Ecumenical effort marks 35 years

SICM came about when two ministers decided to combine their congregations' resources to attend to problems in the struggling neighborhoods of their city. Soon, the group expanded to include four parishes, becoming more and more ecumenical in the process. Today, 55 congregations of various faiths are members of SICM.

The organization is run by an assembly of two representatives from each member congregation. Executive director Rev. Phil Grigsby, a United Church of Christ minister, oversees the group.

Starter kit

He told The Evangelist that SICM has a unique philosophy: It starts or assists programs that help the needy until the programs can become independent, then withdraws and lends its support to other programs.

Among the many ministries currently under SICM's sponsorship are a food program and a co-op, the JOBS Etc. job-training program, a housing task force that administers a loan fund, a project to change welfare reform policies, an employment internship program for students and free lunches for youth.

Programs

For example, he noted that the Schenectady Damien Center, a "living room" for persons infected with or affected by HIV and AIDS, uses space at Sacred Heart/St. Columba parish. The Hamilton Hill Forum also assembles people at the parish from all the social services agencies who work in Hamilton Hill to discuss current community issues.

The pastor also recalled that Bethesda House, a homeless shelter, was sponsored by SICM and used space at the former St. John the Baptist School until it became independent. He spoke with pride about Bethesda House's work to offer people who sleep on the street a safe place to shower, and get employment training and counseling. Bethesda also plans to open medical and residential facilities in the future.

New effort

"Before, [the children] were doing very poorly in school and not coping very well," Father Hogan observed. "Several of them have spoken to me about COCOA House, saying it saved their lives and made school an interesting place again."

SICM marked its 35th anniversary last weekend with a musical event at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, followed by an ice cream social. Father Hogan said he was "thrilled" to emcee the event, but the anniversary was bittersweet: SICM's services are needed now more than ever.

"A lot of poverty has become more desperate: the homeless, the mentally ill, drug abusers, alcoholics," he explained. "We've dumped our mentally ill on the streets, and then we get really angry when we see them."

However, the priest was glad to see SICM's success, noting that the programs under its umbrella are continually changing. If a person looked at SICM in 10 years, he said, they'd see a whole different list of sponsored programs.

"There are few organizations in the city that work with the flexibility that SICM has, and the continuity," he said.

(Contact SICM at 374-2683.)

(09-26-02) [[In-content Ad]]