Community Development in the City

Class and the Politics of Living Simply

2007-11-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

Mennonites are known for being a breakaway church denomination of the Amish. Peace, compassion and living simply are core beliefs and although they are allowed things that the Amish are not, such as electricity, cars and education past the eighth grade, a plain and conservative lifestyle is preferred. I just happened to attend a Mennonite high school and the typical Sweet 16 gift for a student there? A brand new Lexus or Mustang convertible. Not exactly plain and simple. But this sort of hypocrisy is rampant in the modern-day church, whether it is in Mennonite, Methodist or Messianic congregations. It is not unusual to find a pastor driving a luxury sedan or a family of four hopping out of a $60,000 SUV on Sunday morning. In America, where the favorite pastime is no longer baseball and hot dogs but rather buying material things on credit, the idea of living simply amounts to having two cars in the garage versus three. So how did many people who call themselves Christians end up living “like the world and in the world” when the Bible calls them to do otherwise? And why does the church seem to be embracing wealth, materialism and an entitlement philosophy?

We live in a society where status and prestige is measured by accumulation of wealth. But a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality was not always the norm in America, especially in the church. In Where We Stand: Class Matters, author Bell Hooks writes that in times not so long ago, church members were taught to identify with the poor and communities were held together because of shared resources. Being poor was looked at from a religious perspective as something to be revered and admired, because the lack of material things put one closer to God. Still, no one in their right mind would choose that lifestyle. In later decades in the US, individualism and self-interest became the normal way of thinking and Bible passages such as “ask and you shall receive” or if you give a thousand dollars, you will be given five thousand in return became popular because they focused on God blessing those who work hard to get what they have. Anyone who chose to live a simple life free of material possessions was now considered a hippy and anyone who was poor was considered lazy.

To be considered rich there have to be those who are considered poor. Hooks writes on page 47 “for many people the thrill of having more is intensified by the presence of those who have less.” America’s value system teaches people that the individual is responsible for the way their life turns out and that everyone has an equal opportunity to “make it”. Those who don’t make it are undeserving anyway. As a nation, we are programmed internally to believe that our wealth determines our status and that unless we accumulate as much wealth as possible, we are not as important as someone who has it. Therefore, the purpose of our lives is to climb up and up the ladder of success until we get as high as we can. But the ‘havenots’ will never even get to the first rung because of the injustices in place that prevent them from achieving. It is these injustices that are ignored or unknown to the ‘haves’. Instead, they just look at poverty as a fact of life and believe that their life is the way it is because they are blessed.

Throughout the semester, we have looked at the numerous social institutions in place that preserve racial prejudice and keep the gap widening between the wealthy and the poor. Governmental institutions such as housing, welfare, education and jobs were all formed out of a need for public assistance to those who needed it but greed and corruption found its way in and soon stories of people cheating the system were more prominent than stories of how it’s helped. Because media is drawn to the disheartening and dismal, those outside of the system began to see it as giving people a free ride. Met with so much criticism from the middle and upper class, these systems have become a place where the poor are put through humiliating circumstances just so they can receive their basic life needs. Instead of identifying with the poor as Scriptures teach, the poor are looked at as parasites and leeches, undeserving of God’s economic grace.

All of the books we have read this semester deal with a group of people who were feared, taken advantage of and stereotyped by the majority. Native Americans, Japanese-Americans, African Americans and Westerners in China were all grouped together and separated from society because of the fear that accumulated from the way they look. In the case of the American Indians, the quest for land was greater than the respect and preservation of a native group of people. In the case of the Japanese-Americans, the fear of the East and war was greater than respect for people who had called America home for years. And since times of slavery, the African American male has been looked at as a frightening source of violence and less than human, accounting for a high percentage of the prison population.

These groups of people have all suffered so that others could prosper. Most accept it as a fact of life and continue about their day without giving it a second thought. Others will even go as far as to say that certain people were giving the short end of the stick in life so that the rest of us could be grateful for what we have. My boss believes that his company does so well because he is a blessed American and God’s favor rests with our country. Whatever helps people sleep at night also helps them go about their day with a blind eye towards the mission of Jesus and the plight of the poor.

So how does living simply help end poverty and eliminate violence? We live in a world that begs us to consume all we can, without thinking about the consequences. Hooks writes on page 49 that “solidarity with the poor…invites us to embrace an ethics of compassion and sharing that will renew a spirit of loving kindness and communion that can sustain and enable us to live in harmony with the whole world.” To see the poor as we are, we have to connect with them. To connect with them, we must do as Jesus did and go to them- in the cities, in poor neighborhoods and forgotten communities. But first we must realize that the social system we have set up in this country does not promote equality for all and that there is indeed a division amongst the classes that allows the rich to stay rich and the poor to stay poor. The heart of this system and all the prejudiced institutions that go along with it must be redeveloped so that they do not further the stereotypes they have helped to promote. And above all else, we as people must change our habits of consumption that blind us to the bigger picture and realize that we are not making our home on earth and that all material things cannot be taken with us when we pass away.

People who work in non-profits or as pro bono doctors are looked at as saints because most people will not choose to live a life of simplicity if given the choice. Instead, they would rather work a high paying job, go home and shut out the world at the end of the day. Even those active in the church draw limits in their charitable work and have the option of turning that part of their life off when they want to. Living simply requires letting go of all things that tie you down to this world and living Jesus’ teachings of solidarity with the poor. Instead of being slaves to consumption and weighing one’s worth with the amount of material things owned, we must forget about class, race and religious lines and embrace each other as children of God, who are all equal in His eyes no matter what kind of car we drive or the position we hold at work. By letting go, we can become free.

The Resilient Self

2007-10-29T13:49:00.000-04:00

I have a friend who is a resilient survivor. I didn’t know the specific title for her until reading The Resilient Self: How Survivors of Troubled Families Rise Above Adversity by Steven and Sybil Wolin. Up until then, I just called her strong. My friend was adopted from Korea when she was a baby and unbeknownst to the adoption agency, her mother who adopted her was a manic depressive. Her father was having an affair and was an absentee. Throughout her childhood, my friend struggled with not only being of a different ethnic background then most kids in school, but also being adopted and having troubled parents. For a while, this led to her abuse of alcohol and promiscuity, until she finally got pregnant, had the baby and settled down. Although unplanned, the pregnancy was probably the best thing to happen to her, as it caused her to focus on her life and starting a family away from the problems of her parents.

On one memorable occasion, my friend’s mother was in a manic state. For manic depressives (also known as bipolar), they go through extreme lows, where they are super depressed and can barely talk or get out of bed to extreme highs, where they act crazy, go on spending sprees and talk a mile a minute. So on this day, my friend’s mom was feeling manic. She had recently separated from her cheating husband of almost 25 years and was lost as how to go on with her life. After being depressed for weeks, she got the urge to just leave everything behind. So she packed a suitcase, put on her best Sunday outfit and started driving. She got to Brooklyn, New York, where her car broke down. When the police arrived, she was in hysterics- screaming, crying, stripping off her clothes. She had broken. They took her to a hospital and my friend had to miss class to pick her up. She was taken to a mental ward, where she was hospitalized for a month and then moved to outpatient care. This was the third time in her life that she was hospitalized for her disease. Soon after this incident, my friend filed bankruptcy and also found out she was pregnant. Good times.

But even after all this happened, my friend still got up in the morning. She still went to work, where she was promoted into a manager position. She had a beautiful baby girl and maintains a positive attitude. You would never know that she went through all of this horrible stuff not so long ago. And that’s what makes her a resilient survivor.

Resiliency is “the capacity to rebound from hardship inflicted early in life” (page vii). This is the subject of The Resilient Self, as the authors researched how and why children of troubled homes are able to overcome the challenges they faced- whether it was abuse, neglect, or disease. Often, these children grow up to be completely productive and normal citizens, who possess none of the traits their parents had. Instead of living in fear or depression from all the things that occurred to them, these children will work extremely hard to make sure they’re the opposite of their parents. This means becoming loving parents, graduating from school, being active volunteers in the community or maintaining meaningful friendships- all things their parents could never do. But in order to become successful, they have to work hard at things most people from normal families take for granted.

The most important thing for survivors to do is to never label themselves as “victims” or “damaged.” This is a dangerous rut that can be easy to fall into. Sympathy and pity are enchanting emotions to get from someone and it’s easy to get addicted to being the victim. But by playing the victim, you ensure that you never rise above the problem and you never work it out. People who refuse to succumb to these feelings are the ones who are constantly looking for challenges and ways to improve themselves. They have healthy relationships and get the most out of life. In order to move out of the victim state-of-mind, resilient survivors may use the Challenge Model, invented by the authors.

The Challenge Model consists of seven resiliencies that form a protective layer around the self (page 20). The more of these resiliencies a person possess, the more likely they are to rise above the adversity they face in the home. These seven resiliencies are Insight, Independence, Relationships, Initiative, Humor, Creativity and Morality. By realizing which of these a person possesses, they will be able to leave their troubled parents and past behind, reject the distorted self-image their parents may have given them and see the positive forces in their lives that have helped them become the person they are.

Insight (in regards to survivor resiliency) is the ability to sense that things are untrustworthy and wrong in the home (page 67). When a child possesses insight, they become alert to danger and begin to notice when their parents are in a mood where they could attack or harm them. In turn, they can teach their younger siblings to become aware of these indicators in their parents behavior, helping save them from verbal and physical abuse. They begin to ask themselves questions about why their parents might be doing the things they are and they look to the outside world to find out if this is normal. After the child sees how loving and caring families act, they learn that their parent has a problem and how to avoid being caught in the wrath of it. They gain the ability to organize, confirm and label the impressions of their parents (page 77). They sense that their parents are not to be trusted and they begin to distance themselves.

Which leads to Independence. In troubled families, a child begins to show their resiliency and independence by separating themselves or straying away from painful situations (page 88). Once they achieve this separateness, they can look at their families from a distance and relate to them in a way they choose, instead of being caught up in the mess and drama. In a lot of children that grow up with abusive parents, independence can be a hard thing to come by. Parents will often stifle or hold them back from leaving. Also, the child may have such a strong desire to “fix” their parents or win their attention that they will put their own wishes and dreams aside to appease them. Successful survivors will find a balance between these feelings and will stop looking to their parents for approval. “Flight alone is not an answer to the survivor’s painful dilemma of gaining independence” (page 103). Once a person has obtained independence from a bad situation, they can begin to make relationships that do not harbor on ill will and abuse.

Relationships are intimate and fulfilling ties to other people (page 111). When a resilient child does not get the love and attention they need from their own parents, they will begin to seek it out from other people. The successful survivor will find someone who can act as a positive replacement of a parent. Many projects aimed at fostering resilience, especially in inner-city children, offer the services of adult mentors. But in order for a relationship to be meaningful, the adult cannot look at the child as a person in need of rescue. This mentality makes the child out to be a victim. In a good relationship, there is an equality between both parties. The child is not “saved” but has connected with someone in an attempt to reach out and endear themselves. A resilient child who comes from a family lacking in love and affirmation will make a family of their own- whether it is through marriage, a community organization or a group of people like them.

Initiative is “the determination to assert yourself and master your environment” (page 136). Resilient survivors will find something that interests them and latch on to it, using it as an escape from the chaos of their home. When children are young, they will find a hobby that takes their time and allows them to focus on something positive. As they grow older, they begin working so that they can save up money and move away from home. Once they are adults, they find a career or project that allows them to grow positively. Instead of succumbing to the lifestyle of their troubled parents, resilient children want more in life and they know that in order to get that, they must have a skill or something that they enjoy spending time on. As they pursue their goals, it helps them distance themselves from their family and make a life for themselves, while discovering their creativity.

Creativity and humor go hand in hand in the Challenge Model. They are “safe harbors of the imagination where you can take refuge and rearrange the details of your life to your own pleasing” (page 163). Sometimes children of troubled homes need to step out of reality once and a while and remember what it’s like to be a kid. By putting all that negative energy they’ve been experiencing in the home into something fun and positive, it allows them to distance themselves and laugh at the situation. Laughter is the best medicine, some say. Resilience is “the will to accept the discipline of an art form in order to shape your pain into something else” (page 175). To be able to produce something beautiful out of an ugly situation is proof of the strength of resilient survivors.

Morality, the final resilience of survivors, is the wish of your conscience for a good personal life grown large and inclusive (page 184). Children of bad homes learn what is right and wrong early in life, from seeing their parents hurt the ones they are supposed to love. As they grow into adults, they promise to themselves that they will never treat other people that badly and devote their time to helping others. Having a good moral is what will take the survivor into the future and help to improve the world. Once they finally achieve this step, they have truly put the past behind them and have accomplished a successful life of their own. Knowing there is a reason to live and to want to help other people find that reason as well, helps the survivor realize their place in life. They have triumphed over their bleak past and can move on to bigger and better things. While not forgetting what they have gone through, they can use those experiences to relate to people in a better and more holistic way.

Understanding what helps people overcome adversity is a major necessity in working with at-risk populations. In our ministry as youth and community developers, we must know the signs of abuse and also know the signs of accomplishment. By using the lessons taught in The Resilient Self, we can better relate to and admire what certain people have had to overcome in life. If we ourselves have also had to overcome adversity, we can take pride in how our lives turned out and, if there are still things to work on, we can focus on those directly. I enjoyed all the stories of survivors in the book and will be able to now take those into practice in the real world.

Looking Like the Enemy

2007-10-29T13:45:00.000-04:00

It is hard to imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned, no matter where the location or how short the period of time. But to imagine being imprisoned for no apparent crime or reason, only on the basis of your ethnic makeup, is nearly impossible. But the impossible happened to over 100,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II and it took years for them to break their silence and come clean about what they experienced in various internment camps around the country. Author Mary Matsuda Gruenewald was a teenager when her family of four was forced to leave their comfortable home on Vashon Island, Washington and move into a prison camp. Just how long they were to stay there, no one knew. And as the days turned into years, optimism grew dim and spirits began to dwindle, but the Matsuda family tried to keep hope alive. Looking Like the Enemy tells their story and sheds light on an American history that has long been swept under the rug.

Although Japanese on the outside, the Matsuda family lived and worked for the American dream like everyone else in their small, farming town. Both of Mary’s parents were born in Japan but had their children in America, making Mary and her brother Yoneichi American citizens. They ran a small fruit farm, making a decent living which allowed them to live comfortably in a cozy home and attend a local Methodist church and public school. Mary writes that she never felt any different than her classmates and that there were only a couple of instances where racial prejudice showed its ugly face. She felt completely American, although she honored her Japanese heritage by speaking the language at home and eating the food her mother prepared. Never was there a time when she thought she could be singled out by her own government for having Asian features and in fact, her family was more pro-American and trusting of those in power than many people are today.

All this changed when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States went to war. The government ruled that all people with Japanese ancestry, American citizen or not, should be rounded up and placed into internment camps so that they could be kept under a watchful eye. The fear was that these Japanese-Americans could still harbor loyalties to Japan’s government and be plotting attacks on American soil. Mary and her family were apprehensive about what would happen to them, their farm and their home but still believed that the government would figure out that they were loyal to the US alone. But it was still with great sadness that they packed up few belongings and made the uncomfortable train ride to Pinedale Assembly Center, the first internment camp of many that they would call “home”.

The camps were made of rows and rows of rugged barracks set on bleak, barren land. Each family was assigned a small living space, usually of 20 x 20 feet that they sometimes had to share with another family or couple. There was no privacy and voices carried throughout the entire length of the barrack. The bathrooms were primitive and the food was tasteless and left much to be desired. Basically, there was no room for creativity, comfort or pleasure and the internees quickly discovered that restlessness and boredom would take over.

Japanese culture stresses serenity and passiveness, with deep roots in private strength and not showing visible emotion. While Mary’s parents were very traditional in their Japanese customs, Mary was Americanized and was also somewhat sensitive, at least in the beginning. As the future became more and more uncertain for her, she sunk into depression and withdrew from social interaction. She writes that it was hard for her to make friends and remember life on the outside. In fact, she actually began to resent her fellow Japanese campers because she did not like being grouped with “non-Americans”. She was embarrassed of the black hair, facial features and skin color that made them different from the Americans who were not suspected as enemies in the war. She had long identified herself as an American so that to now be told that she was just Japanese put her into an identity crisis.

The most striking and heartbreaking part of Mary’s story was when the internees were allowed to apply for transfer into mid-Western states or to the US military. They were given a questionnaire that asked them about their loyalties and qualifications to join the Army. The very government that had imprisoned them in camps because of their ancestry was now asking where their allegiance lay! This caused a great deal of angst and disruption among the internees because to pledge loyalty to the government would make it seem like what had happened to them was okay. To say they did not want to join the military would make them seem disloyal and they would remain imprisoned for longer. It was a double edged sword. In the end, Mary’s family chose to pick the “loyal” box and Yoneichi drew his draft number. He was now going to risk his life for the country that had decided he was not an equal citizen.

As Mary matured throughout her experience in the camps, she began to see the impact her mother and father’s beliefs and strengths had on her. They remained strong and positive through the entire imprisonment at camp and although they worried, they did not show any weaknesses on the surface. The family unit was the most important structure to them and keeping the family together and safe was the essence of their survival. Unfortunately, this did not apply to all Japanese families in the internment camps. Westernization, fear, anger and boredom all threatened to ruin the traditional Japanese family. Young people grew restless and began to stir up trouble for something to do. Families also stopped eating together- a tradition that was set in stone before the imprisonments. Mary, however, chose a different path. She began working as a nurse in the camp infirmary and applied to nursing school outside of the camp, through the Army Nurse Corps. For the first time since the start of the war (and in her life), she would be away from her family.

With Yoneichi overseas fighting and Mary in nursing school, the Matsuda parents were left without their children for the first time in their lives. Mary’s mother went to work on a farm and her father passed the time in camp. As news of the ending of the war began to trickle into the camps, people tried to figure out where they would go once they were set free. A lot of people had lost their homes, businesses and farms and had no where to go. Racial prejudice against Japanese on the West Coast was rampant and many were hesitant to return, but knew no other homes. Mary struggled to figure out how to regain ownership of the family fruit farm and how their debts would be paid off once they returned- if anything was left to return to.

The Matsuda family fared better than many Japanese-American families during World War II. Their farm, though a little worse for the wear, was still intact and they were able to salvage their business. Yoneichi never talked about his experiences fighting overseas and Mary never had to serve her time in the Army. But the scarring still occurred. Mary said that she would never feel 100% American again and that it would take years to come to term with the emotions and hurt she had sustained from the discrimination of the US government. A Supreme Court ruling stated that racial discrimination was okay during times of war, which means that something like the internment camps could happen again during our time. I have often wondered if the threat was big enough, would the government still detain citizens because of their genetic background? Or would Americans look at history and protest such a thing? I would hope so but one can never be sure. The majority always rules and during times of war, the majority looks out for their own interests.

It is important to take lessons from the Japanese-American internment camps to make sure they never happen again. This “quiet race” allowed the government to get away with what they did for too long and it took years for any written accounts to come to light. Just because people do not complain about what happened to them does not mean they are not affected. Understanding the mistakes that the US government has made is valuable because it will help prevent future occurrences. No one is safe from prejudice and no excuse justifies the physical imprisonment and mental damage that the Japanese-American citizens faced during this time. Reconciliation also applies to this group of people for the mistakes and injustices they had to deal with and kept quiet for so long.

Shantung Compound- A Lesson in Human Nature

2007-10-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

It is during times of stress and insecurity that the true colors of human nature come out and, in most people, these colors tend to darken as time goes by. As history has shown us, people will either rise to the challenge of an uncertain situation or will crumble and fall into chaos. The people who were held at an internment camp in China by the Japanese during World War II became unknowing players in a large scale social experiment that in the end, showed valuable lessons in character, survival and human instinct. Langdon Gilkey’s memoir, Shantung Compound: The Story of Men and Women Under Pressure, takes a philosophical and theological look at how people imprisoned in the camp reacted to the new life set up around them and why they did things that in normal, every day life would not have been accepted.

In 1943, at the start of the Second World War, all foreign nationals living in China were told they had to leave the country or move into an internment camp so that they could be kept under a watchful eye. These people were mostly Westerners who had made their homes and businesses in China for many years and saw no reason to leave. Even if they spoke English or looked American, they knew no other home but China. But, in a World War, the color of your skin and the country of your passport mean more than where you’ve been living for the past decade and Japan did not want to risk having potential enemies living right under their nose. So these wealthy business owners, professors, doctors, lawyers and everyone in between, were rounded up and marched into Shantung Compound, a 100 x 150 square foot yard, former missionary station that had been left to demise and taken over by the army. As these upper and middle class society members were lead into their new homes, which would consist of dormitory living for the singles and 9 x 4 foot rooms for the families, they soon realized that who they were on the outside now meant nothing. A new society was to be built and it would require the work of everyone involved, if they wanted life to seem as normal as it could be.

