THE GURTLER CENTER FOR FAMILIES, YOUTH AND CHILDREN

Standing on the Promises of God…
“Go therefore and make disciples of All Nations…”
(Hebrews 10:23, Matthew 28:25)

Standing on the Promises of God and Inviting Youth to Choose Life is the way that we minister to our church youth. Standing on the Promises of God…and “making disciples of All Nations…” is the way we extend our ministry to at risk youth we serve through the Jeremiah Project.

The job that we have as Christians is to move beyond our own community and witness to the love of God, fulfilling the mission of Christ and inviting the creativity of the Holy Spirit. How do we do that as Congregationalists? We are not proselytizers, that is, we do not try to change people’s ideas regarding their faith. Nor do we judge. We believe that there are many paths to God and we have chosen the path that we follow, and we walk with others who have chosen a different path. We believe that our call is to embody the love of God as shown through Jesus’ life and teachings interpreted in the liberal faith traditions of the Protestant reformers. We rely on the creativity and enlivening of the Holy Spirit in the work that we do in the world for the furtherance of the reign of God.

There are a number of ways that this vision is implemented and evidenced in the Jeremiah Project. We encourage students to express individuality, creativity, and inventiveness in all that they do.  We provide examples through our methods, models of mature love and acceptance for the students just as they are, diverse and sacred individuals created in the image of God.

We believe that the arts have a power and influence that is hard to describe. We constantly try to get a handle on why we believe this and to document what we see, what works and what doesn’t, and why. One thing that we know is that the respect shown for the students (for who they are) builds strong bonds and changes lives. Another thing that we know is that creativity opens a student to consider more possibility for their lives, and to think about ways that they can realize their potential. We are honored to be able to work in the arts and to play a small part in creating a better world.

Rev. Karen Duncan

The Gurtler Center for Families, Youth and Children operates two key outreach programs known collectively as Jeremiah. These programs are 1) Jeremiah Project, and 2) Jeremiah Summer Camp.

“The mission of Jeremiah arts outreach programs is to improve the self-esteem and self-worth of at-risk middle and high school aged students, and to develop creative and critical thinking skills within this age group.”