New Around the Mission

Light in the City

May 14, 2010

Jesus told a crowd of thousands gathered on a hillside, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Jesus’ powerful metaphor inspired the name of a new urban mission begun recently at Christ Church in Austin, Texas. Lumen (which means “light” in Latin and is a measure of the brightness of a light bulb) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to scattering the darkness of poverty by being the light of Christ among the least and the lowly in Austin.

Lumen launched in April with a Party in the Park event held across the street from a city housing project. The party was an afternoon of joy and relationship building with families from the housing project and surrounding neighborhood. More than 70 children and their families enjoyed arts and crafts, face painting, games led by Christ Church’s youth group, a puppet show put on by Hope Mission Church (a new Anglican Mission church plant in south Austin) and free hot dogs and snacks. The children took home books collected at a church-wide Palm Sunday book drive.

The ultimate goal for the event was to begin building relationships with local families and to involve the children in future activities aimed at meeting their educational needs. Reading and math scores at the elementary school the children attend are among the lowest in the city of Austin. Lumen hopes to begin a Saturday early literacy program for preschoolers and their families who cannot afford quality child care during the week.

To learn more about Lumen, contact Nancy Scammacca, deacon of Christ Church and director of Lumen.

Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Faith in Action