Our History
How We Got Here
Reconciliation Services [RS] was born on Troost Ave. from a love that was itself living reconciliation, a marriage of opposites…
1985
David Altschul, a white, three-piece-suit-wearing, insurance salesman from Johnson County, KS, was inspired by the Scriptural command to love and serve the poor. He began to take food to and assist families after work at the LaSalle Apartments, which were a block off Troost on Linwood Ave. In the mid-1980s this apartment building was a snapshot of the complex, multi-generational poverty and trauma that had taken hold of the east side of Kansas City following desegregation.
In the lobby of that apartment David first met the woman who would become his wife, Thelma Beaver. She was African American, raised in poverty in Texarkana, Arkansas, and lived a life riddled with trauma, violence, and addictions. But in spite of her struggles, Thelma had the heart of a saint. In addition to raising her family, she was housing strangers in her small apartment and feeding them with whatever she had.
1987
David quit his job in insurance and he and Thelma committed themselves entirely to caring for the residents in the apartments and neighborhoods along Troost. Against the wishes of family, church, and friends, David and Thelma were married in 1986. Together they founded Reconciliation Ministries in the building at 3101 Troost. They served hot meals to the community on a daily basis and offered compassion and assistance as best they could to prostitutes, addicts, the homeless, the lonely, the mentally ill, and anyone in need.
1990
In the 1990s, David and Thelma felt the need to focus deeply on prayer as the basis of their work on Troost. Eventually, their small community at Reconciliation Ministries became an Eastern Orthodox Church called St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church (named for a 3rd century prostitute who converted to Christianity and lived a miraculous life of repentance and reconciliation) under Bishop Longin of the Serbian Diocese of the Midwest. David’s name was changed at his priestly ordination to Father Paisius and Thelma took the name Matushka (an honorific title for a priest’s wife) Michaela, after the Archangel Michael her patron saint.
2005
After Fr. Paisius earned his Masters in Social Work from UMKC in 2005, he transitioned Reconciliation Services into a nonprofit agency, functioning separately but as an extension of all the Orthodox Churches and other communities of compassion in Kansas City. As such, the mission of RS took root in the deep prayer and theology of the Orthodox Christian faith and redefined its mission according to the profession that all people are made in the image of God (Gen. 2), living icons of Christ worthy of profound and authentic veneration, dignity, and respect.
2012
After Matuska Michaela passed away in 2012, Fr. Paisius began pursuing a life of monasticism. He was tonsured Hieromonk Alexii Altschul and founded a monastery in Weatherby, MO.
2013
In 2013, Father Alexii passed the task of directing RS on to Fr. Justin Mathews, who had been actively serving the poor as a volunteer with RS and before that as the founding Executive Director of FOCUS North America and the Vice President of Communications at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Fr. Alexii continues to be connected to RS, supporting the ministry through prayer and counsel.
2021-2024
In 2021, Fr. Justin began the process of renovating the original Reconciliation Services building by starting a $15.1M capital campaign. By January 2022, RS staff had moved out of 3101 Troost and relocated to a temporary location just a block away at 1006 Linwood Ave. Thelma's Kitchen, operating solely as a catering business since the COVID-19 pandemic began, worked out of the basement kitchen in Central Presbyterian Church on Armour Blvd.
Nearly two years later, renovations were complete, and the RS staff moved back into 3101 Troost in June of 2024. Renovations included total reconstruction of Thelma's Kitchen and all four floors of RS, plus the restoration of the fifth floor which had burned down in the 1940s.
The building was unveiled to the public at our Grand Reopening Event on July 22, 2024, where hundreds of neighbors, clients, and partners gathered to celebrate years of hard work and reconciliation.
Present Day
In the years since he became the Executive Director of RS, Fr. Justin has worked with a dedicated staff and many volunteers to strengthen RS programs and further define its mission to “cultivate a community seeking reconciliation to transform Troost from a dividing line into a gathering place, revealing the strength of all.”
What We Do
For more than 30 years, Reconciliation Services has worked to address the root causes of the economic and racial disparities facing individuals in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri. We specifically strive to reach our neighbors living in the 10 neighborhoods east of Troost Avenue, Kansas City’s historic economic and racial dividing line, as they face the highest rates of poverty, poor physical and mental health outcomes, violence, lack of education, and lack of access to life-stabilizing resources. Additionally, we strive to bring neighbors together from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds in an effort to create meaningful community connections that can lead to reconciliation.
Our mission is to cultivate a community seeking reconciliation, to transform Troost from a dividing line into a gathering place, revealing the strength of all. We come alongside our vulnerable clients with companionship, tools, and skills to help them discover their strengths, increase their well-being, and participate in improving the health of their community. Our three main strategic initiatives are: REVEAL Social and Mental Health Services; Thelma’s Kitchen, a pay-it-forward cafe; and the Foster Grandparents Program.
