trinity’s neighbors who are homeless to refer them to the appropriate agencies to get the services they need.

If you would like to become a founding financial partner with Clifton at Trinity, please contact Leslie Prince, CSM Board Member for details. She can be reached at (770) 377-0027 or leslieprince@comcast.net.

Candler Park Grant

donaldL — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:27:22 +0000

In this difficult economy when most sources of funding have slowed to a trickle, our good friends and neighbors at the Candler Park Neighborhood Association recently endowed Clifton with a $3,000.00 grant that was voted upon unanimously. We couldn’t be more honored or filled with gratitude over this most generous gift.

Clifton Sanctuary Ministries has a long standing relationship with Cander Park and it warms and strengthens us to know they feel a sense of ownership in our mission

Candler Park, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

OUR PRAYER TREE

donaldL — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:18:39 +0000

This year one of the residents wanted to share a Christmas tradition of his. He placed a small and very humble artificial tree in the dining area of the sanctuary and asked the residents to write a prayer or a wish on a small piece of paper, roll it up and place it in the branches. It was his tradition to have all the guests that came to his home during the holiday season place a wish or prayer in his tree and he would read them all on Christmas day. This filled our hearts and we want to continue this tradition. Here are some of the prayers we found in our tree. They are in the exact words that our guests wrote them.

My prayer for the care, feeding and love of all God’s children
father god please let me find a job
Thank you God for my housing
I pray to God for a better life for all at Clifton House. Success &Peace to all men and women on Earth. And during the x-mas a cell phone Santa
Dear Lord, I pray you allow to have a one bedroom Townhouse Apt. in Jan. of 2010. Please grant this prayer, I humbly ask
I pray to Jesus for good health for all in 2010
pray that I stay strong and stay away from drugs
I pray for all the guests of Clifton to fulfill their dreams
Wish I had a job in someones kitchen
God bless Mrs Jenkins
I wish I never smoke cigarettes again
Pray for my wife and I have a better year at that we be able to have our own place to reconcile again in Jesus name amen
Lord I pray that you will heal my sister, and watch over my family. And bless everyone
I wish for the success in the entertainment that alluded for years
I wish more churches to Support around the world. more mission trips to. I love Lord

JOE’S LADDER

donaldL — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:45:19 +0000

The National Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has awarded the residents of Joe’s Place a grant. The residents had the opportunity to create, own and operate a self-development program to compete for this funding. They succeeded with Joe’s Ladder. It is a multi-tiered program that supports residents in literacy, GED testing, computer learning, job certification and arts education. What ties these seemingly disparate goals together is the use of mentoring. Each resident that participates in the program will sign a “commitment contract” to mentor another resident or guest of Night Hospitality, thereby taking the already wonderful program of Joe’s Place and making it greater. The residents are excited as they go into the New Year with plans of not only putting Joe’s Ladder into action but making it grow. Check back for updates on the resident’s goals and successes.

THE CLIFTON CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

donaldL — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:54:13 +0000

Each year, the “guests” become hosts, while volunteers and case managers become their “guests” for a traditional dinner, Christmas program, carols and much more. The guests of Clifton formed a repatory group called the Clifton Players and sang carols and performed several sketches including “Why Was There No Room at the Inn?” and “Heavens’ Grocery Store”. Joe’s Place resident Donald Long also performed his parody of a classic Christmas poem entitled “Twas the Night before Clifton”. Afterwards, all celebrated together at a veritable banquet prepared by Clifton Chef extraordinaire Peter Hunstiger.

‘Twas the Night Before Clifton

donaldL — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:53:48 +0000

“Twas the night before Clifton

And out on the street

Some homeless were shivering

With nothing to eat

But guests 1 through 30

Were snoring away

While dreaming of paychecks

That would arrive one day

While asleep at Joe’s Place

In my bed plastic wrapped

I had just settled down

For a long winter’s nap

When out in the parking lot

There arose such a clatter

I fired up a Newport

To see what’s the matter.

