Support for the Foster Care Journey

BY KEN GARFIELD

PHOTOS BY ROBERT ROSS

A TENDER, NEW MINISTRY IS BRINGING THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE TO LIFE: LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME… (MATTHEW 19:14). ONLY AT MOUNT TABOR UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN SALISBURY, A NEW SUPPORT GROUP IS OPEN TO FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS, TOO.

THE MISSION, SAID REV. KRIS MARES, IS TO REMIND ALL GOD’S CHILDREN AND PARENTS THAT THEY ARE A CHERISHED PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.

Robert Shoe plays a game with the teens.

Robert Ross

Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, with 60 typically in worship each Sunday, is a country church with big dreams. It helped establish the One Church One Child ministry in Salisbury, a partnership of the Department of Social Services and local congregations devoted to helping families involved with DSS.

With a heart for the unseen and overlooked, the congregation has now organized this support group for foster and adoptive parents. It took a

lot of praying and planning, but it’s off to a beautiful beginning: On the second Monday of each month, these Moms and Dads and their children are invited to share supper with Mount Tabor folks.

A grant from the Uwharrie District helps make the meals possible. At the end of each evening, families can take home leftovers. Forget about Deena Tatum’s homemade potato soup, however. It gets gone in a hurry. After supper, while children and teens head off for structured activities in their own age group, parents share the experience of raising children who are not under the

care of their biological parents. A dozen or so foster and adoptive families – none Mount Tabor members – have been a part of the ministry so far.

Rev Kris Mares during the fellowship meal.

Robert Ross

Church member Robert Shoe volunteers to work with teens, while his wife, Jo Ann, tends to the littlest ones. Robert has two younger siblings who went through the foster care system. He knows full well the importance of what his church is doing: “If all we do is provide them a place to let their hair down and talk with other parents who know what they’re going through, then it’s all worthwhile.”

Every foster and adoptive child has a story to tell, said Mares, who is starting her eighth year at Mount Tabor. The support group gives parents the opportunity to talk about the common issues of challenging behavior, what’s going on in school, and what might be going on with their child’s case. The congregation’s intent also is to open its doors to these families – to all families and individuals! – for worship, Bible study, Vacation Bible School, youth groups, holiday gatherings and more. “Our goal is to provide a place of support and a sense of community,” Mares said. “These kids come from hard places and have trauma stories and trauma history.”

As is true with much of ministry, Mares’ heart has been shaped by personal experience. She and her husband, Bill, have seven children, ages eight to 25. Three came to them through the foster care system. Laughing, she admits to knowing a thing or two about “controlled chaos” at home, the emphasis on chaos. And yet in their own family, and in their church family, they have accepted the challenge.

“God can make something amazing out of the broken pieces of life,” Mares said. “These families have a place in the church. This is God’s call for us.”