While the Japanese soldiers guarding the compound were not cruel or abusive, they also did not do much to improve the situation. Food and basic means of survival were provided, albeit not in the best conditions. But the Westerners were put in charge of all things concerning the operation of the camp- from housing, food services, cleaning, education and health care and working from scratch meant that creativity was needed. In the beginning, they seemed to rise to the challenge. Committees were formed and positions of authority were created. People were eager to show of their strengths and skills and contribute during this time of crisis. Curiosity and even excitement were the main emotions prisoners experienced during their first weeks at the camp. For the middle class housewife and tobacco plant manager, this was the experience of a lifetime.

But as people got settled into the ways of internment life, the original politeness and helpfulness faded and it was down to business. Daily activities were dull and mind-numbing. Campers soon figured out which jobs were ideal and which left a lot to be desired. As the days grew longer and the war’s end drew no closer, worries about food supplies and survival instincts kicked in. Since there was no police force, the norms of society were left by the wayside and stealing food and supplies became common. Even as rations dwindled and people were left hungry at night, sharing was one of the toughest concepts for people to comprehend. When someone was suspected of stealing, a trial was held but to the perpetrator’s delight, no one could really enforce punishment. The best that leaders could do was hope that the disapproval of the society as a whole would lead the criminal into shame and bring them to repent. As discovered, some people simply do not care what other people think of them, good or bad. There were also housing situations in which someone would be asked to move for the greater good of someone else in need, but would often be met with scorn and indifference. Space was precious and giving up the little “home” one had in a place like this was asking too much of some people. Even Christian families were shown to put their own needs before others. In times like this, they believed it was every man for himself.

Not everybody in the camp was selfish and uncompromising. There were several instances of people sacrificing what they had in order to help someone else. But this was rarer than you would think. Most of life was very boring and scheduled. As the months dragged on, people had daily tasks and burdens that they had to complete in order to keep the camp from falling into social disarray. In order to make life seem as “normal” as possible, jobs were taken and new skills were learnt. Entertainment activities were created and relationships and friendships were formed. In a camp with over 2,000 people in such a small area, everybody grew to know everybody and their business. A lack of space and privacy meant one could not isolate himself for long. For the introvert, this could mean complete hell. For the extrovert, it was a lesson in human nature and social formations. For our author, a philosophy professor, it was the ultimate experiment and research on behavioral norms.

Shantung Compound is filled with fascinating stories and observations on what happens when seemingly normal and stable people are put together in a small space over a long period of time. Some of it makes you proud and some of it makes you cringe. But most of all, it makes you wonder how you would act if put in a situation like it. Like the book Lord of the Flies, people will either show great character or evil intentions. Some people will rise to be leaders and some will get lost in the shuffle.

Understandably, when the prisoners were finally released at the end of the War, it took a while to get over everything they had been through. True, they had not been tortured or even starved. When supplies started dwindling, fears grew stronger but they had produced a society that could overcome such obstacles but still left much to be desired. In all essences, they were a communist society, but there were always people looking to increase their own wealth and stability- either through stealing or on the black market. And even though they survived, no one could say they were happy with the system they had built.

In the end, the prisoners of Shantung Compound were set free and went back into the world, either completely changed or bitterly passive. But no one could say that the experience had no effect on them. One could look back at the time they spent in the camp as a successful learning lesson in which they made themselves and others proud or they could try to forget about the primal instincts that made them choose their own self over the needs of another. In any case, this story and other instances of prison societies, utopian communities and communist countries prove again and again that people, when put in uncertain and dismal conditions will most definitely surprise you, whether it is for good or bad.

In our studies, we can use the lessons learned from Shantung Compound when researching poor neighborhood communities, refugee camps and prison societies. It doesn’t matter what decade or century the problem is taking place in – people have been the way they are since the beginning of time and sin is in all of us. It is up to the people who are aware of their sin to become leaders and try to develop the rest of the population in putting their actions into something positive that helps their neighbors around them. A lot can be wrong with a society, but sometimes it only takes one person to make a difference.

Brothers and Keepers

2007-10-09T16:26:00.000-04:00

For me, October has been filled with prison stories. First, there were the 2 seasons of the television show Prison Break that I caught up on. Then there was a documentary called Breaking Point on the Discovery Channel about the overcrowding of America’s prisons that I had to watch. And finally, reading the book Brothers and Keepers, by John Edward Wideman put a cap on my education about the prison system. I can’t say it was the cheeriest month of my life, but it was informative.

Prison isn’t exactly something that has been a big part of my life. I’ve never been. No one in my family has either. My dad had a high school friend doing life in Graterford, but he stopped visiting him years ago. So prison was a place that I only read about in books or saw in movies. But reading Brothers and Keepers finally put a face on all the anonymous prisoners that have been so neatly kept away from me. And although I can’t say that I feel sorry for all people in prison (it really has to be looked at on a case by case study), I do agree that there are just some conditions that are inhumane, even for criminals, and that the justice system is seriously, seriously flawed.

Brothers and Keepers documents the points leading up to and following the arrest and imprisonment of author Wideman’s younger brother, Robby. On the surface, the book is about the judicial system, but underneath is really a story of brotherhood, poverty and the environment of black neighborhoods in the late 60s. Written in narrative form from the perspective of both brothers, Brothers sheds light on some of the darkest secrets about life in prison and the social injustices in place that promote the imprisonment of certain people- mostly young, black men like Robby. When this book was written in 1982, approximately 500 thousand Americans were in prison. Today, the number exceeds 2.2 million. But crime in major cities, they say, has gone down. So why are so many people behind bars? Is it the desire to keep the undesirables at bay, isolated from the rest of society? Are the criminals today that much more dangerous than ones from previous decades? Is it laziness on the part of the judicial system to want to keep people in prison rather than spend time rehabilitating them? The book takes a look at these questions but also spends time examining the roots of the problems facing prisoners and how they got to where they are.

John and Robby Wideman grew up in the neighborhood of Homewood in Pittsburgh. While John and his siblings excelled at school and stayed away from most of the bad influences in their increasingly impoverished neighborhood, Robby was the “rebel” in the family, always trying to find a get rich quick scheme to move up in life. Drugs played a large role in his demise, as he would steal to make money and buy drugs. For him, “normal was poverty, drugs, street crime, Vietnam or prison” (page 220).

On a night where Robby and two of his buddies were going to pull a sting, things went terribly wrong and ended with one of his friends shooting a white man. After the man died, the three friends went on the lam, hiding from authorities for three months across the country. When they were caught, the consequences were extreme- life in prison. Life in prison is almost the same as the death penalty, as “prison is an experience of death by inches, minutes, hours, days” (page 35). People that weren’t criminals when they arrived, people who had just made a mistake and got caught, leave with a PhD in Crime. When someone “comes out of the joint, they’re worse off than when he came in” (page 236).

Prisons have cut back (or eliminated entirely) education and vocational programs, so that while the prisoners are locked up, they have nothing to do but learn more bad stuff, become even angrier and leave half-crazed, only to go right back to the neighborhood where they got in trouble in the first place. Even if a prisoner becomes fully rehabilitated by his own means, it is likely that no one with the power to release them will ever find out because the system is so backlogged and the numbers are so against the possibility of a prisoner changing his ways.

Besides the obvious issue of the prison system being addressed, the book also focused on community and family relations. It was during the time of Robby’s arrest that urban neighborhood really began their decline. Pittsburgh, the setting of the story, was especially hit hard by the collapse of the steel industry. After the assassination of Dr. King and the riots, the neighborhood where Robby grew up changed dramatically and the typical mindset of a young man was to “get his without working too hard.” They had seen how the hard work of their parents had not paid off. This lead to finding more lucrative work, usually in the form of selling drugs or stealing. With institutional racism heavily in place, the chances of getting a unfairly harsh sentence were very real to minorities that got caught back then and still occurs today, even more so, as the numbers have shown us.

The most memorable parts of the book for me were when we were hearing the story through Robby’s voice. His dialect and his story that bounced all over the place were interesting, funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I admit that there were parts where John would be writing and I’d be ready to get back to Robby’s voice. As the book went on, Robby became a likeable character, more real and human, a person you hoped the best for. Unfortunately, at times John’s narrative would take me away from those feelings as he ranted on about the injustice of the system, never really holding his brother accountable for the crime he did commit or the seriousness of the other prisoner’s crimes. Whereas Robby was focused on bettering himself and his education throughout his sentence, John focused on the harshness of the situation and the unfairness of it all. Yes, anyone who looks into Robby’s case would surely find him rehabilitated and would release him back into society, but I found that John turned all the prisoners into victims, when many deserve the sentences they get. Instead of focusing so much on how bad the prisons are and the environments the prisoners live in, he should focus more on the prisoners who do want to get their lives in order and figure out a way to lobby for their rehabilitation and release. Instead, the book turns into a sort of therapeutic journal for John to write down his anger, embarrassment and sorrow for letting his brother’s life get so out of control and for not being there when he needed him most. To the reader, this gets sort of old after a while. Not enough facts, too much winding around in the story, taking tangents to talk about something else for a couple pages and then into another characters voice…. it’s hard to keep up.

The book did portray prison as a place that serves as a weapon instead of a tool and that a system is needed where those inside can eventually earn their way out, with the right attitude, skills or education and show of change. Someone like Robby should have been released years ago, kept in a parole program and then once he had proven to have changed, been able to go on with his life. Unfortunately, too many other people have messed up his chance to do this. Like so many other institutional settings, such as education, welfare, housing and prison, much work is needed to replace the governing forces that have held back positive changes for so long. The book, while insightful and powerful, does not accomplish the task of creating change within the prison system. It instead leaves that to the readers, in hopes that they may carry on the job.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee... along with my respect for the founding of the American West

2007-10-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

Remember that day when you realized that your parents, who you always looked up to and thought to be wise and all knowing, could do no wrong and were superhuman, were actually just as flawed and mistaken as everyone else? That your entire life was just a lie? Yeah. That’s how I began to feel after reading about all the terrible and inhumane things the founding fathers of the United States government did to the American Indians in the late 1800s. Great stories about how the West was won, the adventures and bravery of the frontiersman and the pursuit of the American dream were all just buffered tales of how greed and murder were used to obtain land and riches. Health, wealth and happiness were all found by nearly wiping out an indigenous population that had lived peacefully on American soil for centuries. The first-hand accounts of what was done to the Native Americans is the subject of an intensely harrowing book by Dee Brown, entitled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

As Columbus Day approaches, I am reminded that Christopher Columbus did not discover America. The United States as we know it today was inhabited by a diverse collection of native tribes, from the Northeast to the South to the Midwest. Cheyennes, Navahos, Sioux- all these people roamed free and lived off the land, which was sacred and pure to them. Then came the white man. The Native Americans were friendly to them, helping them survive the first cold winter and teaching them to plant corn. There was no reason for the Indians to fear them, for everyone was friendly and lived in peace. There was enough room for everybody. But then came even more white men and with them, war.

As millions of settlers moved to the United States, those in charge saw the value of certain lands- lands that were occupied by Indians. In order to claim this land as their own, they signed treaties and purchased the land, usually paying with worthless trinkets and a few bucks. The land that was once so fertile was used up and left to rot. As land became even more valuable, the Americans began to use force to take the Indian’s land. They demanded that the Indians move to reservations, areas of land that were useless and harsh- completely the opposite of what they would want to call home. Any Indian that did not comply would be considered an enemy of war and would be killed. Thousands of Indians went along with the move to the reservations, mostly because they still believed that they would one day be returned to their land and that most people were good at heart. They did not want to be considered at war with the Americans, whose size and artillery was much greater than their own.

But while thousands of Indians were starving, dying and losing their homes, a few tribes and their war chiefs refused to go to the reservations. They would try to make peace and if that did not succeed, they would have no choice but to defend their lands and themselves. Try they did but succeed, they did not. As they their numbers shrunk in size, the once mighty and proud Indian nations were now impoverished, weak and without a home to call their own. In today’s lingo, it was in every essence, genocide.

Now of course, white Americans “realize” what they did to the Indians. We apologized for it. We offered them cash settlements and casinos. We try to “honor” their heritage with museums and tourist traps. We claim 1/8th Native American ancestry even though we couldn’t tell you the tribe. The names of our rivers, towns and parks all have colorful Indian names- Conshohocken, Pontiac, Delaware, Red Bull. What pride we have! Meanwhile, the alcoholism rate in the Native American population is over 30% and the lands that are “reserved” for them are dry, brittle and incapable of flourishing. Everything that the Native American treasured in their lives, we took away from them and expected them to just deal with the American way.

It was difficult to get through this book. I knew there would be no happy endings. To see the photos of the Indian leaders was especially hard- what strong, proud eyes they once had and what a presence. As Major Edward W. Wynkopp, the commanding officer of Fort Lyon said after a long journey with a group of Cheyennes, “I felt myself in the presence of superior beings” (page 77). He was later discharged from his post because he was advocating for the Indians during a time when “the only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

Growing up, I vaguely remember learning something about the different tribes of Indians in America and I spent family vacations at Shawnee in the Pocono Mountains, which had numerous kitschy Indian tributes, but nothing really affected me until my trip to the Navaho Reservation in Window Rock, Arizona. As part of a youth missions trip with my church, we spent two weeks cleaning up various parts of the reservation and attended the Native American Youth Conference in Fort Lewis, Colorado. It was fascinating and sad at the same time. We spent a day cleaning up an old grave site that was trashed because the site was sacred to the Navahos and they would not walk on it. We found remnants of horse bones (they’re buried with their horses) and shrines to old chiefs.

Even though I wasn’t alive during the genocide of the Indians, I feel guilty just because of how much privilege I have in this country because of people like them who sacrificed and ended up with nothing. The distribution of wealth is one of the major problems in this country and many white people that I know would just say that they’re “blessed” with what they have. That it was God’s plan for the European Americans to take over the country so we could have what we have today. I don’t think it would have been God’s intention to wipe out an ethnic group that he created so that another group could prosper.

“Impossible to read but impossible to put down” is how one critic described Bury My Heart. I grew to be afraid as to what would be played out on the next page, as Indian leaders that I had come to respect and like were killed off or imprisoned one by one. It was extremely informative to hear accounts from the Indians who were there because I had never read anything like that. At the same time, it was extremely depressing to hear that many of the so-called Christian, founding fathers of this nation were as shallow, superficial, cruel and money-hungry as they were. Educators need to redesign the way they teach American history. How the West was won, I think not. How the West was stolen, more appropriate.

Take Me Down to Sandtown

2007-10-02T11:45:00.000-04:00

As we drove down Fulton Avenue in inner city Baltimore, passing boarded up, burnt-out and abandoned houses one after the other, I began to wonder if this class trip to Sandtown was a joke being played on us. Surely this wasn’t the neighborhood serving as a leading model in the U.S. for urban transformation? It was rare to see two homes side by side, occupied by residents other than rats or cockroaches and the pothole littered road shook the school van as if we were off-roading in the Rockies. Then, up ahead, a glint of green- trees! Freshly planted trees and multi-colored houses with fresh paint and new mailboxes began popping up all around us. A Habitat For Humanity crew was hard at work, framing a row home. Across the street, New Song Urban Ministries’ headquarters stood out like a ray of hope in this once-forgotten neighborhood. We had arrived.

Sandtown, like many other African-American neighborhoods in large U.S. cities, has seen its share of misery. Once a vibrant, economically stable community for the working class, Sandtown suffered greatly from the flight of industry, small businesses and wealthier residents. After the riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and as segregation laws were lifted, those who could afford to leave, did and in their wake, collapsed the housing values of the neighborhood. Soon more homes were empty than occupied, left to the mercy of the elements. As more and more people became unemployed, crime rates rose, turning Sandtown into an untouchable neighborhood. Those who lived there were too poor to get out. And no one wanted to move in.

From there came the story of how Allen Tibbels and three other couples moved into the neighborhood and listened to the residents concerns, needs and cries. From this learning period grew New Song Community Church, then a Habitat for Humanity, followed by a public school for ages K through 8, a community arts center, a health clinic and a job placement agency. Though the work in Sandtown is far from completed, a solid foundation has been laid for the future of this community as they strive to get to where the neighborhood is fully functional and stable without the aid of charity. Through an assessment of this model, I will determine if enough indicators are in place to where Sandtown can thrive holistically.

Social Capital

As learnt throughout the residency, social capital is the most important thing needed for stability and growth. In Sandtown, a lot of New Song’s early success was due in part to the wealth of social capital held by the Tibbels and the other founding partners. Wealthy suburban churches, access to government funding and partnerships with local and nationwide community development organizations helped set the pace for the neighborhood’s first stage of transformation. As 20 years have gone by, the question that still remains is if the social capital has been transferred to the new co-executive directors, Patty and Antoine. As a lifelong resident of Sandtown, Antoine definitely has social capital within the community and has garnered tremendous respect from the residents. Patty has been with the organization for almost 10 years and has earned respect as well, but as a woman, a newer resident and of a different ethnic background, she still has miles to go in gaining social capital within the community. Outside of Sandtown, one would assume that since being under the guidance of the Tibbels, some of their social capital has transferred to Patty and Antoine. I cannot say this for sure. As members of CCDA and being part of one of the largest Habitats in the country, Patty and Antoine have surely met outsiders who will support them as new leaders. But as things are so uncertain these days, new leaders must constantly be cultivated from within the organization and from outside. That way, if something was to happen and Sandtown was suddenly without leadership, there will always be someone available to step up to the plate.

Empowerment

During our walk around the neighborhood, I had the opportunity to ask Patty some questions. One thing I was curious about was whether or not the presence of the Habitat workers and the sight of the newly remodeled houses had inspired other homeowners to spruce up their own homes. She said that yes, it had. One example was that of a back lot that had been used as a dumping ground by the neighborhood for years. Without the suggestion of New Song or any of its associates, a group of residents got together and decided to clean up the lot and turn it into a park. The area was cleaned out, new grass was planted and a gazebo with barbeque grills was installed. The residents were empowered by the sight of the new homes and the positive change to their neighborhood and were inspired to make their own space look nice, even without the aid of New Song.

Arts in Transformation

New Song’s Arts program has seen it’s up and downs lately, but in the past has been a great source of inspiration to the neighborhood residents and to those on the outside. An award-winning children’s choir has traveled around the country, singing songs about their Baltimore and bringing attention to the community’s needs. This choir offered kids a great way to artistically express their feelings and raise money through the sale of a CD they produced. Unfortunately, the sustainability of this program was proven to be weak as the choir director left the organization and the arts program was disintegrated. Just recently has the organization hired a new choir director and hopefully the program will take off again.

Affordable Housing

As one of the leading Habitat for Humanity projects in the country, New Song’s Sandtown habitat has seen the completion of over 230 homes thus far, with an additional 50 in progress. Patty told me on our walk that Habitat has actually purchased almost 100% of the abandoned housing in Sandtown and slowly but surely, each and every house will be redone and offered to residents as a mortgage with 0% interest. The average cost to build these homes is $50,000, thanks to the help of numerous volunteers and hands-on workers. And because of the transforming neighborhood, housing prices are rising again, as the average remodeled home now costs an attractive, but affordable $150,000. Access to ownership isn’t just for the most stable either- the first home was give to a single mother who earned only $8,000 a year, but not one Habitat home has been foreclosed. Candidates are selected on need basis, willingness to be part of the program and put in 330 hours of “sweat equity” and their ability to repay the loan. Mortgage payments are then used in the development of new homes, ensuring that the cycle of redevelopment continues.

Incarnational

The principles of John Perkins are alive and well in Sandtown. All directors must move into the community in which they work. This allows the residents to get to know them on a personal level, develop respect and appreciation for them and also shows their commitment to the organization. Antoine told us that the teachers at the school who do not live in the community have a more difficult time with the children, because the kids know that they won’t run into them on the streets after class. One struggle for the leaders is that they “always have to be on,” meaning that they are almost always working, even when going to the grocery store or walking down the street. The residents connect them to their work, which for the most part is a positive thing but can get very tiring. This could easily lead to burnout if the leaders are not careful with allotting enough time to rejuvenate.

Evangelism

The church was the first thing that was brought into Sandtown and the beliefs and principles of New Song are apparent in every aspect of their work. Even if they are not opening proclaiming their beliefs, their unconditional love, support and fulfillment of God’s Word towards the residents of Sandtown are shown in their commitment to economic development, education, worship and quality of life. Antoine’s testimony is shared with every visiting group and his neighbors and friends have seen his life changed through accepting Christ. New Song’s leaders have been called, as we all are, to bring about social change and justice to those in need and are working hard to fulfill this call.

