Look at What God Has Wrought!

Scary times indeed

Amidst the anger and resentment we are witnessing in cities across the country, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., remain true when he said riots were the voice of the unheard.  He wasn't justifying them he was explaining them.  Even Jesus turned over the tables outside the temple!  The pandemic is a lens focusing on all that is in trouble in our world.  I read an article this morning which touched me.  It is the story of  George Floyd and what he stood for, click here to read it.  Many of my friends have said that they are not racists and that these incidents are about the bad apples in our society. Perhaps they are right.  However, I came across a clip of James Baldwin from a 1968 interview on the Dick Cavett show.  He doesn't focus on how an individual white person feels but rather on the institutions that he had experienced in his life.  It is a challenging video, but it may present a side that we don't hear that often, click here to watch.  Whatever you may think, I firmly believe we must resolve this reality in love and true dialogue.  It has been said that the Civil War itself is unresolved.  The recent History Channel 3 part documentary on U. S. Grant shows that after Grant's presidency the notion of a new free society for enslaved peoples was lost for the foreseeable future.

Generosity of Cleveland community wins the day!

If you have been following our progress to bring Partnership Schools to Cleveland, you know that we needed to raise $3M by June 1.  As of Thursday, May 28, at 12:09 PM we did just that!  The

Education is the answer!

Partnership Board will vote on June 10 to officially accept our proposal to replicate here in Cleveland.  We are also waiting for a final vote by a national foundation for a significant gift on June 2.  I am sleeping soundly!  Next week's blog will confirm these decisions.  There is little doubt that the outcome will be resoundingly positive.

This could not have happened without the many people who believed in the mission and in the middle of all that is going on took a resounding yes vote to the future!

Seen as a blessing...enrollment story

On Wednesday, May 27, I picked up tri-fold brochures and half sheet notices for enrollment in Archbishop Lyke and St. Thomas Aquinas.  I  then spent the day dropping leaflets in the Lee-Harvard neighborhood and Warrensville Heights (Archbishop Lyke territory).  I hit laundromats, 7-11's,

daycare centers, Dave's Markets, you name it!  Sometimes people ask me why do you do this, are you crazy?  Well, I may be crazy, but this is an email we received two hours after I dropped those leaflets:

"Good afternoon I picked up a flier at Daves Grocery store on Lee-Harvard today 05-27-20 and read it very impress about how sincere your teachers are about teaching and also what stood out was the relationship with the Lord that is taught to the children I am a Faith believer in our lord and savior Jesus Christ and my Husband and I are raising our 7 yr old daughter the same way.  I tried to call the number on the brochure but the number remained busy if some one can get in touch with me on how to enroll my daughter I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you and have a Blessed afternoon."

She came in the next day and enrolled her daughter!  We fixed the phone problem too!  Enrollment in both schools continues to grow.  Whenever I encounter someone about what we are doing in these two neighborhoods I am greeted with great enthusiasm.  A woman at a daycare center said it best, "This is what we need!"