Shelter is a primary human need. It is one of the basic needs listed in Maslow’s hierarchy. It is one of the needs that has always been there and will continue to be there for all humanity. Yet, for many, housing is not secure. Housing can be one sick day, one argument, or one complaint from falling through. When we feel insecure in any of our primary needs being met, tensions will rise. When these tensions rise together in neighborhoods, it does nothing but create problems.
This week, our 3rd-5th graders got to visit Bernheim Forest and explore the beautiful area. It always excites me when we are able to get our students into nature. Nature can be such a powerful place for contemplation and revelation, especially when our students are used to living in a tightly packed neighborhood with limited nature options such as ours. Introducing this to students early on can give them so much appreciation for nature and skills to get the most benefits, spiritually and mentally, from time spent outdoors.
Love City has Four Pillars: Quality Education, Economic Sustainability, Affordable Housing, and Accessible Healthcare. These pillars are the four things that Shawn and Inga identified in healthy neighborhoods. Every program that Love City has must fall into one or more of these categories. Porkland creates economic sustainability for the school as well as provides jobs and offers healthier food options in the neighborhood.
As we’ve been on this journey over the last eight years, to say we have learned quite a few things would be an understatement. For many years our passion and zeal outweighed our wisdom, and we would throw wide open the doors of our hearts and welcome in everything we could, whether it was people or events or activities. We always said yes. Over the years, through many times of learning we have come to appreciate the value and wisdom of the wise “no.” The wise “no” doesn’t love any less, it helps us maintain our capacity to say “yes.”
When we started Mighty Oak Academy a few years ago, we discovered a rhythm that helped us maintain our capacity to say yes. School breaks allowed all of Love City to close down for a short time so that as a community and family we could take time to rest. And this year in particular we added more days to more school breaks to allow a better rhythm of getting rest. We added a full week break in February for instance, allowing staff, students, and families to get a rest before the long stretch of March. And now, this week we have spring break. Mighty Oak Academy and Love City have all been closed this week, there has been no school, there will be no fish fry, all will be closed as our staff, students and families take a much-needed break.
We look forward to seeing everyone next week as Mighty Oak Academy comes back to school, Love City reopens, the Fish Fry is back in full swing, and we continue preparing for the grand opening of Merriment Thrift towards the end of April.
Inga
Mural going in at the new Merriment Thrift
As the weather gets warmer we are excitedly planning learning activities outside the classroom! Our educators have lined up some amazing opportunities but we need your help to make it happen! Our goal is to visit Payton Glass Creative Center and the Louisville Zoo in the next couple of months before school lets out for the summer. If you are interested in helping support our school's field trips, please click the link below to contribute to the field trip fund!
The Fish Fry is closed today on Friday April 5. We look forward to seeing everyone on Friday April 12!
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.
Since starting Mighty Oak, we have been able to see a lot of first days. Our first official day in 2021, our first school field trip in 2022, our first athletic games. Each one is a special day for us as we get to witness the community come together in celebration as we enjoy the moment together. The emotions that we feel as we get to see our dreams realized before our very eyes. Yesterday, we got to experience another first: the first annual Mighty Oak Academy Science Fair.
As we enter the final quarter of the 2023-2024 school year, Shawn has begun to give more responsibility to the eighth grade class. This past week, they helped in creating some of their scheduling and guiding the direction of their class project. It was amazing to witness their growth since the beginning of the year and to see how many of their choices were community minded.
You would be forgiven if you mistook Ms. Carolyn for royalty. She always walks with purpose, every movement elegant, an air of dignity and gracefulness follows like a shadow. At Love City, we have known Ms. Carolyn for many years, but recently, we have been blessed that we get to spend more time with her. We now get to receive her wisdom and Spiritual gifts that she has blessed Portland with her whole life.