Leadership Development/Succession Planning

These two concepts really go hand in hand in the development of Sandtown and New Song Urban Ministries. Many of the executive positions in the organization are now filled by residents of the community, with more leaders and employees being trained all the time. After 20 years as Executive Director, founder Allen Tibbel succeeded his position to Patty and Antoine, but he remains at Habitat to give them guidance and help if needed. Eventually it will be Patty and Antoine developing leaders under them, to ensure the stream of leaders never runs dry. Habitat for Humanity hires locals and trains them to become electricians, carpenters and plumbers, which helps them pursue jobs outside of the reconstruction of Sandtown homes.

There are so many more elements to the transformation of Sandtown. Part of the reason New Song is so successful is because it incorporates so many different aspects of holistic transformation. Social, economic, spiritual, physical and emotional needs are all met one way or the other through New Song’s numerous ministries. Even if one program is stalled or taken away, the rest of the organization will remain in tact. It would take an earthquake to undo all the work that has been done in Sandtown.

A final question is if this urban model for social transformation is replicable. I would answer that yes, there can be many Sandtowns around the country, but some specific factors must be in place for it to work out as well as it has for New Song. First, the neighborhood itself, although desperately poor and in crisis, must have a certain community-wide spirit about it. Even though Sandtown went through so much hardship, they weren’t as fragmented as they could have been. People still knew each other. Neighbors still cared for one another. Strangers were noticed right away. In order for a program to successfully work, the community must already be intact in an emotional/spiritual way, if not physically. A fragmented community will be extremely hard to bring together to work for the common good. Second, a great amount of respect must be brought from the community developers. Time must be spent listening to the residents and learning about what their needs are before any programs are put into place. The Tibbels spent two years just getting to know their neighbors and earning the love and respect that they now have so much of. Third, the community must not go at it alone. Outside support is needed, either financially, emotionally, through prayer, partnerships or group visits. The community must feel as if there are people willing to help on the outside, who value their streets and homes just as much as their own residents do. If all of these aspects are in place, then any crisis or problem can be dealt with, handled appropriately and learned from in order to make the next project go even better. Sandtown is well on its way to proving to doubters that an untouchable and forgotten neighborhood can still be full of treasures, if only given a chance.

What is effective urban social change?

2007-09-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

Change is always occuring in the city – for better or for worse. Socially, a neighborhood may go through trends and transitions or might stay the same for many years. One decade might have seen a closeness in the community- neighborhood watch groups, kids playing outside together, block parties…. the next decade might bring boarded up windows, unsafe streets and suspicious strangers. There are many different factors that determine the environment of the community and to bring about effective urban social change, you must look at these factors and figure out how to tackle them in the best possible way.

I. Review of Transformation

Much research has been done on what needs to happen in order to have positive transformation in our cities, but all researchers have concluded that more is needed. Lately, our communities have transformed from the close knit, watchful and in-tune environments of the 50s to the secluded, unsocial, and unfriendly environment of the present. There are many reasons for this change, but the main causes have been shown to be busyness, suburban sprawl, increased television watching, change in family structure and generational differences (Putnam). These factors have shown to have a negative effect on our social lives- we spend more time alone and isolated than socializing with friends, neighbors and coworkers. As our networks grow smaller, it begins to impact our economic status (who you know is important in landing that better job), support structures (weak relationships with the neighbors hurts in times of crisis), and safety (lack of concern or attention to the going-ons of the neighborhood leads to higher crime rates and more kids in trouble.)

II. Definition of Transformation

Transformation is defined as “a marked change in appearance or character, usually for the better” (education.yahoo.com/transformation). Urban Social Transformation (UST) can then be defined as positive change in the spiritual, environmental, economical and political structures of an urban setting that in turn increase the positive social behavior of the residents of the community. Granted, not all of these factors need to be in place for a neighborhood to transform into a better place to live and work, but the more factors in place, the better it is. When things are transformed holistically, there is an obvious change that occurs for everyone. When people have steady work and a safe place to live, socially they are happier, friendlier and care more about what goes on outside their doors. When the streets they live on are clean and drug-free, a positive change is noticed in their social behavior. When none of these factors are in place, people are noticablly depressed, isolated and unfriendly. And who can blame them?

III. Indicators

Indicators of Urban Social Transformation are apparent by looking at the individuals who live in a certain community being researched and by also looking at the outside forces, such as government, business owners, and laws that either help or harm them. A positive transformation can been seen when housing costs drop, but the quality of the homes increase. Another indicator of positive transformation is a decrease in crime and unemployment or an increase in graduation rates and stable families. When a positive social transformation begins to occur, the people that have struggled with employment, housing, health, finances, crime, education, divorce and addictions begin to make changes that positively influence the quality of their life and the lives of others around them. People often feed off of the success of others. If they see that their family member is thriving and doing well for themselves, they might approach them for advice and help the cycle continue.

But it is not only on an individual level where change needs to occur. A lot of these indicators come from the wrong doings of higher powers. By changing the structures that govern and keep the city from collapsing, you change the individual as well. But as long as there are factors in place the hold people back or keep them from growing positively, the urban social environment will remain one that is less than desired.

A holistic and spiritual approach is the most effective way to bring about urban social change. By building networks between urban churches and wealthier neighborhoods, a movement between the educated elite and middle class, who have a biblical theology of justice, economics and society, can be formed. Developing a plan for transformation must be done with the approval and assistance of the members of the community, so that they are a part of helping change their environment. When all the right factors are in place – spiritual, economical, physical, emotional – urban social transformation can then begin to take place. No man is an island. Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others (Donne, 1631).

Social Capital and Transformation

2007-09-19T11:36:00.001-04:00

"We're always behind metal and glass. Think we miss that touch so much, we crash into each other just to feel something."

So states one of the lead characters from 2004’s Crash, an Academy Award-winning film that dealt with disconnect and racism in Los Angeles, one of the U.S.’s most sprawling cities. The feeling of being alone and isolated even when surrounded by millions of people is one that reaches all corners of the globe, causing us to long for the days of solid communities and close-knit relationships with co-workers, neighbors and friends. Are the days of weekly club meetings and borrowing sugar from the neighbor simply nostalgic or can we regain a sense of community and connectedness, even in the modern world we have created? Several researchers have claimed that yes, we can revive our communities, but much work is needed to undo the damage. We must look at the cause, effect and at the past to learn how we can change what we have become.

But first off, what have we become? Author Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone, 2000) claims that our social capital keeps us healthy, happy and thriving. Social capital refers to “the connections among individuals and the social networks that arise from them” (Putnam, page19). The more social capital we have, in essence, the more relationships we have, the better off we are. We invest “in social relations with expected returns in the marketplace,” (Lin, page 19) meaning we form friendships and networks with people who we think will help us succeed economically and socially. Social capital is made up of all kinds of resources in a social structure that are used for moving forward, mobilizing a group and getting to a personal or common goal (Lin, page 29).

In past decades, much of our social capital came from organizations we belonged to and the networks we made through them. Fraternities and sororities, church groups, service clubs, sports teams and civil rights organizations are all examples of bonding and bridging social capital. Throughout the years however, membership in all of these community based organizations have waned, leaving many wondering if groups such as the ones mentioned above will become extinct. In fact, almost all forms of community participation have decreased, from political activeness, to civic organizations, to church attendance to workplace unions and guilds. The only places where group memberships and communities seem to be growing are in web-based networks, such as message board communities and chat groups. “Cybernetworks fuse socio-economic-technological elements in social relations and social capital” (Lin, page 238).

Why the dramatic shift from community-based living and social activeness towards isolation and privacy? During the beginning of the century, Americans were extremely active in the social and political life of their neighborhoods (Putnam, page 183). Then, all across the board, people stopped being so involved. There are many reasons one would give for not being able to join an organization or participate in the community. Number one would be busyness- people feel as if they don’t have the time. But research shows us that Americans today actually have more free time than ever before. They just choose to use it doing activities that make the day zoom by- such as commuting long hours or watching TV.

Another reason people are disconnected from their communities is because of mobility and sprawl. “Suburbanization meant greater separation of workplace and residence,” (Putnam, Page 207) meaning that people no longer work, play, dine and worship in the communities where they live. They may drive 45 minutes to work, 20 minutes to church, and an hour to visit relatives. More time in the car means more time alone. Houses are built farther away from each other, with fences and gates surrounding them for even more privacy. Most suburban homes aren’t even connected by a sidewalk, meaning walking to a neighbor’s house or watching children play in the streets is a thing of the past. Meeting people while walking to a location forms a branch of social capital and with fewer sidewalks connecting us to towns and neighbors, the less sense of community one has.

Electronic media has played one of the most important roles in destroying community. “More television watching means less of virtually every form of civic participation and social involvement” (Putnam, page 228). People will become more devoted to a TV show than to a social issue or community event. Young people who have grown up with TV are shown to be more socially isolated and ignorant, with fewer close friends. Obesity in children and television viewing go hand-in-hand and also account for dropping membership in outdoor activities. TV numbs our senses to violence and social problems, encourages materialism and promotes laziness. This isn’t to say all TV programs are bad, but the more time a person spends alone and in front of the TV, the less connected and caring they are towards their community, because they just aren’t there.

Family structure and change in roles has caused a rift in community activeness. Women were once the more active members of community-based organizations but as they began to work full time, attendance of these groups fell. Higher divorce rates mean that children spend time traveling back and forth between parents and don’t grow as connected to their neighbors and community as children who grew up in a stable home. People move so often that they find it pointless to get to know the people living next door.

And finally, generational change is a huge factor in the decline of civic involvement. Whereas the older generation- the parents of the Boomers- were steady volunteers and active in the community, their children and grandchildren are not, although there has been a rise of volunteerism in today’s youth. The groups that were once faithfully attended by our grandparents no longer appeal to the new generation. There are fewer leaders in these organizations and most of them have gray hair. Once these people are no longer with us, the organizations will end, as their numbers already show them to be dying off. Hopefully out of this will arise new groups, lead by the younger generation.

Does it matter that people are opting to spend less time in community-based organizations and more time pursuing their own activities? The answer is, yes. Putnam writes that “Communication is a fundamental prerequisite for social and emotional connections” (Putnam, page 171). Without these connections, we start to feel isolated, lonely and depressed. Research suggests that “civic connections help make us healthy, wealthy and wise” (Putnam, page 287). Without relationships with the leaders and neighbors in our communities, we tend to distrust the unfamiliar. We find we have fewer friends or even no one to turn to in times of crisis. Even if we have all the degrees and training in the world, without social capital, it is harder to find a job and increase our economic and social prospects. Most job leads come from connections to a person within the company. Networking and schmoozing are still the best ways to land a job. Once you land that job, the best way to work your way up the ladder is by continuing to network within the organization and use the resources available to you. On page 54, Nan Lin writes “social structure and individual actors reinforce each other: the structure rewards individual actors who support and recognize its valued resources, and individual actors strive to recognize and promote structural resources in order to gain status or better positions in the structure.”

As people’s networks grow smaller, the lack of social capital has hit us hard in several areas. The first is through the education of our children and their welfare. A community’s infrastructure, such as schools, political leaders and health organizations, is important to our children’s development. The less connected a school is with its community and parents, the worse off the children will be. When parents are engaged with their kid’s school and teachers, social capital rises and everyone benefits. In states where social capital is low, children are less likely to care about their education and peers (Putnam, page 302).

Our economic status and community wealth are also affected when social capital is low. “Economic standing and social standing are complementary in that the former requires social legitimation and enforcement for wealth. Without social enforcement, economic standing collapses, without collective wealth, social standing is meaningless” (Lin, page 150). When a community lacks both wealth and reputation, the community becomes fragmented and disconnected (Lin, page 163). I believe that wealth can be measured by things other than just monetary value, but without any social connections or relationships, even the richest person is poor.

Neighborhoods are also affected negatively by low levels of social capital. The more people who know each other and have relationships with their neighbors, the safer the streets are for everyone. Neighborhoods that are clean, have friendly residents and more community involvement, have lower levels of crime. But on the other hand, neighborhoods that lack positive role models, community groups and neighborhood watch organizations are more likely to have kids (and adults) getting into trouble. The inner city has been impacted the most by the absence of economic capital and therefore, their social connections are the most important aspect to their welfare. The people they know, have relationships with and trust are the people they can turn to for aid and support.

Health and happiness can be attributed to positive social capital. “Socially isolated people are more likely to smoke, drink, overeat, (etc.)” (Putnam, page 327). But being around people and engaging in social activities are factors in fighting disease and stress. With people nearby to lean on or trust, it is easier to get through the drudges we face in life. In fact, the more socially engaged we are, the more likely we are to live longer (Putnam, page 331).

This sense of isolation and division is not an unfamiliar one. At the end of the nineteenth century, Americans were divided by class, ethnicity and race, just like we are today. With the influx of new immigrants, people did not know or understand their neighbors. They realized that they were a country of strangers. But at the turn of the century, Americans began to feel that “society needed to be democratized to ensure everyone had a decent chance for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Putnam, page 378). And so, society changed. Communities were shaped, order was formed and numerous community and national social organizations grew. Organizations such as the Salvation Army, Shriners, Rotary and Boy Scouts were formed during these days and people signed up by the millions.

This is the sort of attitude that is once again needed today. Putnam lists several items on an agenda needed for social reformation (Putnam, page 403). New structures and policies must be created to facilitate renewed civic engagements. Individuals need to resolve to themselves to connect with those around them. The older generation must try to entice civic engagement among the younger generation. People must once again feel connected to their political leaders and learn that they have the power to bring about change. All of these items are important in rebuilding a connected society- one that people of all ages, races and backgrounds can engage in and enjoy.

I grew up in Sellersville, PA, a town founded in the 1700s, with a population of 5,000. Although there are many community activities “downtown,” my family considered our main community to be at church. Wednesdays and Sundays were spent there and most friendships were forged during youth groups and volunteer trips. I don’t really have a connection with my hometown since I did not attend the local schools. These days, my extended family is part of a completely different community. In Northeast Philadelphia, the Russian community is very prominent, with restaurants, businesses and families living along Bustleton Ave. Although this community is fairly connected, the youth still struggle to find ways to be involved and meet. The churches have not supplied the youth with organized events or meeting times and there is a void that needs to be filled in the spiritual lives of these Russian-American teens.

Several of my extended family members are forming a Russian youth group and have rented a small space in Northeast Philly where the kids can get together for activities and worship. It is my hope to be able to be a part of organizing and developing this organization so that it can grow to include other members of the community and from all around Philadelphia. I would also like to see this organization connect with other like-minded Russian and youth organizations around the country, to form a collection of groups that can rely on each other for questions and support.

Instead of remaining nostalgic about the ‘good old days,’ we need to relearn how to connect with our neighbors, coworkers, town and city leaders and even our own families. The growth of communities depends on the people who not only just live there, but care there. Without these connections, we are just a bunch of strangers living on a plot of land who from time to time crash into each other just to feel the touch of another human being.

Social Analysis of Kensington, Philadelphia

2007-09-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

Jesus said, “The poor will be with you always.” And in parts of Philadelphia, this has been confirmed time and time again. In the rough neighborhood of Kensington, off of Delaware Ave, one steadfast and compassionate group has remained the community’s pillar of love and hope. Kensington Area Ministry (KAM) is a collection of eight United Methodist Churches who have come together to support the community members of this area and through after school programs, picnics, food drives and community events, have devoted over 20 years of service to the people of Kensington. A small organization made up of entirely volunteers, KAM relies on the support of donations and grants to keep their operation running. The area of Kensington is not an easy place to live, work or worship and an analysis of the social and community life in this neighborhood shows the struggles residents there face and what is needed to help.

Kensington is located in North Philadelphia, immediately north of Center City. In past decades, North Philadelphia was hit hard by white flight and economic decline. The majority of North Philadelphia's residents are poor African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Despite its wealth of history, schools, cultural sites, parkland, architecture, and other holdovers from more prosperous times, high crime and unfettered poverty have earned North Philadelphia a reputation as a slum. At the same time, some would counter that it is far more diverse an area, and thus too large to stereotype. From the Puerto Rican communities in Hunting Park, West Kensington, and Fairhill to the middle class African American neighborhoods around the Oak Lanes to the poor ghettos that typify much of its core to newly-gentrifying Brewerytown, a large portion of Philadelphians call this section home. Recent developments have given North Philadelphia a brighter future, as several neighborhoods begin to overcome some of their problems (Wikipedia).

Philadelphia has changed drastically in the past century, due to advances in technology, better healthcare and communication and increasing trends caused by globalization. Since the end of the Cold War, the world and everyone in it, like it or not, has been affected by globalization- and quickly. It has taken over politics, commerce, and international relations within virtually every country in the world. Those who have not been fast enough to keep up with the pace of globalization have been left behind, unemployed, bitter and isolated.

In Kensington, there were those who depended on factory and industrial jobs to feed their families, but after industry moved out of the area, they were left jobless and impoverished. What were once vibrant, productive neighborhoods are now full of abandoned homes, burnt out buildings, and bankrupt businesses due to all the low-skill jobs moving overseas or to the suburbs. Welfare laws, low wages and the death of communities have all resulted in the restructuring of homes, usually to the disadvantage of those involved. With public transportation declining and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the city, many fathers were forced to leave the home in order for their family to apply for welfare. This lead to high rates of single-parent homes and less supervision and stimulating activities for children, resulting in higher delinquency and school drop-out rates. In homes with parents earning minimum wage jobs, all energy is put into earning enough to survive and without the support of a caring community, life can become unbearable.

After a community is lost, the memory of it also fades. People become isolated and depressed. Without a core family at home, they will find another one on the streets or in prisons. And the values learnt on the streets are not usually ones to be taken into the home. This leads to higher crime and violent behavior, substance addiction and lack of role models for children growing up in the neighborhood. In Kensington, the drug trade is alive and thriving. Now, gentrification has begun creeping into Kensington and the surrounding neighborhoods and developers will turn the neighborhood into an attractive, high-rent district, with the poor will be forced to move elsewhere.

In Philadelphia, the average annual salary of $38,768. While Philly may be more inexpensive to live in when compared to New York, the cost of living is 27% above the national average. The US Bureau of Census determined that 26% of the population was living below the poverty level and that out of the top 25 largest cities in the country, Philadelphia had the 12th highest poverty level.

Many problems contribute to this, including low wages and high living costs. When someone earns the PA minimum wage of $5.15 an hour (2000) and works 40 hours a week, the amount of money they earn before taxes equals $11,440. Take away 30% for taxes and you’re bringing home $8000. Is it possible to live in Philadelphia on $8000 a year?

For those who do not want to rent for their entire life, ownership is near impossible. The median cost of buying a house in Philadelphia is $110,500 and although this varies from area to area, home ownership among the poor has declined steadily over the past decade. Although nearly 60% of Philadelphians own their home, this number too has dropped in the last 10 years. According to Kevin Gillen at the University of Pennsylvania, housing prices have increased 123% in the past 10 years. In 1996, the average cost of renting in Philadelphia was $690, but now over 100,000 households struggle to pay rent and in several neighborhoods, more than 40% of residents live in poverty (Brookings Institute, 2000).

With an unemployment rate of 7.1%, this means that only 56% of working age adults were employed or actively seeking work. As jobs move out to the suburbs, inner-city residents are left with few options for employment. Only 18% of residents hold a college degree and only 30% of jobs in the entire Philadelphia region are located in the center city.

The overall goal of community organizing is to improve the standard of living and quality of life, by producing assets and bringing residents together. Quality of life ideas are seen as social justice, political efficacy and economic vitality. If the quality of life is raised, the community will become a better place to live. Health and safety risks will be reduced, residents will be connected to more opportunities, housing and investments will become stabilized and the community will partner with government and other institutions of power to ensure that the neighborhood is taken care of appropriately and accordingly. By empowering individuals in the neighborhood to bring about these changes, the result will be long-lasting pride and care in the community.

A holistic approach brings together all aspects of life- social, intellectual, physical, financial, spiritual and political assets. In order for a community development and organizing program to be successful, it must have support from all angles, including residents, government, community leaders, churches and local non-profits. You can’t force a program on people who do not want it in the first place.

To gain the support you need from the rest of society, you must rise above the stereotypes and beliefs of the general public. A common misconception in the United States is that there is enough wealth and opportunity for someone to raise from the depths of any situation and make something of themselves. A person’s status at birth largely determines the future. Americans base most of their success on the fact that they worked hard and achieved great things despite the odds. They do not realize that most of their success is due in part to the level of the economic stratosphere in which they were born. They have no empathy for those who are at the bottom of the food chain, because those people are looked at as lazy and as if it is their own fault that they are poor. If a person is not faced with problems that don’t concern them, they find it difficult to care.

