Long before he volunteered with Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, Jerry Kelly had a relationship with Exodus Refugee, even serving on their Board for a period of seven years. After stepping down from the Board, he continued to serve as a regular volunteer in their offices. “In doing that, I got exposed to some of the immigration services that Exodus provides, like green card applications.” Soon, through this work, Jerry was introduced to the Legal Clinic.

In case you missed it, this January, we said farewell to our 25th anniversary year and we set our sights ahead. In 2020, we will continue to explore and share our vision for the future of the Clinic. We have faith that the Lord will guide us through this time of new beginnings. Thank you for walking alongside us. We wish you the most beautiful and blessed new year!

Dr. James Skill spends most of his day staring at a petri dish waiting to see what cells grow. An oncologic biochemist employed by IU, James researches recurrence rates and effects of immunosuppression on cancer.

Long before becoming our Fort Wayne Office Coordinator, Sarah Doak was interested in helping others. “Hip hop music exposed me to a lot of injustice that I had been sheltered from,” she says. Sarah decided to get her degree in social work and attended IUPUI for her freshman year. During this time, she started volunteering with our partners at Outreach, Inc., a non-profit organization that walks alongside homeless youth, equipping and empowering them to achieve stability and transformation in their lives.

The Clinic is approaching this new year as an opportunity to refocus our vision for the future. As such, during the first staff meeting of 2020, we took time to review and reflect upon our Clinic values, which include: Jesus, Humility, Love, Gratitude, Daring, Wisdom, Flexibility, and Flourishing. While there are many important qualities that we hope to emulate in our actions and through our work, these eight are meant to be the driving force behind what we do. And first and foremost among these is Jesus.

In case you missed it, this December, we celebrated exciting victories, both big and small, from the past year!

Deyanira originally fled to the United States to escape abuse at the hands of her children’s father. She dreamed of a better life for her family, trying multiple times to bring her three boys—Jose, Luis, and Alexis—to the U.S. with her. But by the time she was successful in reuniting with them, Deyanira was living with a new man who also became physically and emotionally abusive.

When work at his day job was a little slow, Phil Zimmerly contacted Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic to see if there were any volunteer cases he could take. That’s how he met Artis.

In case you missed it, this November, we highlighted our partnership with HVAF of Indiana, Inc., featuring stories about our shared clients and discussing important issues affecting homeless veterans.

I remember the look on his face. It was a mixture of shame, sadness, and regret. His eyes twitched as he told me his story. He looked up and down, right and left. But he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

When I was in middle school, I went to the library as often as I could. I read about the Roman legion and the Macedonian phalanx, Alexander the Great and his encounter with the war elephants of King Porus, the American Civil War and great tacticians like Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. The librarian would sometimes set aside the latest books she had about war and history, knowing that I would walk through her doors again soon, looking for a new text to devour.

In case you missed it, this October, we celebrated our faithful supporters, sharing stories about our donors, prayer partners, volunteers, and community partners. We would not exist without YOU!

Back in 2008, I told myself that I was probably going to be at the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic for two years. Eleven years later, I find it excruciating to say goodbye.

Before she was offered the role of Executive Director of the Immigrant Welcome Center and before the Immigrant Welcome Center even existed, Terri Morris Downs worked in Mayor Bart Peterson’s office. They created something called the Natural Helpers Program, which featured immigrant volunteers helping other immigrants and refugees transitioning to life in Indianapolis. “We were sure that we wanted this program to continue in perpetuity and beyond the Peterson administration,” says Terri. “We became a 501(c)(3) organization so that we could find grant funding to be able to grow the program and not use public funding for it.” And, thus, the Immigrant Welcome Center was birthed.

A self-described “behind-the-scenes” person, Kris, her husband Jim, and their two daughters are now stalwart supporters of the Clinic. They give of both their time and financial resources. They find ways to encourage and help the Clinic staff that are inventive and yet also simple. For instance, in advance of our 25th anniversary Justice for All Gala this month, the Zaloudek family sent personalized cookies with notes of encouragement to our main office for the staff to enjoy. When our Engagement Team needs assistance with a mailing, Kris shows up, ready to spend her time addressing and sealing envelopes. When we need an extra set of hands at an event, Kris is quick to offer hers.

The summer of 2014 was an important one for Jennifer Noelle and her husband Justin. Recently, they had become a Host Family for Safe Families for Children, voluntarily taking in children for short periods of time from the Near Eastside neighborhood of Indianapolis. While hosting two young African American men in their home that August, Jennifer and her husband watched the news stories coming out of Ferguson, Missouri about an 18-year-old African American man named Michael Brown who was fatally shot by a police officer. This confluence of events was the beginning of an evolution of their faith perspective for both Jennifer and Justin.

In case you missed it, this September, in advance of our 25th anniversary Justice for All Gala, we featured important supporters who help make our work possible, as well as some of our favorite clients!

We can live a story that says we are all alone, or a story that says we must keep all of our resources for ourselves, or a story that says to circle the wagons and stick with our tribes because the world is a dangerous place.

But God has given us a better story. The Bible tells us one that is filled with the beauty of God’s presence in the midst of the burdens of human existence. It’s a story that tells us that God has made us in his image and for a purpose. A purpose frustrated by sin and death, yes—but that is why we have him to rescue us from such powers and to restore things to their rightful place.

Many people know the story of how Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic came to be born, how it sprang from the words of a pastor who cast a bold vision from the pulpit of the big stone church at 34th and Central. What might be less known is how the roots of the Clinic reach deeper into time, to the 1960s, when an all-white congregation refused to submit to white flight. Or even further into the past, to the 1920s, when a downtown church saw an emerging neighborhood as an opportunity for outreach. As such, Tabernacle Presbyterian Church’s seemingly out-of-the-blue decision to start a legal clinic decades later was not so out-of-the-blue at all, but rather, wonderfully consistent with its history.

It’s a cliché: Lawyers wear suits and ties. They carry briefcases and are serious with serious careers—the epitome of a grownup. Many days, this summary encapsulates precisely what I do. And I find the work fulfilling. But I also crave opportunities that shake up that routine, where I can use my education and stretch my legal muscles in service of the public good.