Quincy Crisis Center, P.O. Box 31, Quincy, MA 02170 Telephone: (617) 847-6967

The Mustard Seed

Volume 6, Issue 2

Spring 2004

"If you have faith as a mustard seed…..nothing will be impossible…. " Matthew 13:20

A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR

Rev. David B. Wooster

A book sits on my desk entitled "Time Management for Dummies." Why would I choose a book "for dummies?" If you ask my kids you'll get one answer. But I chose it for another. When it comes to getting everything done in a timely manner, I feel like a dummy. That may be because there is so much to do and I'm not good at sorting out what can be left undone. It also is the nature of the beast known as crisis intervention. The Sanger Center is in the business of responding to the unplanned, to crises, emergencies, and the urgent.

Among the gems of wisdom in the book is the oft quoted phrase, "Plan your work and work your plan." It also recommends "planning for interruptions." I am trying to shift my job as Executive Director from being a fire fighter to fire prevention. The transition is challenging because I can't ignore the fires that pop up while I'm implementing the strategies to minimize them. The key is knowing and adhering to priorities, putting first things first. At least that's what the books say…

A few years back, I decided to take a one week vacation, all by myself. I went to Maine to fish, reflect, and rest. The week turned out to be a disaster. Among other "lowlights," I struck a deer, totaling my car and ending her life and the lives of her soon to be born twin fawns. I also found out what it is like to be out on the water, alone, in fog. The fog was being held in by the mountains surrounding the lake and it came in so quickly that I didn't notice it was happening. I was on the far end of an unfamiliar lake, about 2 miles from "home." My map and compass weren’t giving me a whole lot of confidence. It was a strange fog, hovering only 6-8 feet above the water with patches of blue sky overhead. I couldn’t see 20 feet forward or back but I could see up.

And then, in the distance, above the fog I could see a mountain top.  From the map I knew that as long as I headed for the mountain, I was headed home.  Proceeding slowly, I made it back to the other end of the lake where the setting sun was still warm enough to have cleared the fog from the shoreline.

Immersed in the busyness of our business, of advancing a culture of compassion in a broken world, it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and get lost in the fog.  The interruptions that are our work often overwhelm our attempts to get other things done.  The urgent can keep us from other important things.  It is a challenge to keep the balance needed.

Over the past several months the Board and management staff of the ERSCC has been involved in long range strategic planning.  Revisiting our mission statement, evaluating our strengths and identifying our limitations have helped us refocus on the big picture.  It has been energizing and inspiring.  We have re-established our priorities and set a plan to guide our work over the next 3-5 years.  We have identified big picture tasks that must be done in addition to the busy details of each day.  This plan gives us a reference point.  We can look up from the fog of our busyness and see the mountain.  Guided by those glimpses, we can safely and confidently move forward.

I didn’t stare at the mountain to find my way back.  I kept careful watch on the water ahead and occasionally looked up.  We will continue to expand our ability to provide care and compassion – that is our primary task.  But we will do it with a better sense that we are headed in the right direction and that we are making consistent progress on the big picture tasks as well.

Our picture of the future is bigger than we are now.  We will need more of you to join us in bigger ways.  Join us for the adventure of advancing a culture of compassion.

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ERSCC is Planning for the Future

Board and Staff members of the Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion (ERSCC) gave significant time and attention to the future of the Center at all-day planning sessions held on Saturdays in September and December of 2003 and March of 2004.  These sessions, which were very well attended, were led by strategic planning consultant Kathryn Earle of Touchstone Advisors.  Initial implementation meetings were held in April and May.

The planning process focused early on identifying the Center’s core mission, resulting in a strong consensus behind a revised purpose statement and a brief elaboration which we called the “elevator speech.” This provides a brief explanation that could be given readily to anyone who asks about the Center.  The strategic planning process then guided the group to consider our core competencies, “the things we do best,” and identify clearly our clientele and their needs.  Extensive discussion ensued about what the group considered the Sanger Center ’s primary strengths and weaknesses.

These in-depth discussions led next to a series of strategic decisions as follows:

  1. Our highest and immediate priority will be to do what we do now, better and more professionally.
  2. Over the next 3-5 years, we may extend what we do now, in our traditional services.
  3. We are open to expanding services through doing significantly more of what we do now or doing new things for those we presently serve.  This would be a project that would require really significant time and/or money and/or other resources.  A Feasibility Study group will examine opportunities such as these and create a time line to execute any such projects within the next five years.
  4. We will not look for opportunities to serve new client groups over the next 3-5 years.
  5. Consistent with the Center’s mission we will continue to provide services that other agencies do not provide and to work with the community to foster compassion in order better to serve the neediest of our neighbors.

