What Kind of Y Do You Dream Of? 40 Hope-full Essays On Putting Healing Christian Principles Into Practice

The purpose of this collection of essays is to spur our imagination for what the YMCA can be these days in our wounded world by remembering and reflecting on what we have accomplished by faith since our founding in 1844.

The content originally appeared in my blog titled Flourishing For All (timhallman.org), most of them published between 2020 and 2023.

These articles, republished here in chronological order of their original posting online date, are a continued contribution to the ongoing dialogue, an attempt to draw forth people and ideas, accomplishments and publications, history and theology that are all fundamental to the current realities shaping the identity of the Y and our future vitality.

While it all is from my point of view, and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne, it is from that place and the opportunities they have made possible for me that I write and publish these essays.

The title of this collection of essays comes from a November 2, 2022 post inspired by a question from Pope Francis towards the church, likening it’s work to that of a field hospital, with a mission of healing.

This has been the actual work of the Y in the world during civil and world wars, and it can still be for us in the cities and schools where we have set up operations.

Since joining the Y in 2016 as a Christian Emphasis Director, my vision has been to inspire, encourage, and empower Y leaders to fully live out our mission; for many it’s a way to live out our faith in a tangible, healing, transformative way.