Tippe in the News

From December 2021: "After giving away 22,800 meals in the pandemic, Milwaukee's Hungry Hearts reaches its end" Carol Deptolla
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After handing out 22,800 meals in the pandemic to feed the hungry and help struggling restaurants, Hungry Hearts Community Meals has come to the end of its run. 

Most of the $560,000 the group received for its work came from individual donors, often $10 at a time. It did receive two grants, from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Presbytery of Milwaukee. 

"The biggest takeaway for us is the amazing generosity of the greater Milwaukee community," said the Rev. Karen Hagen, an organizer of Hungry Hearts and pastor of Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church, 125 W. Saveland Ave., on the south side. 

Hungry Hearts was an outgrowth of the church's homeless ministry, which paused early in the COVID-19 pandemic. 
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RELATED: Free meals on the south side for people in need begin at Damascus Gate restaurant
The program was patterned on the effort organized by chef Caitlin Cullen, of the late north side restaurant the Tandem. That meal program ultimately gave away 115,000 meals under Cullen's watch. 
Hungry Hearts distributed its first meals on May 23, 2020, and gave away 300 meals each Saturday for well over a year, until this fall. Oct. 30 was the last distribution.
RELATED: Nearing 5,000 meals given away on the south side, Hungry Hearts hopes to extend its run
"We capped off our fundraising, and we invited folks to support other local missions in that neighborhood," as well as the church's homeless ministry, called Divine Intervention, Hagen said. 

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From PCUSA News October 2018=
"During Food Week of Action and every day, Wisconsin church lives out its mission"
Hunger & Poverty October 4, 2018
Opening hearts and doors
By Andrew Kang Bartlett | Special to Presbyterian News Service

Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church’s gardens double as a workplace development site. Courtesy of Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church
LOUISVILLE – Many churches preach about poverty and hunger a few times a year, but Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee lives out its ministries with the poor 365 days a year.

The Rev. Karen Hagen, Tippecanoe pastor, calls her church a “faithing community” or a “spiritual practicum.” The church’s budget illustrates the church’s emphasis on faithful, spirit-filled ministries. In 2016, the church budget was $129,000. The missions budget was $129,000.

“Using an action-discernment model of ministry, we have learned again and again when you do right things, right things happen,” said Hagen. “When you walk in the ways of Jesus, toward right relationship and justice for all, the doors of our hearts open wide putting people before buildings and budgets!”
God and the Word were clearly at work from the beginning. With almost no money, this worshiping/doing community started out by developing a Living Waters Contemplative Life Center that extended beyond the building where they met. First, people acknowledged that their own spiritual development was essential to anything – and everything – they would do as a collective. The work on their inner lives allowed them to take greater risks, and now they’ve been doing homelessness ministries for ten years.

They listened to the expressed needs of people around them, and they created ministries to meet those needs. The Divine Intervention Ministry to the Homeless, a collaboration of 56 faith communities and groups (Boy Scouts, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and no faith), meets immediate needs, life skill requirements, and many longer-term struggles of unhoused people impacted by poverty.

There are many regulations concerning shelters, so instead of having a shelter in a legal sense, Tippecanoe offers the community a “warming room.” It offers no cooking, no showers, no beds. Typically 20 to 25 unhoused individuals come from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day, where they share in a potluck dinner and have a safe place to rest. Hagen observed, “Most homeless folks are exhausted living on the streets so are ready to sleep by 7:30 p.m.”

The ministry also connects guests to local resources. A case worker comes weekly to assist with various needs. In addition to housing people every night throughout the winter, Hagen writes letters of reference and helps connect people to housing through their case workers. Last year, 39 individuals were housed or joined programs, and furnishings were provided for 21 people transforming new apartments into homes.

Just Good Food Garden

Karen Hagen, Tippecanoe pastor. Courtesy of Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church
A byproduct of Tippecanoe’s work with unhoused people was the development of a Just Good Food Garden. Hagen described her philosophy in moving from a charity model to a justice approach to ministry.

“I grew up in a family ‘with eyes to see and courage to talk about what was seen.’ So, I developed a deeper level of caring about those around me, which also helped me to see my own economic and white privilege,” she said. “I believe that a path of contemplative justice is the way to personal peace and corporate responsibility.”

