I recently had the privilege to make a reclaimed wood sign for a great cause. Central City Assembly in Tucson, AZ is making a great impact in their community. Be encouraged. Be inspired!
Family Meal: with no strings attached
Let me introduce you to two extraordinary individuals…Mr. Ed and Papa John. They are the unsung heroes of Central City Assembly in Tucson, AZ. Five years ago, Pastor Dave Ferrari had an idea to have his church community eat together on Thursday night rather than have a midweek service. So we did that, CCA (Central City Assembly) loves to EAT. Because the new church plant was in the heart of downtown, our community was seeing first hand the effect of homelessness. There was a park around the corner from our house church so one Thursday evening a guy named Robb said “Hey CCA, we should share our food with the homeless men and women….” and thus began “Family Meal.” It was as easy as that but God wanted to further his redemptive work so he led Mr. Ed and Papa John in off the streets and into CCA’s kitchen. Turns out that before some bad choices, both Papa John and Mr. Ed held jobs as cooks and chefs and had a huge heart to serve the kitchen that faithfully fed them every Thursday. Fast forward a few months and CCA was given a new home in the Old Barrio and Papa John and Mr Ed were given a new home at CCA taking up residence in the fellowship hall. They had a vision to feed the homeless community every night of the week. And not only did they want to feed the community they came from, they wanted to serve them. Literally, they wanted men and women to come in off the streets, find a seat and be served with dignity. God’s redemptive work in the lives of Papa John and Mr. Ed as well as other men and women is truly mind blowing to say the least. Papa John recently married and is now living in an apartment with his bride and serving alongside Mr. Ed. Mr. Ed is constantly dreaming of ways to feed more and more people. On any given day, homeless men and women are hanging around CCA and able to put there hands to some task from either Pastor Dave or Mr. Ed. It may seem simple, but it gives guys like Ted and Dave in the above photo, a purpose and a something to put their hands to.
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