City Life, Service

Written by Linnell Pitt, Downtown Cornerstone Church member and teacher at White Center Heights Elementary

DCC Family,

Words can hardly express my gratitude for your generosity this Advent season.  Back in late November, I posted a need on The City, hoping to get a couple people to take advantage of Black Friday to get a couple sweatshirts for my school’s sweatshirt drive.  I didn’t expect all of DCC to rally around my school and have a full-blown sweatshirt drive.

For those of you who may not have heard about DCC’s Advent “Adopt a Neighbor” campaign, I’ll give a little background.  I am a 2nd grade teacher at White Center Heights Elementary School, which is located in a very poverty-impacted neighborhood.  About 90% of the students at my school receive free and reduced priced meals, meaning that many parents and guardians are struggling to provide the basic necessities for their families.  The staff decided that we wanted to provide every child in our school with a sweatshirt as a “winter” present since a lot of the students don’t have proper winter clothes and are cold at recess.  However, with around 650 students in our school, that was a very lofty goal for us to obtain, so we reached out to our friends, family, and communities.

That is where Downtown Cornerstone Church came in!  After I posted the need on The City, Pastor Adam and Pastor David asked me if my school’s sweatshirt drive could be a part of DCC’s annual “Adopt-a-Neighbor,” and I heartily agreed.  The total number of sweatshirts given by DCC was 81, which is awesome! The sweatshirts were all so cute and stylish!  In addition, one of our church members, Natalie, got her company to do a sweatshirt drive and they raised just over 90 sweatshirts (as well as a matched cash donation). That’s a total of over 170 sweatshirts, which was well beyond what I had hoped or expected!

In the end, our school was only about seventy sweatshirts short.  That was an easy fix because many staff and community members had made cash donations, making it possible for a last-minute shopping trip to get the remaining sweatshirts.  The other teachers and I gave the sweatshirts to our students on the Thursday before winter break.  When I told my students that the teachers, staff, community, and my church had all worked together to provide brand new sweatshirts for every single student in White Center Heights Elementary, my class started clapping and cheering.  As sweatshirts were handed out, it was joyful chaos in my classroom with students dancing, singing, and jumping up and down with excitement.  Some of the kids even started a conga line!  I heard the same report from other teachers in the building, with one teacher saying that her students were “beside themselves with joy.”  The students at White Center Heights Elementary were absolutely thrilled to have new, warm sweatshirts, and just in time for our snow day that Friday.

As a church, we believe that we have been infinitely loved and served by God through the person and work of Jesus, so we give because we’ve been given everything in Christ. Thank you DCC for serving the kids of White Center Heights Elementary as you’ve been loved and served by God in Christ. We were all so blessed by your generosity.

Thank you again, and I wish you all the best in 2014!

Linnell

Baptism, City Life

On September 10th, 2013, we had the privilege and honor of holding our third annual summer baptisms at South Lake Union Park in the heart of downtown Seattle. There were testimonies of God’s grace, great food and 11 baptisms. What a night!

We will be having our next round of baptisms during our gathering this coming Sunday, December 15th! If you’d like to learn more or sign up to be baptized, you can do that here. God has not called us to merely build a great church – but to build a great city, from the avenues to the alley ways. That happens as individual lives are changed by Jesus and sent into the city armed with His message and mercy. Baptism marks that change and for that we rejoice!

Event

You’re invited (rain or shine!) to participate in DCC’s 3rd Annual Turkey Bowl. We’ll gather at Judkins Park this Thursday, Thanksgiving Day at 8:00am for festive fall foods and a friendly game of co-ed flag football. For all non-football players, this year we will also be introducing a sideline game of turkey bowling!

This will be a great chance to hang out on Thanksgiving amidst friends, lawn chairs, blankets, shouting fan(s), laughter and good food. DCC will provide coffee, tea, and bottled water but please indicate in your RSVP if you can bring a favorite fall breakfast treat or drink to share (hot chocolate, cider, etc).

WHERE. Judkins Park | 22nd Ave S & S Norman

WHEN. Thanksgiving, Thu Nov 28th,  8:00am

PARKING. Parking is free on holidays in Seattle. There’s a small parking lot, and ample street parking on both the west and east sides of the park.

FAQ:

Q: Why Football? Playing football on Thanksgiving is a great American tradition. Over the last three years we have tapped into that tradition by playing flag (not tackle) football and enjoying breakfast together on Thanksgiving morning, rain or shine.

Q: Who can come? Anyone. Feel free to invite your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. This is a great connect point for bringing others into our community. Parents: There is a playground for kids located near the playing fields.

Q: What will be the format? Depending on how many people show up, we will likely have an informal tournament with three games going on at the same time. Teams will be coed. This will be flag, not tackle or two-hand touch. Women are not only invited, but encouraged to play. Past Turkey Bowls have revealed we have some ladies that can run circles around many of the men. Absolutely no experience is required, even if you’ve never touched a football in your life. Cleats are not required, but can be helpful. Wear clothes that can get dirty.

Q: When should I show up? Folks will be arriving early to set-up and we’ll begin play shortly after 8AM. However, feel free to arrive and/or depart as needed. We’ll get you plugged into a team whenever you arrive or you can hang with the fans on the sidelines.

Q: Did I hear that there will be turkey bowling? Yes. 

Q: Is there any way I can prepare? Read this important article.

Don’t forget to dress warm and spread the word!