Author Archive

Tizir, a tenant of ours, finds his Cornerstone apartment to be a blessing.

Hot off the press! Our “fall” newsletter, just barely in time before the calendar officially changes to winter. Check out the list of prayer requests for our affordable housing ministry, plus stories about a recent work day, our newly full-time managing director’s visit to a housing conference, and an update on our new rehab project, the one we’re hoping to get some funding for soon. That’s the one that will contain two transitional housing apartments designed for graduates of the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter.

Merry Christmas and happy new year from Cornerstone!

http://www.cornerstone-housing-ministry.org/newsletter/2011-fall-newsletter/

Cornerstone, a nonprofit corporation, was started in 1976 by members of Grace and Peace Fellowship, PCA, to address a need for stable, low-income housing in St. Louis city. We have always focused on rehab rather than building new; our Bible verse is Isaiah 58:12:

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

More recently, board members have come from several churches.

Efforts began with the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, which was in decrepit condition at the time. Cornerstone bought a number of buildings there and worked on rehabbing them. As the neighborhood gentrified, most of these were eventually sold to provide operating revenue.

In about 1990, Cornerstone began buying properties on Etzel Street in the West End, roughly near Page at Skinker, and rehabbing there. Today that is where most of the Cornerstone buildings are. In the meantime, New City Fellowship chose to begin ministries in the same area.

The new project at 5936-38 Etzel is currently a duplex in unoccupiable condition. We will make it into two efficiencies on the first floor, plus a three-bedroom apartment on the second floor. We are hoping the two efficiencies will make great dwelling places for graduates of the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter. This housing is not transitional; it will be managed like other Cornerstone housing, with the tenants free to stay as long as they like and as long as they hold to terms of the lease.

Find out the latest on our new building project, great news about a big donation, and …  the big step we’re taking… right here!

A team including members of Grace and Peace Fellowship and others got plenty accomplished at a workday this past Saturday. Several of us worked on the new Cornerstone project, clearing out junk and debris from the two-family building purchased six months ago. Cornerstone is gathering funds to be able to rehab it into three apartments, two suitable for residents from the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter.

Groups finished the work of chopping and chipping a big old tree that fell down last year, and tidied the landscaping on Etzel Street.

Our latest newsletter is out!

It’s been a while since the last one. During that time we’ve

–changed managing directors and
–started a new project, a building rehab on Etzel Street that we expect will include small apartments for two graduates of the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter.

Check it out!

http://www.cornerstone-housing-ministry.org/newsletter/2011-spring-newsletter/

or the printable version,

http://www.cornerstone-housing-ministry.org/2011_01_spring_nl.pdf

Blessings,

Jim Lowe and Phyllis Wheeler, board members

Several groups are finding Cornerstone to be a great mission trip opportunity. We got some wonderful help over spring break this year! To the left is a team from Grace Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

And InterVarsity students from Iowa and St. Louis University (below) helped us out too. Thanks so much, folks! What a great ministry opportunity for you, and a huge boost for us!

Check out our pamphlet on our latest acquisition. The two-family brick building, at 5936-38 Etzel St., is getting its exterior weatherproofed–tuckpointing, new roof. Next we need to raise some more money so that we can rehab it into two efficiency apartments for “graduates” of Grace and Peace Winter Shelter, and one larger apartment for a family.

We’re excited about it. Help us grow! Donate time or money.

Josh Dodson, our new managing director, starts learning the job this week.  Josh replaces Matt Kimbrell, who is pursuing a career as an English teacher and who served us faithfully for 7 1/2 years.

Josh is finishing a Master in Arts degree from Covenant Seminary and comes originally from Oklahoma.  He and his wife attend New City Fellowship.  Welcome, Josh!

