St. Matthews Area Ministries

St. Matthews Area Ministries

HISTORY OF ST. MAM

St. MAM was founded in 1972. This was a joint venture of three neighboring churches on Browns Lane (Beargrass Christian, Harvey Browne Presbyterian, and St. Matthews United Methodist). Three laymen and the senior pastor of each church were instrumental in forming St. MAM. This included Dr. Orson Smith (SMUM), Norma Wilson, and Don Henry.

First Board of Directors:
(First meeting took place 2/15/72)
Chair Dr. Orson Smith
Secretary Norman Wilson
Treasurer Donald Henry
Mrs. Jack Owens & Robert Littlefield (H. Browne)
Earl Searcy
Mrs. Richard Mortberg (Beargrass Christian)
Robert Haswell (SMUM)
Mrs. Roy Foeman
Rev. Tom Jones (H. Browne)
Rev. Fred Pfisterer (SMUM)
Dr. R. w. Van Nostrand (Beargrass)

Executive Directors:
Rev. James Egbert (October 1, 1972 - 1973)
     *Installed at 11a.m. in the Waggener Gymnasium.
Rev. Paul Yount (1973-1977)
Rev. David Bos (1977-1993)
Rev. Dan G. Lane (Feb. 1, 1994 - Current)

First Programs:
1st Time Offenders (4/72)
After School Care (8/73)
Senior Citizens (1/74)

Chronological Order of Membership Churches:
1. Beargrass Christian, Feb. 1972
2. Harvey Browne Presbyterian, Feb. 1972
3. St. Matthews United Methodist, Feb. 1972
4. Holy Trinity Jan., 1975
5. Bethel United Church of Christ, April 1975
6. Broadway Baptist, June 1975
7. St. Matthew¡¦s Episcopal, June 1976
8. Calvin Presbyterian, Feb. 1978
9. St. Matthews Baptist, Jan. 1979
10. Our Lady of Lourdes, Jan. 1980
11. St. Margaret Mary, June 1983
     *Later dropped; joining Eastern Area Community Ministries.
12. Beechwood Baptist, Jan. 1986
13. Christ Church United Methodist, Nov. 1989
14. St. John Evangelical Lutheran, Nov. 1989
15. Westport Road Church of Christ, July 2003 (dropped Dec 2006)

Historical Programs:

1. Christmas International House, 12/70 - 12/90
2. Holy Week Services Easter, 1972 - 2003
3. 1st Time Offenders, 4/72 - Current
4. After School Care, 8/73 - Current
5. Senior Citizens East, 1/74 - 10/77
     *Spun off into a free-standing non-profit 501©3.
6. Juvenile Diversion, 11/79 - Current
7. Intervention Service, 10/80 - 12/87
     *Spun off and merged with Baptist East.
8. Emergency Financial Assistance, 11/87 - Current
9. Minister Staff Luncheons, 2/88 - Current
10. Blood Drives, 1/89 - Current
11. Bowl-a-thon, 11/89
12. Summer Get Away, 6/92 - 8/97
13. Friends In Action, 1992

14. Teen Court, 1994 - 2000
15. Restituion/Paybacks, 1992 - 1996
16. Louisville East Community Develop. Corp., 1992 - Current
     *Name changed to River City Housing (2005).
17. Families in Transition, 1994 - Current
18. Pulling Together Auction/Banquet, 11/94 - Current
19. Overflow Food Pantry, 1996 - Current
20. Truancy (Y.E.S.), 1997 - 2001
21. Preschool Program,1997 - Current
22. Tortoise & Hare 5k Run/Walk, 1998 - Current
23. Infant/Toddler Program,  CDC 1999 - Current
24. Encompass Singles Ministry, 2001 - 2003
25. St. MAM Counseling Collaborative, 2001 - Current
     *Counseling has been part of services for years; collaborative began 2001.
26. Early Essentials for Infants/Toddlers,  2003 - Current
27. Ethnic Integration Outreach, 2003

25th Anniversary
*Celebrated with community-wide service and expo held at Harvey Browne Presbyterian.
*Professional Video made in observance of 25th.
*Three Executive Directors Present: Robin Yount, David Bos, and Dan Lane.
*Television appearances made.
*Covenant adopted and signed by pastors; written by Dan Lane; framed and hung in member churches.

Developments:
*11/29/74 St. MAM opens drop-in center at the Mall of St. Matthews.
*11/1/80  St. MAM opens Intervention Program.

*Early 80’s controversy over Youth Center posting pacifist/peacemaking material, deemed to encourage young men to avoid registering for the draft; anti-war sentiment was strong in the public schools at that time; Police Chief froze referrals to St. MAM for Youth Diversion Program, then visited the site and met with St. MAM staff; board voted to remove such posters/literature.

