ST. LOUIS, Missouri — The National Benevolent Association (NBA) announced the decision by the Board of Directors to sell the Emergency Children’s Home (ECHO) nine acres campus located at 3055 North Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri.
Beginning in 1907, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and NBA joined together to provide ministry on the campus in north St. Louis. ECHO, formerly St. Louis Children’s Home, was originally founded to serve orphans and widows. While the need for an orphanage ended, the mission for ECHO continued to focus on children in need by providing residential therapeutic treatment for those who had been abused and neglected. Although care and services for children continued to be in the forefront for NBA, the government funding for such intensive residential treatment had decreased drastically, thus forcing NBA to eliminate this ministry on the ECHO campus in 2008.
“As NBA has been engaging in strategic conversations with our Board of Directors, our affiliated agencies, and Disciple congregations around the country,” said Rev. Belva Brown Jordan, NBA Board Chair, “it has become clear that it is no longer feasible, both financially and physically, to maintain a campus where there is no longer a Disciples’ presence. And although this has been a very difficult and painful decision,” she continued, “the Board of Directors believes that in selling the property the ministry of ECHO will be transformed.” Once the property is sold, the proceeds will be able to support a variety of health and social service ministries throughout the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
“As we begin to strategically advance our new mission of Creating Communities of Compassion and Care, it is imperative that we capitalize upon opportunities that will enable our Church to more efficiently and effectively deliver on our commitment to serve those in need,” said President and CEO, Mark D. Anderson. “The sale of the ECHO land will assist in fulfilling this commitment and ultimately benefit the Church’s ministry as a whole.”
NBA will faithfully keep the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) posted on the sale of the property, but more importantly how the funds will be used to support future ministries.
An integral part of NBA’s heritage and history, ECHO’s 127-year mission of helping the disadvantaged will continue to live on through future ministries. Brown Jordan emphasizes, “This is not an end to ECHO’s ministry, but only a new iteration of the vision that was dreamed up by those six women in that local prayer circle.”
The National Benevolent Association (NBA) is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a mainline, Protestant denomination with over 3,700 congregations throughout the United States and Canada. The NBA traces its roots back to the 1880s when six women in a St. Louis-based prayer group gave birth to a local program designed to help the area’s widows and orphans. Currently NBA consists of five affiliated non-profits and five chaplaincy care programs across the country.
For more information about these positions or the NBA please visit www.nbacares.org.
Contact: Mark D. Anderson
National Benevolent Association
314-993-9000 FAX 314-993-9018
E-mail: [email protected]
