This October was a huge month for the Clinic, with our Justice for All Gala and its main speaker, Bob Goff, kicking things off! We celebrated our amazing clients, as well as all of our incredible supporters! If you were unable to attend, you can watch the video we premiered during the event featuring three of our clients here.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our Justice for All gala 2016! We had record attendance with over 300 people coming to the event--our biggest JFA ever! Because of you, even more of our low-income neighbors will have access to justice. If you were unable to attend, above is a video we shared during the event.

Do you know any “Yes!” people in your life? You know what I’m talking about—the kind of person that’s up for anything, always ready to jump on an opportunity at a moment’s notice. Their idiomatic lexicon is replete with sayings like, “Let’s do it!” and “I’ll try anything once!” and “No regrets!” If you don’t think you have anyone like that in your life, it’s you. For sure.

This August, we contemplated the idea of sacrifice with the help of Executive Director Chris Purnell's musings on sacrifice's hope for a better future. We also learned more about Volunteer Coordinator Kathleen Bloxsome and her role at the Clinic. We were introduced to two committed donors of the Clinic and their reasons for regular giving. And we celebrated both the success of our Naturalization Day, when Clinic staff and volunteers helped 62 clients on their path to citizenship, as well as the success of a Project Grace client who got his life back on track again.

One regular donor, Malcolm Gately, first became acquainted with the work of the Clinic through his membership at Grace Church. As a Christian, he was particularly drawn to its mission. He says, “I think the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic exemplifies living out those [Christian] values about as well as any organization I’ve ever seen, as well as practically serving the most vulnerable and challenged people in our area.”

The beginning of summer has been a time of restoration and of considering our faith here at the Clinic, starting with Executive Director Chris Purnell's thoughts on the subject. We learned more about the important work that Fathers and Families Center is doing in Indianapolis to help improve the lives of children and families. We were introduced to the face of the Clinic, Alicia Dimas, receptionist extraordinaire, and we learned about how volunteer Audrey Mulholland has become an integral part of our Immigrant Justice Program.

This month was one of our busiest of the year. Between Justice For All celebration preparations, various CLEs and trainings, and UVisa Day there was barely a free second for our staff. However, our theme for this past month has also been Renewal and so even in the midst of the craziness, we took time to reflect on what it means to be renewed in all the different areas of our life and work. If you were unable to attend JFA on September 23rd at the Westin Downtown, you can still see the fun photos above in this month's collage. You can also watch the video that we premiered at the end of the event and that tells the story of three different clients and the attorneys and staff who worked with them.

Our organizing theme for JFA 2015 was Renewal. At the event, Executive Director Chris Purnell talked about where we're headed as an organization and why renewed passion and purpose for Christ and for our clients is so important. He then told the story of a couple he was able to assist early in his career at the Clinic. After he helped the couple, the wife mentioned it was her birthday and began crying. When Chris asked her why she was crying, the woman responded, "This is the best gift I've ever received." Chris then asked attendees to prayerfully consider a donation to the Clinic, reminding them that this donation might be the best gift someone else has ever received.

There is rest to be had in ministering to others. As Tim Keller points out, there is a freedom to self-forgetfulness. Serving others, fulfilling others’ needs, actually fills you. But there is a rhythm that’s modeled for us in the Bible. After fashioning everything from nothing, God set aside one entire day for rest. God rested to show that he was God and that His creation was good. When we enter into that rest, we too are renewed by the understanding that God is God and that His creation is good. When I rest, I realize, shockingly, that the world doesn’t depend on my awesomeness in order to continue. It depends on God’s.

During this last month of summer, we at Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic focused our minds on the theme of Forgiveness. The blog highlighted Project PEACE, a program that helps those who are going through a Family Law conflict resolve their issues outside of a courtroom. We met an immigrant couple who became tangled up in the confusing and convoluted tax code, but who then received assistance through our Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, as well as financial forgiveness from the IRS. Michael Hurst, Executive Director of Legacy House, discussed the free counseling services their organization provides to victims of violent trauma. And finally, we invited you to join us at our biggest annual fundraiser, Justice For All, which will take place on Wednesday, September 23rd. There's still time to support the Clinic and the work we do! Please purchase your tickets here.

This year, at Justice For All, we’ll be looking ahead to the Clinic's next 20 years of service, celebrating the renewal of our communities as we continue our commitment to seek justice for our most vulnerable neighbors.