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History
of LUM
Called
to Serve: The Formation and Early History of the Lafayette
Urban Ministry (1962-1992)
Although
the Lafayette Urban Ministry was officially incorporated in
1972, its roots go back to 1962 and the work of the Neighborhood
Development
Project. NDP was started by a Purdue University student along
with Doris Hanstra, wife of Hope Chapel Presbyterian Church
pastor Rev. Peter Hanstra. Operating out of Hope chapel, NDP
offered crafts and camp programs which attracted mostly southside
neighborhood youngsters. During the fall of 1966, an advisory
board was created to watch over NDP and its use of Hope Chapel
facilities.
After
the retirement of the Hanstras in 1966, Hope Chapel called
the Rev. Ron Elly as its new pastor. Rev Elly was installed
in June 1967. He began his ministry with a commitment to blending
the spiritual dimension of faith with the social dimensions.
He saw his call as an opportunity for parish, pastoral, and
community outreach ministry.
By
September 1969, Covenant, Bethany, and Faith Presbyterian
churches joined NDP making it a multi-church ministry. A small
amount of funding and some guidance was received from the
Presbytery of Crawfordsville's National Missions Committee.
By the end of the year, NDP had its own constitution, by-laws,
and articles of incorporation. Rev. Elly continued to be very
active in NDP serving as its coordinator.
By
December of 1970, the vision of a broader ecumenical urban
ministry began to take form. The NDP Board minutes for that
month include the following entry:
Rev. Elly, having decided that this should be the last
year he serves as both pastor of Hope Chapel and Coordinator
of NDP, considered the important objectives of 1971 should
be:
1) to get Lafayette churches to contribute funds of approximately
$10,000 for the salary and housing of a full-time director
of NDP.
2) to receive approval from the Presbytery of the terms
of a call to that position, and,
3) to seek the cooperation of the United Methodist church
and the Roman Catholic Church in obtaining a second staff
member for this urban ministry. The Presbyterian churches
will need to approach other churches with a fairly definity
plan and the question of whether they want to be included."
The
effort to bring about a full-time "urban ministry"
proceeded quckly in 1971. The December Board minutes included
the final action in the emergence of LUM:
Mrs. Dee Tritchler moved and Les Gaylor seconded
to change the name of the Neighborhood Development Project
to Lafayette Urban Ministry, passing all the assets and
liabilities of the one to the other. This was passed unanimously
by all present. Rev. Beswick moved and Les Gaylor seconded
to ask Central Presbyterian Church for office space in 1972.
This passed unanimously."
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An
early LUM Board meeting, basement of Bethany Presbyterian
Church, circa 1973
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The
Lafayette Urban Ministry was officially incorporated as an
Indiana Not-For-Profit Corporation on October 16,1972. Seven
churches were represented as charter members: Covenant Presbyterian,
St. Andrew United Methodist, First United Methodist, Central
Presbyterian, Dayton Presbyterian, Hope Chapel, and Bethany
Presbyterian.
LUM's
early programming was organized around three general issue
areas: community development, youth, and aging. A Spanish-speaking
and revenue sharing task force were started. The centralized
emergency fund also began with the financial support of 13
churches. Seventy-two people were helped in 1975. Adventure
clubs and summer camp continued for youth. Good friends and
volunteer transportation programs were geared toward the low-income
aged.
By
the time Rev. Elly resigned as LUM's director in October 1977,
LUM's Board had grown to 22 churches and four paid staff members.
The
LUM Partnership: A Model for Urban Ministry
After
the resignation of Rev. Ron Elly in September of 1977, the
LUM Board appointed the Rev. Kremlick, Pastor of Dayton Memorial
Presbyterian Church, as interim head of staff. On January
11, 1978, LUM's Board and pastors of member churches interviewed
Rev. Jud Dolphin and voted to call him as LUM's new Executive
Director. Rev. Dolphin took over in March 1978.
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Rev.
Judd Dolphin
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An
ordained Presbyterian minister, Rev. Dolphin had worked in
ecumenical circles since his days at Pittsbugh Theological
Seminary. He brought a deep theological understanding and
commitment to the social implications of Holy Scripture. He
believed that the Church is called to serve the least among
us with dignity and compassion. And he believed the Church
has an important responsibility to challenge societal structures
which oppress the poor. This dual view of social ministry
quickly began to shape the program.
