Westown Jubilee Housing

We are so thankful for the volunteers from Jenison Christian Schools last week that helped to get some yard work caught up on at the rentals!

As 2024 is coming to a end, here is our Yearly Newsletter reflecting on the wonderful year we have had. We look forward to 2025 and the next homesteader build.
Hope everyone has a blessed Holiday Season!

Please consider joining us for a Memorial Tree Planting Celebration to honor the memory of our late founder Rev. Dr. Dick Ter Maat.

This tree planting and placard are a collaboration of the three organizations Dick founded; The Other Way Ministries, Westown Jubilee Housing, and Servant's Community Church.

Refreshments will be provided by our Food Co-op program.

Story sharing will take place in the green space outside of the food pantry on West Fulton

Please RSVP by Sept. 20th through the following link, or by contacting [email protected] so we can plan for space and food.

https://forms.gle/VrERZMLwd5PJPYm47

Last week we had a group of volunteers from Jenison Christian Schools. They helped with some much needed yard work at a few of the rentals!

Got Fall Yard clean up done thanks to the help from Algoma Christian Schools!

We are saddened by the passing of Dick TerMaat he was the founder of Westown Jubilee Housing in 1990. He made it possible to help so many people find stable and affordable housing. We are so thankful for all he had done for the Westside!

We at The Other Way Ministries are experiencing a profound sense of loss at the news that Dick TerMaat, who founded this ministry back in 1967, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84.

Dick’s vision is at the heart and soul of what we do everyday. Every program we offer and perhaps more importantly, the way we carry out those programs, we do in some way, shape, or form because of how Dick saw community - his convictions on what it means to serve with faith, his belief that all people have inherent dignity, value, and talents, and so many other good things he imparted on this organization that live on today. And to that, Dick would certainly be quick to point to Christ and say "To God be the glory!"

It is impossible to overstate his impact on this community and its people, and we’ve already heard from many who have said things like “he saved my life more than once”, “he did so much for me”, or “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Dick TerMaat”. And these stories just scratch the surface of a man who has blessed and impacted so many people in his lifetime. His own reflection on his role and his vision in this community was captured in a video interview with his wife Helen in 2017 as part of our 50th anniversary celebration. In it you can hear his passion, humility, and thoughts on this place.

https://youtu.be/bbCCSw34-Aw?feature=shared

In his last message of encouragement to our staff earlier this year (encouragement was one of his many gifts!) he reminded us of the vision on his heart back in 1964 when he and Helen first moved to the Westside - he wrote this vision on a card that he carried with him the rest of his life: To Represent Jesus to the Poor, Represent the Poor to the City, and Represent the City to the Church. He ended his note with a quote from Lao Tzu, in which he saw wisdom for effective ministry:

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they have
Build on what they know
But with the best of leaders
When the work is done
The people will say
"We've done it ourselves!"

Our hearts ache with Helen, who was as much a part of this ministry as he was, and we also smile knowing he now knows deep joy, and is being greeted as a “good and faithful servant”. He will be dearly missed, and we will be forever grateful for who he was.

Arrangements can be found at https://heritagelifestory.com/obituaries/rev-richard-dick-ter-maat.144389

We at The Other Way Ministries are experiencing a profound sense of loss at the news that Dick TerMaat, who founded this ministry back in 1967, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 84.

Dick’s vision is at the heart and soul of what we do everyday. Every program we offer and perhaps more importantly, the way we carry out those programs, we do in some way, shape, or form because of how Dick saw community - his convictions on what it means to serve with faith, his belief that all people have inherent dignity, value, and talents, and so many other good things he imparted on this organization that live on today. And to that, Dick would certainly be quick to point to Christ and say "To God be the glory!"

It is impossible to overstate his impact on this community and its people, and we’ve already heard from many who have said things like “he saved my life more than once”, “he did so much for me”, or “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Dick TerMaat”. And these stories just scratch the surface of a man who has blessed and impacted so many people in his lifetime. His own reflection on his role and his vision in this community was captured in a video interview with his wife Helen in 2017 as part of our 50th anniversary celebration. In it you can hear his passion, humility, and thoughts on this place.

https://youtu.be/bbCCSw34-Aw?feature=shared

In his last message of encouragement to our staff earlier this year (encouragement was one of his many gifts!) he reminded us of the vision on his heart back in 1964 when he and Helen first moved to the Westside - he wrote this vision on a card that he carried with him the rest of his life: To Represent Jesus to the Poor, Represent the Poor to the City, and Represent the City to the Church. He ended his note with a quote from Lao Tzu, in which he saw wisdom for effective ministry:

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they have
Build on what they know
But with the best of leaders
When the work is done
The people will say
"We've done it ourselves!"

Our hearts ache with Helen, who was as much a part of this ministry as he was, and we also smile knowing he now knows deep joy, and is being greeted as a “good and faithful servant”. He will be dearly missed, and we will be forever grateful for who he was.

Arrangements can be found at https://heritagelifestory.com/obituaries/rev-richard-dick-ter-maat.144389

Some before and afters of painting upkeep at some of the rentals.

Thanks to Jenison Christian School for volunteering yesterday. We got one of the rental yards all cleaned up and looking so much better!

Thanks goes out to these teens from Algoma Christian School for helping clean out old concrete and trash!

Some more outside improvements at our rentals!

Westown Jubilee Housing is seeking new board members! If you are interested or know of someone who would be interested in severing on our board, contact us at [email protected].