At the Clinic, we deal with the legal complexities of suffering in many of its guises. Poverty. Abuse. Betrayal. Relational baggage. Debt. Mental anguish. Homelessness. Death. It’s all there: suffering persistently parading its wares in open mockery of the goodness of God’s creation. And yet, for James, suffering gets turned on its head. Indeed, for the beleaguered, for victims of injustice who cling to vibrant faith in a God who suffered deeply and traumatically, suffering gets transmuted into something beautiful. Suffering becomes redemptive. Death leads to resurrection.

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.

Last year was a big year at the Clinic. We celebrated our 20th anniversary, which gave us a chance to reflect. We remembered families reunited; homes saved from foreclosure; crippling debts forgiven; lives preserved through asylum, and more. We remembered the tens of thousands of clients we served with the help of countless volunteers, donors, and other supporters of the Clinic.

Carlton says, “It used to be, back in the past—1800s, 1700s—people committed crimes because there was something inherently flawed in them—that was the thought. And that’s still the mindset: you are a deviant because that is what you are.” Carlton is quick to point out, however, that most of the people he sees made a mistake when they were young. And yet a crime committed 20 years earlier might prevent them from finding sufficient employment even into their middle age. “If you don’t have a job, you’re not making any money. Not making any money, you can’t pay your child support. Can’t pay your child support, you can’t have your license … so your livelihood just goes, ‘Boom!’” Carlton makes an exploding gesture with his hands. “You can’t pay your bills, and then you’re in a position where bankruptcy is an option.”

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.

As the brother of a homicide victim, as well as the brother of a suicide victim, Michael is no stranger to the pernicious effects such tragedies can cause. “I know what it’s like to grow up in a household that has experienced trauma,” he says. When Michael was only nine, his mother received the call that her older son had been killed. She was paying bills at the time. Michael says, “Every single time that she sat down to write a check in the years that followed, she was reminded by that act of the violence that the family had experienced.”

Every year, thousands of refugees flee to the United States, seeking protection from the violence and persecution they face in their home country. Many mention their hope in finding a new life and a fresh start in the U.S.; they are excited to be able to give their children and family members a new place to call home. What they do not dream of are the difficulties they may face when they get here, like financial woes, hard-to-understand tax codes, or the language barriers that will make it hard for them to leverage the fresh start they’re hoping for in a successful way.

For 25 years, Deetta Steinmetz worked as an attorney in adversarial divorce litigation. The cases were plentiful; the money was great. But Deetta just couldn’t do it anymore. She was tired of being part of a process that she felt meant one person winning at another’s expense. She says, “How do you win a Family Law adversarial proceeding? It’s by making the other person look bad.”

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.

And that is what forgiveness is. It is the “and yet” after the laundry list of horribles and rampant disregard of human dignity. Forgiveness is the “and yet” after the trauma of race, gender, or class-based violence is heard and seen for the monstrosity it is. Forgiveness is the cosmic “and yet” of a God shamelessly crucified by a world he came to redeem.

As our nation celebrated Independence Day this month, our blog highlighted the various kinds of Freedom that we pursue for ourselves and for one another. We bonded together as a staff team at an Indians baseball game. On the blog, we learned more about The Julian Center and their commitment to protecting victims of domestic violence and assault, giving them the opportunity to move forward in their lives, free from fear.

Personally, Darrell finds fulfillment in bankruptcy law because he knows the need is so great. He says, “Freedom from debt is very, very important. The burden of living with debt and the harassment, the garnishments, the creditor calls, and not being able to pay your bills have a significant effect on a person’s mental and physical well-being. And a debt-laden marriage can oftentimes end in divorce because financial pressure is a significant reason for dissolution. So I think that when you file bankruptcy sometimes it really releases you and gives you some financial freedom and a fresh start from your mistakes.” By consistently taking on these cases, Darrell is able to act as a conduit, connecting his clients to this kind of freedom.

Christine explains, “When you’re talking about a victim, this is someone who has been broken down by someone else … When a victim comes into the shelter, you’re sort of helping them rebuild that. Rebuild their confidence so they know some of the things we take for granted, like you get up in the morning and you do what you want. The victim doesn’t know they can do that because they’ve been under the control of someone else. So I think through the services that we offer the client is able to slowly break out of that shell. Break out and be empowered again and to realize that, ‘Oh, hey, I can do this. I am worthy and I am able to do what I need to do for myself and for my family without being afraid.’”

When asked why they chose a race, Desiree says, “There’s nobody else in legal aid doing that kind of an awareness campaign.” And moreover, she explains, it is simply a fun event. She says, “[Running] is such an electrifying experience; I’ve not had too many people that have walked it and been part of that and got to finish, and not said ‘I want to do this next year.’”

And that’s the paradox of being human. We love freedom—but we use it to enslave. Today’s freedom fighter is tomorrow’s oppressive dictator. We are “bent,” as C.S. Lewis put it, towards destruction and we use our power to take it away from others. Not only do we enslave others, but also we allow ourselves to be enslaved by meager things. I rush around, looking for something else to occupy my time and entertain me and fulfill me and satisfy me. We enslave—we are enslaved.

This month we contemplated the idea of "Refuge": Refuge from domestic abuse and sex trafficking, refuge in our country for immigrants, as well as the refuge of a home through the assistance of organizations like Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. We also asked you to follow us on Instagram @NCLegalClinic and submit photos that embody the term "Refuge" to you using the hashtags #Refuge #MyClinicStory #StoriesOfJustice. In the past few weeks, we have received lovely contributions, some of which can be seen in the collage above, by people like Raina Armbruster, Emily Yarman, Seth Utter, and Angie Simmons.

When it comes to the typical victim profile, Tracy says, “I think it’s important for people to know that trafficking doesn’t just happen in the urban city. It can happen in Carmel. It can happen in Fishers—that it can be a girl meets a boy at a party. It’s not ‘those’ kids. It can happen to anyone.”

When the economy took a nosedive, these barriers loomed higher, seemingly more insurmountable than ever. Rob says, “We’ve seen a lot of people since about 2010 that just weren’t quite sure if they could really do this homeownership thing. They saw what friends and family went through and so a part of our role really is that reassuring voice to them that with proper preparation and education, not only is [homeownership] achievable, but sustainable.”