*Counseling expanded from youth age to any age.
*8/23/89 Fire destroys St. MAM Youth Center at 139 Meridian Ave.; moved temporarily to St.
Matthew’s Episcopal, then to Frankfort Ave., then to Chenoweth Lane.
*Theme for 10th Anniversary: WHAT TIME IS IT FOR ST. MAM?  Answer: Never the Same Time it has    been, for while time is told to us in cycles, it is in fact LINEAR (biblical) and ever moving forward.
*8/27/73 After School Day Care Opens.
*Financial Challenges: Youth Services, CDC, Reserves established (on-going through history).
*1985 - Refugee Sponsorship.
*Widows Support Group.
*Tutoring (Youth).
*Rent-a-Teen.
*LECDC born in 1992 (see 1/92 minutes).
*6/92 Forest Flaniken, H. Browne board members, pertaining to threat of losing CDC.
*Shirley Streck retired as secretary/bookkeeper after 17 years.
*Sandy Scott, Shirley’s daughter, assumes bookkeeping 6/92
*Rabbi Joe Rapport speaks at Annual Meeting, 11/92; interfaith dynamic and openness.
*1/25/93 - $10,000 deficit for CDC; concern because of lack of further reserves.
*1993 Holy Week observed only one day (resumed next year full week).
*6/27/93 Luncheon honoring Dr. Will Van Nostrand, retiring pastor of Beargrass for 40 years
of ministry at that church; founding pastor of St. MAM.
*6/27/93 ¡V Executive (Personnel) Committee created.
*Five Year Goals established 1993.
*See Key Issues identified (per minutes), 11/18/91.

St. MAM History
Trends have come and gone with 36 cycles of the seasons. Several generations of children have been born, educated, and graduated from college. We have witnessed seven different Presidents in the White House since the birth of St. MAM. Thirty-five years ago in February of 1972, St. Matthews Area Ministries was born into this community. St. MAM was incorporated in September of 1972.

While she is a well-known fixture within St. Matthews, St. MAM is known far beyond the boundaries of her local community. The innovative programs and services of St. MAM have had far-reaching influence in making life better for citizens of all backgrounds. Because of this, she has earned the respect and admiration of many alike. Who is she? In the beginning, St. MAM was the vision of three charter member congregations: Beargrass Christian Disciples Church, Harvey Browne Memorial Presbyterian Church, and St. Matthews United Methodist Church. Through the years the family has grown to include Holy Trinity Catholic (1975), Bethel United Church of Christ (April 1975), Broadway Baptist (June 1975), St. Matthew¡¦s Episcopal (June 1976), Calvin Presbyterian (Feb. 1978), St. Matthews Baptist (Jan. 1979), Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic (Jan. 1980), St. Margaret Mary Catholic (June 1983), Beechwood Baptist (Jan. 1986), Christ Church United Methodist (Nov. 1989), St. John Evangelical Lutheran (Nov. 1989), and Westport Road Church of Christ (August 2003). What is she? She is an ecumenical community ministry providing multi-faceted services to children, youth, elderly, and of course families. Why does she exist? She exists for the people and ideally to address ¡§unmet¡¨ needs. She exists because the congregations whose vision gave her birth chose to assert their commonness rather than their difference. In giving precedence to their mutuality, the St. Matthews congregations continue to make a statement about their common concern for people, their common love for God, and their uncommon respect for one another. Over the past thirty-five years, this spirit has translated into effective and numerous program responses reaching both within and beyond the local community. St. MAM programs have always been geared toward citizens of the greater Louisville and Jefferson County area.
Historically, St. Matthews Area Ministries launched a number of programs that have become freestanding operations. Senior Citizens East has operated as an independent non-profit organization since 1974, while serving the elderly through multiple program offerings. Other programs begun by St. MAM include Chemical Intervention that was later integrated into the services of Baptist East Hospital, Christmas International House that provided housing and activity for foreign students during holidays, and Summer Get Away which provided a summer program for disabled adolescents. St. MAM launched Juvenile Diversion work in Jefferson County and was instrumental in helping launch the Juvenile Justice Coalition which now operates countywide. St. MAM was a pioneer in the ¡§before and after school¡¨ child care arena and was given the opportunity to expand these services. The by-product is the CEP (Child Enrichment Program) presently operated by YMCA and Jefferson County Public Schools. St. MAM was instrumental in the formation of LECDC (Louisville East Community Development Corporation), which has built more than 70 new homes for low-income families.