By empowering the residents of the community, they will begin to grow and thrive on their own. When people feel involved and connected to a project, they are more likely to put everything they have into it and feel a sense of pride when it’s completed. Instead of depending on assistance from the government or the organization, they will look for ways to do it themselves and continue to grow and improve. In Kensington, the residents need to feel as if they have a say in their policies and governing, have the resources to enable other community members or business to expand and watch the streets become safer and neighbors more trustworthy. It’s very important to be able to complete a project and pull out of the community and know that they will continue prospering. That’s the only way you know a job has truly been completed.

Analyzing Urban Poverty

2007-09-19T11:34:00.001-04:00

In a world of almost 7 billion people, with 70% living off of less than $2 a day, poverty is a global crisis. Every country and city has it’s own unique problems and needs, but the premises is the same- those in poverty are often left to fend for themselves and struggle to survive. Judy Baker and Nina Schuler’s research on Analyzing Urban Poverty provides a summary of methods and approaches to conducting urban poverty analysis. With the ability to properly research and gather information on this issue, better changes can be made to policy and organizations focused at alleviating poverty.

The research report was basically an outline on how to effectively go about researching urban poverty and learning how to target an area’s needs. Through case studies and examples of research methods, the reader can follow the steps that Baker and Schuler used for their findings. The first thing the researcher needs to do is find a way to measure the poverty in a location. While the authors wrote numerous case studies on many world cities, it is best for one to focus on an individual location in order to best serve it. The case studies they selected represent different approaches to urban poverty analysis in different geographic locations (page 10). Using data that has already been released is a cost-effective way to gather information, along with focus groups and interviews.

Although this was a complex study, one thing that I really took away from their research was the statement that in order to successfully reach conclusions on an issue, you must track it for an extended period of time (page 12). Measuring the changes of poverty over time is the only way to figure out if the policies in place are being effective. Another thing they mentioned was that an understanding of the specific characteristics of urban poverty will lead to more cost-effective policies. In essence, relating to and understanding the needs and problems of the urban poor will help you to better assist them and provide care.

Another notable suggestion was found in the conclusion. It is important to be aware of the environment of the city at the time of the study. They used the example of a war or natural disaster. If a significant incident has just happened in the city, chances are the findings on poverty will be a lot different than research taken several years prior or later. The authors also provide several challenges researchers may be faced with when conducting a survey. Data collection, sampling and definitional issues were a few of the problems they had and remaining consistent in research methods is important in order for the report to appear accurate (page 17).
Although I thought this report was long-winded and offered almost too many suggestions for undertaking research, it was helpful to see an outline of another’s research methods. The fact that the authors chose to include numerous case studies proves that they spent time and resources on this project and the accuracy of their research is verified through other references. Analyzing urban poverty is a huge task to undertake, but with these suggestions and methods, it should be easier for an organization to know where to begin and how to break it down.

Developing Local Models of Minority Student Success in College

2007-09-19T11:33:00.001-04:00

When I was in college, my core group of friends was made up of mostly international students. Most of them were of Latino or European ethnicity and while they were considered “minority” students at school, they always stood out in a way that made the majority of students want to be a part of them. I was always envious of the way they seemed to treat each other like a big family, cooking traditional foods for each other, hosting the best parties on campus and always speaking in Spanish or Portuguese. (As time went on, I learned to figure out when they were talking about me and they would joke about how they needed to learn a new language to speak around me.)

This group of students, who hailed from countries such as Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Switzerland, Australia and France, probably would not have been the best of friends back in their hometowns. They were of different classes and customs and accents. It was the sport of tennis that brought them all to Nashville, TN for college and as teammates and visa-carrying students, they formed a bond that separated them from the rest of the suburban, middle-class majority at the college. But they were envied and were some of the most popular students on campus.

I am almost positive that it was this source of familiarity and support that kept at least a couple of the students coming back semester after semester. While several of the members had extremely outgoing and loquacious personalities, there were others that would have been completely lost in the crowd and left to fend for themselves in the confusing atmosphere of freshman college- not to mention the whole language barrier thing. Within this group of diverse ethnicities, there were personalities with even more diversity. But nonetheless, they were a family. And every single one of them graduated from the college in four years and most even remained in the US to work.

So what factors contributed to their success? Such was the topic of research by Raymond V. Padilla, Jesús Treviño, Kenny Gonzalez and Jane Treviño. Their study, entitled Developing Local Models of Minority Student Success in College, was designed to “reveal the strategies that successful minority students employ to overcome barriers to academic success in college” (page 125). Every year, too many minority students are failing to finish college because of a number of reasons. This study intended to discover ways to keep minority students in school until graduation and develop a model of successful ethnic minority students (page 126).

While I agree with their findings (which I will discuss later), I do not agree with the way they went about attaining their data. First of all, they only interviewed 28 students, all who attended the same university. The students were of several ethnicities, which would have it seem that all minorities feel the same way when starting college. I am sure that if they had interviewed a larger population, they would have found that there are different contributing factors within each individual ethnic group and even within in different genders and religions. Another issue I have with the students selected is that they were picked by staff members of the school. If the staff were aware of the reason for the study, they most likely would have picked the most familiar, outgoing and familiar students- students that may have different views from their more quiet counterparts. Students that are more outgoing will take more time to go out of their way to join clubs and meet friends. The shyer ones will usually have a tight nit group of friends and may even feel out of place within a large setting of even people of the same race. I believe that how one adapts to the college life has a lot to do with their personality, their ability to make fast friends and the support of family members back home. Of course, if a minority student goes to college and has a hard time meeting people, is quiet and lacks the support of their family, they will find it easier to just give up. But success in college shouldn’t be determined by the number of friends you have who are of the same race as you.

Data was collected by creating a matrix, a qualitative measurement used to interpret data in order to create a concept model (page 127). The results found were four barriers that minority students had to overcome in order to be successful in college. Discontinuity barriers are circumstances that one must overcome to feel comfortable in a new setting. Minority students come to college with the idea that they will be on their own, so they look to build a support system with peers who are in the same situation. They create a “family” just as my international friends had done. They depend on themselves and each other to help figure out the different customs or rules of college life.

One barrier that I disagree with to an extent is the resource barrier. While statistically, minority students come from poorer families than the majority, you can’t group an entire ethnicity or an entire minority by determining that these students will have to work harder and be more aware of the financial aid process. Plenty of the minorities at my school came from wealthy families and vise versa. I don’t think it is right to lump a whole group together. In fact, almost all of my minority friends came from wealthy families.

While it is easier for students of all races and ethnicities to cling to a group of their own kind, that isn’t what college is about. College is about forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and socializing and learning with people who are different from you. I think that as you advance in your college years, you tend to hang out with less of the same people all the time and attempt to branch out. While you always want to have that core group of friends you can go to for support and comfort, there is no reason why you can’t survive college by feeling out of place some of the time. It’s all about finding a balance and any student, regardless of color or class, that can do that, will be successful. By using this data, colleges that lack ethnic clubs or support systems can be aware of the needs of minority students and make sure there are some in place. But mixing with different groups at college will allow for a much more valuable learning and growing experience.

Generation Y Care?

2007-09-19T11:31:00.000-04:00

Every Saturday night, Main Street in Manayunk crawls with 21-28 year-olds looking to let loose and party with their friends. They easily throw down $40 for a quick sushi dinner and pay $8 a martini until the bars close down at 2am. Most are college-educated, live in comfortable apartments or still at home and work in a professional, office atmosphere. In cities all over the country, members of ‘Generation Y’ live a fast-paced, faux-glamorous lifestyle where instant gratification is demanded and success is measured by the higher number BMW they drive or the cost of a designer handbag. Meanwhile, more than three billion people around the world live on less than $2 a day. And only 15 minutes away in North Philadelphia, the poverty rate exceeds 56%. Are the children of the baby boomer generation aware or knowledgeable on the issues that concern the impoverished lower class of the inner city? Or are they simply uninterested and don’t care about anything other than their own lives and their own success?

This research project will seek to discover the average middle-class, young professional attitudes towards the city’s poor. It will find out if living distance from the inner city makes any difference in their opinions and expose the cause of these views, whether it is race or gender related, religious background, family history, career path or political affiliation. Generation Y are the future leaders of America and the issues they care about concern every citizen. Unfortunately, too many young professionals are more concerned with material possessions and getting ahead financially than they are about social issues and helping those in need. By understanding what drives and what is important to young, working adults, we can market global issues on a level that best reaches them. Maybe there is something else a 24-year old would rather be doing on a Saturday night than getting wasted with his friends or watching endless hours of television. Maybe they do care about poverty, health care and affordable housing, but no outlet has ever caught their attention or convinced them that their help is needed. The findings of this research will provide a base of knowledge when it comes to targeting volunteers from the young professional class.

Prior research on this subject has been mostly along the lines of understanding youth in America and preventing them from making bad choices. Once people reach their early twenties, they have pretty much established their lifestyle and goals, especially those in the working world. As one starts to get older, new interests and activities wane and the relationships one makes influences the issues they care about and the concerns they have. Most volunteers come from teenagers or retirees. Those in the middle of life are more focused on themselves or their families than on understanding social issues, but there are several groups made up of young professionals that come together to raise awareness for issues and donate time and money to charity. The Young Professional’s Group of LA works with local homeless shelters and the National Urban League of Young Professionals is a network that provides volunteering opportunities for other young professionals. CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) has funded studies on the beliefs and attitudes of Generation Y, including studies on faith, political involvement, diversity and education and research on young adults’ attitudes towards the welfare system has also been done at the University of Iowa. There are several young professionals organizations in Philadelphia, but all of them focus on social activities rather than volunteering.

Along with interviews and surveys as a basis for data collection, a documentary will also be filmed simultaneously to get the “feel” and “tone” of the attitudes of young adults. Interviews will take place in public settings, with all subjects unknown to the researcher. An equal amount of female and male subjects will be chosen and age, background and career status will be questioned. Problems that may arise could be fabrication of background and opinions by subjects if on appearing on camera and wanting to portray a certain image. Other problems may include lack of background information and prior research examples, but all in all, this proposal appears manageable.

Kids With Cameras

2007-09-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

Change can start with one person. When photographer Zana Briski moved to the Red Light District of Calcutta, India, she was very much alone. She spent months at a time in the brothels, taking photos of the prostitutes who lived there and began to form relationships with their children. After realizing the creative potential these children held and how the world was viewed through their eyes, she started a program called Kids with Cameras, which taught the fundamentals of photography and gave them an outlet in which to express themselves. Documenting their lives and progress along the way, Zana went on to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary and the Kids with Cameras organization grew to include other cities such as Haiti, Cairo, and Jerusalem. Although small, Kids with Cameras has touched numerous lives and continues its work throughout the world with the help of grants, fellowships and donations. It is my hope to expand this organization to include a division called Kids with Computers- providing children in impoverished locations with computers and teaching them how to utilize their skills and talents through them.

Isolation causes a person to be left behind. With no knowledge or access to the outside world, a person will be cut off from opportunities that could have provided them with a better life. In our fast paced, technology-based society, you must be connected in order to prosper. By hooking kids up with computers with access to the internet, email, and web-based programs, they will be introduced to a whole new world and will be able to meet people from other countries who might offer them ways to advance their education and lifestyle. Whereas cameras allow them to express what they see, the computers and internet will allow them to share. Along with the computer labs, lessons will also be offered on typing and using various programs, along with internet safety. The goal of Kids with Computers is to have a computer lab in every city where Kids with Cameras is located and to eventually expand to other places.

Imagine your life without a computer. No instant access to news, friends or information. Everything must be written by hand and mailed by a snail. It would be a life where everyone on the outside moves at the speed of light and you stay put. Children learn how to do new things exceptionally fast, so having computer skills at a young age can lead to a more advanced career later in life. These kinds of skills will get them out of the brothels and the ghettos and allow them to pursue something that fits their likes and creativity.

How many computers are in your house and what do you do with the old ones when you upgrade? If you’re like me, you probably have at least two or three computers to a family. And the old one will sit in a closet until you eventually pitch it. Donations are an extremely valuable way to get much needed items for an operation such as this and it’s easy. Many churches and community centers have drop-off locations for donations and some schools get discounts on buying in bulk. A decent computer lab in a city that holds classes and workshops will have 10-20 computers available. Starting off with the four cities that Kids with Cameras works with, we would need approximately 70 computers, which, when you think about it, is a small number when compared to what colleges or businesses may have. A local ISP provider could support the organization with low or no cost internet and the staff needed would be relatively small. Families from other countries could “sponsor” a child, help donate computers, pay for the cost of the program and aid them in ways to improve their life via internet.

All in all, costs for this program would not be that expensive, considering the amount of free information available that the kids would have access to. I don’t think enough non-profit organizations utilize the internet to their advantage and I believe that one of the reasons that well-off people are so apathetic towards poverty and international issues is because they are not faced with it on a personal level. By setting children up with email or web pages, sponsors could communicate with the kids almost daily and really become a part of their lives, instead of just sending a check every month and a card at Christmas. In the future, how neat would it be to be able to wave hello to your sponsored child via web cam?

Kids with Computers will start off as a beta program in Calcutta, where resources and locations are already available from Kids with Cameras. After monitoring the program with a small number of children for several months, we will make the decision on whether or not to expand the organization to other cities. Perhaps partnering up with NGOs such as Save the Children or Compassion International will allow us to match kids up with sponsors and bring in support from outside sources. A lot more can be accomplished when people work together on something instead of going at it alone. Kids with Computers will depend on the leadership and teamwork of a group of dedicated and talented individuals who possess passion and dedication towards helping children out of poverty. A leader can start something, but it takes a team to make it work.

As with any new idea and plan, there are many obstacles to overcome. Things such as logistics, money, laws, resources and more money come in the way. But these are all things that can be dealt with if planned properly. As long as everything is done legally and documented, the rest is up to God and the prayer of supporters. While putting together this proposal, I’ve learned that a program like this really would be possible and it makes me excited to think of all the ideas that I would like to accomplish. I can only hope that someday I could lead a program that has been as inspiring as Kids with Cameras and help something like that grow bigger and better. There are many ways to bring about change in this world: cameras, computers, toys, food and medicine are all possibilities but it starts with a vision and a leader to make that vision a reality.

The Strong, Silent Type

2007-09-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

We’re all unique, each with our own individual mission and meaning for life. While the majority of leaders are outspoken and charismatic, (i.e. Tony Campolo) there are plenty of people behind the scenes doing just as much. If the world was full of outgoing, talkative leaders then there wouldn’t be anyone to listen. If everyone decided that urban ministry was their call, then there wouldn’t be anyone to help in rural areas. There’s a reason why we’re all different and it’s so we can balance each other out, feed off of each other and learn from one another. With so many distinct calls and missions, the possibilities really are endless.

I find myself in the soft-spoken leader category. Writing has always been my passion, not speaking or pounding the pavement. I’m not much of an idle chit-chatter and prefer to get my message and meaning across simply and through the written word. A creative soul, I’m not too keen on strategic organizing and boring policies and procedures. When put to the task, I’ll take control of a group and allot assignments in a fair manner, but I prefer to be individual and will only follow the example of those who I really trust and admire. Unless there’s a grade involved of course, then your wish is my command! In a group setting, I like work to be done equally, with as much help and communication from each other as possible, but I also like to work on my own a lot of the time as well. I will take control if I don’t feel as if the group is getting things done efficiently, but I prefer to avoid confrontation and being in the spotlight.

As an undergrad journalism student, I was always worried about not having what it takes to be the hard-hitting, pushy and extremely driven reporter. I’m shy when it comes to approaching strangers and was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder a while back, which causes me to become very nervous when speaking in a group or trying to be assertive. When on a deadline or down to the wire, I will suck it up and force myself to do what it takes to get the job done, but I have always preferred being a listener to a speaker. I like using media outlets to get a message across, including print, web and film. The new generation of Internet known as Web 2.0 attracts a younger crowd of listeners through Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. and is an effective way to lead and gather interest from new sources.

Therefore, I think a leader can lead in other ways than just by being the voice or face of an organization. Sometimes the real brains of an operation are behind the scenes. In the past, I haven’t had too many leadership opportunities. For several years, I was a camp counselor for various church day camps and I’ve been involved in all sorts of extracurricular activities and organizations but I always like to receive guidelines from someone else and then do my own thing. Through this class, I would like to obtain the following goals:

1. Learn how to speak up and make my opinions known.
2. Figure out what other leadership roles exist in the non-profit world.
3. Lead a project from start to finish.

I believe that we all have a leader inside of us but it takes a special opportunity for it to come out. Instead of being a leader or a follower, you can find a cause you truly believe in and become a trendsetter and an example.

Soccer- The International Language

2007-09-19T11:27:00.000-04:00

My core group of friends in college were the “Internacionáls,” ten soccer-loving, visa-carrying aliens from countries around the world such as Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Switzerland and Bulgaria. It was an eclectic bunch, with personalities ranging from the super-loquacious to the super-shy, from the star athlete to the computer nerd, but somehow together, they were a family away from home. Most of them spoke at least three languages fluently and were able to converse with each other without anyone on the outside understanding a thing, much to my ever-growing dismay. My Spanish abilities peaked at “Adondé es el baño” and I spent countless hours listening to Portuguese and Spanish and not knowing which was which. They were very popular and well-liked by the rest of the student body, but were almost in a world of their own, a world that made those not included feel left out and jealous.

Every Sunday afternoon, community soccer teams from around Nashville would get together at a public field and compete in tournaments. My friends formed the aptly-named “Internacionál” team, comprised of footballers from at least eight different countries, while their competitors were almost all exclusively Mexican, with maybe a couple of Puerto Ricans thrown in for good measure. I didn’t think that this would cause such uproar amongst the Mexican-Nashvillians, figuring that “we all speak Spanish so we’ll all surely get along!” Well, soccer is a dirty game, especially when the pride of your country is on the line and even though these were supposed to be friendly, Sunday-afternoon matches, things quickly got ugly.

Fights broke out. Curse words in Spanish that even my professors had never heard were flung across the field. And then, the clincher. A supporter of the Mexican team shouted out from the bleachers, in Spanish, “Call the INS!” Team Internacionál were stunned. I didn’t know whether to laugh or run to my car. Call INS? Coming from a Mexican? Surely this was a joke. But it wasn’t. They were serious and the game was forfeited as Internacionál left the field muttering, confused and angry. There was no Spanish familia atmosphere here, only a hierarchy of the green-cards versus the visas, the permanent residents and first generation immigrants versus the University-sponsored squatters. As a white American citizen, I thought they were all loco.

In Nashville, where the Mexican population is 25,774 and growing steadily, almost more than half of that is thought to be from illegal immigration, so to hear someone of Mexican heritage jeer, ‘call Immigration and Naturalization Services’, was something of a new phenomenon. I realized then that even the people who are thought to be the lowest on the food chain, the ones that all others scorn and call racist names, will still find a way to feel superior and better about themselves when opportunity strikes. Or maybe it’s just low self-esteem and fatigue from constant prejudice and spite from a good portion of the population. Whatever it was, it made me think about ethnocentricity by other members of society and helped me relate my own viewpoints on cultural norms and behavior to what others might think.

Ethnocentrism is “the point of view that one’s own way of life is to be preferred to all others” (Herskovits, p. 21). At this point in my life, I wasn’t sure what my future plans would be. I was a journalism major interested in international politics and hung around with a diverse group of friends, but my eyes weren’t completely opened to a lot of domestic issues. I was raised liberally, but safe-guarded. After getting to see some of the more cultural sides of Nashville and traveling to some other countries, I realized that although people are very much the same in many aspects of our lives, (we laugh, love, enjoy music and beauty and like baby animals) we are still very different and if you don’t understand or at least respect these differences, you’re going to live a very closed-off, self-centered existence.

In make sure this doesn’t happen, we need to employ cultural relativity in our lives, meaning that we need to put ourselves in the other’s shoes and see things from another perspective before we pass judgment (Rosado, p. 3). What is acceptable in one culture may be scorned in another. This doesn’t mean that every little wacky thing another group may do is appropriate behavior; it just means that you need to take that behavior and look at it from the structures of the culture and not your own. We are born into a certain society that expects certain things and so we grow up believing that those are the only right ways to live. When we come in to contact with someone who lives differently, we look at them as weird or sometimes evil. As Rosado always states, “where you stand determines what you see” (Rosado, p. 4). But, there are certain norms in life that are universal across all societies and this includes morality- knowing right from wrong.

