| * Banquet 2010 Speech |
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April 9, 2010 Called to Serve Adapted from the keynote speech delivered by Prudence Humber, retiring Executive Director, at Alpha’s 28th Annual Banquet, April 9, 2010. “I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 56 years ago, there was a young mid-western girl with many flaws, especially pride. She memorized Bible verses, but had a hard time applying them to her own life. She lived in an all-white middle class suburb with Christian parents who could justify abortion for a number of situations. One night God caused her to acknowledge her sins and ask forgiveness through the blood of Jesus as she knelt beside her bed. At that point, God started His persistent work of sanctification in young Prudence String who had just become one of God’s children. Psalms 127:3 “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; The fruit of the womb is a reward.” 48 years ago, not wanting to spend the usual 7 years to achieve that degree, God transplanted her to one of the few 4-year BSN programs in the country here in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania. While in college, God introduced her to her husband, Paul, and to Tenth Presbyterian Church, and caused her to fall in love with the City and its people. 45 years ago, while a student nurse in an obstetrics clinic at one of our major teaching hospitals in Center City, God opened her eyes to injustices and a lack of compassion and excellence in the care delivered to patients. He grew in her a passion to provide a high level of both care and medical information for all patients. She prayed for an opportunity to do this, never dreaming that He would allow her to do it wholly in the name of Jesus for 23 years at an agency yet to be born! 44 years ago, Paul married Prudence changing her name to Humber. They moved to the suburbs where he taught high school, later going to seminary, and she worked as a staff nurse, later teaching in a Nursing School. 37 years ago, Paul and Prudence welcomed the birth of twins, Paul and Ruth. God used Paul’s rich teaching ministry as a pastor to enrich Prudence’s ability to apply God’s word to her own life and to every day situations. 29 years ago, God graciously moved the Humber family of 4 into the City, into a supportive church family at Talmage Memorial 4th Reformed Church (now Pilgrim PCA), and into a house bigger than they needed. God blessed them with a near neighbor, Donna Hoult Templin, one who keeps her fingers on the pulse of our city and its activities. One morning while seated around her kitchen table for a weekly women’s Bible Study, Donna, told about two Christian agencies that were organizing services to “orphans and widows in their distress”: Bethany Christian Services and Alpha Pregnancy Services. Being a mother of 7-year-old twins, a nurse, a Lamaze Childbirth Educator, and having a house large enough for ministry, Prudence’s antennae went up. Through God’s providence, Paul and Prudence volunteered for both agencies, including service on Alpha’s first Board of Directors. Later God called Prudence to work at Bethany, until they had the great joy of adopting their 3rd child, Peter. Prudence took a hiatus from both agencies to be a full-time mother for this sweet child. 23 years ago this coming October, Alpha’s board asked Prudence if she would serve as Interim Director, assuring her that they planned to hire an Executive Director by the following January. Their plans progressed on schedule until the Friday before the new Ex. Dir. Was scheduled to start. Her desk was cleared out. The staff had honored her with lunch and flowers. At the end of the day, she called her boss, Dave Hasiuk, the Chairman of the Board. Dave stunned her with the news that the new Director had backed out that very day, and asked if she would stay a bit longer. Here we are tonight in 2010 nearing the close of a marvelous journey as Executive Director of Alpha Pregnancy Services, Philadelphia, PA. It has been a team effort of Family, Board, Staff, Hotliners, volunteers, churches and Jesus as Chief of Operations. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! This has been His work! It has been a privilege to go along for the ride using my Nursing knowledge in ministry to precious women and children. “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalms 127:3 Understanding Alpha’s Core Values Verse 1 of Psalm 127 reads: “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.” One of the recent and best achievements of Alpha’s Board and Staff is the restatement of our Core Values. Our values have not changed, but we have finally figured out a good way to communicate them. The first value speaks to our commitment to God’s word. Biblical truth-foundational “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;” There are many temptations to stray from this. Once, a man who distributes Pennsylvania state funds to pregnancy centers like Alpha told me that we could get these funds, if we would hire one person to do all “spiritual counseling” at stated hours in a dedicated office. It would flow something like this: When a woman brings up a spiritual issue, I would take out a waiver for her to sign. It would state that she has requested spiritual counsel, but I have informed her that I cannot give her such counsel because I receive state funds. However, she is welcome to return to speak with our Spiritual Counselor any Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 12 and 3. Yes, you may have rightly guessed that this gentleman is a lawyer. Now I ask you, if I were standing beside Niagara Falls and saw someone being swept toward the precipice by the rushing torrents of water, should I pull out a waiver and a pen and tell her to sign so that I can contact someone with a lifeline for her an hour from now, or even tomorrow? What would a government official think of my doing that? What would bystanders think be they pro-choice or pro-life? Just how would that have worked with a young woman who came late one winter afternoon, deeply grieved over an abortion she had chosen less than a month earlier? She had met someone online by the name of Grace who referred her to us. This young woman was so suicidal that I would not let her leave my office until a friend arrived to take her home. I would have preferred admission to a hospital for the sake of safety, but that would have caused serious new problems for her. While we waited for her friend to arrive, I shared with her the hope of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. She had heard that message before, but thought abortion was beyond forgiveness. That evening, she responded to God’s word. Through the generosity of God’s people, I was available to this distraught young woman that evening past closing time, able to throw out the lifeline of hope, forgiveness, and change. God enabled her to grab hold. She returned many times and now has moved on. I look forward to a reunion in heaven. Human life-invaluable “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD; The fruit of the womb is a reward.” How strange is this perspective to a society that will sanction the killing of 300 pre-born children during the two hours we are together this evening? If I had brought a stack of bills this evening worth $1 million, and offered it at no charge to the first person to lay a finger on it, how many of you would have rushed the stage? Indeed, I would have needed to prepare a corps of armed guards to keep you in order. Administering those million dollars would require a great deal of your