The people at Tippecanoe Church believe that the way in is the way out. This faithing community is not about making someone else their mission; their ministries are grounded in their own growth and spiritual journey. The hard work is sustained by the inner work, and all this brings them closer to the realm of divine justice.

“This journey is a tippy canoe, like our name,” says Hagen. “We are on a trip towards the horizon. We set sail for a horizon, knowing from experience that as we move, things keep changing. Some of us zig-zag or circle around; some head toward the horizon. All of us are critical to us all staying afloat.”

The food production work started with building victory gardens. Tippecanoe invited people from the community to grow their own food, providing space and resources. Then many of them wanted gardens in their backyards, so the gardens morphed to offer homeless guests they knew the opportunity to grow food to be given away at a local food pantry.

"A volunteer cooks for a healthy dining class."
Courtesy of Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church

The gardens serve as a workforce development training site. For the past five years, Tippecanoe has covenanted with homeless interns to work in the gardens. They have the opportunity to do meaningful work, earn some income and have a safe place to be during the summer, and pick up some job readiness skills. Tippecanoe also makes available a master gardener and a community educator to work with the interns.

Four interns have grown 4,000 pounds of organic produce this year in raised beds and on the rooftop garden. They also have a giving garden, where people can help themselves to organically-grown vegetables. Two interns bring the food to Friedens Food Pantry at Hope House, a homeless shelter.  There, the produce is arranged like in a grocery store and recipes are shared. A volunteer cooks that week’s pantry items and shares samples. Past interns have found employment, and some have been helped to find housing.

Once a month, a healthy casserole class is held using produce from the pantry. The community educator demonstrates how to cook a casserole, while participants learn chopping, measuring and recipe-reading skills. When it’s ready, everyone enjoys the fruit of their labor. Attendees then are invited to take home ingredients so they can duplicate the casserole at home.

Mission and Worship
On Labor Day this year, as part of their worship, Tippecanoe members harvested some of the bounty from the garden. With vegetables in hand, they went out through the neighborhood and gave neighbors produce and thank-you cards for being good neighbors.

“We make sure the water is buoyant with spiritual awareness and a sense of belonging. If you fall in, you may get wet, but you’re not going down,” said Hagen.
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Tippecanoe is one of the congregations and groups around the U.S. participating in the Food Week of Action. The Presbyterian Hunger Program is able to share God’s love with our neighbors in need around the world because of gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing.

Amazing News
Humbly Shared

The Interfaith Conference has chosen Tippecanoe Church to receive The Rev. Herbert Huebschmann Urban Ministry Award.

This award is given annually to a congregation or organization whose involvement typifies 
projects and outreach that are making significant contribution to the quality of life in the greater Milwaukee area. 

Divine Intervention

Archive:
JSOnline: December 2017 - Arctic temperatures likely to linger into the new year in Milwaukee area
CBS 58 December 2017 - Warming shelters open across southeast Wisconsin to help those in need
TMJ4 News: December 2016 - Local Homeless Shelters Stretched in Cold Weather
WISN 12 December 2016 Link - Milwaukee shelter turns people away
CBS 58 December 2016 Link - Not enough warming centers during cold snap
JS Online January 2015 Link - Deep freeze has Milwaukee on alert year after historic cold
JSOnline Article: January 2014 - Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church takes homeless ministry to new level
Shepherd Express Article: January 2013 - Winter sanctuary for the homeless
Fox 6 News Feature: January 2013 - On cold nights, Bay View church opens doors for all night prayer
620WTMJ: January 2012 - Bay View pastor among many helping homeless in frigid weather.
JSOnline Article: December 2011 - For Christmas, food, a roof are welcome gifts
JSOnline: December 2010 - Cudahy mayor to reach out to shelter organizers
JSOnline: December 2010 - A year round duty: Editorial about Divine Intervention.
TMJ4 News: December 2010 - Churches get around zoning codes to help homeless

Current: 
JSOnline: December 2017 - Arctic temperatures likely to linger into the new year in Milwaukee area
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​Arctic temperatures have descended on southeastern Wisconsin, setting the stage for what may be an unusually cold start to the new year.
Daytime temperatures in the Milwaukee area will hover in the single digits above and below zero on Wednesday, with wind chills ranging from minus 10 to minus 25 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

A wind chill advisory from the weather service is in effect for all of Wisconsin until noon Wednesday.