The primary offices of St. MAM operate out of Beechwood Baptist Church at 201 Biltmore Road. These offices house the Central Program (administrative arm), Family Services, and Emergency Assistance. The St. MAM Child Development Center operates out of the Broadway Baptist Church for 18 years but relocated to Lyndon Baptist in May 2005. Among operative programs, St. MAM maintains a Food Pantry, the Early Essential for Infants/Toddlers, the Ethnic Integration Outreach, a collaborative with St. Matthews Pastoral Counseling Center, a Holiday Program in conjunction with local merchants (addressing economically disadvantaged children and their families), Friends in Action (a nationally renown family mentoring program), Juvenile Diversion, Emergency Assistance, Community Blood Drives, a Child Development Center (infant/toddler, preschool, and before/after school care), Families in Transition (divorce transition workshops for all ages of the family), Case Management, and affordable housing through Louisville East Community Development Corporation (name changed to River City Housing ¡¦03). The goal of St. MAM is to remain flexible and responsive, ever evolving to better address the changing needs of our community. St. MAM continues to seek areas of need that require response and to find constructive ways of mobilizing an effective answer.

St. MAM has been led by only four Executive Directors during its illustrious history: Rev. James Egbert (October 1, 1972-1973), Rev. Paul Yount (1973-1977), Rev. David Bos (1977-1993), and Rev. Dan G. Lane (Feb. 1, 1994 ¡V Present). The first board of Directors consisted of Dr. Orson Smith (chair), Norman Wilson (Secretary), Donald Henry (Treasurer), Mrs. Jack Owens, Robert Littlefield, Earl Searcy, Mrs. Richard Mortberg, Robert Haswell, Mrs. Roy Foeman, Rev. Tom Jones (H. Browne), Rev. Fred Pfisterer (St. Matthews United Methodist), and Dr. R. W. Van Nostrand (Beargrass Christian). The first programs consisted of the First Time Offenders (4/72), After School Care (8/73), and Senior Citizens (1/74).
St. MAM faced seemingly on-going financial struggles until Dan Lane assumed the reins in 1994. Gradually, through strong fiscal management, realistic assessment of financial capabilities, streamlining the staff, and solid fundraising, the agency dramatically increased its response to the community, while maintaining a healthy financial condition to under-gird the sustained ministry of St. MAM. During the 25th anniversary of St. MAM in 1997, the board adopted a Covenant written by then Executive Director, Dan Lane. Thirteen original copies of this document were signed by the pastors of the member churches, then framed and hung in the respective member churches. This covenant serves as a reminder for all who read it that an ecumenical relationship exists that is deeply valued among sister congregations of all denominations in St. Matthews. Under Rev. Lane¡¦s leadership, the first ¡§Pulling Together¡¨ Auction/Banquet was conducted in 1994. That event has become the main annual event for fundraising, public relations, education, and ecumenical interaction among the member congregations. Through the first twelve years the event produced net proceeds of $123,961 to support the work of St. MAM. In 1995, the Executive Director approached Beechwood Baptist and appealed for space to provide St. MAM a centralized location, freeing the agency from the expense of leased office space on Chenoweth Lane. Beechwood graciously opened its door to St. MAM and the Central Program, Family Services, and Emergency Assistance programs moved into its new offices in April of 1995. This resulted in savings to the organization. In 1997, Rev. Lane partnered with the Younger Woman¡¦s Club of Louisville in establishing the ¡§Tortoise & Hare¡¨ 5k Run/Walk while partnering with the longstanding Bethel-St. Paul ¡§Turtle Soup Festival.¡¨ The Run/Walk event continues under the sole auspices of St. MAM and produces additional annual revenue in support of St. MAM programs.
St. MAM operates under the governance of a board that is made up of two board members from each member congregation and its pastor or pastoral representative. The current member congregations include: Beargrass Disciples Christian, Beechwood Baptist, Bethel-St. Paul UCC, Broadway Baptist, Calvin Presbyterian, Christ Church United Methodist, Harvey Browne Presbyterian, Holy Trinity Catholic, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic, St. John Lutheran, St. Matthew’s Episcopal, St. Matthews Baptist, and St. Matthews United Methodist.  Westport Road Church of Christ withdrew at the conclusion of 2006, having informed of their decision to do so early that year. The current staff of St. MAM consists of Dan G. Lane (Executive Director), Julie Abbott (Director of Child Care/Director Assoc.), Danette Baker (Director Family Services), Antionette King (Assist. CDC Director) and staff at the child development center.

Due to a series of natural disasters, St. MAM organized a disaster preparedness program under the leadership of Dan Lane during 2008 and 2009.  This initiative formally became the St. MAM V.O.A.D. (Volunteer Organization Active in Disaster) with elected officers and members.  The St. MAM VOAD has been involved in follow-up recovery work within our local community on several occasions.

23-Sep-09