Americans are often seen as conceited and ignorant, believing that “the American way is the only way” and that this country is better than everyone else. This viewpoint has caused a lot of negative sentiments towards the United States and what infuriates other nations even more is that we just don’t seem to care. But Rosado points out that not all cultural values are valid or of equal worth (Rosado, p. 6) but “that which works is better than that which doesn’t work.” Because the United States have a lot of power in most aspects, Americans are lead to believe that everything we do is superior. But, when judging other’s history and mistakes, we must realize that we too have made wrong choices in our past. The best way to stop stereotypes and misunderstandings is if we encourage a multicultural education for our children.

In today’s cities, different cultures and ethnicities are all around you, wherever you go. Author Eric H.F. Law writes in The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, that the pain of living in a multicultural community is that there is a danger of offending people by trying to be inclusive. Putting different groups of people together with different personalities, opinions and ways of life is always a risky thing because you never know how they’ll get along. You don’t want to make a fool of yourself by trying to act like someone you’re not and imitate another. It’s always safer to stay with your own kind. But what fun is that?

The best way to take advantage of all that others have to offer us is to be culturally sensitive and recognize the values in ourselves and in others (Law, p. 7). It’s not always a comfortable thing to be taken from our culture and thrown into the midst of another. But when put in those awkward situations, you quickly learn how to adapt and try to fit in, while trying not losing your own values. As Law states on page ten, Christians are often called to go against what is normal and safe. Christ reached out to all people and made it known that God does not play favorites. So why should we minister to people who are just the same as us? We need to be able to talk to anyone, regardless of color or religion or financial background and be sensitive to their beliefs while getting our message across.

So that day on the soccer field when my friends and I walked away from a glorious win for the honor of our eight countries, I realized several things. I realized first of all that Mexicans are really sick of being lumped together as illegal aliens and that they look at themselves as more American than a bunch of foreign exchange students will ever be. I also realized that I never really liked soccer all that much anyway and that I was just trying to fit in with my international friends. My ethnocentricity tells me that football is better anyway. And I also realized that the new America will be one where it is a necessity to know how to converse with all types of people, no matter what language they’re speaking or what they look like. Because even an Arabic-speaking French Indonesian living in Utah will be a more typical American than the 1950’s black and white television show version of an all-white family with two kids, a station wagon and a dog named Sparky.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom

2007-09-18T17:05:00.001-04:00

For 18 years I lived on a busy two-lane road in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. We had about 8 acres of land, mostly wooded and our house was a 17th century barn that was later renovated into a single-family home. My parents were ex-hippies. Our next door neighbors were an elderly couple who lived in the former farmhouse that our barn belonged to. My neighbors on the other side of our house were also an older couple. There were no sidewalks and playing on the street would have resulted in death, so much of my time was spent playing in the woods and in the backyard. Since most of my friends lived 20 minutes or more away from me, I would see them only on the weekends usually for sleepovers, since the parents didn’t want to drive late at night to drop someone off. The bus ride to school was an excruciating hour and a half long.

I never felt like I lived in the sticks or outside of civilization. There was a Starbucks, an Italian water ice place, a movie theater and a mall all within 10 minutes of my house. I could never walk any where on a road, but I didn’t really felt like I was missing out on anything. It was quiet for the most part and peaceful and a safe place to raise a family. My parents lived in a rough part of Washington D.C. for five years before moving to Seattle and then finally moving back to PA to settle down. They had had enough of long lines, high prices, insane traffic and the smog of the city. Compared to my cousins, who really lived out in the country, I was a city girl.

Unlike some of my annoying counterparts from the suburbs who pretended to act like they were from the ghetto and the streets, (the mean streets of Harleysville, PA no doubt) I liked going to Philly because of all the excitement and movement of the city. As I grew older, I would often go to New York City and explore the neighborhoods by myself. I went to college in Nashville, which some may be surprised to find out that it is in fact a real city and not just cowboys singing the blues in downtown saloons. Nashville is not a particularly rough city, but it has that “dirty south” feel and lacked some of the culture I had come to appreciate from Philly and New York. I almost never walked around in downtown Nashville because other than the tourist traps, there was not much to see.

Of the city, this is what I love the most. Architecture, both modern and historical, small coffee shops or street cafes, hearing different languages and being able to walk every where. If I walk around a mall all day, I feel extremely tired and sore when I get home, not to mention my eyes really hurt and I’m sick to death of all human beings. After walking around a city, I feel tired, but I also feel invigorated for some reason. Stimulated. Sidewalks in the Kingdom provides reasons why as Christians we should join the New Urbanism movement and reclaim our cities and towns to restore them to their original glory. As nice as that sounds, I have some problems with author Eric Jacobsen’s point of view and ideas.

First of all, I feel like he is living in an idealistic, retro, 1950’s-esq, down-home town. He speaks of being able to walk along the street and say hello to all of his neighbors, take his kids to the park and stop for ice cream along the way, claiming that this is a “traditional neighborhood.” He feels that he can connect to people on better levels by living close to them and building relationships. This is great, in an ideal, open, safe neighborhood. I can do this in my town as well. Jacobsen says on page 61, “the traditional city will provide many more opportunities for human contact and relationships than we find in the suburbs.” When I lived in a six story apartment building in Nashville, I spoke to my next-door neighbor a total of two times- once in the elevator and once when she came to see if my heater was broken too. The rest of my people on my hall, I saw maybe two or three times a month and only in passing. When I moved in, I made the effort to say hello to everyone on my floor, but with different schedules and padlocked doors, it made it impossible to get to know them. I’ve never felt lonelier than when I was surrounded by people all the time. Living out in the suburbs, I am much closer to my neighbors than to anyone I lived near in Nashville. I haven’t found that people are any friendlier in the city, in fact, I would go as far as to say it’s the opposite.

Second, I’ve researched Missoula, Montana, where Jacobsen resides. It has a population of around 60,000, which is twice the size of Norristown and almost half the size of Allentown. The author says that the way you can tell that you’re in a city is that “you tend to know” (page 76). Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz define it as "a relatively large, dense and socially heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God's divine purpose." Missoula, Montana, according to the 2000 US census, has exactly 207 African Americans living there. There were 53,387 whites. The rest were Hispanic, American Indian, Asian or other. Now according to what Conn and Ortiz say, I wouldn’t consider Missoula to be the slightest bit diverse. To me, what is attractive about the city is the diversity it can bring. If I want to be surrounded by 53,000 white people, I’ll go back to Harleysville, PA. Although Jacobsen said he grew up in Seattle and spent time in San Francisco, which are major cities, I am not sure that he is really in the position to be telling Christians to move back to the city when he himself barely lives in one. He even admits that he lives in a desirable university neighborhood and would not feel comfortable moving his family to a dangerous urban environment (page 142). I compare this to basically telling us that we are selfish to live out the suburbs, that we should move back to the city and then gives us options for buying real estate in Rittenhouse Square.

As much as he claims that his ideas are not for the wealthy or elite, that is the feeling I get. I know that as a pastor, he’s not earning much, but compared to residents already in poor urban areas, they cannot relate to what he his saying. He speaks of buying from local businesses to support the domestic economy or “widening our perspective on economic decisions” (page 123). Sure you and I can afford to do that, but someone in North Philly depends on inexpensive, chain outlets like the Dollar Store or Safeway to help save them money. They can’t be shopping at Nancy’s Organic Foods. When discussing New Urbanism, he uses the community of Seaside, Florida as an example. This is a wonderfully planned community where public space is the most important thing and the sidewalks are made of bubblegum. The homes there are now going for $2 million. How on earth are people in poverty supposed to plan their neighborhoods around an example like that? How is even the normal, middle-class supposed to do that? Even if failing neighborhoods took the model of Traditional Neighborhood Design and managed to gentrify it into a soda-pop shop friendly zone, in time the real estate prices would rise dramatically and force all original residents to move away.

If this is done over and over, with suburbanites moving back to the city to reclaim the ideal neighborhood life, eventually the suburbs would turn into the city. Poorer residents would be forced to move out to the suburbs and start turning former McMansions into multiple family homes. After a couple of decades, people would be writing books about how we need to reclaim the suburbs and turn them into wholesome, friendly environments again. Not everyone can move to the city or there would be extreme overpopulation. On page 150, a quote from a police chief states that “Urban problems are not caused by poverty, but by extreme overpopulation.” Eventually, the suburbs will become urban areas as well, everywhere turning into a sprawl to rival Los Angeles.

What then, is the solution? The idea of mixed-income neighborhoods is a reoccurring theme in Jacobsen’s book. Again, very ideal. Unfortunately, zoning laws make it near-impossible to mix different housing types and add commercial venues into neighborhoods. And also, more unfortunately, most people aren’t open to living in a mixed-income area. Americans feel pride in being able to “work from the bottom up” and buy their family a big, cookie-cutter home and an SUV. Even most people who grew up in poor, urban areas dream of getting out of the city and moving into a huge house. Popular music and the media have glamorized the material lifestyle so much that kids are growing up with the dreams of making millions and buying lots of stuff. If the suburban sprawl and abandonment of our cities is to ever stop, our youth’s values have to change. Christian values and the mindset of middle-America have to change as well.

Architecture is one of the things that makes cities unique from each other. Older cities, with historical, landmark buildings from different eras are always the most interesting places to visit. Newer cities, such as Orlando or Phoenix, are pretty boring and lack visually stimulating architecture. We look at Europe and are amazed by the diverse buildings and architecture they possess. We think that they care more about keeping their culture and buildings sacred then we do. They’ve had a lot more time to perfect it- the US is still a baby. Also, it is common in other countries for the rich to live in the cities and the poor to live outside. London, Sao Paulo and Peru are all examples of where the rich live comfortably in the city and the poor are in the slums surrounding it. Why can the rich stand to live in the inner cities, when we Americans can not? Different priorities. In America, work is our number one focus and our reason for living. In South America and Europe, family and enjoying life takes prevalence. They will sacrifice living in an apartment in the city over a huge house in the country because then they can afford to have a vacation home or travel for two months out of the year. In America, having the huge house is the goal and vacations, family time and relaxation comes second.

Jacobsen lobbies for companies and governments to consider spending a little bit more money on developing buildings that add charm and pride to a city. It is hard to get excited about visiting a certain place or preserving a building if it is shaped like a concrete shoebox. Unfortunately, there are so many other problems in cities that require money that designing groundbreaking structures is not the highest priority. People want the most economical, sensible things in life (except when it comes to entertainment, go figure). If a city was to spend millions of dollars on a fancy council building, there would be an uproar. A place like City Hall could never be built today. Yet an eye was barely batted when the Linc was built. My parents almost left their church when they proposed a $5 million dollar expansion on their already gargantuan building. That could feed a lot of starving people. But not all companies will build the most boring and cheap building as possible and not all people will protest. People do need pride in their skyline. The modern, prism-shaped, glass building at the Amtrak station on 30th has added to the Philadelphia skyline and while everyone may not appreciate progressive architecture, (as told in The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand) it certainly catches your eye.

I think the key to renewing our cities and developing mixed-income neighborhoods that can grow and prosper without alienating anyone is to find a balance in your lifestyle. I’m not a fan of tract developments and identical, three-car garage homes in the middle of a field with no trees or sidewalks, miles away from the nearest grocery store. I think people’s priorities have shifted towards isolation and privacy, rather than community and friendship. People get enough breathing down their neck at work that they want to have peace and quiet when they come home. That is fine. The problem occurs when people isolate themselves and become anti-social, when the TV becomes their nightly hobby and going out consists of the drive-thru at Burger King. While I don’t ever want to live in a McMansion in the ‘burbs, I also don’t have children yet. The city is a fun and exciting place for a twenty-something, but unless you live in Missoula, Montana, chances are you don’t want your kids roaming around in the streets of Philadelphia, even if the streets are in Rittenhouse Square. And while it would be nice to get a group of friends to build your own utopian neighborhood where downtown is a lovely five minute walk and Mr. Jones will wave from his yard while raking leaves and the ice cream truck will go by playing La Cucaracha, that world is something of books and TV shows. Even when my grandparent’s lived in a so-called traditional neighborhood in the 1930’s, the world was not a better place, problems were just hidden better. Violence did not go on in the street, it went on inside the homes, behind drawn shades.

People’s personalities will determine how often they will reach out to other people, where they live will not. A next-door neighbor who lives in the home attached to you could ignore you for 20 years and the farmer 5 miles down the road could know the name of your dog. In order to reach out to people as Christians, we must go outside our comfort zones. Jacobsen is a pastor and probably fairly outgoing (from his writing and his stories I can tell he’s at ease with talking to strangers.) Therefore, his view on things comes from his personality. He loves the city he’s in and speaks to middle-class Christians in his book. I’m not sure if his ideas and perspectives will work for everyone or reach everyone, but he can attempt to open some minds and hope that people follow suit. Our cities are worth fighting for and to lose these treasures to a Sam’s Club and a world of cookie cutter homes would be a tragedy.

Urban Issues Reflection

2007-09-18T17:04:00.001-04:00

As Jesus said in Mark 7:14, “The poor will be with you always.” Indeed, it is the church’s mission not only to fulfill the needs of its own members, but to reach out to the rest of the world, city, neighborhood and block. Too often the church gets caught up in feeding its own and forgets about the outside world. To some, church is just that- a safe haven away from the sins and ugliness of the rest of “them” where they can ignore what’s outside the doors and focus on their own spiritual well-being. Christ wasn’t put on this earth to walk around and be fed spiritually from others. He was here to serve as an example of what a Christian should strive to be- not only living a pure and holy life but to help those in need. Matthew 20:28 says “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

And to serve to the poor, we must go to where they live- urban areas. Cities. The modern world city has changed drastically in the past century, due to advances in technology, better healthcare and communication and increasing trends caused by globalization. Since the end of the Cold War, the world and everyone in it, like it or not, has been affected by globalization- and quickly. It has taken over politics, commerce, and international relations within virtually every country in the world. Those who have not been fast enough to keep up with the pace of globalization have been left behind, feeling bitter and isolated. Some countries have chosen to remain that way, feeling that globalization is actually “Americanization” in disguise and denouncing it. The book entitled The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas Friedman, explains how globalization “became the dominant international system” (page xx) and examines how this system shapes the lives of people around the world today. Friedman argues that “if you want to understand [the world] you have to start by understanding…globalization” (page xxi). It is no longer enough to just understand the culture and history of a country in order to communicate with them, you have to also look at the world around them and how they react to it to understand their future.

The world has done a 180. What was once the old way of operating for decades, is now obsolete within two months. You can either chose to adapt to the new, fast-paced world, or be left behind. This new international system, globalization, has improved the standard of living for millions of people around the world. But it has also left dangerous people feeling alienated and angry, ready to attack the leaders in the forefront of globalization, mainly the United States. Friedman writes, “Globalization is not just some economic fad and it is not a passing trend” (page 7). Where did this system come from and where is it headed? In order to understand the true meaning of globalization, you must look at its beginnings.

The Wall. This simple word had a lot more meanings than just a cement barrier separating two ideals from two parts of the world. The Berlin Wall represented a divided world, one where Communism was feared and the side you were on represented your beliefs and allies. Before, we were a world of friends and enemies. Today, we are “competitors.” The world is no longer divided by a wall; instead we are connected in ways we never could have imagined. The things that run the world- money and the global markets, have become so closely integrated with technology so that it is possible to access anyone any where, any time. A person in Japan can communicate with someone in England in mere seconds and has access to an unlimited supply of information that was once not available to them. Anyone with a connection to the Internet can become a freelancer. Gone are the days when countries could block the outside world from their people and keep them in the dark about modern life.

The Information Revolution drastically lowered the costs and barriers for new entrants into the business world. In turn, it increased the competition and speed of the way business moved (page 80). This is great news for the consumer, as products and services are more readily available, but bad news for the supplier and manufacturer, as they must constantly be innovating and improving their service. If not, a competitor will quickly take over and leave them in the dust.

Only the competitive survive in the capitalistic economy and the more open a country is to free trade and competition, the more an economy will flourish (page 9). The more an economy grows, the more the politics and government minimizes. Unfortunately, the countries that are not connected, the third world countries with fundamentalist leadership, are not growing at the same rates as the open market countries. Friedman uses the illustration of a Lexus and an olive tree to show the dynamics of the emerging world and the clash of cultures and beliefs from the old world. The Lexus represents the modern, capitalistic world in which people strive for a better standard of living. They realize that if they attach on to the ways of globalization, they can compete with the rest of the world in finding their place in the market. Unfortunately, in doing so, they begin to lose a sense of their identity- their culture and values. Since the big players in the globalization game are the Supermarket powers (Tokyo, New York, Paris, London, etc), those players are the ones whose culture and lifestyles get integrated into the world view. Everyone wants to be like Mike. Or in this case, Uncle Sam. But too often, people feel that they are being forced into becoming something other than what they are and they cling desperately to their “olive tree”- their identity. When these people feel like it is being taken away from them without their permission, they get resentful and lash out against the system. The “challenge of globalization is to find a healthy balance between preserving a sense of identity and doing what it takes to survive in the system” (page 42).

But how do countries find a healthy balance of identity and continue to compete in the global market? It seems like every time a country opens their doors to free trade and foreign investing, along comes a McDonald’s and a Taco Bell to boot. The streets in downtown Jerusalem begin to look the same as Orlando. Leaders in these countries need to have a plan to filter out the cultural differences that could easily take over their country and turn their historic, unique cities into Anywhere, USA. For every McDonald’s that is built, a Mom and Pop store goes out of business and that piece of culture is lost. Healthy globalization is defined by Friedman as “the ability of a culture, when it encounters other strong cultures, to absorb influences that naturally fit into and can enrich that culture” (page 295). Unfortunately, at the rate globalization moves and takes over a country, it is almost impossible for a city to develop a good plan to preserve their culture before it is too late.

Because of this, the backlash against globalization is huge. Advances in technology are constantly developing new ways to eliminate costs- usually eliminating jobs in the process. In order for a worker to be seen as valuable by their employer, they must have multiple skills and be learning new ones all the time. This puts enormous pressure on people who are not used to this new system. They fall behind and are replaced, with nowhere to go. America’s society is all about empowering the individual and creating choices and with the Internet, many choices are readily available to us. Other countries are not used to this sort of thinking. The group is more important than the individual and they look at globalization as dividing their country apart, as a threat. It is no wonder that they are apprehensive to join in with the rest of the world.

On page 301, Friedman describes how to up the standard of living so that cities are not paved over and all cultural differences are lost. He writes “The more inner cities are reclaimed, the less pressure for more urban sprawl into green areas.” What he forgets about here are the people who are already living in the inner city and how if that section is reclaimed and renovated, most likely they will lose their homes. A developer will turn the neighborhood into an attractive, high-rent district and the poor will be forced to move elsewhere, causing the same outcomes in a different location. He writes earlier that what developing countries do not need is aid; instead they need the tools to assimilate into the global marketplace. The same can be said for people living in poverty in urban cities. They don’t need a new park built over their old apartment building- they need to be shown how to better their jobs, homes and families and come together as a community to improve their neighborhoods. If they aren’t taught this, they will constantly be moved from place to place and never have a sense of identity and roots in a city and therefore will not care about being productive members of society.

During our residency week, we discussed why we felt called to urban issues and ministry and some of the ways that we can make an impact on the neighborhoods in our cities that need the most help. When I told my boss that I was starting in the Urban Studies program at Eastern with the hopes of working in a non-profit organization, the first thing he told me was that I wasn’t “going to make any money.” I bit my tongue with the urge to say, “Well sir, that’s the difference between you and me.” Because obviously one doesn’t go into this line of work or ministry with the intention of making lots of money. There is a specific moment when you realize that there is more to life than working in the corporate world, making a pile of loot and retiring to Florida at age 55. Working with greedy and corrupt people in the daily rat race is no longer desirable and you realize that in order to find greatness in God’s kingdom, “the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves” (Luke 22:26).

We’re all unique, each with our own individual mission and meaning for life. While the majority of leaders are outspoken and charismatic spitters, (i.e. Tony Campolo) there are plenty of people behind the scenes doing just as much. If the world was full of outgoing, talkative leaders then there wouldn’t be anyone to listen. If everyone decided that urban ministry was their call, then there wouldn’t be anyone to help in rural areas. There’s a reason why we’re all different and that’s so we can balance each other out, feed off of each other and learn from one another. With so many distinct calls and missions, the possibilities really are endless (Spitzer, Lee).

I’ve always felt out of place in my hometown and that I was born in the wrong setting. More comfortable in the city than in the suburbs, I looked to different cultures that surrounded me to satisfy my curiosity for the outside world when traveling was not economically feasible. I grew to feel a passion for not only at-risk youth in my own city, but realized that there was a whole world with these problems, most ignored by the general population. A fan of documentaries and social journalism, I tutored myself on the poverty-stricken favelas of Brazil, the orphanages of the Ukraine and the street-children of Russia. My heart was broken again and again as I longed for a way to be able to reach out and affect even one life.

