July | 2023

Yes! And… Collaborative Arts

Yes! And...

I want you to think about giving to our Campership Fund. I know I’m supposed to say that at the end of this letter, but I want you to start thinking about it now, and this is why:

One of our kids, Derrick.

We met Derrick when he came to Summer Theatre Camp on a scholarship provided by someone like you. Ever since Derrick got his first chance to imagine and play with us, he has been a part of every single Yes! And…Collaborative Arts program that he could. He’s been in our After-School Program, he has risen to become part of the Leadership Core of our Shadow Company, he has performed in our Winter Sort of Thing for six straight years, and for the last four summers, he has been on staff at the camp where we first met him.

This is Derrick performing as one of our high school leaders a few years ago.

Throughout this time, Derrick has learned to think creatively, work hard, dream big and actively author his own story.

In the eight years we’ve known Derrick, he has faced what all kids from North Philadelphia face: violence, prejudice, neglect and despair at a world that seems to offer them less. But Derrick knows that even if the setting of his story is bleak, even if some of the characters are not so noble, even if the plot is as complex as any fairy tale, that he has the power to shape his own biography.

Derrick is a junior in college now. He earned a full scholarship to Eastern University. He is a social work major and a theatre minor. He is an RA, the assistant technical director for the theatre, and he starred in Eastern’s production of Twelfth Night. This summer he has an internship at a social services agency, working in the neighborhood where we first met him. He will spend the summer working to set up a school supply distribution to over 700 kids just like him. He is a young man busy building his character and his career. We are so very proud of the man he is choosing to become.

Now I’m asking for you, like Derrick, to use your imagination to see hope in bleak places, and to be a part of making that hope happen.

When you give to the Campership Fund you are investing in kids just like Derrick. Please consider making an investment in a child’s capacity and creativity. Derrick’s story would be impossible if folks like you had not supported his participation in Yes! And… programming. And because I know we can count on your gift this year, I can’t wait to write you a letter next year about a kid whose life will be totally different than what it is today.

UrbanPromise – Do You Know a Young Adult With a Desire to Make a Difference?

Urban Promise

UrbanPromise is looking for college graduates or gap gap-year students to serve as interns starting this fall.

Help us spread the word about our amazing internship program! UrbanPromise provides college-aged adults with training in urban youth development and ministry. Interns work in our after-school programs and live in community in Camden. The intern program is essential to both the operational and programmatic success of UrbanPromise, as the interns serve on a volunteer basis and act as positive role models to the children and teens enrolled in their programs.

Interns receive a small stipend as well as room and board from September to May. In addition to working in our after-school programs, interns participate in classroom instruction on urban ministry, spiritual development, and life skills. Opportunities to experience speakers and trips to New York City; Washington, DC; and fall and spring retreats round out the year.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2023.

To learn more, visit our website or contact Allison Bell, intern director, at (856) 382-1871 or .

Professional internships are also available. Be sure to ask!

Connect Leadership Ministries – The 3 M’s

Connect Leadership Ministries

Connect Ministries is involved in what we call the 3 M’s of ministry – Mission, Movement and Multiplication.

1. MISSION: Initiating Mission Via “Missional Communities” In Local Churches Or Through Church Plants

We are committed to calling young adults to join together in “Missional Communities” in which they support each other in doing mission in vulnerable neighborhoods. Our prayer is that these “Missional Communities” will plant churches or participate in struggling churches and provide the energy and purpose needed for the church to join them in reaching out to the neighborhood. The goal will be for the church to become a sending hub for missional actions within the neighborhood it is located in.

2. MOVEMENT: RED LETTER CHRISTIANITY

We believe that young adults will lead the way in mission and because of this we are committed to working with them in doing mission. We motivate, recruit, equip and send young adult volunteers into our cities to join “Missional Communities” with the purpose to do mission through urban churches or church plants. In this manner we come to see that true spiritual formation of young leaders takes place within the context of mission.

We call this praxis oriented community of young adults “Red Letter Christians” as we seek to develop a movement of young leaders who seriously seek to live out the words of Jesus that are written in red in certain versions of the Bible.

On top of the general equipping we are involved in we also provide more intense nine month Internships for young leaders interested in developing their leadership potential while also gaining important ministry experience. We place our Interns into “Missional Communities” where they will be stretched as they initiate and build a sustainable ministry in a vulnerable community through their “Missional Community” within a local church or by planting a church.

3. MULTIPLICATION

As our Interns graduate and return to their home country, or are led to serve in another country, we will work with them in establishing their own Connect Ministries hubs. It is our prayer that these missional hubs will create and energize more “red letter” movements of young adults from other countries so that a mission movement is multiplied on a global basis. Currently, we are working on potential missional hubs in places like the US and the Dominican Republic. Connect Ministries is also involved in coaching and directing young leaders where we are currently located in Toronto, Canada.

Cabrini Green Legal Aid – About Us

Cabrini Green Legal Aid

Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) provides high-impact, free legal services to low-income Chicagoans in four areas of law: family, housing, criminal records, and criminal defense. We integrate legal and social services in order to improve our legal outcomes and extend our impact beyond crisis support.

Mission

To answer God’s call to seek justice and mercy for those living in poverty by providing legal services that strengthen lives, families and communities.

Vision

Our vision is for our clients to leave us stronger than they came.

Philosophy

We believe that justice is more than a verdict. It’s an opportunity to build bridges and strengthen lives.