Temperatures will jump into the mid-teens Thursday and Friday — with an inch or two of snow possible Thursday — before plunging again for the weekend.

"We're kind of in this pattern where cold air is flowing out of the arctic toward us," said meteorologist Sean Miller.

Temperatures this time of year are typically in the 20-to-30-degree range, according to the weather service. And there's a 33% or greater chance that colder than average temperatures could linger through Jan. 8, it said.

The frigid temps are filling local homeless shelters and warming rooms; keeping some workers indoors; and more than likely boosting traffic at the Milwaukee County Domes where the temperatures in the tropical dome top 80 degrees.

"This is our busiest time of the year, and with it being so cold outside, that helps as well," said Domes Horticultural Director Sandy Folaron.
Maryann Sander, a teacher, heads to Stone Creek Coffee to get out of the cold as single-digit temperatures spread across southeast Wisconsin.
"It's like a cheap trip to Costa Rica," she said.

Outreach workers were hitting the streets Tuesday looking for homeless people in need of shelter. And local warming rooms that open their doors when the temperatures hit 10 degrees or lower, including public libraries, are up and running.

"We are full — overfull, really — for the foreseeable future," said the Rev. Karen Hagen of Tippecanoe Church, which operates the Divine Intervention homeless ministry at 125 W. Saveland Ave. on Milwaukee's south side.

The homeless operation's guests usually leave each morning by 8 a.m., but it is extending its hours until local libraries open to keep people "indoors and safe," said Hagen.

Rafael Acevedo Jr., the City of Milwaukee's point person on shelter services, said there are openings at other shelters and warming rooms, and that anyone needing assistance should call Impact 211 — that's simply 2-1-1 — for assistance.

Also Tuesday, We Energies was limiting outdoor work for employees to short jobs and emergencies, said spokeswoman Amy Jahns.

"Unless it's absolutely necessary, there's no reason to send people out in the cold today," she said.

Milwaukee Department of Public Works spokeswoman Sandra Rusch Walton said DPW workers were working outside on Tuesday, picking up trash, tending to sewers and street repairs and more. But she said they take precautions against the cold, including layers of clothes, waterproof gloves and keeping hydrated.

"It's not just for hot weather," Rusch Walton said in an email.
She called DPW workers "weather warriors."
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"They are prepared for all weather extremes, including the bitter cold that we are currently experiencing," she said.
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2 Milwaukee Churches,
2 Ways of Growing Food and Jobs

