Living, Teaching, & Evangelizing in Urban Areas

Urban Mennonite Ministries

842 West 33rd StreetBaltimore, MD 21211

into contact with these people. We hope to encourage people to follow Jesus as we teach the Bible and instill Christian values. We plan to do this on a grassroots level by teaching children and serving their families in a Christian School. Hampden Christian School (HCS) plans to open the fall of 2011 in the neighborhood of Hampden, which is located in Baltimore City, Maryland.

The mission statement of the school states: “Hampden Christian School seeks to provide Christian Education through educational programs and exemplification of the Christian Life. By cultivating academic

excellence, Christian values, and a sense of worth through service to others, the school provides children ages 24 months through grade 2 a holistic education.”

Hampden Christian School seeks to provide high quality academic education with mastery of the basic subjects in the forefront. Since holistic development is our goal, we want to educate not only a child’s brain, but nurture his heart, develop his character and involve his body as well. We believe that this type of discipleship happens best in community. We will do everything possible to nurture a close relationship between child and teacher. With this in mind, our classes will be kept small (a maximum of 15). Our teachers are

committed Christians who exemplify Christian ethics in every aspect of their lives.

Just as the act of teaching is the proof of having learned something, so the act of service is a product of holistic development. We believe this service

Summer 2011

Hampden Christian SchoolHistory: The seed of the vision for a Christian school in the city was planted by God in the hearts of my wife and I in the late 1990s. God instilled this vision in us while we were studying at Faith Builders. Finally, about 12 years later, we are planning to open a school this fall.

In 2005, Melvin Lehman helped get an advisory board set up to oversee the process of starting a mission organization and building a foundation for starting a school. By the fall of 2007, that board had grown to 12 advisory members and 5 executive board members. This board continues to oversee the work in Baltimore with hopes of one day starting schools in other cities.

In 2005 we also began the process of finding a city to locate the school. Initially we researched the cities of Pittsburg and Baltimore. The Lord made it clear to us that we were to locate in Baltimore, this was evidenced by a high level of interest and the fact that we were able to make many positive contacts in the city. Thus, in 2007, my family moved to Baltimore city.

We believe that a city provides close contact with many people of various races, cultures and creeds. We hope to be representatives for God as we come

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The logo of Hampden Christian School takes the shape of a tree of hands. The tree represents the growth of the student, while the hands reach out to the community and beyond.

UMM seeks to bring people to Christ and disciple them through educational programs and exemplification of the Christian life.

Urban Mennonite Ministries

MinistryNews

MinistryUpdates

Petition, Praise, Support Reuben Petersheim, Director Mid-Atlantic Mennonite FellowshipKevin Groff, Chairman Keystone Mennonite FellowshipMelvin Stoltzfus, Vice Chairman BeachyDean Zeiset, Secretary Mid-Atlantic Mennonite FellowshipGlendon Strickler, Treasurer Keystone Mennonite FellowshipJoel Martin Mid-Atlantic Mennonite Fellowship

Contact Reuben Petersheim at citydwellers@qis.net or 842 W 33rd St Baltimore MD 21211Tele: 410.982.6950

Advisory Board

To contact UMM or to send tax deductible donations

Executive Board

Ryan BowmanMike Burkholder Dale CharlesDan EhstPaul HarrisonClair Kauffman Wesley King

Melvin LehmanDaryl Martin Wendell MartinJonas SauderDave YoderDennis YoderNathan Zook

Pray with us for wisdom as we continue to work through legal issues in the process of starting a school. While we are making progress, the journey is not complete until all of the inspections are completed and the permits are in hand.

Although building needs for the first two years of operation have been provided, UMM would still like to purchase a property in the future. Purchasing a property would allow us to put money towards a capital investment rather than spending it on leasing a property. Our goal is to raise at least 60% of the purchase price before we move forward with buying a building.

NeedsWe would like to establish a scholarshipfund to provide assistance to families who may not be able to afford fulltuition. Eventually we would like localbusinesses to contribute to such a fund,but that will need to happen as theschool grows and develops a reputationin the community.

possibly a small garage or maybe a little yard or a patio. So my neighbors constantly need to think about “what do I need to live, and what can I live

without?” Quite often they give away what they can do without. Many times my family has been the recipient and it has changed the way I get rid of my surplus “stuff”.

One evening my children and I were on the sidewalk on our street enjoying the spring sunshine. My neighbor stopped me and wondered what it is that makes Mennonites unique from other Christians. He said another Mennonite told him that it was pacifism and he wondered if that was correct? I replied that, “Well, Jesus told us to love our enemies and that includes not shooting them.” I went on to explain that being non-resistant means that we take Jesus’ teaching literally when He said we should love our enemies and do good to them who hate us, as well as when He said we should love our neighbor as ourselves. As Mennonites (Christians), it should be second nature to us to greet neighbors

with a smile and a handshake after they “took” the parking spot from which we spent two hours removing two feet of snow. I suppose we should welcome the opportunity to forgive the neighbor whose dogs bark annoyingly. Isn’t that what Jesus meant when he said ‘love your neighbor as yourself ’? n Patricia Petersheim, UMM Team Member

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happens simultaneously with the act of learning. Throughout the school year, we expect our students to first of all serve well within the community of the classroom. They will also participate in school-planned community service projects such as community gardening, singing for the elderly in our community or clean-up projects.

