UCC Congregation Awards CHHSM Member Crossroad $20,000 Grant for Needed Upgrades

Chaplain Christina Ryan Perkins looks forward to the new renovations in the Crossroad chapel, thanks to the grant from Plymouth Congregational UCC.

Crossroad Child & Family Services, a CHHSM-member ministry in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been awarded a $20,000 Capacity Building Grant from Plymouth Congregational UCC, also in Fort Wayne. The grant will be used to improve the chapel and create a new computer room.

“Crossroad Child and Family Services was selected to receive the 2018 $20,000 Capacity Building Grant from the Benevolence Committee of Plymouth Church because it demonstrated that the renovation of their Chapel/Meeting Room was a project that was desperately needed,” says the Rev. Timothy C. Murphy, Senior pastor and teacher at Plymouth. “It would benefit not only the residents, clients and staff, but also the community at large.”

Improvements to the chapel will include a new ceiling grid and tile, carpeting, paint, and sturdy new furniture.

“The phrases I hope to say and to hear repeated throughout the renovated chapel: This is a sacred space. You are welcome here,” says Christina Ryan Perkins, Crossroad’s chaplain. “The chapel renovations give us the opportunity to create an intentional space, meant specifically for our children, families, and staff to be completely present. Our hope is for each individual to enter the space and know grace, peace, and acceptance. The intention of the new design is for individuals and groups to encounter a multi-sensual gathering where they can taste, and hear, and smell, and feel, and see that God is good.”

The chapel also will be a multi-purpose room. In addition to worship and daily school convocation, the space will be used for “board meetings, kids’ activities, training, and other community and campus meetings take place,” says Kyle Zanker, chief development officer at Crossroad. “A chapel is often hard to find funding for from other sources who do not support religious life, so we are deeply grateful for this funding.”

A portion of the grant will be used to create a new staff computer room. The new computer hub, complete with an updated space and new computers, will aid staff in completing electronic records management, communication, and training.

“Accreditation and licensing demands on staff members to complete reports and documentation is growing,” says Zanker. “We can make their jobs easier and more efficient by improving and adding the resources they need.”

The new computer hub will add “the resources they need so they have more time to do the mission of the agency by being with the children and families we serve,” Zanker adds.

For Plymouth, it was a blessing to help Crossroad “complete a project that would have been ineligible for funding from other grant-making institutions,” says Murphy. “The number of children and families seeking their help and support is staggering. We are proud to partner with Crossroad as they continue their over century-long commitment to support children for their development and healing; they are very deserving of this grant as it is work that affects us all.”