Shared Values

*We seek to plant and nurture seeds of reconciliation, compassion and the desire to serve.
*Desire to Serve: We will make known the opportunities that exist to serve, particularly among those who are in or are preparing to enter the legal profession.
*Compassion: We will make people aware of the plight of the underserved so that the inspiration for their giving and service arises out of deep concern for those without an advocate.
*Reconciliation: We aspire to bridge the disparate worlds of the people we serve and those who make our work possible, while encouraging restored relationship between individuals and their community and Creator
*We are committed to personal and corporate integrity
*We are committed to zealous advocacy
*We are committed to seeing people as children of God, made in God’s image, and will treat them accordingly
*We aspire to serve the whole person
*We are committed to deep involvement with our community, especially in connection with local churches

A Lifetime Achievement Award & Global Call to End Corruption

EAPE , Haiti Partners , Newsletters

John Engle at WorldBlu Live Conference in Denver, CO

John Engle speaking at the WorldBlu Live Conference in Denver, CO.

I’m extremely pleased to tell you that John Engle, a co-director of Haiti Partners, EAPE’s Core Ministry in Haiti, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from WorldBlu, an organization that promotes democracy worldwide in the workplace. John has committed his life to helping people realize their potential as children of God through what he calls “freedom-centered practices.” The award he received carries with it significant grants from large corporations which will be used to further the work of Haiti Partners.

Haiti Partners recently dedicated a new Children’s Academy. This facility is home to one of seven partner schools that offer education to some of the poorest children in Haiti, and also serves as a teacher training institute that equips more than 300 Haitian teachers each year. Through Haiti Partners we’re able to provide faith-based education to our Haitian brothers and sisters, which is an essential part of EAPE’s mission.

Another new and important ministry of Haiti Partners is Micah Scholars. This program enables twenty-five young church leaders to receive training in Haitian seminaries and intern in the churches and schools related to Haiti Partners. The ministry of Micah Scholars ensures the evangelical emphasis of this EAPE affiliate. Your gifts help make this possible.

Tony Campolo signs Global Call to End Corruption

Tony signed the Global Call to End Corruption. You can learn more about this movement and sign the petition at Exposed2023.com.

If you follow my speaking itinerary, you may have noticed that I was scheduled to speak to the British Parliament on May 15th. This meeting was set up by the British Bible Society, and it proved to be a much more significant event than I had anticipated. I was asked to address the topic of corruption, and I spoke to a packed house. The reason for the great interest in this lecture was that while those in government long have appropriated huge grants for helping poor people in developing countries with feeding programs, medical services, and support for education and economic development, much of this money ends up in the pockets of corrupt government officials in those countries. Our EAPE missionaries not only have firsthand knowledge of how corruption has severely hurt the poor, but are able to suggest positive ways to deal with it.

On hand for my address to Parliament were representatives of the British Evangelical Alliance. Following the program they began circulating a petition that, hopefully, will be signed by a million British citizens, calling upon Parliament to press for measures that will address this problem.

With your support EAPE is making a difference across America and around the world. So please continue to give so that this work can continue to grow.

Yes! And… Our History

Yes! And...

It began on the moon.

Yes! And… began as a dream of a few theatre students at Eastern University who wanted to work with kids and the arts in the spring of 1998. They approached their theatre director, Mark Hallen who had been a part of a Pew Foundation notable arts program called MUSE many years earlier. Together they schemed and dreamed and a few months later, Eastern Summer Theatre Camp was born.

That summer children from UrbanPromise in Camden, Barry School in West Philadelphia, the simple way in North Philadelphia and the suburban Main Line all came together for 10 days to play, sing, dance and imagine. The final performance, titled “Moon Dance” was full of the energy and joy that was generated by this truly diverse group of children.

You’ve got the right stuff, (Baby) steps

The theatre camp model soon spread to other sites in the city. Mark still oversaw the program from Eastern University, but allowed programming to be delegated to some of the young talent in the team. Camps were happening every summer with the Eastern University Summer Theatre Camp still being the home base. They were able to witness the power of their program as each year it became more of a positive influence in children’s lives. Eventually though, the program outgrew it’s humble beginnings at Eastern University and became (although still affiliated with Eastern University Theatre) fully a city-based program.

Yes! And… is born!

Summer Theatre Camp was a great program, but to serve more kids and continue to grow, they needed to grow themselves. Yes! And… was started as a way to bring arts education year-round to kids in Philadelphia neighborhoods. Yes! And…, under the umbrella of Resources for Human Development, began an after school literacy program with Public/Private Ventures. Summer camps continued to happen as well as studio classes and partnerships with Lyric Fest, UrbanPromise, Eastern University and more.

Continuing to serve kids

In an effort to follow up with kids year to year, Yes! And… began a program designed to teach higher level artistic skills and at the same time give valuable job experience to the teens who were growing out of the middle school programs they offered. The program was called SHADOW (as it was meant to operate while other Yes! And… programs were being run). SHADOW grew into its own company of actors, with the teens themselves contributing to and helping organize the different activities. They have performed in the annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival and make original theatre pieces several times a year.

Another program that grew out of a desire to continue to reach kids as well as give the artistic staff an opportunity to be creative was the Winter Sort of Thing. Combining kids, teens and adult artists from across their programming and teaming up once again with Eastern University Theatre, the Winter Sort of Thing is a unique new musical experience. Participants in the program help to build a new musical from the ground up and audiences each year get taken on a fantastic ride of the imagination.

2023-Jul

Yes! And… Collaborative Arts

UrbanPromise – Do You Know a Young Adult With a Desire to Make a Difference?

Connect Leadership Ministries – The 3 M’s

Cabrini Green Legal Aid – About Us

A Lifetime Achievement Award & Global Call to End Corruption

Yes! And… Our History

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