HCS plans to have a maximum size of 24 the first year. We expect to have around 8 in each classroom. Each of our classrooms will combine to age groups: 2 and 3 year olds, 4 and 5 year olds, and first and second graders will each be in their own classroom.

We have leased a 2600 square foot building at 3615 Falls Road. We are currently in the process of jumping through the multitudinous hoops required by the city and state to start a school and daycare. The most cumbersome task has proven to be getting the building up to code. Continue to pray that we will make adequate progress so that we can open the school this fall. n Reuben Petersheim

UMM is operating as a non-profit independent para-church organization. The Executive board, Advisory board, and team members are chosen from various conservative Mennonite church groups. Thus, UMM seeks the participation and support of a range of Mennonite churches. UMM exists for the purpose of building up the Kingdom through teaching and the establishment of a con-servative Mennonite church in the inner city.

If you prefer to send an anonymous gift, please make the check payable to Anabaptist Foundation with Urban Mennonite Ministries on the memo line and send it to Anabaptist Foundation, 1245 Old Route 15, New Columbia, PA 17856.

Hampden Christian School is in the same block as the Enoch Pratt Free Library and across the corner from Roosevelt Park.

Pray with us that God would send school and daycare students, so that we may be His fellow-workers in the goals that He wants to accomplish in them and in their families.

Praise the Lord for a daycare worker, Darla Weaver from Fredericksburg, PA.

Praise the Lord that we are making prog-ress in wading through the legal issues, albeit slowly.

The building at 3615 Falls Road is currently undergoing required modifications. Plans are to use the south side (right) as the school and the north side (left) as the daycare.

On June 3 I sent out an email requesting prayer for UMM as we work through the process of getting permits. When visiting Blue Ball Mennonite church I asked that they ask God to “grease the wheels of the bureaucratic process.” In the next three weeks I saw God work in an incredible way.

We had a meeting scheduled for June 16 to walk the plans through the permit office, but it had to be rescheduled, because the architect was not done with plans. We were able to reschedule for June 21. This seemed astounding because three months earlier I had to reschedule a meeting and it was scheduled for a month later.

On June 20 I spent an hour and a half getting plans processed – including getting in the same line 4 times to hand in papers and clarify questions. After dropping off plans at the permit office for the next days meeting, I then took one of the blueprints to the Health department for their approval. The person assigned to approve plans was not going to be in until June 22, which meant we wouldn’t be able to get permits on June 21. Also I was fairly sure he would not approve the plans since we technically did not have enough bathrooms. What a profound relief when the permit office called on the morning of June 21 and said the plans did not have to be approved by the Health department and I should bring my receipt along to get my check back from them. When I arrived at the permit office on June 21, I was again surprised. The people in the permit office were more cooperative and agreeable than what I had ever seen during the past half year.

I cannot thank people enough for the praying they have done. This is God’s work and He is bringing it to fruition.

God Moves Mountains, and Sometimes Bureaucrats

Visit our website at hampdenchristianschool.org

Urban Mennonite Ministries842 West 33rd StreetBaltimore, MD 21211

Summer 2011

Things I Have LearnedGod has a way of shaping us in surprising ways and molding us with unexpected tools. Over the past four years of our life here in Baltimore, I have been amazed to find that the lessons I had expected to teach others have been a deeper learning experience for me. I have also found to a greater degree the realization that God has stamped His image on all people no matter if they honor Him. In other words, within man is the desire to bless others and the resulting satisfaction of having been a blessing.

One day last summer a neighbor’s house burned out. There were three people living in the house. The daughter got out with some degree of burns, but her elderly mother was trapped inside. A neighbor came to the rescue and kicked open the locked door, pulled the woman out and suffered second-degree burns on both his hands as a result. Later the woman died. Many neighbors offered beds for the night and food for the survivors. Someone organized a donation center and collected drinks and food and ice chests for the clean up days to follow. The neighbors also kept a close lookout for thieves the following night and notified the police when that happened. I have been accustomed to such generosity within the Mennonite community and have seen disaster relief practiced by organizations such as Christian Aid Ministries, but I was especially blessed and challenged to witness such spontaneous outpouring of generosity coming from those around me who do not profess faith in Christ.

This same tragedy involved another family. The house was a duplex and naturally the fire spread to the other half of the house. When I talked to the other landowner, her response was commendable. Instead of being angry or casting blame, she said, “I had my wiring replaced last year. I always thought it would be my house to go up in flames.”

As you can guess, living so close to others is not always easy. There are lots of opportunities to practice non-resistance such as hers. Little irritations such as a neighbor’s barking dog can build walls between neighbors or it can be a source of daily character building. When I look at our crowded street and think of all the potential for outrage there is instead of dwelling together peaceably, I think my neighbors have learned

something ahead of us country-born folk when it comes to sharing boundaries. Street parking adds another dimension to building good relationships. For example, when I backed into my neighbor’s car and set off her car’s alarm, she merely said, “my car is so noisy” instead of coming out to take my insurance information. And the neighbor on the other side of us hired Reuben last summer to concrete the eighteen inches between our houses because the rain water that comes off our roof and over the sagging spouting is running into his basement.

I have been blessed and challenged by the spirit of giving and the practice of simple living. Most city houses are not big – 1200 to 2500 square feet – if that means anything to you. A typical row home is 12 - 16 feet wide, 2 or 3 bedrooms,

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