This Love Letter is a thank you for everyone who supported us on our 8th graders trip to DC. Whether you helped us reach our fundraising goal, bought baked goods from our 8th graders, or donated at the Fish Fry, thank you. If you prayed for our journey and safe travels, thank you. It was beautiful to be able to watch the wonder and amazement in the faces of the kids as they experienced the history and beauty of the city.
If you have ever been to Mighty Oak during school hours, Mr. Mike was most likely the one to greet you and welcome you into the building. He is the Mighty Oak Security Guard, always on watch, always patrolling making sure our students are as safe as possible. While Mr. Mike has only been in this position for a couple of years, he has been part of Love City’s family, and this community, for much longer.
At Love City, we know that we are just stewards of God’s resources. Nothing that we ‘own’ personally, or as an organization, is really ours. We just watch over it, use it when God tells us to, and use it for who God tells us to. While this is a big principle in Love City that we strive to live by, it is really encouraging when we see the community living the same way, and we have gotten to see a couple of those instances just in the past week.
Living in a neighborhood with older houses creates many problems when temperatures begin to drop. Pipes bust, poorly insulated houses chill quickly, and fires in abandoned houses from people just trying to stay warm all become common issues. The good part about being in community is that we are able to help one another out.
A few months ago I wrote a Love Letter about the Crosses and Crowns that are associated with each other in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a paradox, a literary tool that puts forth two seemingly contradictory ideas to reveal a deeper truth that one idea alone could not fully communicate. It is like a dollar bill, when one side is printed on and the other is blank, it is a great prop for a movie, but when both sides are printed on then it gains actual value. Paradoxes are used all throughout scripture, like crosses and crowns, lions and lambs, and the servant-leader. There is another paradox that is ingrained into our society, but not always recognized: the personal and communal God.
Over the break, I got the chance to go see the new Wonka movie. This week, our eighth graders got the chance to go see this same movie. If you aren’t familiar with the franchise of Willy Wonka books and movies, they are about an eccentric candy maker who lives in a fantastical world of candy creations. The latest movie is about the origin of this candy maker, where we get insight into how Willy Wonka became who he is. It is a beautiful story about how a boy with no family, no money, nothing but a dream, came to help change the world with his candy.
Let’s start off the New Year with a joyful look on some of our students’ thoughts on God and Love. If you missed the first post looking at our Kindergarten through Fourth Grader’s ideas, you can read it here. This post contains the Fifth through Eighth Graders that I interviewed. All of these answers are our students’ words that have only been edited when needed for clarity in written form.
At Mighty Oak, we teach our students about God through Love. We do not have any hermeneutical or theological curriculum or assessments, so I wanted to share some conversations I had this week with our students. I interviewed one student from each grade and asked them what they know about God and Love, this week I will share the responses of our Kindergarten to Fourth Graders. These responses have been lightly edited by me for clarity in writing, but they are our students' words.
When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness, they were stepping out on faith. They were leaving harsh conditions, but conditions where their basic needs for survival were met. Yet in the wilderness, they walked into nothing, with their only chance of survival being God’s provisions. Even through their disobediences and complaints, God provided manna and quail. Not just enough for them to survive, but an abundance where everyone was filled and there were still more provisions. In 1 Kings, Elijah is called out into the desert, and God sends his provisions by ravens. Throughout scripture and history God has provided for His people. At Love City, we are fortunate enough to get to witness God’s provisions for our community first hand.
One thing that I have learned over the years at Love City is that community has many different aspects, and it is multi layered. We may think of community as one thing, but then see it in places we wouldn’t initially have expected. There have been many times when I have been so focused on our community, that I’ve missed the fact that those that are called to join our mission are a part of our community also. They give of themselves, are dedicated to the people both in the neighborhood and at Love City, and often the miracles they see in their lives are just as important and impactful as the miracles we see in our neighborhood. This week we had a miracle in our community, it was with one of our staff members at Mighty Oak Academy, and that miracle overflowed to encourage not just me, or our staff, but our students and our neighbors as well. And since we view all of you, as our neighbors in this journey as well, I wanted to share that miracle with you all.