In
August of 1978, the LUM Board voted to adopt the Advocate
Program. It had been housed in LUM as an independent program
since the mid-seventies under the direction of Joan Hawbaker.
In 1979 permanent staff was hired to direct the program. Caseloads
increased, due in part to a growing national recession, and
by the end of 1980 the program was serving over 100 families
each month.
In
March of 1979 the first issue of the SEED newsletter
was published. It was targeted at LUM supporters and those
in member congregations who shared a special call to social
ministry. Rev. Dolphin made himself available to preach in
LUM member churches and began to strengthen strong ties with
local media. News coverage of LUM program and issues facing
low-income families identified LUM as a strong advocate for
the poor in our community.
By
1981 LUM had grown to 29 member churches and a staff of four.
LUM program also expanded to include the first Seeds of Vision
Conference, Grow-A Row, Repairs On Wheels, and Jubilee Christmas.
LUM Camp and the Centralized Emergency Fund continued while
the volunteer transportation program was transferred to the
Tippecanoe Senior Center.
A
Public Policy Committee began to meet monthly to discuss the
broader social justice issues facing LUM clients. A staff
member was assigned to the committee and a quarterly newsletter,
Agenda for Social Concerns, was published.
Soon
thereafter, the LUM Board further expanded its Social Justice
programming by creating the Indiana Task Force on Poor Relief.
LUM's influence reached statewide as a network of 11 ecumenical
ministries was engaged to help bring reform to Indiana's ailing
township poor relief system. Legislation was introduced before
the Indiana General Assembly, several research projects were
conducted, and a statewide media and advocacy campaign was
launched. A monthlly newsletter, The Overseer, was
published. And LUM established itself as a statwide voice
for the public policy concerns of public assistance recipients.
By
1983 LUM's self-help programming had grown to include several
community gardens, gardening assistance, and food buying clubs.
The host/hostess program was bringing hundreds of church members
to LUM each year as ministers of hospitality. And a food pantry
had established itself in LUM's basement as an outgrowth of
the advocate program.
In
1984 LUM and St. Thomas Aquinas established Lafayette's first
emergency shelter for the homeless. The shelter was housed
on the second floor of LUM's 8th street office and was moved to St. Boniface Church in 1987. Subsequently, the shelter was included in the main LUM building when it was built at 525 N. 4th Street.
After
a year-long evaluation in 1988 the Poor Relief Task Force
was reorganized into Indiana Welfare Watch. Still active in
policy concerns of needy Hoosiers, the program grew to include
a Board controlled by the welfare recipients and a more comprehensive
issue agenda. 1988 also saw the formation of Local Government
Watch, a community based organization of 200 LUM clients seeking
to influence reforms in the administration of poor relief
in Fairfield Township.
On
August 15, 1990 Rev. Dolphin resigned as LUM's director to
accept the position of Senior Field Organizer with the Washington
D.C. based Food Research Action Center. Under his leadership
LUM's annual budget had grown from $58,620 to $278,790. LUM
grew from 10 to 21 programs, 22 to 35 member churches and
from a staff of 4 to a staff of 8. Jo Johannsen was appointed Interim Director
by the LUM board.
On
October 10, 1990 Joseph Micon received a final interview by
the LUM Board and was appointed as LUM's third Executive Director
with duties to begin October 15,1990. A Roman Catholic, Micon
was a product of Catholic education. He received his Master's
Degree in Social Work from Indiana University in 1983 with
a special training in the administration of Not-for-Profit
organizations. He had served various LUM staff capacities
since 1980. Like LUM's previous directors, Micon also shares
a stong commitment to integrating the charitable components
of social ministry with the social justice components. A special
emphasis on the problems of children and families in poverty
helps direct the program. Let's Do Lunch, the CCHIP, childhood
hunger study, and a babysitting room for LUM clients were
new additions to LUM's program. In addition, LUM's food pantry,
homeless shelter and centralized emergency fund were all expanded.
New advisory councils for pastors as well as LUM clients were
added by the Board.
LUM
ended its first 20 years of ministry with 44 member congregations,
7 permanent staff members, 1500 volunteers and an annual budget
of $299,400. Twenty-three programs of service, self-help and
advocacy reached 70% of Tippecanoe County's poor.
In
October 1992 LUM celebrated its 20th Anniversary with an awards
banquet and worship service. Although
LUM's history from 1992-present has not yet been written,
its work of serving and helping continue.....
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