Leadership Column: Once Upon a Time...

By Mandi Pusateri and Denise Simms

While your Deacons regularly serve the members and friends of Central, we also serve those beyond our walls. These are individuals and families who become known to us through the relationships that our members and friends foster with those in their neighborhoods, work places and in social settings. The following true story gives you one example of the involvement of your Deacon Board.

We are exceedingly privileged to come alongside Central members, Thelonius and Frida, as described below:

Once upon a time, in the far away inner-city of Baltimore, lived two very unique friends. These friends (I will refer to them as Thelonious and Frida) lived in a special neighborhood where everyone got along as well as they could and tried their best to help one another.

One day a foreign girl (I will call her Eleanor) moved into the house next door. Thelonious and Frida could not wait to introduce themselves and begin inviting Eleanor to all of the neighborhood gatherings.

From their first meeting with Eleanor, it became clear that she needed a lot of help, for she was soon expecting a little one and had no family support nor other kinds of support that many expecting mothers need. So Thelonious and Frida called a town meeting. They told all the people in their Baltimore neighborhood about the girl who truly had nothing and soon would need much. The people came together and showered Eleanor with love. Love came in the form of a doctor to care for her medical needs, support with speaking her language at all of her appointments, gifts of food and money and supplies for her and the little one on the way.

These city folks worked together gathering resources where they lived, where they worked, and where they played. Thelonious and Frida decided to approach their church, Central Presbyterian, hoping to supplement with help for remaining needs. The Deacons of CPC met with them and were so impressed at how these two servants had empowered their neighbors to show love to Eleanor. The Deacons felt called to help, too. They were proud to support this cause and came alongside those who were already encouraging and displaying Christ-like love to so many while assisting Eleanor.

We don't know if Eleanor and her baby will live happily ever-after, but we do know that there is now joy, through the friendship of Christ's ambassadors and the support of Central.