time, energy and resources. But even though we did not plan to find a million dollars this evening, few, if any, of us would have blinked an eye in deciding to go for it. A child is worth far more than a million dollars. A child is an invaluable gift, no matter how big or how small, whether in the womb or outside the womb, whether mature or immature, whether dependent or independent, whether planned or unplanned. Love of Jesus-sacrificial We humans are so valuable that God’s love for us caused Him to sacrifice His one and only Son for us. There was no other way to solve the problem of our sinfulness. He calls his children to love sacrificially as well. This enables our staff at Alpha to make critical calls on their off hours. It enables their families to give them up at odd hours. It enables our hotliners to set aside time to listen carefully and encourage those who call our hopeline. It enables people like you and churches like Christian Stronghold to give sacrificially. This is God’s provision for our clients. Wholistic care-integral Spiritual care is a distinctive of Alpha Pregnancy Services. It gives the heart, the desire for excellence, and the care to the whole individual. Many years ago, we hosted a site visit from two workers who provided in-home service for another agency in the city that is financed partly by government funds. They told me early in the visit that a supervisor had asked where they were going. When one of them replied “Alpha Pregnancy Services”, the supervisor responded with disdain: “Why would you go there? All they get there is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” She was right in a sense, and though she didn’t realize it, her employees were encouraged by her comment. What she didn’t understand is that our clients get “Jesus” in both deed and word! God’s grace-incomparable God’s grace enables our receptionist, Joy, to offer a warm welcome and a cold drink to those who enter. It enables Kamiesha, our Administrative Manager, to use the phrase “grace period” when taking a call from a client who plans to be late. For 29 years all services have been free. That is God’s provision through His people. Yes, we have had periodic struggles with finances. Currently, we face challenges. It is during the hard times that our faith in God’s ability to provide grows and enables us to tell our clients with assurance that God will provide for their needs. Three years ago, we started working with a pregnant Christian woman who had come halfway around the world because of religious persecution in her home country. This week she came to an unscheduled appointment having lost the end of her right index finger in an industrial accident on Good Friday. She had not been able to sleep well since the accident remembering the trauma, and fearing that now she would be disabled. She feared not being able to return to the long sought after job that she really enjoys. She feared greatly a loss of financial stability. It was a joy to tell her that God has already provided top class medical care for her, has given her body the ability to adjust to a missing digit, to heal, and has given other body parts to minister to her injured finger. He has also provided other members of the Body of Christ to minister to her in her present affliction. We prayed that she and her toddler daughter would cast all of their cares on God, because God cares for them. Now I ask you to pray that she will be able to return to work, that she will receive proper compensation, and that she will move from temporary to contract employment with this company. That may well take a work of God in her employer’s heart. Our God’s grace is sufficient; His strength is made perfect in weakness. Love for neighbors-practical “Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.” Psalm 127:1b “… Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7 This value applies to all aspects of our work, but let me illustrate it through our commitment to encourage people to save sex for a marriage relationship. This is a message rarely heard in secular circles. If it is heard, most likely there is an addendum such as: Saving sex for marriage is God’s Plan A for us. This is the foundation for the safe secure family (unless God builds the house). It is the guard over the city. It brings welfare, not calamity to the city. Following His plan gives hope and a future. At Alpha, we encourage confession of sin, and know that we kneel at the foot of the cross with our clients. We know beyond a shadow of doubt that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. Furthermore, He promises to cleanse/sanctify us from all unrighteousness. He scrubs. This is a work in progress by the power of the Holy Spirit to apply the coarse cleanser of God’s word to our sinful habits. At times it is painful and unpleasant, but it results in joy, peace, and hope. As Alpha’s clients engage in the scrubbing process and in finding solutions, they also earn an abundance of maternity clothes, baby clothes, equipment, childbirth classes, and parenting support. Can you help us with a shower of clothing or holding babies during New Mothers’ Group or teaching a craft? Excellence in service-admirable “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven:” Matthew 5:16 Again, this is a distinctive that should cause Alpha to shine even brighter during an era of national healthcare. A pregnancy test at Alpha is both a work of art and a work of heart. We have a strong desire to provide women with accurate information about how their bodies work, about how babies develop in the womb, and about where and how they can obtain quality healthcare. Experienced Registered Nurses, Kim and Sue, perform all of our tests. This is relatively rare in the world of facilities that perform pregnancy tests whether they are secular Family Planning Clinics or Pregnancy Resource Centers. It has been our commitment for many years, but was sealed in 2000 when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania licensed us as a Level I Clinical Laboratory with a Medical Doctor, currently Frank King, as our Medical Director. From inception, Alpha has been committed to hiring staff that has professional education and experience. Our Social Workers most often have Bachelor in Social Work degrees, though sometimes related disciplines are accepted. What a blend, God’s children who have professional backgrounds! Our Social Workers, Jamie and Weronika guide clients through the process of solving the problems they face and learning basic life skills, like how to keep an appointment. Clients engaged in this process earn goods and services. God has provided this for almost 29 years. We also love to have board members and committee members who represent various professional disciplines. Partnership with churches-essential This fall, Alpha will enter its 30th year, a year of transition. It will soon be time for me to alter the way in which I am involved in Alpha’s ministry. I need your prayer support during this transition. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me for 23 years providing immeasurable personal growth and occasions for service. The Board needs your prayer support and suggested names as they search for new personnel. Alpha’s board and staff will remain in place, but with the challenges of the economy, plans for renovations, planned expansion of services to add ultra-sound and a more vibrant ministry to men, we need your commitment to pray, give, and lend your expertise. As you read this, please take at least one idea and act on it. Click here to contact us for more information. |