After a lot of planning last year, we had picked out a building to purchase and rehab. But that fell through.  Now the Lord has put a building into our laps at a lot less money. Plus, it’s on our prime street, Etzel, nearly across the street from our most recent rehab. (The one that fell through was a couple of blocks away.)  AND a benefactor gave us a loan for $15,000 at just the right time to pay for purchasing this building and stabilizing it prior to rehab. (The roof is leaking, etc. etc.)  It’s pretty clear the Lord wants us to rehab this building!

It’s a two-family building at 5936-38 Etzel Street. Our plan is to renovate the second floor three-bedroom apartment and transform the first floor two-bedroom apartment into two efficiency apartments. These efficiencies are what is needed for women “graduating” from the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter, which asked us to consider creating some housing for them.

We hope you’ll be open to supporting us in this rehab.  We’d like to get the money raised and the job done as soon as possible, to put this dwelling back into service.

News flash! Cornerstone bought a building! It’s a fixer-upper on Etzel Street where most of our properties are, purchased at auction. We’re hoping to renovate it to include two efficiency apartments for graduates of the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter. There will be a larger apartment in it as well.

We’re needing donations to get the ball rolling, so please remember us!

Our fall newsletter is out. Check it out for news on:

• A prayer request about our next rehab project
• An enduring partnership in the gospel
• A bike trail in our neighborhood?
• New video, new Web site design

http://www.cornerstone-housing-ministry.org/newsletter/2009-fall-newsletter/

One of our neighbors read about us on this Web site. She sent us a donation and is wondering how to pray for us.

Our biggest prayer need right now is for money to get a new project off the ground. We’d like to build or rehab a multi-family building, providing two efficiency apartments for graduates of the Grace and Peace Winter Shelter, and at least two larger apartments, creating a mix of families in the building.

Grace and Peace Fellowship operates a women’s shelter in the winter. Every spring when the shelter closes, there are some women who are ready for their own small, manageable apartments. Cornerstone has been asked to help provide these apartments.

A committee has been working on the project for several months now. We identified a building

near our other buildings that could be a candidate for rehab. Now we’re working on raising $20,000 to purchase the property. Of course, we charge rent and have income. But our rents are set intentionally well below market rate. We need to rely on gifts and grants for new projects.

A church sent us $2,000, and so we have a start for our new project fund. That’s our prayer request! Let’s thank the Lord for the $2,000 plus your gift, neighbor, and pray for more! Amen!

If you can make a year-end, tax-deductible donation toward this project, please make a check payable to Cornerstone Corporation and mail it to Cornerstone at 6030 Etzel Ave., St. Louis, MO 63112.

Phyllis Wheeler, board member

by Matt Kimbrell, October, 2008

Memorial Day weekend 2003 I walked onto Etzel Avenue to start my new job as the latest in a long line of managers for Cornerstone Corporation. I had applied for the position after reading the job description in the “Tucket,” the community newsletter for Grace and Peace Fellowship.

Being a newly-relocated seminarian with a desire to see redemption reach into broken homes and neighborhoods, I signed up for what I thought would be a temporary job, a job that would no doubt give me some valuable ministry exposure and a way to pay for school. But the past six years have given me far more that that. For six years I have been given an exciting front-row seat to the brick and mortar reality of God’s work of restoring that which is broken about our world—both relationally and structurally.

One of the key players in my development as a laborer in the kingdom is Richard Lammers, an eager, energetic example of one who serves without complaining or grumbling—one who labors often without any recognition. For over ten years Richard has faithfully served Cornerstone with his encyclopedic knowledge of property maintenance and his jam-packed van stuffed with tools and as any rehabber knows, the right tool for the job makes all the difference. And there has rarely been a moment where Richard hasn’t said, “I’ve got one of those in my van.”

For six years God has allowed me to be his student not simply in the wily arts of rehabbing old buildings, but more importantly in the compassionate work of caring for families. I am indeed grateful and consider it a great privilege to work with my dear friend Richard. An interesting fun fact: Richard and I are both graduates from Covenant College and Covenant Seminary.

(In November 2008 the Cornerstone Board hosted a dinner in honor of Richard’s many faithful years of service to Cornerstone.)