Journal Sentinel  
July 20, 2014
Annysa Johnson

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The Rev. Karen Hagen (left) of Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee and gardener Nancy Hartmann look over plantings in the church’s roof garden last week, part of the church’s efforts to feed the hungry.
 Church gardens help nuture seeds of dignity
Two Milwaukee churches active in the food justice movement are ramping up their efforts to feed the hungry and create jobs for low-income workers this summer.
Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church on Sunday is christening its new rooftop agricultural garden, only the second of its kind in Milwaukee. And All Peoples Church has finished the first phase of a plan to transform five vacant lots in the Harambee neighborhood into an urban orchard.
"This is about creating a sustainable food source and giving people the dignity of work," said the Rev. Karen Hagen, pastor of Tippecanoe, better known as "Tippe" Church, at 125 Saveland Ave. near Bay View.
The rooftop garden is the newest addition to Tippe's Just Good Food initiative, which features more than 35 garden beds on the church grounds. Those beds generated 500 pounds of fresh, organic produce last year that was distributed at nearby Unity Lutheran Church on E. Oklahoma Ave. and Congregation of the Great Spirit on W. Lapham Blvd.
The church gardens, including the rooftop space, are tended by men and women who are or have been homeless and have come through Tippe's Divine Intervention cold-weather shelter. The shelter, a collaboration of 36 faith communities, welcomes homeless adults during the winter months, then stays connected the rest of the year through Friday night potluck dinners, a weekly delivery of bag meals to those sleeping outdoors, and work in the garden."The focus is on dignity, and developing job skills and references," Hagen said.
Across town last week, All Peoples Church and city officials announced the creation of an urban orchard on city-owned land near N. 1st and W. Locust streets. All Peoples volunteers, many of them teens who manage the church's existing garden plots, already have planted 30 fruit trees, berry plants and nut bushes. A second phase planned for this summer will include an additional 30 trees, as well as $27,000 in storm-water management improvements funded by the city and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
All Peoples plans to hire an orchard manager, whose duties will include supervising up to three employees who are transitioning from prison back into the community through the faith-based nonprofit Project Return. The seasonal work is a good fit for transitional employees, said All Peoples pastor, the Rev. Steve Jerbi.
"It provides a nice chunk of steady work for a short time. But the worker is not locked into that job while they look for other opportunities," he said. "We want to show that this can be a viable employment opportunity for people in the city. That you don't have to move out to a farm to make a living doing this."
Both projects were ambitious undertakings for small congregations of modest means, made possible in each case with a patchwork of grants. In addition to about $10,000 in MMSD funds, the orchard received more than $27,000 in grants from the Greater Milwaukee Synod, the nonprofit Victory Garden Initiativeand the city's HOME GR/OWN and Strong Neighborhoods initiatives.
At Tippecanoe, members raised about $28,000 for the rooftop garden, which included contributions from MMSD, the Lake Michigan Foundation, the American Rivers Foundation and the Presbyterian Church USA. The plants were donated by Plant Land, a local nursery. And the church's members and homeless friends pitched in on the labor.
The 30-by-30-foot space was developed by Hanging Gardens, a Walker's Point company that provides environmentally friendly systems for managing stormwater runoff. Hanging Gardens CEO Anthony Mayer said Tippecanoe's rooftop is only Milwaukee's second all-agricultural garden — after the Walker's Point restaurant Braise and that it incorporated some innovative technology.
Hagen and gardener Nancy Hartmann recently checked the progress of the rooftop plants — fledgling rows of tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, cucumbers and more. In addition to supplying the church food pantries, Tippe is in talks with Braise and other restaurants about growing specialty produce for their menus.
"If we can grow purple carrots and sell that to Braise, then that helps fund our ministry," she said.  That, in turn, invests in people like Nancy and Larry Hartmann, her husband of one month.  Longtime friends, the two had come to Divine Intervention in the winter of 2011-'12 from a tent camp in the woods. Both were alcoholics, unable to hold jobs for any length of time, or cobble together the resources needed to find a place to live.
They are sober now. They've traded the tent camp for more comfortable, if modest, housing. And in June, they were married at Tippe, surrounded by church members, volunteers, Divine Intervention guests and others who have walked alongside them these last few years.
Larry is now an elder in the church and manages its property maintenance. In the winter, they check new guests in each night at Divine Intervention. And in the summer, Nancy tends the gardens.
It is often solitary work, leaving her much time to think, as she makes her way between the boxes with the garden hose.  "I think about how much better I am now, I suppose," she said as she rested on a picnic bench in the shade behind the church. "I'm thankful there was a place like this."
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 The Native Wellness Garden is featured in the Official Newspaper of the
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin - Check out  page 10!

JSOnline: May 2012 - Native American Ceremony Marks Growing Season's Start

Heroes of the Week: Larry Under the Bridge  Volunteers

Larry, previously a homeless man, is now giving back to those who are living on the streets through his Larry Under the Bridge  ministry. In July 2012, Larry requested and received support from the Divine  Intervention ministry at Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church to start a program that  gives bagged dinners and supplies to campers and homeless people. Each Sunday,  Larry, Kathy of Norb’s Group and numerous volunteers deliver dinners to at least  30 campers and homeless people at three strategic locations and a few other  sites in the greater Bay View area. Necessities such as toilet paper, bug spray,  camouflage tarps and sleeping bags are given out when available. All year round,  Larry dedicates his time to personally checking up on campers as often as  possible. “All of us are about pulling together for the greater community good,” says Karen Hagen, pastor at Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church and volunteer for Larry Under the Bridge. “Larry continues to care for those he knows and those he hasn’t met yet and is trying to involve as many people as possible to engage with the community’s homeless.” 

Larry Under the Bridge is seeking financial support as well as volunteers who can help locate tents, camo tarps and sleeping bags to  give away. Those interested in assembling dinners, assisting in driving supplies  to the Bay View locations and helping with fundraising efforts are always  welcome. In addition, gardeners who can donate fresh veggies or work at Tippecanoe’s community gardens that provide food for the homeless can call the church at 414-481-4680. For more information, visit tippechurch.org or contact Hagen at 414-702-7997. 

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