UPS & DOWNS
April 2001 WAYFARERS' HOUSE
WELCOME to Kiri, Karry, Louisa and Vickie.
FAREWELL and good wishes to Cheryl, Melodie, Trish, Sharon, Pam, Amy, Hannah, Kristi, Breanna and Steven. A BELATED HAPPY MARCH BIRTHDAY to Tamesha;
HAPPY APRIL BIRTHDAYS to Dawn and Joey.2001 WORK CAMPSIn April youth from Elkton Presbyterian Church, from Port Penn and Delaware City Presbyterian Churches and from New Castle Presbyterian Church have come to Meeting Ground to volunteer time and elbow grease for a day or two to help with needed projects in our community. A group from St. Paul's School are expected on Friday. (Last year 27 groups,
361 people, completed 30 projects at Meeting Ground.)HOUSE ACTIVITIESTues. 10:15 a.m. Exercise Group
11:00 a.m. Self-Esteem Group
9:00 p.m. House Meeting
Wed. 10:00 a.m. Parenting/Communicating Group
Thurs. 4:00 p.m. The Children's Hour with Raven
Fri. 12-1:00 p.m. Community Kitchen
Sun. 4:30 p.m. Chapel at the Farm followed by supper
Please note the new time, Thursday, 4:00 p.m., for the Children's HourDID YOU KNOW THAT ...At Meeting Ground from January 2000 through December . . . * 284 men, women and children stayed at the community;
* their ages ranged from infants to over 61 years of age;
* their average stay was 79 days;
* 50% who were with us were women, 30% were children, 20% were men;
* 32% of the residents left Meeting Ground for permanent housing;
* 25% of the residents had been at Meeting Ground before;
* 407 individuals who sought shelter at Meeting Ground had to be turned away for lack of space;
* 355 individuals received food from the 114 food boxes Meeting Ground provided;
* 70% of the residents were from Cecil County;
* 35,000 meals were served this year;
* the transitional housing program was established at George Porter House and a full-time coordinator hired;
* the HOPE program (a Brown Bag Food Club) was started at the George Porter House And included 41 families;
* Meeting Ground became a partner with other groups in founding the Elkton Community Kitchen;
* since Meeting Ground's establishment in 1982, it has provided 313,439 bed-nights of shelter.
Statistics taken from Loaves and Fishes.APPRECIATION EVENTAn appreciation event, a dinner at the Elkton Presbyterian Church in Elkton, was hosted by Meeting Ground on Sunday, March 25, to honor partners and volunteers of the community. Planning the event and bringing it to fruition were Carl Mazza and Barbara Dugan, assisted by many members of the community - residents, volunteers, staff of Meeting Ground as well as representatives of partner organizations in Elkton. Among that group were May and Wako Yokoyama and Ulla Heelein.In addition to the bountiful buffet, music was provided by Bailiwick: Jean Rodden, Michele McCann and Jeff Booth. The large room, made festive with plants and balloons and other decorations, was filled with support partners, residents, volunteers (and resident volunteers) as well as staff. Representatives of these parts of the coalition both recognized the work we do together and reflected on the history and philosophy of Meeting Ground as it has unfolded in these almost two decades.
WHAT'S AN "I MESSAGE"?"I messages" are a clear, assertive and non-threatening way of telling another person how you feel when something happens and why you feel that way.Using "I messages" instead of "you messages" is a basic skill emphasized in all communication programs, whether the subject is parenting skills, partner relationships or conflict resolution. We add this information to Ups and Downs this month in case you would like to do a bit of experimenting with it to see what changes it might bring in your relating to people in your life - at home, at work or wherever.The steps to giving an "I Message":1. State how you feel.
2. State the problem.
3. State why you feel this way.Example:1. I feel frustrated . . .
2. when you talk while I am talking . . .
3. because what I'm saying is important and I need to be certain that you hear it.Such a message focuses on the current issue or problem, uses a feeling word so that the issue of your feelings are admitted openly, describes what it is that you think you need and allows you to "own" your feelings rather than blaming someone else for them. The advantages are that it avoids the name calling, attacking, blaming and criticizing that can make conflicts so hard to resolve; it sticks to the current issue instead of bringing up past grievances; and it doesn't assume the person to whom you are talking is a mind reader and can tell without help how you feel and what you want.We would be happy to hear how your experiment with "I messages" goes if you would let U&D know.
.How to contribute to this newsletter:Give Marsha material to put into Esther's mailbox. Talk to one of us about what you would like to see in Ups & Downs. Ask one of the volunteers to take down something you don't want to write out yourself.