Out to the driveway I flew like a flash

Past Reggie’s Mercedes

Without dropping an ash

When, what to my bloodshot eyes should jell

But a 15 passenger van and eight tiny gazelle

With a tall African driver, no need to convince

I knew in a moment it must be our Prince

More rapid than eagles his gazelles they came

And he whistled, and shouted and called them by name

“Now, Matthew! Now, Mark! Now, Luke and Isaiah

On, John! On Samuel! On Psalm and Hosea!”

“To the top of the ramp! To the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

So up to the church-top the gazelles they flew

With a van full of prayers and good old Prince too

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof

As I switched off the alarm and was turning around

Down the fake chimney Prince came with a bound

He was dressed in all fur just like a Siberian

But Russian he’s not, He’s just Presbyterian

A bundle of bibles he had flung on his back

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack

His eyes – How they twinkled! His dimples how merry!

His skin was like coffee, his nose like dark cherry

Into Peter’s kitchen he went with a rush

To sneak a bagged lunch so quiet and hush

His mouth was drawn up in a satisfied grin

And he had a spot of peanut butter right there on his chin

He had a broad face and a round little belly

That shook, when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly

He was regal and good and nothing like sin

In fact he looked like Sydney Poitier’s twin

He told me a tale of how to eat an elephant

As I listened, I thought, “Oh my, how eloquent!”

He turned around and went straight to his work

And filled all the footlockers; then turned with a jerk

And laying his finger aside of his nose

And giving a nod, up the fake chimney he rose

He sprang to his van, to his gazelles gave a whistle

And away he flew like born again missile

But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight’

“Happy Clifton to all, and to all a good-night”

HELPING HANDS

donaldL — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:17:22 +0000

Recently we met one of our neighbors Gloria, who owns The Mercantile, a wonderful gourmet shop just around the corner from Clifton Santuary. We’d heard that during the floods of a few months back her home of 20 years had been severly damaged. LeBron, Tony and Donald, guests of Clifton Sanctuary, were given a ride to her house by Anita from City Church Eastside to spend the day priming drywall, cleaning the residual mud from the first floor windows and doors and helping to organize the new construction. We had so much fun. Gloria and her husband David are such kind and wonderful people. And Gloria sponsers something she calls “Mindfull Mondays” where she donates $1.00 from every sandwhich sold that day to a local charity. She is having a Mindful Monday on December 21st and 28th for Clifton House, so stop by the Mercantile at 1660 Dekalb Avenue, Atlanta GA 30307 404-378-0096 and grab a delicious snadwhich or pick up some dinner on your way home and say hello to Gloria…another friend of Clifton.

Mary Lin Elementary School Halloween Carnival

donaldL — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:04:40 +0000

The men were such a hit with the kids that Cherie King from the Mary Lin school invited us to join their delayed Halloween Carnival. All the same men cleared their schedules to gladly participate. The day was so much fun and we were rewarded by the local brownie troop stopping by Clifton House the next day with the most wonderful lasagna and desserts they baked.

Candler Park Fall Fest

donaldL — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:44:13 +0000

Fall at Candler Park

Each year it has been a tradition for the guests of Clifton to volunteer with the load in and load out of the Candler Park Fall Fest. This year was extra special for us in that the children’s section that raises money for the Mary Lin school was short of volunteers so several of the guests from Clifton stepped in and manned the children’s craft booths for the entire weekend! The men helped the children build woodcrafts, make and dress dolls, create tissue paper crafts and more. We even babysat a couple of lost children until we could locate and reunite them with their worried parents. The men from Clifton were so lifted by the experience they talked about it for weeks.

30th Anniversary and Graduation Celebration

mirandaB — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:55:35 +0000

Each year, we gather to celebrate the success of the men who have graduated from Clifton during the previous year and are living independently and to honor the great volunteers who make Clifton tick. This year, our celebration dinner takes on new meaning as we celebrate 30 years of serving men who are homeless in Atlanta. Think about it – almost 10,000 men have slept in the Clifton sanctuary and we can’t even count how many meals have been served in the dining room!

We hope that you’ll join us on Sunday, October 4 at 6pm in the fellowship hall at Peachtree Presbyterian Church to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about the great things that have happened and lives that have been transformed on that special little corner in Lake Claire.

You can purchase tickets on the website or by contacting Julie at Clifton. (404) 373-3253.