In this edition of Wes's Weekly Wrap Up, Wes Tillett, LUM executive director, shares "what to expect" at the LUM 50th Anniversary Celebration on April 8. Expect live entertainment, refreshments, powerful video presentations and an opportunity to support further. It will be lighthearted, upbeat and celebratory. Please take 58 seconds to watch this video and SHARE with others or see below for more details. Please see below for more details.

For 50 years, LUM has grown to meet community needs. We've rallied support from the community, businesses, government and churches. Everyone has a few favorite LUM activities. We could fill pages with what volunteers have given and accomplished.  

And through these efforts, something wonderful has happened. LUM has helped to change our community self-understanding. Even in our organizing purpose LUM proposed that we be "in the business of restoring human dignity." That means loving neighbors, seeking justice, and empowering the least among us.  

Our actions say that we belong to one another. Whether well-to-do, struggling or marginalized, we are family. No one is excluded. As Martin Luther King envisioned, every human being has a birthright to be part of the "Beloved Community."  

So let LUM continue reaching out, doing justice, loving kindness, restoring human dignity and joining with others in the Beloved Community. It's our legacy and commitment into the future.

Jud Dolphin was the LUM executive director from 1978 to 1990. Under his leadership, the annual budget grew from $58,620 to $278,790, the first Seed Newsletter was published, 13 more churches joined the board, staff increased from four to eight members, and 11 new programs emerged, including the social justice ministry, Jubilee Christmas, Emergency Shelter, and Community Thanksgiving Feast. Since leaving LUM, Jud joined the US Peace Corps and served in Ukraine and Macedonia. He lives in Washington, DC where he teaches English to new immigrants and watercolor painting classes. He also writes a blog and volunteers for positive social change. Jud enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and creating watercolor art. To read more about Jud Dolphin, click HERE.

The members of the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity at Purdue recently prepared and served a meal for the guests at the LUM Emergency Shelter.

Delta Tau Delta fraternity members volunteer at LUM yearlong in the Protein Food Pantry and After School Program. They bring the holidays (Easter, Halloween & Christmas) to the LUM students and raise funds for the LUM youth programs. They recently added the LUM Emergency Shelter to their service initiatives. LUM is grateful for the continuous support from Delta Tau Delta. They are a big help to our programs.

Would YOU or your GROUP like to support the LUM Emergency Shelter? Here are FOUR WAYS that YOU can help the LUM Emergency Shelter:

Your financial generosity is not only an act of hospitality toward those with no home of their own, but it is also an investment in the health and safety of the Greater Lafayette community. VOLUNTEERS are also needed each night of the year, and it is a meaningful and unique opportunity. If you’re interested, click HERE — or email or call Terri Anderson (volunteer@LUMserve.org | 765-423-2691).

Lafayette Urban Ministry is excited to announce that the LUM 50th Anniversary Celebration will feature the LUM Ecumenical Choir, formed just for you and this event. Directed by Eileen Weiss, LUM business manager, the LUM Ecumenical Choir features performers from LUM member churches, including: Central Presbyterian Church, Chapel of the Good Shepherd, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Memorial Presbyterian Church of Dayton, Federated Church, First Christian Church, First United Methodist Church, Grace Lutheran Church, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Andrew United Methodist Church, St. Ann's Catholic Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, St. Lawrence Catholic Church, St. Mary Cathedral Catholic Church, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center at Purdue, Second Baptist Church, and Unitarian Universalist Church of Tippecanoe County. They will perform We Are Called, Be Thou My Vision, and a special rendition of Let There Be Peace On Earth. It's a performance you won't want to miss!

Join us for the LUM 50th Anniversary Celebration, hear the LUM Ecumenical Choir performance live, and help us honor the legacy of Lafayette Urban Ministry. The event is a lighthearted evening with uplifting stories, live entertainment, refreshments & good company — with a few surprises. Because you have been a part of the success and endurance of LUM, we would love to see you there. The celebration begins at 7 p.m., but be sure to show up at 6 p.m. for the social hour with refreshments and and meet the former LUM executive directors, Jud Dolphin and Mary Anderson. The details are as follows: