Jubilee Ministry Centers —

Providing Refuge and Hope
By the Rev. Deacon Steve Shanks,
Our Diocesan Jubilee Ministry Officer

When Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth, unrolled the Isaiah scroll, and read God’s promise of good news to the poor, of Jubilee—the Year of the Lord’s Favor, he opened for us a window into the Kingdom of God. As we see the work of congregations, congregational clusters, and ecumenical clusters doing the work of compassion—feeding, clothing, sheltering, and visiting, and the work of justice—speaking, teaching, and prophesying, we honor the commitment they are making to reflect to the world the generosity of God and the invitation to live in his Kingdom.

The concept of Jubilee was established by the words of Leviticus 25:10:“You shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”The stated goal of Jubilee Ministry in the Episcopal Church is to teach others to connect the talk of faith with the walk of peace and justice for all people.

Jubilee Ministry is faith in action—faith that can be expressed as that which grows out of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and action that can be expressed as that which compels us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jubilee Ministry seeks to hold these two important dynamics of our spiritual journey in tension so that God’s reconciling work is known by our witness.

Jubilee Ministry Centers throughout our diocese serve as places of refuge and hope, living expressions of our Baptismal promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons.

St.Timothy’s in Athens provides a multicultural preschool, tutoring, basic language skills programs, English as a Second Language classes,AA Groups (including a prison AA group) and a Hispanic Al-Anon, and a drop-in pantry.

Christ Church in Fairfield (Birmingham) provides CityWorks:The Fairfield Initiative, an interfaith Community Development Corporation that offers affordable housing with “strategic neighbors”; a literacy program; a thrift store; a prison ministry; and emergency services.

Grace Church in Woodlawn (Birmingham) provides 55th Place Thrift Store, Grace-by-Day, the Interfaith Hospitality House, emergency food packs three days a week at the Woodlawn Christian Center, Community Kitchens, and a Hispanic ministry.

Good Samaritan Health Clinic in Cullman provides free primary healthcare for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured county residents; hearing testing; eye disease exams; dental exams; free medications; and diabetic/nutrition education.

St. John’s in Decatur provides a Community Free Clinic offering free healthcare and prescription drugs, health-related education programs, eye exams, and dental care; Parents and Children Together (PACT) offering services for at-risk families to prevent child abuse and neglect as well as child-wellness programs; and Camp Joy offering camping experience and adult and youth volunteers to serve at-risk children.

Nativity in Huntsville provides individual tutoring for reading, math, and computer skills in the Adult Learning Center of Huntsville; English as a Second Language classes; and the HEALS free medical clinics at target elementary schools.

The Jubilee Community Center in Montgomery provides an after-school program with tutoring and mentoring by volunteers from local colleges, entrepreneurial class for ages 15 and up, clothing, direct health services, the Jubilee Choir, youth-enrichment programs, lobbying on issues affecting the community, job training, Vacation Bible School, and a free tax-filing service for working families.

Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry Inc. (CVEM) supported by St. Matthew’s in Seale and St. Stephen’s in Smith Station provides direct economic assistance; continued community revitalization efforts; programs for children and youth; women’s mentoring; housing advocacy; services related to homelessness, race relations, and prison inmates; and a Peace and Justice Group that meets regularly to study social issues and offer forums and other means of education and action.

Bishop Parsley and Bishop Sloan invite every congregation in our diocese to examine the work they are doing with and among the poor, both here in Alabama and around the world, and prayerfully consider applying for designation and affirmation as a Jubilee Ministry Center. Holy Trinity in Auburn and Trinity in Clanton are currently in the process of applying to become Jubilee Ministry Centers.

Sometimes a Center starts with a single congregation that wants to begin walking in faith. Sometimes it begins with a cluster of churches within a community that perceive a need to serve the poor in a particular way. Any of these congregations or clusters of congregations can become designated by the Episcopal Church as a Jubilee Ministry Center if they agree to do one or more of the following: advocacy on behalf of the people they serve, empowering staff and volunteers to connect their work with their Baptismal vows, evangelizing through prayer or pastoral presence, and inviting others to share in worship. In this way all Jubilee Ministry Centers give back to God through what God has given them.

For more information about applying to have your outreach initiative designated a Jubilee Ministry Center, please contact the Rev. Steve Shanks, Diocesan Jubilee Ministry Officer, at srshanks@gmail.com or 205/960-1826.

Excerpted from the Alabama Episcopalian, The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, Pentecost, May-June 2009 / Vol. 94, No. 4