When city of Madison officials ask the local church community for help, that’s a unique situation. And almost an imperative to respond.
That was the story Wednesday evening at the Madison Christian Giving Fund’s Ministry Marketplace Celebration, held at Turner Hall.
Thirty-three local ministries were featured at tables around the marketplace. Attendees were invited to visit each table to find out how those ministries are impacting lives in Madison and “expose the good work being done in the community,” as emcee Fred Grossenbach put it.
In addition, two of those ministries were highlighted in stories that were told during a short program.
Zeteo Community Homes is a new initiative aimed at providing “long term housing and holistic care for women rescued from sexual exploitation in a safe, spacious, and peaceful rural setting.”
Marlene Sorenson, who is initiating this project along with her husband Kenton, called Zeteo “the bridge between the city and the faith community.” She admitted it’s a big vision that’s going to take a lot of people to support it.
She told of a meeting with a Madison police lieutenant when first exploring the idea. They learned that sexual exploitation is a huge problem in Madison (and elsewhere) and that victims have few places to turn, for help, and for housing. “We need the community’s help,” the lieutenant told her.
Madison police detective Roger Baker also spoke to the gathering, describing how the problem is overwhelming the resources of the police department. More than 300 advertisements for sex in Madison appear every day. Sex trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry, much more lucrative than illicit drugs. Madison is in a trafficking pipeline that connects Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Duluth. But rural communities are also feeling the impact.
More information about Zeteo here.
The second story told Wednesday evening involved a refugee family from the Congo who showed up one morning a little over a year ago at Dale Heights Presbyterian Church. They had been settled in the neighborhood by Jewish Social Services and walked to the service. The church embraced the family immediately, to help them get settled.
They took them to Lighthouse School, not sure if that was the right school for them but the Lighthouse community also immediately embraced the four children. “We didn’t know how we were going to do it,” said Lighthouse Church pastor Marcio Sierra. “But we were going to love them and take care of them.” The Lighthouse school staff even took a two-day crash course in Swahili, in an attempt to better communicate with the family.
The ministries that exhibited at the Madison Christian Giving Fund’s Ministry Marketplace Celebration included:
Affordable Dental Care, Athletes in Action, Called High Ministries, Carenet-Fatherhood Program, Children’s Weekend Nutrition, Collaboration Project, Compass|Finances God’s Way, CRU, Ethical Trading Company, Evangelical Catholic, Every Daughter, Hope & A Future, Impact Movement, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Jesus Lunches, Lifest at Bratfest, Lilada’s Living Room, Lighthouse School, Madison Area Jail Ministry, Madison Gospel 5K, Nehemiah Community Development, Our Lady of Hope Clinic, Personal Essentials Pantry, River Food Pantry, Salvation Army, Second Peace, Shelter from the Storm, Stoughton FCA, WI Inmate Education Association, Young Life, and Zeteo Community Homes.