Disposable People- The Truth About Modern Day Slavery

2007-09-18T17:03:00.001-04:00

‘Slave’ is often a word I would use to describe myself when I was an intern at several companies during college. I was unpaid, forced to take on all the dirty work that my superiors abandoned, unable to receive benefits and left feeling more like an office utensil rather than a human being. Why did I do it? Perks such as recommendations for future job applications, a snazzy notch on the resume, and plain old experience helped me to get through the boring, tedious work and gave me a light at the end of the tunnel to strive towards. Yes, I was taken advantage of and was not offered a job at the end of my semester-long stint. Why hire a paid employee when another intern will come along and work for free? Internships allow the student to feel as if they are gaining valuable experience in the real world and give the employer the benefit of having a free worker. While I am not suggesting that this form of volunteering is anywhere near the brutality of modern slavery, it is as close to a legal form of slaveholding in the United States as I could think of.

But in parts of the world, some not as remote as you might think, slavery in the most vicious, ancient and inhumane way exists and its influences reach even you and me in our every day lives. This is the topic of Kevin Bales’ book, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy and is something that while appears to be hidden and affecting few in number, is actually a modern day, worldwide crisis. It is something that few too people know about and not enough is being done to prevent it.

The book starts off with a story of a slave living in the most unexpected of places- present day France. From this point on, you understand that slavery is not a thing of the past, that it reaches all corners of the globe and a slaveholder can be the well-respected businessperson down the road. And the scariest thing about modern slavery is that it is no longer race-related- almost anyone who is weak or vulnerable enough can be forced into slavery, without ever knowing that’s what they’re in. While someone’s religion or color of their skin might be a justifiable reason to enslave someone in the slaveholder’s eyes, they will also not hesitate to capture someone who is just like themselves or like their sister. It makes you question the sanity and humanity of people in this world, how they can so easily take a life all for the sake of economic gain.

From prostitute slaves in Thailand, to the old-school slaves born into a family in Mauritania, to the bonded charcoal laborers in Brazil, to those in Pakistan and India forced to work off debts incurred through generations of family members working through the same fate, slavery is alive around the world and very well hidden. One of the most horrifying aspects of slavery is that those abused are all types of people- men, women and children. If a person is able to work, they’re a slave. And yet, slavery is illegal everywhere! How does it become possible to capture, use and throw away human beings for one’s own economical gain? Several factors allow this system to thrive.

Extreme overpopulation leads to extreme poverty. Recruiters who offer well-paying jobs, housing and food for a seemingly simple jobs lure families, who are on the verge of starvation, to a location with which they are not familiar. They are often offered advanced wages for travel but when they arrive to the job site, are told that they have racked up a large debt that must be paid back to the owner until they can start earning wages. Then they are dumped into a miserable existence, housing not fit for dogs and only enough food to keep them from passing out. The money they do earn, if any, is never enough to pay back the owner and become financially independent. Instead, they continue to have to borrow money for family members and every day living expenses until their debt is so high that even the next generation will be accountable for it. In legal terms, these workers will be called bonded laborers, which is accepted by their third world governments. The slaves will put in excruciatingly long hours, in the worst of conditions and brainwashed into thinking that their debt is an appropriate reason for why they have to work this way.

If somehow a slave figures out the unfairness of their situation, the owner will quickly use violent measures to make them subservient. They will add to their debt or take a family member hostage in order to force work out of them again. Constant fear and a bit of hope of escaping the situation by paying off their debt is what keeps these slaves working, even though the chance of getting out of the situation is slim. The slaves are worked until they are useless and tossed aside without a second thought. There are always more starving people willing to do the work.

Even though slavery is illegal, it is easy to conceal and corruption in government and law enforcement allows it to continue. Poverty brings out greed in the easily corruptible. Police will respond to those with the most money to offer them. If the price is right, they will help with the capture and violence against slaves. People wonder why a government would allow such things to happen to their own people. If a huge portion of the economy of a country is based on the free labor used with slaves, once the slaves are taken away, the business or entire economy could collapse. Profits drive the entire system. Also, pointing the finger at one culprit as become increasingly difficult. Since slavery is illegal, and hence, a touchy subject for well-known and respected businessmen, they will deny any involvement in such a thing. Instead, they will hire layers of “managers” to keep the blame away from themselves. With this sort of convoluted business design, the person at the top is easily disguised should things come to light.

With all the corruption, greed, and blatant disregard for human life, how can the world free itself from dependence on slavery? The first step is to acknowledge that slavery actually exists. Most people from 1st world countries are not even aware of the fact that many of the items they buy may have come from slaves or bonded laborers. Every once and a while, a hard-hitting news story will appear in the media where several prostitutes held as slaves were freed or a business using child labor was shut down, but these occurrences are rare and far between. People just assume that it was an isolated incident. Reality is that there are over 27 million people in slavery today (page 240).

The second step is to bring pressure on governments and businesses to stop slavery. With international scrutiny and calls for bans, a government will try and appease the protesters, so long as they’re reaching enough people to actually affect profitability. With increased research and documentation of an area, the officials will be forced to stop what they’re doing to avoid conflict. People must start being looked at as more valuable than property (page 249).

Consumers and stockholders must become more aware of what products they are buying and supporting. By realizing that certain things come made by slaves, most decent people will stop buying them. Stockholders must take a deeper interest in the companies they buy in to and ban the ones who invest in slavery. Awareness and education should be made on all levels: the consumers and the slaves. With more education on their basic human rights, slaves will not be as easily seduced by certain types of recruiters and they will know how to get out of that situation should it occur.

But if we do achieve the mass freedom of slaves, we cannot just leave it there. “A person denied autonomy, who has never had to make choices, can be paralyzed when faced with making decisions” (page 256). What good is someone’s freedom when they are forced in starvation or re-enslaved? Just like anyone who has gone through a traumatic experience, ex-slaves must be looked after and helped reach rehabilitation. Liberation is a process, not an event (page 256).

Just with anything bad, it takes a lot of work and effort to make it good. People can decide whether or not they want to ignore it or they can do something about it. Slavery is something that will take a lot of work to abolish but it is possible. Being educated and aware, researching products and companies and advocating human rights for slaves can make a big difference. The media can be a powerful tool in stirring up human emotions and forcing people to take action. Governments can be persuaded to change if the demand is high enough. Individuals can realize their strength and break the cycle of slavery in their own family. When something is possible, there is no excuse not to help.

Promises I Can Keep

2007-09-18T17:02:00.001-04:00

I went to a small, Christian high school and when a young girl got pregnant, it was practically a tragedy. For some reason, she would have to go in front of the entire school during chapel and make a tearful confession about what she did wrong and how her life was going to change, in hopes that this would stop it from happening to other people. Personally, I was always furious that my school made the girls do this. The father of the baby never had to go in front of anybody. It was as if the pregnancy was entirely the girl’s fault and she would have to take the blame and humiliation. These girls had such bright futures, parents would bemoan. Now their lives are over! But honestly, I think what upset everyone the most was just simply the fact that these Christian girls had sex outside of marriage.

But when the baby comes, people get over it. You can’t be mad at a baby. The girls’ lives weren’t ruined. Maybe they couldn’t continue their education or move away, but they had other things in their lives that made them happy. In the suburbs, there definitely is a stigma attached to being a pregnant teenager. College, careers, a stable home and a marriage are expected before children come along. But most girls receive help financially and emotionally from family and friends. The same cannot be said about young women in the inner cities that have children before marriage. So why do they continue to do it and why does it seem like a circular trend that never ends? This is the subject in the comprehensive study done by Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas in Promises I Can Keep.

Especially interesting to me was that this study was done in the Philadelphia area, surveying the city’s poorest women on why they had children so early, but no desire to marry right away. The women from these neighborhoods were all ages, all from the lower economic class and were Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic. But what the authors found was that it made no difference the race or age of these women- they all had very similar viewpoints on why they had their children before marriage and what the men in their life mean to them.

And what are their viewpoints? Almost the opposite of what suburbanites view as “normal.” In Middle America, children are raised believing that their life should play out like the Cleavers. Go to school, get good grades, play sports, move on to a good college, start a career, work your way up to a good salary, find that special someone, get married, buy a house and an SUV, wait a few years to be financially secure and then start having children- preferably several years apart so that their college tuitions are staggered. In the slums of the inner city, people have dreams just like anyone, but they learn at an early age that they probably won’t be realized. Therefore, they value different things in their life, the main thing for women being children. Where as a middle-class woman may feel fulfilled in life through her job or hobbies, poor women rarely have these things to look forward to and feel that a child is what completes them (page 205).

Society believes that if you have a child at an early age, you are missing out on economic opportunities that you would have had. But interesting research shows that a poor person who grows up in a blighted neighborhood and has children early on in life will end up making the same amount of money as someone from that same neighborhood that waits longer to have a child. So if that is not a factor, what makes people so furious when poor women continue to have children young and outside of marriage? Some may say they are taking advantage of the welfare system, but the authors found that very few of the mothers they interviewed used that as a reason to why they had their kids. Okay, well then these girls just must not have been educated on safe sex or abstinence. Again, not true. Many of the girls were actually on birth control at one time or another and almost all definitely knew the consequences of unprotected sex. Most said that their babies were neither planned nor accidents- that they “just happened” and they knew as mothers that it was their responsibility to take care of them.

So you have to dig deeper to figure out why these young women, some still practically kids themselves, choose children over everything else in their lives. Take a look at their environment. When you wake up every morning to a neighborhood devastated by drugs, violence, crime, and a high dropout ratio, it’s easy to lose all hope and aspiration. Having a baby allows you to put your hope into someone else and gives you a reason to live- so that they can have a better future. A lot of the women interviewed said that their babies “saved them” from a life of drugs, idleness and no direction. They were forced to settle down and become responsible and found that because of this, their lives had more meaning.

A common misconception about young, unwed mothers is that they don’t cherish or revere marriage. The authors found out that this is also not true. In fact, marriage is put off until later in life because the women want to find the right person to marry, instead of settling for anything less than perfect. In neighborhoods where single mothers and fatherless children are common, it is hard to find a good man to trust. Influences such as friends, drugs and other street activities lead men astray from their baby’s mother. Also, the pressure of having to provide for a family on a less-than-stellar salary becomes too much for them to handle and instead of being ashamed of letting down their family, they leave or get hooked on drugs to forget about it. The women have learned by now what they need in their children’s lives and will not allow them to grow up around someone with bad influences. They would rather make it on their own than deal with the drama surrounding a deadbeat husband.

The responses from the women concerning why they wanted children so early on in life make sense, they really do. Everyone wants to feel love and to love. Having someone depend on you makes you feel important and special. A baby’s love is unconditional and many times these women have never experienced that. Their lives have no direction and a baby settles them down and forces them to improve. The baby becomes the center of their world and a relationship with a man is second. But even though the mother can love a child does not mean that the child is growing up in the right way. Children need more than just love and someone to “be there.”

In a way, I feel that these mothers’ motivations to have children are based on selfishness. They want someone to be with them, to love them. Having a baby makes their life better and gives them something to look forward to. But I don’t think you should use another human being’s life as something to better yourself. Even though they live for their child and put all their resources towards making it happy and healthy, they base all their self-worth on motherhood. The child grows up in that environment thinking that the only thing they can do right is raise a child, even if they are not ready financially and mentally. The cycle continues. The root of the problem is that these girls have nothing to look forward to in life, that they don’t think that they can ever get out of their impoverished neighborhood and that only having children makes them feel worthwhile. And the reason they delay marriage is because they have high expectations for how their husbands should act and what they need to provide. Until every demand is met, they see no reason to settle for anything else. Unfortunately, the men that they are exposed to come from the same backgrounds as the women- low income, low-hopes. Without access to steady paying jobs and affordable housing, these men cannot meet the demands of the women.

There are several solutions to these problems. And they have to begin when residents of poor neighborhoods are young, so that they may grow up with some sense of ideal living, instead of succumbing to their environment. First of all, children in these areas need programs that give them a sense of self-worth and open up doors to other interests other than makin’ babies. It starts in the schools with giving every student equal access to programs, sports, music, and the arts. When kids are preoccupied with other activities, they are less likely to get into trouble on the streets and have an unwanted pregnancy. Girls need to be taught different skills and hobbies so that they feel good at something other than just taking care of children. They need to learn the reasons why children are better off when they have two parents and that they can still have children later on in life when they’ve accomplished more of their dreams.

On the other hand, it takes two to make a baby grow up right. If the inevitable occurs and a baby is born out of wedlock to young parents, the father must be able to help provide for his new family. This may not seem like a hard task for the middle-class, but in the inner cities, earning enough to support three or four people can be nearly-impossible. Better paying jobs and training must be made available to urban residents who do not go on to college or finish high school. Even without an education, people still have skills and talents but without proper training or being made aware of all the job types that exist, they will end up in a low-wage, unskilled job. With this sort of assistance, fathers will be more desirable to women and more couples will marry, especially when children are involved.

For some reason, too many government and community programs don’t get this. They think the solution is more sex education (or to just promote abstinence) and relationship counseling. Instead of fixing the root of the problem, (low motivation and self-esteem, lack of jobs and opportunities, general loneliness and boredom) these programs try to fix the aftermath. These programs will only work for some people, the very open-minded and self-motivated, but do not help once the damage is already done.

It is a wonderful thing that these women value children so much. But if they were able to value themselves and other activities earlier in life, then they would not feel the need to depend on a child to make themselves feel whole. They believe that they are offering everything they can to their babies, but if they realized that there is so much more in life and if they had access to it, they would have their children after their lives have been settled and not while it’s in turmoil. These neighborhoods won’t fix themselves and they need time, resources and attention. But slowly but surely, the cycle can end and man, women and child can have a better, more fulfilling life.

Dark Age Ahead

2007-09-18T17:01:00.000-04:00

Change is a scary word. When things that have been a certain way for so long become different, people start to panic. They cling on to their old ways and protest against the new or choose to simply turn a blind eye to the whole matter. When people do decide to recognize that things have to change, they try to think of a solution that will result in as close of an outcome to the original as possible. And when things don’t turn out right or if they must adapt to something new, they will gripe and complain and wistfully think of the “old days.” But what most people don’t understand is that the choices they make in every day life and the values that they hold most sacred are determining the future of the rest of society- and sometimes those choices are leading us down a dim path, a spiral that will become out of control and lead us into a new dark age.

Such is the subject of Jane Jacobs’ book, Dark Age Ahead. For the most part, I found it to be a dismal collection of historical evidence and modern day examples of the direction the world is heading in unless some drastic changes take place. Jacobs outlines five pillars of culture that are corroding and will leave society with a lack of the essential tools to ensue growth and development in a new era. This era, Jacobs states, will be a new dark age, where culture and history is forgotten, communities are shattered and it’s every man for himself. Although no references are made, biblically, I relate it to the End Times. The pillars she uses as individual chapter subjects are: community and family, higher education, the effective practice of science, taxation and government and the self- regulation of learned professionals. Just in looking at these topics, I can think of several examples of each off the top of my head, which just goes to show that there are indeed things happening in a not so positive way.

When I first read the introduction to the book and the claim that our society was heading into a dark age, I thought to myself, “There’s no way. Our technology will never allow us to forget about how we got successful.” But after reading through her reasoning and seeing all the examples from the past and from today, my thinking switched. In fact, it’s downright scary how close we could be to another dark age. Granted, I don’t think we’ll be burning books and living off corn meal like in the Middle Ages, but we could definitely lose parts of our culture that we may not value much right now, but need to have in order to thrive and keep sane in this crazy world. On page 24, Jacobs makes a profound point. “A culture is unsalvageable if stabilizing forces themselves become ruined and irrelevant.” The stabilizing forces here are the five pillars and they are deteriorating quickly and without repair.

Example one is the destruction of the nuclear family unit. Welfare laws, low wages and the death of communities have all resulted in the restructuring of homes, usually to the disadvantage of those involved. With public transportation declining and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the city, many fathers were forced to leave the home in order for their family to apply for welfare. This lead to high rates of single-parent homes and less supervision and stimulating activities for children, resulting in higher delinquency and school drop-out rates. In homes with parents earning minimum wage jobs, all energy is put into earning enough to survive and without the support of a caring community, life can become unbearable. “After a community is lost, the memory of it also fades” (page 38). People become isolated and depressed. Without a core family at home, they will find another one on the streets or in prisons. And the values learnt on the streets are not usually ones to be taken into the home.

Educational systems are also failing and not just in public primary schools. “Credentialing versus Education” is the theme of the second falling pillar and this is extremely apparent in colleges and secondary education today (page 44). All over commercials and ads you see online or accelerated degree programs popping up. In traditional schools, classes are filled to the brink and are seldom taught by the professor listed on the syllabus. Instead, T.A.s or Power Points take over actual academic lectures. This is not to say that new technology hasn’t improved the learning experience, but when professors are more dedicated to their next published article than their students, the students will pick up on that and go to class just to “get the piece of paper” that says you’re ready for the “real world.” If all an employer wants is to see that you have your bachelors, then why not get it in one year online at the University of Phoenix? Pretty soon, having a degree will be irrelevant, as anyone with a computer and a few extra hours can log on and complete a program. Fast and easy is what people want from their education these days.

“Science Abandoned” focuses on the removal of the scientific practice of learning how to better the community and world and instead focusing on exploiting hidden truths and disrupting thoughts and views. Through advances in science, we begin to lose identities and values in order to seem progressive and modern. Science becomes about disproving old ideas and finding quick and easy solutions to lagging problems, without really studying and understanding the root of the problem. Without participation from society as a whole, science could (and has) been used dangerously and with serious effects.

The word “taxes” is almost a foul word, usually used in correlation with an angry rant or a confused inquiry. Where do all of my taxes go and why do I get some of it back and others not? Why don’t I get a say in where every dollar is spent? Although we all share the same resources in a city, everyone’s needs are different (page 105). When a decision about where to cut taxes are made, it usually benefits one group of people and hurts another. Tax cuts can be some of the most harmful things to an organization that depends on the money to get them through the year. The loss of these funds can leave the public feeling sullen, impatient and full of rage (page 107). The fact of the matter is, most of the aid does not find its way to the source and so much is wasted on other fees that the allotted amount is laughable and hardly makes a difference. Taxes are also used in political battles to buy an election or appease a certain class of people (page 114). The loss and reckless use of taxes for public good will lead to uglier cities, poorer residents and a sense of disinterest in the community as a whole.

Finally, self-regulation amongst the professional class is an issue that has been in the limelight in the media as of late. Corporate scandals, abusive medical workers and government officials raising their salaries are all stories we have heard about corruption in the workplace where no one is seemingly in charge and no one is held accountable. We have let professional regulation continue because usually the work is not seen as menacing or the public has no knowledge on the subject (page 129). A lot of the time the people doing the crime are well-respected and have protection from the police or government and are able to cover up what they did. Who is to blame for this type of behavior? Business Ethics 101 taken during freshmen year in college can hardly prepare students for the issues that they may face when out in the working world, but they should provide a foundation for what is right and what is wrong.

What then can uphold these five pillars of our culture and allow us to improve our society and our lives without losing what made us great in the first place? How do we stop another Dark Age from occurring? Whose responsibility is it to be stewards of our culture and hold us accountable so that we don’t forget where we came from and what was once important? Does a culture just simply evolve from one ideal to another? Like Jacobs thinking, I too believe that in the future, the suburban sprawl will have to connect back to society in some way (page 157). It may not be the same as the communities with a Main Street and a donut shop, but once people get tired of living in a cookie-cutter cul-de-sac, they will start looking to reconnect with people again. It is true that Americans value efficiency, but only to a certain extent. We like to buy cheap and in bulk and pride ourselves on saving money, but we can also be extremely frivolous when it comes to SUVs, gas, flat screen TVs and huge homes. The suburban sprawl is one sign of disconnect and isolation and once we get past a certain point, it is nearly impossible to go back.

As a community development concentration, I believe that it is my calling and duty to bring awareness to these sorts of issues to the population as a whole. I try to bring things up in conversations and enlighten people on the issues, but seeing examples in real life is better than any conversation or book. The problem is, most people are so routine in their day to day life, that to actually step back and view the issues requires time and effort on their part- something people do not give up willingly. Sensational news stories such as Enron and corruption of power or failing public projects bring issues to the public eye, but only cause a stir for a while until it is forgotten again. I think the power of images and film can make a huge difference in changing opinions of people and help them get a leg up on addressing the problems, so that is what I take from all of our readings. I hope to find an untapped issue that I can really tackle and bring to light through documentary film work.