A challenging list of tasks ensued from this approach; these have all been assigned to ongoing committees for concrete planning of “next steps” to be taken in the months ahead. These tasks include, in no particular order:

  • To provide training for staff at the Mary Martha Learning Center to assist in their work at MMLC and in providing overnight coverage of the Quincy Crisis Center Hotline.

  •  To expand the education program at MMLC to include:

    • a mentoring program.
    • stronger vocational training component
    • the possibility of affiliation with an accredited educational program.

  • To consider the possibility of ways of funding MMLC apart from the state contract.

  •  To create a day program for clients in the Faith Covenant Meal feeding program.

  • To expand services and staffing for the Crisis Hotline.

  • To assist other communities in strengthening their food pantry services.

  • To plan for a relocation of the Faith Covenant Meal feeding program.

  • To raise additional funds for emergency assistance for hotline callers.

  • To develop a long term capital plan for physical plant, facilities and equipment.

  • To develop and expand the Board of Directors of the Sanger Center .

  • To create a plan for better staffing of Sanger Center services.

  • To improve technical capabilities of the Center, including a Website.

  • To strengthen our connections to the Quincy and South Shore business community.

Of all these projects, at least two will require significant time and resources, namely looking for alternate sources of funding for the Mary Martha Learning Center and relocating and/or expanding the QCC Faith Covenant Meal program into a day program.

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Sanger Center Statement of Purpose

 The Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion is a Christian faith-based outreach agency whose primary mission is to serve the needs of marginalized and forgotten people while promoting social justice, biblical compassion, and solidarity with the hungry, the hurting and the homeless.  We seek to offer support while maintaining human dignity in time of profound crisis and offering hope at the point of despair.  By design, we depend on volunteers whom we equip, empower and enable to provide resources and relationships to those in need, linking them as neighbor to neighbor.  Our programs grow out of a commitment to respond to the needs of the whole person -- body, mind and spirit -- and are designed to respond to unmet needs in partnership with existing agencies.  The simplest statement of the mission of the Sanger Center is "to advance a culture of compassion."

 

What do we mean by “Christian faith-based”?

As a Christian faith-based agency, we intend to give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That message calls us to recognize Jesus in every man, woman and child and to respond to them as if they were Jesus in our midst.  It is also our intention to respond to each and every person who calls on us as we would expect Jesus to respond -- with compassion and respect for their human dignity.

Although we are proud to claim our Christian foundation, we welcome people and organizations of other faiths and no faith to share in our mission.  We choose to make our organizational identity reflect our history and our mission clearly, but are always open to support from others and we are nondiscriminatory in services.  Although we do not ask for conversion from others to join in our mission, we will not deny our faith in order to recruit volunteers or accept support. 

We feel it is important to discuss our mission, values and identity with each new employee, volunteer and board member in order to be clear about our intentions.  We will not turn anyone away who appreciates and respects our mission and values, and who is willing to work with us to create a culture of compassion on the South Shore .  It is important that we are all united in our commitment to serve the neediest in our community in an effort to improve the quality of life for all.

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Good Will

People of good will care about the needy, the folk whom our society marginalizes, those who have less than they need to live decently.  People of good will are those who support the various services of the Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion.  We at the Center are, we trust, people of good will hunting for others to help us.

There are, of course, numerous ways to help.  Over 40 of our readers evidence their good will every week by helping as volunteers in our different ministries.  Many others show their good will by sending us a check to help the needy.  Others with some regularity contribute food for our food pantry.  Those who serve on our Board of Directors and staff the Quincy Crisis Center and the Mary Martha Learning Center clearly are also people of good will.

All such people are encouraged to think about writing a good will to dispose of their assets after they pass away.  A good will does at least two very important things:  It provides for your family and loved ones as you see best, and it provides for those charities you really care about.  We encourage you to write a will if you have not done so yet, and if you have, to update it, including the Sanger Center in your giving.

Please remember Quincy Crisis Center in your will.

 

Year End Financial Summary

The ERSCC fiscal year runs July 1 – June 30.  Projections based on our financial situation at the end of May indicate  that  unless  significant  unexpected  funding  comes in,  we  will end  the fiscal year approximately $ 25,000 behind in income.  If you can do anything extra to help us end the year in the black, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Summer has always been our most difficult time financially.  People get busy and their schedules are different in the summer.  Financial gifts from individuals and businesses drop off during this time.  Yet, the number of people in need doesn’t decrease.  Many families find the summers especially challenging.  Children are home and the family’s food needs increase.  The cost of milk and other foods has gone up.  The Crisis Hotline experiences an increase in calls; summer can be a stressful time for families. 

Please remember to help ERSCC help others before you head out on vacation.  Any “year-end” or “summer” gifts will help us continue to serve our neighbors in need.

 

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