BPC Mission Partnership:
Good News Partners
Good News Partners, established in 1976 by Bud Ogle, Presbyterian minister at Northwestern University, and students, is a "community organization seeking the joy of God's justice and working to empower the North of Howard community in Chicago and people of faith everywhere. Its mission is to end homelessness and hopelessness with every person God brings and to build bridges of reconciliation and justice among all people."
When the first building was purchased, Bud sent out a request for volunteer labor to friends and churches. Blacksburg Presbyterian Church responded. The first to volunteer in 1985 was a group of senior high school students and their leaders, Mary Frances Taylor and Nancy Alexander. While painting and cleaning out apartments after tenants left, sorting volunteer donations, making bunk beds for the GNP's women's shelter, and various other tasks, BPC partners enjoyed living with the people in one of GNP's co-ops. These trips have continued each summer with BPC volunteers living and working with GNP residents and friends.
In 1991, while Bud was camping in Tennessee with a group of young people from GNP, BPC asked Bud to come preach in Blacksburg. His response: "If I come, we all come. If you cannot find host families, we can sleep on the church lawn." Wonderfully, many families offered to host the guests from inner city Chicago. GNP has been coming every summer since for swimming, picnicking, tubing down the New River, and fellowship and worship with BPC folks.
Going to Good News Partners every summer is a commitment of BPC. Although working conditions remain the same as that first trip and the rehabilitating of GNP's fourteen buildings continues, the task has become even more important. As this community becomes more gentrified, the need to keep buildings to code is a must. In addition to this ministry of service, the partnership deepens as volunteers live with GNP friends, renew friendships at the annual potluck dinner, play at a lake-side picnic with the young people who come to Blacksburg, visit the Chicago Institute of Art, and attend a Cubs game.
Our partnership continues. For more information contact Phyllis Albritton Webb.