Touching Home: Cleaning Up at Cherry Hills
By Caroline F. Daniel

At the end of summer, Cherry Hills Community Church was given an opportunity to refocus on our closest relationships: our friends and family and even our neighbors. We were encouraged to renew our commitment to “touching home.” Whether that’s a reference to home plate, our community, or literally touching our homes, the focus is the same. In baseball and in faith, the only way we can win the game is by touching home.

Rounding Second

Most mornings, around 4 a.m., a group of women arrives at Cherry Hills to tackle a job that requires them to literally touch our church home. They are the women of Freedom Cleaning, a division of Second Chances, which is a program founded in 2002 by Dianne Sager. Dianne’s goal is to provide single mothers and other disadvantaged women with job training and life skills. Her mission remains, “To educate and empower women who have experienced extreme crises to overcome obstacles and become employable and self sufficient.”

You have to get up pretty early to see Constance, Lori and Hazel while they are here. You might see Rosalynn or Dori with a vacuum cleaner, a spray bottle, perhaps a rag and some polish. Women like Sherri and Dawn and Lena often come to Freedom Cleaning straight out of shelters for victims of domestic violence. They grew up in neighborhoods known for their high crime rates. They are one more generation suffering dysfunction and abuse in their families, and often they are referred to Second Chances by the Department of Corrections. Nearly all of them are mothers.

A Man Like Him

Sherri had just been released from jail. She was recovering from addiction, was in desperate need of a job and wanted an environment that would keep her close to the Lord. She applied to Freedom Cleaning and, “the only position that they had open was cleaning at Cherry Hills Community Church at 4:00 in the morning. At the time I didn’t think that the hours were going to work out, but in the end the Lord had his own plan for me.”

Sherri says that many people at the church helped her see what God’s plan was, but she had a special connection with Wiley Estabrook, in our Operations Department. “Every day he was there he asked how I was doing, and it wasn’t just small talk either. He took interest in my struggles and accomplishments. He was there to give me readings to help me through the day, answer any questions that I had about the Bible or just listen to me when I needed to be heard. I have never met a man like him in my life. Wiley showed me what it really means to be a follower of Christ and what it means to do the Lord’s work.”

Team Manager

Lena was a 27-year-old wife and mother of three working as the assistant director of a transitional home for young mothers coming out of addiction and/or homelessness. “Not too long before that,” Lena says, “about five years to be exact, I was one of those women.” She was attending Bible study when she met Dianne who offered her a position working as the morning cleaning crew supervisor at Cherry Hills. “As the supervisor for the cleaning crew, I began building mentoring relationships with several of the women. This was a tremendous step towards my spiritual growth and more importantly, growing closer in my relationship with Christ. I must include the love and acceptance I felt that came from my working peers at Cherry Hills. The skills that I learned are still with me today.”

Hope Comes From Touching Our Home

Another member of the Freedom Cleaning crew, Dawn, describes how various Cherry Hills staff members have encouraged her, “I received a lot of support through shared Bible verses and truths from Darryl, encouraging words from Sally and Faye, and laughter and inclusiveness from Russ and Bob.”

Rosalynn wanted to say how much working at Cherry Hills, as part of the Freedom Cleaning crew, meant to her, “I’m really blessed now to be able to support myself. I have a job! I am grateful to work at such a beautiful place where I get to know Faye, who is so comforting, and Terry, who is so welcoming. I like making things shine here, to have it complete. It’s satisfying.” She also says that we who make Cherry Hills our church home aren’t too messy.“I feel the love, I’m in the Lord’s presence here,” she says, looking around the lobby of The Chapel.

Rosalynn was brought up in a Christian home, but ended up incarcerated and leaving the faith. Now that she is working for the Lord, she says, “I can make up for the past.” She attends the Bible studies offered by Second Chances, and she stays busy raising her 10, 11 and 12 year old children. “Things are better for us. We’re content now at home,” she says. “And all this is going to make my testimony real good!” When asked if she was aware that people at Cherry Hills pray for her, Rosalynn said no, but a light went off in her eyes.

Dianne Sager sees the hope that comes with touching our home. “Their work, dependability, loyalty and honesty speak of the changes they have made. They are now contributors to society, rather than a drain on society.” But it’s more than just the pride of rising up and out of their circumstances. It’s the wholeness that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Stats

At this inning in the game, 52% of the 200 women who started Second Chances have completed the program, 38% are in process, and 10% have returned for more support. We may not know exactly who is touching our church home, but you should know that we are touching their lives too. We can continue to touch them by being mentors, brothers and sisters in the faith. After all, you can run the bases, but it won’t count if you don’t touch the home plate for Christ.

For more information about Second Chances, or to inquire about becoming a mentor, visit their website or contact Dianne Sager.

Contact

Dianne Sager