Social awareness is the key to avoiding the decline into a dark age, but it is easier to ignore problems than to solve them. People don’t miss something until it is gone and they can’t get it back. Once something is extinct, they will do whatever they can to replace it, but the replica can never be as good as the original. What’s lost, is lost.

From Fragmentation to Wholeness

2007-09-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

It is my guess that Dr. Caleb Rosado, although no longer a professor at Eastern University, created and titled the very class for which I write this paper. His purpose for implementing this program was to “enable students of urban transformation to understand the larger context out of which emerges the social policies and urban practices by which to effect change” (page 1). In short, he wants us Urban Studies majors to realize that in order to change the problems in the city, we must understand the root of the problem. We think we know about the problems and how to solve them, but we are mistaken. We see the world not as it is, we see it as we are (page 10). Opening our eyes to Urban Issues in a Global Context will enable us to influence the content of the things we choose to do in that setting. Without understanding the context, we can’t change it.

Why is it so hard for programs created for social change in the city to survive? It seems like well-meaning people are always setting up some sort of program to help the struggling people in the inner city, but less than a year later, the project is abandoned. Rosado argues that it is because these programs do not implement a holistic approach and our society’s fragmented way of thinking and living has caused people to become disconnected to their work. “Many a scientist believes that it is possible, even ideal, to separate one’s values, personal beliefs, and principles from their discipline” (page 5). Even Plato himself said that all cities are divided into two separate entities- “one the city of the poor, the other of the rich” and conservative Christians see the gospel in two parts- the Evangelical gospel and the social gospel. Many urban ministers believe that the content of what they are trying to get across to people in the city is enough, so they forgo any understanding of the context in which those people live. This makes it extremely hard for anyone to relate to them and that frustration leads to burn out and defeat. The wholeness principle, however, creates a sense of connectedness between all seemingly disconnected parts (page 7) and that is how we need to do our ministry.

Rosado uses a unique blend of science, history, theology and even mathematics to show how our Western thinking has fragmented our lives and caused us to disconnect with the problems of the world. With globalization creeping up on all corners of the earth and the more universal our system of communications, the less we know what to communicate (page 12). The easier it is to connect with someone, the more we want to isolate ourselves. The chaos of urban life will never cease until residents and urban social workers can see the city as one whole, instead of a division of poor and rich. Until we see that, we will only come up with solutions that address part of the problem. Sound urban ministry comes from sound urban theory and holistic theology (page 39).

We have to change our entire way of thinking. We can’t look at social problems as “us versus them.” AIDS is the world’s problem, not just Africa’s or the homosexual’s problem. Where you live determines how you see the world and “social location often determines biblical interpretation” (page 45). Rosado splits the world’s ways of thinking into the Four Worlds Model- Western, Northern, Southern and Eastern. Each section of the world values different things- while the West is more fragmented the East values wholeness. But we must remember that our U.S. cities contain all of these types of people. In order to understand human differences, we must ask “what kind of thinking prompted that kind of action?” (page 49) Eastern University’s program exists to produce urban leaders that transcend the four worlds and think holistically in “One World.”

This paper caused a lot of “hmm, good point” and “what?” reactions from me. I was wary at the beginning because the title of the essay intimidated me, but I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to follow most of it. Hearing Dr. Rosado explain the paper in person during the Community Development residency helped as well. In class he told us that nothing we ever think is unique. Our thoughts are all products of a field of consciousness. Where we stand determines what we see (page 1). He also told us that the way we see God is the way we will see the world. If we see God as loving, forgiving and a God of all people, we will see the world that way too. We can’t just be aware of the various problems in the world, we need a deeper understanding of the context in which problems arise if we are ever to change them.

Rosado’s research helped me realize the magnitude in which our society is fragmented. You cannot look at a group of people as the cause of a problem-that will only bring about shame, anger and pity. We are all the same yet so different- but not physically. Biologically, our racial genes are only 0.01% different from each other (page 9). What makes us so different is our values, our cultures, our level of consciousness and our contexts of being. Everything else that separates us, economic class, genders, neighborhoods, cities are an “invention of thought” (page 9) but believed to be real, after years and years of thinking. If we see the world as divided up, then we will begin to do our work in the same manner, never reaching everybody and disconnecting even more. It is then so important for someone who is looking to go into urban social work or ministry to see the city and the world as a whole and not in fragmented parts.

My question is though, how do you convey something as deep and scientific as this paper to the common person not enrolled in this class? How do you get the point and idea of holistic approach to everybody? Indeed, living compassionately and as an example to others will allow them a glimpse of your beliefs. Rosado gives the example of Mother Theresa, who looked into the faces of the poor when no one else would and saw Jesus in them. They were then able to look back at her and see Jesus as well. She used no fancy academic essay and scholarly premise for her work, just the love in her heart and the Word of God.

I like to look at people in their cars as they’re driving home from work during rush hour. Everyone looks miserable. The Schuykill will do that to you. But the thing I really notice is how disconnected everyone is to all that is around them. They despise everyone else on the road. They think of only themselves as they fight their way through traffic so they can get home and be alone. They don’t even notice any of the landmarks or scenery around them. They’re just jaded. Once they get home, they close all their blinds and turn on the TV and tune out the world. The next day, they get up and go to their office or cubicle where they hide from the boss and ignore the phone. It just isn’t any way to live. People just isolate more, grow angrier and more ignorant and less understanding and compassionate. If everyone could read a paper like this or the books that we have read during the semester, then I feel like more people would be involved in solving our word’s problems. But it’s so easy to just ignore the issues than to get involved and it’s easier to be angry all the time than to love. But there are plenty of people out there willing and waiting to learn, to be reached out to and to teach. It is those people who want change but just need to tools and compassion to do it. It is us, because we are one people.

My Stragery

2007-09-18T16:58:00.000-04:00

It’s Sunday, September 10, 2006 at 2:23 PM. The Eagles are currently beating the Texans 13 to 10 at the end of the 2nd Quarter and I just ate a satisfying meal of Italian stromboli and wings. Tomorrow I’ll fight rush hour traffic journeying to my job over 25 miles away and the week will start all over again. When I look at my life and where I’m at in my Spiritual Journey, I see myself in Phase 3. Because I don’t look at where I am in my job or the size of my apartment to give my life meaning. My number one goal right now is to work my way through graduate school and receive my Masters in Urban Studies.

My spiritual growth in this journey started years ago when I started to gain interest in social problems and injustices around the world and lead me to my current phase. Over the next couple of years, this journey will continue and hopefully allow me to complete my goal, which in turn will prepare me for the next journey of my life. I believe that there have been all sorts of signs and nudges along the way, pushing me towards the choice of going into this line of ministry and service. Little things from my childhood, up to life-altering experiences have all lead me in the direction of the program and in choosing what to do with my life. All along the way, God has been visible in changing my heart and desires, along with giving me the space to discover what it is that I want to do. And so, here I am, in Phase 3 of my graduate journey, parallel with my spiritual one.

As a child, I was being prepped for the future without even knowing it. I always figured that missions trips and community service projects were just fun things to do. I didn’t realize the impact that these things would have on my future career path and life interests. In fact, I never really saw the care of impoverished people as something I could do as a job full-time. I figured that it would be a week-long trip here, a weekend there and maybe a donation every once and a while. Certainly not a job. I went off to college to major in music business, eventually changing majors to journalism.

It was in the middle of my junior year of college when I got the opportunity to travel to Brazil and Uruguay. I had become friends with a group of South American students at my college and was exposed to all sorts of new culture. I had always loved the city growing up and now I was becoming interested in international cities and the people in them. As I traveled through those countries, I realized several things. First, people in America and people in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and all around the world are not that different. We all share the same dreams and desires for our families and loved ones- to live peacefully with health and happiness. But we’re different in many ways too. Things that are acceptable down there would never fly here, such as the amount of street children begging every day for food or money. The sort of government and private care that people get around the world is not up to the standard that we would find adequate. They are on their own.

And so, with my eyes open and my heart heavy, I went back to my comfy life, graduated college and began to look for a job in the “real world”, always feeling that there was more out there than the 9-5 corporate rat race in which I found myself. Graduate school had always been a distant thought of mine and I began research on various programs around the area. Peace and Conflict Resolution attracted me because of all the wars and fighting in the world, along with International Studies. I applied, waited and prayed. None of the programs seemed to fit into exactly what I wanted, which was a degree that would educate and prepare me for non-profit work in urban cities locally and around the world. I started dating my boyfriend in January of ’06 and he happened to attend Eastern University. At his suggestion, I looked into Eastern’s graduate programs and discovered the Urban Studies program. It fit in perfectly with what I was interested in and what I wanted to learn. I was accepted three months later.

Which brings us up to Phase 3 and my current place in my educational and spiritual journey. Working 32 hours a week and taking 9 credits of coursework is an adjustment and it hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes I question why I chose this line of study and how I’ll ever be able to pay off all my loans and find a job in something meaningful that can support me as well. It all comes down to faith in the end. I know that once Phase 4 is complete, I’ll be happy, relieved, sad and scared. But hopefully, God willing, the things that I will learn throughout my course of study and the people that I meet at Eastern will lead me into the next phase of my life- the phase where I put everything to use in order to bring about change.

When I look back, there are so many things that prepared me for the decision to attend this program and do the things that I feel called to do. As I continue in my educational journey, I am more aware that every little thing that happens in my life has a place in my overall spiritual journey. Just knowing this makes me want to live in a way that will only improve myself and allow me to grow so that I may be prepared to some day help other people with their own journeys.

Community Development- A Comparison

2007-09-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

The other day I was driving on West Lancaster Avenue, through West Philly, when on my left-hand side I saw a building with a sign that said West Philly Neighborhood Revitalization Group. I wondered to myself, Who are they and what are they doing for the neighborhood? All around me, I saw abandoned row homes with boarded up windows, trash littering the streets and empty lots where buildings once stood. The only thing “revitalized” that I saw was across from the organization’s building- a small grass plot with a bench and several flower bushes. It was nice, but was certainly not enough for what the poor neighborhood needed. Two blocks later, it was like coming out of a war zone, when I drove through the area surrounding St. Joseph’s- beautiful, with oak trees lining the streets and old stone mansions on every corner. So I thought to myself again, Why is one neighborhood literally located only a few blocks down so much worse for the wear than another one that seems to have everything? How does one community get developed to survive while another is forgotten and abandoned? This is a question asked by countless scholars, researchers, governments and non-profit workers and the subject of my entire graduate study at Eastern University. What is community development and what makes it work or fail?

I used to feel scared when driving through a rough urban neighborhood. Now I just feel sad. Because I know what the people there need, but no one seems to be able to bring it to them. As Jesus said in Mark 7:14, “The poor will be with you always.” Since most Christians agree with that statement, they feel that it is not their problem to help one person when there will always be another one right behind them. The problems seems endless and often, hopeless. People begin to fear the cities and those with money flee to the suburbs and disconnect themselves from the reality of what’s happening in the city.

Forbes Magazine and I have quite a different opinion on “living comfortably.” Spending $22,100 on travel in one year? Savings of just $2,600? A vacation home in Bucks County worth over $1.1 million dollars? Personally, I thought eating Ramen noodles and spending a weekend at the Jersey shore was comfortable living, but apparently I’ve been missing out on life.

Closer to the real way of life in Philadelphia is an average annual salary of $38,768. While Philly may be more inexpensive to live in when compared to New York, the cost of living is 27% above the national average. The US Bureau of Census determined that 26% of the population was living below the poverty level and that out of the top 25 largest cities in the country, Philadelphia had the 12th highest poverty level.

Many problems contribute to this, including low wages and high living costs. When someone earns the PA minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and works 40 hours a week, the amount of money they earn before taxes equals $11,440. Take away 30% for taxes and you’re bringing home $8000. Is it possible to live in Philadelphia on $8000 a year?

The average cost of rent for two people is $890. That accounts for a one bedroom apartment, with approximately 600 square feet of space. Rent alone will cost $10,680 a year. One person alone can not afford to live on their own when working for minimum wage. Even with two incomes combined, rent will account for almost 75% of living expenses. Of course, you can find housing for less than $890, but the location will leave much to be desired. You can also apply for section 8 housing through HUD or the Philadelphia Housing Authority. With a waiting list of almost 16,000, the Housing Authority serves 80,000 Philadelphia residents. In order to be eligible for this program, you must earn less than $34,000 for a family of four and many in the program earn minimum wages.

For those who do not want to rent for their entire life, ownership is near impossible. The median cost of buying a house in Philadelphia is $110,500 and although this varies from area to area, home ownership among the poor has declined steadily over the past decade. Although nearly 60% of Philadelphians own their home, this number too has dropped in the last 10 years. According to Kevin Gillen at the University of Pennsylvania, housing prices have increased 123% in the past 10 years. In 1996, the average cost of renting in Philadelphia was $690, but now over 100,000 households struggle to pay rent and in several neighborhoods, more than 40% of residents live in poverty (Brookings Institute, 2000).

These statistics are not related only to Philadelphia. In cities all across the world, communities face poverty, crime, decaying buildings and shattered families. Fortunately there are people who see these problems, have hope and stay in order to create change in their neighborhoods. They are community developers and they see the block as much more than a couple liquor stores, burnt down row homes and drug dealers.

This semester, we have studied community development from the perspectives of numerous Christian leaders, researchers, economists, non-profit workers and pastors. We have learned where neighborhood problems come from, the historical background of the degeneration of cities, read case studies of grass root organizations and discovered what works and what doesn’t work when planning a non-profit. We were fortunate enough to hear from numerous speakers from the CCDA, including founder John Perkins, who was truly inspiring and refreshing to hear. The Christian Community Development Association or CCDA believes that if God’s people are fully engaged in restoring under-served communities, they can bring about immense change. And they have. From churches in Chicago to non-profits in Houston, CCDA members have been having positive impacts on their neighborhoods by not just handing out charity, but by supplying community residents with the tools they need to better their lives. They believe in a holistic approach and in combining all areas of ministry for the greatest influence. The ‘Three Rs’ provide the basis of members’ beliefs and how they model their lives- relocation, reconciliation and redistribution.

Relocation is a reoccurring theme from every speaker I have heard at Eastern. It is the one issue that most people struggle with when debating whether to go into urban ministry or community development. They have a desire to help the inner city, but have no desire to actually live there. John Perkins pioneered the way of stressing relocation to Christians with a call to help those in urban blight and this “R” has become one of the most talked and debated about issue within Christian urban ministry. By believing in the Gospels, one should understand that in order to serve God’s will entirely, they should care about their neighbor and bettering their life. Because Jesus lived and walked amongst the poorest of the poor and because we strive to live like Jesus, then what better way is there than to live amongst the poor? How can you truly love and understand someone if you travel 45 minutes from the suburbs every day and leave at 5pm every night? You may have compassion, but you will never be truly effective in reaching them and learning from them.

All speakers from the CCDA spoke about the types of people who live in the city. There are the ‘relocators’- the people that move into the community to work and develop the neighborhood to better the lives of everyone there. There are the ‘returners’, who grew up in the neighborhood, but moved away and are now returning because they feel a connection to a certain area. Then there are the ‘remainers’, those who never left because of various reasons- either poverty or a deep sense of connection and pride to the neighborhood.

Reconciliation is another important factor in community development and urban ministry. Because CCDA is Christian-based, their ultimate goal is leading people to Christ. In order for people to have a completely whole life, they do not just need a good job or a nice house- they need to be saved. By bringing people to Christ, the church can have a deeper impact on a person’s life and an understanding of what drives and fuels their passions. In the Bible, not one group of people is chosen- we all can have a life in Christ. But without it, there is only so far a community development plan can go.

Members of the community also need to reconcile with each other. Whether it be through races, genders or religions, people need to realize that the true Gospel is for all people. Everyone says it- 11am on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. But with a Gospel that abhors segregation, why do churches continue to be like this? Usually the church we attend reflects the community to which we belong or feel like we fit in with the most. By relocating to the city, our churches will be more ethnically and economically diverse, bringing so many more talents and ideas to the table and effectively reaching out to the neighborhood. Slowly, but surely, we will begin to form closer relationships with people of all backgrounds and the church will become stronger.

Finally, redistribution of resources goes along with relocation and reconciliation. When economic classes mix, the benefits will reach everybody. Those with more resources will bring the attention of political leaders, who will in turn allocate more and more funds and services into the community. Everyone will start to have an equal chance at opportunity. Christian community development seeks to bring justice to the underserved and the only way justice can be brought is by allowing them a chance to succeed.

A holistic approach to all things concerning community development is also stressed by the CCDA. This can be a tricky thing to accomplish if you are small on staff and resources and some talents are not available. Also, many Christian groups will focus on bringing a person to Christ and let Jesus take care of the rest. Solving one problem will not take care of the rest and in community development; you must focus on EVERY aspect of a person’s life- from spiritual, to emotional, to physical and economical to social.

Another thing that CCDA emphasizes is empowering the residents of the community you are working with. When people feel involved and connected to a project, they are more likely to put everything they have into it and feel a sense of pride when it’s completed. Instead of depending on assistance from the government or the organization, they will look for ways to do it themselves and continue to grow and improve. It’s very important to be able to complete a project and pull out of the community and know that they will continue prospering. That’s the only way you know a job has truly been completed.

Community development is defined in different ways according to the organization doing it. According to Ronald F. Ferguson in Urban Problems and Community Development, the definition for community development is “asset building that improves the quality of life among residents of low-to moderate-income communities” (Ferguson, Page 5). Community, says Ferguson, in community development comprises of people in a close geographic proximity to each other, no matter their interests or values. The overall goal of community development is to improve the standard of living and quality of life, by producing assets that help residents attain that. Quality of life ideas are seen as social justice, political efficacy and economic vitality (Ferguson, Page 2). If the quality of life is raised, the community will become a better place to live. Health and safety risks will be reduced, residents will be connected to more opportunities, housing and investments will become stabilized and the community will partner with government and other institutions of power to ensure that the neighborhood is taken care of appropriately and accordingly. By empowering individuals in the neighborhood to bring about these changes, the result will be long-lasting pride and care in the community.

Although not based on any religious foundations, the book is similar to the principles found by Christian community developers. The holistic approach, although not Christ-based, brings together all aspects of life- social, intellectual, physical, financial, and political assets- to argue that every one of these issues must be in order for a person to advance and prosper in life. It also argues that in order for a community development program to be successful, it must have support from all angles, including residents, government, community leaders, churches and local non-profits. You can’t force a program on people who do not want it in the first place.

Poverty is not only the lack of money; it is also powerlessness and alienation from the key institutions of society. These institutions are described in the book as politics, religion, economics, family, education and recreation. Poor people are greatly missing out on all of these things. They are underrepresented politically because they do not vote and therefore politicians do not care about their welfare. From an economic standpoint, those with no steady paycheck have no need for banks or stocks, important institutions that keep our economy afloat. Because they do not contribute to these things, they do not receive the financial education that is important for people to have in order to make smart decisions with their finances. What little money they do have is almost always in cash form and is rarely saved. With all these odds against them, it’s easy to see how inner city residents can become downtrodden, miserable and skeptical of the programs trying to help them.

Harvie Conn, inspiration for the book, The Urban Face of Mission, once said that “You can’t reach what you can’t see.” You can’t minister to people that you don’t live with and communicate face to face with on a personal, daily basis. To many people, the city is hidden away and looked at as a distant problem, something that is full of one group of people- those in poverty and with no way out and who want no way out. In order to minister affectively to people in urban areas, we must first see the city as a diverse, heterogeneous place full of life and vibrancy, with all types of groups that need attention and love. Unfortunately, if you aim to reach all of those groups at once, you will be ineffective in reaching anyone at all.

Conn defines the city as "a relatively large, dense and socially heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God's divine purpose." The way in which you view the city comes from where and how you were raised. Those who were raised with the Protestant work ethic tend to see the poor as lazy and deserving of their circumstances. They believe that those who work hard will make it in this world. Unaware of the problems of poverty and the lost mentality of the urban poor, the suburbanite knows no sympathy for those people. The ones that do enjoy the city and see it as a melting pot are usually blind to the hidden problems overtaking the inner cities. It is possible for someone to visit the city and never see the real side of poverty. Instead, they can be tricked into thinking the city is all flashy historical sites and high-end shopping and dining. Most people feel comfortable in viewing the city in that way, choosing to ignore the blight of the poor.

Paul is used as a great reference for church building and community development. It was said that Paul stayed away from social and political issues, but in 1 Corinthians he speaks of the gap between the rich and poor, prostitution, slavery, homosexuality and women’s rights. He taught the church ways to reach out to the world without forgoing their own values and without having to make political decisions. This, of course, becomes impossible in today’s urban city. Churches that are mixed with different races, political views and economic classes often make it difficult for church leaders to decide on which missions to pursue effectively. Urban ministry is something that is best lead by those living in the community, but not many suburban church members are willing to move there.

