Friendship House Board Update, No. 6
OUR OWN JOURNEY STARTS WITHIN

I recently learned something about someone and I was immediately disappointed because I thought I understood their belief system. This information completely went against what I thought I knew. I have no doubt you have been in this situation yourself. Sadly torn between the truth and what you have built up in your mind. The more difficult component for me, however, is how do I go on respecting this person knowing the truth about their feelings regarding others. How do I make room for this person in my heart when I fundamentally believe they are not loving their neighbor as Jesus would want? 

I am reminded of several bible verses, but this one is the one I choose to share:

"You will love your neighbor as yourself." ~Jesus

This really only works, though, if we fully love ourselves. And more so it doesn’t work if we put restrictions on what it means to be ourselves and to be loved. 

Truly the best kind of love is to love ourselves and each other the way Jesus loves every single human being. That means I have to love the racist, the conservative, the liberal, the murderers, the rapers, the abusers...

But as a good friend reminded me, I don’t have to love what they do or how they act to love them as a person. And, as we know, actions and circumstance do not make a person innately bad or unlovable.

It is our mission to serve every single person God sends to us. And I think we do a good job of that and do not discriminate based on who we are willing to serve. I also know we could be a lot more open and less judgmental to everyone - because we are only human, striving to be more like Jesus.

It is not our responsibility to tell someone else how to live their life. It is our responsibility to show respect, grace and kindness to every person that comes into our circle. What is a gift we can offer someone else? To love ourselves fully. And then love others as we love ourselves.

I believe to love one's self means to both accept who we are by nature and work on our imperfections left by nurture.

As I think back to this friend of mine whom I thought I knew, I know now I need to re-learn how to hold a friendship with this new knowledge. I am reminded there is room for everyone regardless of their beliefs. The more I can be open, loving and respectful than greater the chance God's love will shine through me and help me love my neighbor and myself.

Love,
Your biggest fan.
Thank You
My dear friends, thank you for all the love, support and prayers you gave me when my dad passed. I have been able to walk this journey largely because of my community. I am so grateful and deeply touched. Thank you.
Celebrating our Donors
Ninety five percent (95%) of our funding comes from our community. One third of that is from individuals! Those individuals believe in us so much, they sometimes give more than just once a year and at our events. It is time we find ways to acknowledge those heroes and invite more to join. There are two specific kinds of donations we will focus attention on for sustainability: Planned Giving & Recurring.
Planned Giving
We are formalizing our planned giving program for people who want to give to Friendship House upon their passing as another layer to our fundraising efforts. As part of this, we will create a Legacy Society, educate ourselves on how to speak to others about our Legacy Society, invite regular donors to join the society, and publicize the society frequently. I will need 2-3 board members to help with this process! if you are interested, please let me know.
Recurring Donations
You already give to Friendship House at the end of year, so why not turn it into a monthly donation?
We should be asking this of ourselves and every person who gives to us regularly. This will be another layer to our fundraising and we will call it the "Champions Program." A recurring donation is a set amount at a set time at least 4 times or more a year. I will need 2-3 board members to help set this up! if you are interested, please let me know.
Change in Board Meeting Structure
We will be trying a new method of reporting and reflecting at our board meetings. Starting with our August board meeting, you will receive an electronic board packet two-three weeks before the board meeting with written reports from every committee and one from me. Please read these reports ahead of time because instead of the chairs of each committee and myself reading our reports, we will ask for conversation through questions we want you to ask. These questions will be:

1) What excited you about the report from the committee or director?
2) What information is missing or what more do you need to feel comfortable with the information?
3) What concerns do you have about the report?

I do not expect every person to ask every question for every report. However, these questions and any others regarding the committee reports will be discussed. This format should allow for more discussion to help each board member know where Friendship House is and where we are going.
Upcoming Events
Highmark Walk: Saturday, June 8
We are getting really close to our goals! We want 400 walkers and $50,000. We have over 300 walkers and we have raised over $40,000. That is really great! We have two more weeks to meet our goals and I absolutely know we can do it. This fundraiser is a great way to engage people in our mission without a large commitment and also a wonderful social time. Thank you so much for the amazing hard work you have already done to get us this far.
Board Social Event: Friday, June 28
The Nominating Committee, which we will be renaming the Board Development Committee, is arranging quarterly social events for us. These are 100% optional and an opportunity to see each other socially outside of the Friendship House meetings and events where we are wearing our "ambassador hats"!

Our first social gathering will be Friday, June 28 at 6:00 pm at the UDairy Creamery located at 815 N. Market Street, Wilmington. DL Casson has suggested people can park at SsSAM (Sts. Andrew & Matthew Episcopal Church) and walk to the creamery. Someone from the Board Development committee will be at the UDairy at 6 pm to greet you. Please RSVP to me at fhkime@gmail.com. We hope you can come!
Annual Picnic: Sunday, July 21
Our annual Thank You picnic is our chance to thank all of our volunteers and donors! The food is donated every year by staff, the board, and Friendship House. Please share this information with your congregations, friends, and those you think would like to learn more about Friendship House. There will be no formal program. It is a great opportunity for one on one conversations in a casual atmosphere.

Sunday, July 21 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Brandywine Springs State Park
Upper Pavilion (near parking lot!)