Dear Friends,
Last Thursday & Friday night we were so excited to have over 130 of you here celebrating “Miracle on 13th Street” with us! Our building was full of live music from talented local musicians, delicious food donated by The Olive Garden, Whole Foods & Black Coat Catering, and the bustling of volunteers, partners, donors, and friends celebrating the Holidays together. Not to mention all of the great artwork local artists and volunteers donated to the event!
We want to thank all of you who joined us last week to celebrate and send our love to those of you who aren’t in the Omaha area and weren’t able to make it. Our organization depends on the support and participation of each one of you and we can’t thank you enough for your ongoing support.
Its been quite a year for us! We started out 2009 as Mosaic Community Development, and five months ago turned a new page in our organization’s history with our new name. We’re excited to see what kind of developments 2010 holds in our CommonLife ministry as well as in the neighborhood as Neighbors United continues to thrive and flourish! If you’re interested in learning more, please consider joining us at our monthly informational night, which is held on the first Monday of every month at 7:00pm. Our next meeting will be Monday, January 4th. We’d love to see you!
-Jodi Cooper, Community Coordinator
CommonLife
A couple of weeks ago, we had our Thanksgiving meal at CommonTable. It was a
delightful evening of celebrating the friends we have made over the years and giving thanks for our community. This year both Core Community Church and Coram Deo Church were instrumental in providing the food and volunteer service to make the meal possible. We owe them both a big THANK YOU for their continued partnership and support.
This year we are excited to be doing our first Christmas meal. We are need of individuals or small groups that would be willing to provide food, serve the meal, help us set up and decorate, or even lend a hand in helping us clean at the end of the night. If this is something that interests you, please contact Katie at Katie@incommoncd.org. Our Christmas meal will be on December 21st at 5:30pm. Hope you can come and be a part of the evening!
-Katie Ursini, CommonLife and Financial Coordinatior
CommonGround
We are excited to announce that Countryside Community Church has selected inCommon Community Development as the recipient of their 2009 Christmas 
Offering. Each year Countryside selects one local organization to support through generous financial contributions and volunteer service; this year the Christmas Offering will provide funds for CommonGround to continue and expand its work in the Park Avenue neighborhood.
Below is an excerpt from a recent letter sent from the Countryside Board of Christian Outreach to the congregation announcing inCommon as the recipient of this year’s Christmas Offering:
“While the [Community Meal] program has played an important role in keeping hunger at bay in the Park Avenue neighborhood, critical needs continue to go unmet. A number of these needs – such as employment preparedness training, supplemental food aid, and counseling – either are or could be made readily available to these residents, but residents are either unaware that they qualify, must take time off work to apply for them, or there is no close-by space where these services may be provided. …Our Christmas offering gives us an opportunity to show our neighbors that we recognize their need, believe in their mission towards self-sufficiency, and are a generous, caring community willing to help shoulder the burden. We also have a great opportunity in sharing our own time and energy. “
We are incredibly grateful for Countryside Community Church’s generosity this Christmas season; with their support and contributions we will not only be able to continue our present collaborative work, but also imagine with our neighbors what might be possible in the coming months and years.
On a personal note, it has been an honor to get to know the clergy and parishioners at Countryside Community Church. I have been deeply moved by their desire to not only contribute financially, but also to get involved and build relationships. Partnerships like these – and those exemplified within Neighbors United – give me hope that together we can become a community that is healthy and strong for all of us!
-Brittany Hanson, Director of Community Development