The church often teaches about personal success, which in turn alienates and shuns those in desperate need. Too many of today’s “megachurches” are geared towards the middle-class and will hire someone as an urban outreach minister to “take care of the rest.” At least, that’s what it feels like to “the rest.” They feel like they are on the receiving end of charity, instead of building a relationship with a caring individual who desires to help change their life. They see the church as an institution, not a collection of individuals all doing their part in renewing lives in their city. Once vibrant and holistic, inner-city churches now move out to the suburbs, following the migration of their members. Those that remain in the city see most of their congregation commuting from outside, leaving immediately after the service is over. The work of transforming the community is left to the few who still live in the neighborhood, often dependent on outside funding or government assistance, which frequently have other agendas.

Conn stresses that the church must mobilize in urban areas to gain effectiveness and confidence from the residents in that area. Consumerism, individualism and privatization are all subjects that threaten the growth and success of the urban church. Because of the success of many suburbanites, they don’t feel the need to turn to the church in order for support. They feel that they can handle life on their own and have no need for God. The church continues to feed its own and forget about those outside their doors.

My parents have been Tony Campolo fans for years now and I must admit, their admiration has rubbed off on me. At Eastern, we are lucky enough to attend the school named after him and have the pleasure of hearing him speak regularly, in an intimate setting. Always considered a rebel amongst the evangelical preacher crowd, Dr. Campolo tackles issues that most Christians tend to shy away from- issues that cause controversy in the church. Although many people may disagree with the stances he takes, one thing that no one can deny is that Dr. Campolo has a real heart for helping the poor and oppressed. Through various organizations around the world, he helps spread God’s love to the neediest people and calls on other Christians to do the same.

When he’s not speaking, traveling or organizing non-profits to save the world, Dr. Campolo writes numerous books that address issues that shadow the church. In his book, Speaking My Mind, he does just that- speaks his mind on problems he has with the evangelical church and states his views and opinions on issues such as homosexuals, Islam, helping the poor, etc. The main concern he tries to portray is that the right-winged church has gotten so preoccupied with choosing sides and being judgmental that they have forgotten how to simply love. These controversial issues are dividing the church and keeping any real work from getting accomplished. They are also giving a bad name to Christianity and those looking in from the outside are getting the wrong impression of how Christians are supposed to act.
When I think of the main mission of Tony Campolo’s life, I think of service to the poor and trying to make their problems known to the rest of society. He is concerned with the middle-class’s disregard for helping those in need and how easily they can ignore it. They seem to forget the part of the Bible where Christ called for us to live as servants. Serving others requires nothing in return. No rise to fame, power or recognition. Just humble service and proof of God’s love to those who need it the most.

When I told my boss that I was starting in the Urban Studies program at Eastern with the hopes of working in a non-profit organization, the first thing he told me was that I wasn’t “going to make any money.” I bit my tongue with the urge to say, “Well sir, that’s the difference between you and me.” Because obviously one doesn’t go into this line of work or ministry with the intention of making lots of money. There is a specific moment when you realize that there is more to life than working in the corporate world, making a pile of loot and retiring to Florida at age 55. Working with greedy and corrupt people in the daily rat race is no longer desirable and you realize that in order to find greatness in God’s kingdom, “the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves” (Luke 22:26).

There are several reasons why servanthood in the Lord’s name is often corrupted. Humans, by nature, always feel the pressure to be the best, biggest and brightest. Even those with good intentions can be blinded by selfish reasoning and the desire for recognition. It’s only natural to want to feel praise for something that you’ve done well. But at what point do you start doing things for other people with the intention that you will gain recognition? When does it no longer become about the person that you are supposed to be serving, but instead about you and you alone? There is the “selfish giver”– the person who serves in order to make themselves feel better about their own life. They gain personal satisfaction from the work that they do and that becomes the basis of their work. Sure, they like helping people and stuff, but mainly they do it because it helps them feel good about themselves, that they’re not such a horrible person after all and that they can cross a goal off of their “to do” list.

Not only does God call us to serve, but he calls us to serve the poor. This is a group of people who are routinely cast aside in life, even by Christians. They are looked at as a problem that needs solving and charity and not as a group of people who need love and care. It is not uncommon for a church to raise thousands of dollars to help starving children in Africa or tsunami victims in Indonesia but will balk at the thought of paying for a homeless shelter in the city less than 20 minutes away. It is almost as if the poor in our town are not looked at as real people, but rather as “cases”. God commands us in Proverbs 31:8 to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” He has blessed us with the comforts of life and in return asks us to help others who are not so lucky. Who are we to forget about and ignore someone because they have less material possessions than us? Just because a person does not drive an SUV or own as many pairs of shoes as we do does not make them less of a person to God. 1 John 3:17 says “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

And to serve to the poor, we must go to where they live- urban areas. Cities. There are over 300 verses in the Bible on being a servant in God’s name. But just because we are called to serve does not mean that we have to stand on a street corner handing out bowls of soup. There are many ways to serve God’s people that aren’t just through community volunteering. We’re all unique, each with our own individual mission and meaning for life. If the world was full of outgoing, talkative leaders then there wouldn’t be anyone to listen. If everyone decided that urban ministry was their call, then there wouldn’t be anyone to help in rural areas. There’s a reason why we’re all different and that’s so we can balance each other out, feed off of each other and learn from one another. With so many distinct calls and missions, the possibilities really are infinite.

Not everyone has the gift of gab like Tony Campolo, but he can inspire us to step out of our comfort zones and start being radical Christians too- where radical means caring about the poor and living humbly and modestly. It may not sound like a tricky thing to do, but many people seem to have a problem with it. Whether they think their wealth is a gift from God or they simply think the earth will perish and its’ problems are not theirs, getting people out from in front of their plasma TVs and into the city to start helping is as hard as pulling teeth. Evangelicals are lucky to have someone like Tony Campolo. Now if only they would stop arguing with him and start working together, Christians could make a huge impact.

All of these philosophies share many similar beliefs and also many unique values. One distinct similarity is the focus on a holistic approach, whether it is religious-based or not. Spending an equal amount of time on social, housing, political, economic, mental and spiritual issues is vital to the growth of a community. One can not grow mentally if they do not have a house to live in. And just because someone has a house, does not mean they are mentally stable. Why is it so hard for programs created for social change in the city to survive? It seems like well-meaning people are always setting up some sort of program to help the struggling people in the inner city, but less than a year later, the project is abandoned. It could be because these programs do not implement a holistic approach and our society’s fragmented way of thinking and living has caused people to become disconnected to their work. Or the lack of resources and constant uphill battle with funding and logistics can cause burnout.

An issue that I did not read, or perhaps just missed in Urban Problems and Community Development, was the issue of relocation. Almost all Christian community developers stress this to a T, but I could not find it in Ferguson’s writing. This book was written from a research standpoint and looks at community development from an economic organizational view. I felt as if residents were viewed not as people, but as subjects. We all know the effectiveness of a program where the residents are not cared for and cherished. Not to say that this philosophy doesn’t want to involve the residents in the development process, but it isn’t as concerned with reconciling through different races and classes. It’s more like, “I’m over here and you’re over there, but we can still work together to change your problems.” This might get some things done, but I don’t think that you will ever fully engage someone without being at their level and looking through their eyes. These Harvard scholars may have done all the research and provide the history, but they miss the human element.

Another important concept is the distinction between charity and partnership. If you keep feeding a person hand-outs, they won’t be able to stand on their own two feet. Too many non-profits or community development programs find it easier to just supply people with what they need, without teaching them or giving them the tools to learn how to do it themselves. When the funding runs out and the organization must leave, the people will be right back where they started. An example of this is MCC or Mennonite Central Committee. They have been dedicated for over 30 years to providing people in Africa with health care, food, and orphanages. But after all that time, if they pulled out, the people would still not be able to produce their own doctors or care for their children.

I like to look at people in their cars as they’re driving home from work during rush hour. Everyone looks miserable. The Schuylkill will do that to you. But the thing I really notice is how disconnected everyone is to all that is around them. They despise everyone else on the road. They think of only themselves as they fight their way through traffic so they can get home and be alone. They don’t even notice any of the landmarks or scenery around them. They’re just jaded. Once they get home, they close all their blinds and turn on the TV and tune out the world. The next day, they get up and go to their office or cubicle where they hide from the boss and ignore the phone. It just isn’t any way to live. People just isolate more, grow angrier and more ignorant and less understanding and compassionate. It’s so easy to just ignore the issues than to get involved and it’s easier to be angry all the time than to love. But there are plenty of people out there willing and waiting to learn, to be reached out to and to teach. It is those people who want change but just need to tools and compassion to do it. It is us, because we are community developers.

Journey Through the Eyes of a Lens

2007-09-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

I’ve developed an obsession as of late. A hobby, shall we say. I, Erin Royce, am addicted to documentaries. Political, social commentary, historical- you name, I love it. Someone asked me recently what I like to do for fun and my answer was “eat cheese and watch documentaries.” They kind of looked at me strangely. But, no matter, to me there is nothing more fascinating. You should see my Netflix list! Nothing but docs as long as the eye can see… My favorite kind are the really gritty, dark and depressing ones because no matter how sad and painful they are to watch, they leave me with hope and a feeling of purpose. I enjoyed watching documentaries before I started my graduate work at Eastern but the habit really kicked in after watching Rize during our residency for Christ and the City. Even though I’ve never been a fan of David LaChapelle, (I’ve always found him too “Hollywood”) I thought the documentary was stunning. As a journalism undergrad, I’ve always been interested in using documentary to tell a story to the public that has meaning and send a message that needs to be told. So lately, I’ve been studying all types of docs, learning how they form the stories, the images they portray and subject matter they choose. My goal now is to shoot a feature length documentary on a little-known subject and bring it to the public’s attention.

Theological Reflection

2007-09-18T16:52:00.000-04:00

It is my belief that there is good in this world, hidden in the darkest of places. There are people without a voice, desperate to be heard and seen instead of shunned in fear, waiting for justice. There are honest, hard-working, family-centered and compassionate people who are pre-judged for living a certain neighborhood where it is thought that only evil can exit. And there are youth who watch the same circle of violence, hatred and despair continue day after day, with no shred of hope for a future life on the outside. It is these people who are forgotten and ignored by most and for who I am called to serve.

As a journalism student, I thought that my voice could only be factual and unbiased. Realizing that there are former journalists and filmmakers out there making an impact through research, travel and writing has inspired me to continue my education to include urban studies, so that when I write for socio-political reasons, I understand the people in which I write about. My journey thus far has consisted of research, study and the child sponsorship of a 5-year old in Brazil, with the hopes of visiting and producing and working on documentaries in various cities around the world. I see myself in research and communication with NGOs, churches and government, along with writing social commentary and producing documentaries to spread knowledge of the world’s crisis situations. The good in this world is worth the risk, fight and criticism one must expect to face in this ministry and to let the public hear the voices of those in need. I base my line of work and ministry in the teachings of Jesus as he called us to serve the young and poor, those in need of more than just charity and without a voice.

In today’s modern working world, it is a fact that if you want to get to the top, you have to start at the bottom. As an entry-level college graduate, you are not usually offered the position of CEO when you join a company. Hardly. You have to start at the bottom doing all the dirty work- stapling papers, running errands, copying, and generally just being a slave to the higher powers above you. If it sounds like I’m talking from experience, it’s because I am. Currently, here I am, working on my Masters and some guy with barely an Associates degree but about 20 years my senior throws a pile of papers on my desk and tells me to have them copied and stapled by 3:00 PM this afternoon. In the working world, we know that in order to get a promotion and work our way up the ladder, we have to do all of those boring, menial tasks because, well, everyone had to (well, except maybe the boss’s son but that’s a completely different story). The point is that we do these jobs because we know that we’ll get something out of it later on. But Christ’s call for us to live as servants should teach us just the opposite of the world’s way- serving others requires nothing in return. No rise to fame, power or recognition. Just humble service and proof of God’s love to those who need it the most.

And to serve to the poor, we must go to where they live- urban areas. Cities. Not that poor people don’t live out in the countryside or even in the suburbs, but the most congested poor areas are in the inner city. I love the city, the culture it has to offer and the diverse people. But I’ll admit, I haven’t spent much time in the ghetto. It scares me, not because I think every person is out to harm me, but it’s the fear of the unknown, of the “what if?” Let’s face it, some parts of the city are just NOT safe for a 23 year-old white female but that doesn’t mean that I can’t help in some way. Even when walking to the parking lot at 10th and Wallace, the professors warn you to stay in groups. I can’t move to Compton and expect to be taken seriously, let alone make an impact. But I can do things that use my strengths to try and make a difference for people living in the roughest neighborhoods.

There are over 300 verses in the Bible on being a servant in God’s name. But just because we are called to serve does not mean that we have to stand on a street corner handing out bowls of soup. There are many ways to serve God’s people that aren’t just through community volunteering. During our residency, we heard from all types of people who are serving and ministering in many different settings. They were both inspiring and refreshing. Salt World is a group of extremely talented actors, singers and dancers who take their urban ministry directly to the streets. They give hope to the people of the neighborhood where they perform and offer them ways to get in touch with a church or mentor. William Branch uses his hip-hop music and roots to minister to the inner-city residents who can relate to him. He shows them that they can love God and still be true to themselves. Maher Salhani ministers to his people as well and I must admit, I would be hard pressed to try and minister to a Muslim. He’s got a tough job, that’s for sure, but he does it with vigor and enthusiasm. And even though Sandra Rivera works in the government precinct, she still manages to show Christ’s love and compassion to the victim’s families that she deals with. All of these people have chosen to integrate their ministry and servanthood into their 9-5 job and it seems like they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Because, in the end, I think that God’s plan for us is to worship and serve Him in our day to day lives. Sure, taking a mission’s trip every once and a while is great. You get a chance to see another part of the country (or world) and meet a whole new set of people. You come away feeling spiritually recharged and ready for anything. But being able to minister to everyone around you, in your job, neighborhood or city every day is truly a blessing. We are so used to separating church from our jobs that we waste tons of precious hours where we could be doing God’s will. Having to make the effort to minister is hard. But after trying at it for a while, it should become second nature. And if you’re like me, who isn’t the preachin’ type, Christ’s love should be apparent through the way you do your job and treat those around you.

Which brings me to my next question. What about those who aren’t as outgoing and talkative with strangers or coworkers? Can they still reach out to others? I say yes. While the majority of leaders are outspoken and charismatic spitters, (i.e. Tony Campolo) there are plenty of people behind the scenes doing just as much. I find myself in this category. Writing has always been my passion, not speaking or pounding the pavement. I’m not much of an idle chit-chatter and prefer to get my message and meaning across simply and through the written word. Although I don’t claim to be the next great American novelist, I do feel that writing comes with a lot more ease to me than a math test or science project. Throughout the years, my interests have grown to include film and web design, all things that reach masses of people and can impact the world with a message. Since I’m so specialized in my skills and interests, it can be difficult finding an organization that I can work with as a career. There are two ways that I could make a documentary- one would be with grants and private funding and the other would be to partner with or work for a production company. It’s hard to know where to start. I assume it involves writing lots of letters and begging on doorsteps. But it’s something that interests me and something that I will try to achieve in my time here on earth.

We’re all unique, each with our own individual mission and meaning for life. If the world was full of outgoing, talkative leaders then there wouldn’t be anyone to listen. If everyone decided that urban ministry was their call, then there wouldn’t be anyone to help in rural areas. There’s a reason why we’re all different and that’s so we can balance each other out, feed off of each other and learn from one another. With so many distinct calls and missions, the possibilities really are infinite.

Urban Ministry in a New Millennium

2007-09-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

“The poor will be with you always,” Christ said in Mark 7:14. Over 2,000 years later, the condition of poverty in the United States and around the world reinforces this statement a hundred times over. In the book entitled Urban Ministry in a New Millennium, author David Claerbaut, states that cities determine the destiny of nations. When so many of our nation’s cities are filled with poverty-stricken, slum-dwelling inhabitants who physically and economically are not able to contribute to society, the fate of our country can seem grim. The main reason why urban situations continue to worsen is due to ignorance and disregard from the majority of the people living outside of the city. It is these people who can do the most to help, and it is these people who continue to ignore the plight of poor inner-city dwellers.

Urban Ministry in a New Millennium “examines urban ministry in the context of globalization and regentrification that currently dominate the contemporary American city” (page x). It is a tool for ministers, non-profit workers, church members and aid givers in an urban ministry setting, allowing insight into a world with which they may not be familiar. Claerbaut gathers information from his own research and studies done with various city churches across the country, to “focus on ministries of stewardship and service” (page xi) and present models of community development that are helpful to leaders looking to start programs in an urban setting.

In order to help someone, you must first understand them. “To understand the city is to understand the future” (page 2). A city contains a glimpse of the rest of the world, for within a city are multiple nationalities, races, cultures and religions. Along with world-class entertainment, sports, art and food are poor, hungry, homeless, single-parents and impoverished children. God calls his followers to serve these people, because one of God’s “main concerns is justice for the poor and oppressed” (page 5). One of the reasons urbanites are most often forgotten is because of the fear, prejudice and blame from those on the outside. Those who live in the safety of a middle-class suburb are not faced with the ideals and events that occur every day in a city-dweller’s life. In order to connect and fully understand a person, you must embrace their cultural differences and diversities.

To understand the person, you must acknowledge their surroundings. The people with the most needs and who live in the most disparaging of poverty live in what is called the “inner city.” An inner city can be described as “a poverty area in which there is much government activity but little private sector activity” (page 36). The people who live here deal with violence, drugs, sexual exploitation and crime on a daily basis. When stuck depending on welfare to help pay the bills, these residents start to feel trapped, hopeless and depressed. Life is never changing. Days go by and problems remain the same. The number one priority among the poor is survival. In America, self-worth is determined by the job title you hold, the number of possessions you have and the power you control. When someone has none of this, they lose their identity and fill their life with meaningless things such as crime, theft and drugs. They start to value material things over life.

A common misconception in the United States is that there is enough wealth and opportunity for someone to rise from the depths of any situation and make something of themselves. According to Claerbaut, “a person’s status at birth largely determines the future” (page 73). Americans base most of their success on the fact that they worked hard and achieved great things despite the odds. They do not realize that most of their success is due in part to the level of the economic stratosphere in which they were born. They have no empathy for those who are at the bottom of the food chain, because those people are looked at as lazy and as if it is their own fault that they are poor. If a person is not faced with problems that don’t concern them, they find it difficult to care.

Poverty is not only the lack of money, it is also “powerlessness and alienation from the key institutions of society” (page 86). These institutions are described in the book as politics, religion, economics, family, education and recreation. Poor people are greatly missing out on all of these things. They are underrepresented politically because they do not vote and therefore politicians do not care about their welfare. From an economic standpoint, those who have no money have no need for banks or stocks, important institutions that keep our economy afloat. Because they do not contribute to these things, they do not receive the financial education that is important for people to have in order to make smart decisions with their finances. What little money they do have is almost always in cash form and is rarely saved.

Sixty percent of African American families are fatherless (page 97). Because of this, most families are headed by the mother, who has to work several jobs to pay for expenses. The family is often torn apart and children are raised on the streets. It is hard to motivate a child to excel in education, because so often they have no role models that have achieved an education before them. Because the parent may lack an education and have to work all the time, the child grows up in a home without reading or monitoring, leading to an idle lifestyle. The home is too small and crowded to spend significant time in, so they look to the streets and join up with other children in order to feel part of something. This leads to the creation of gangs, which leads to drug usage, crime and most likely, jail time.

How does all this information pertain to those looking to become involved in urban ministry? Ministering in an urban setting requires awareness (page 133). Urban workers “have to develop a great deal of patience and empathy” (page 133) if they wish to break the barriers and minister to the people. For a lot of pastors and non-profit workers, the way of life in a city is completely foreign. Since a person’s environment has the most effect on the things they believe and the way they live their life, these workers will have not dealt with the same things as inner-city residents. Reading this book has opened my eyes to a lot of the reasons why people are the way they are. Growing up middle-class in a white neighborhood and attending Christian schools all my life, I was very sheltered from the influences of the city. That lifestyle was looked as something to fear and avoid. Although my parents were not racist in any way and always taught me to love people from all backgrounds, I was not face-to-face with many people from a different economic and religious lifestyle than me.

As I went away to college, I began making friends with people from other countries and social classes. My eyes were truly opened up to the world and the different people in it and I grew to love diverse cultures, languages, foods and art. The city has always attracted me and I had a desire in my heart to study and help those who were less fortunate and trapped. Unfortunately, my journalism degree limited the study of lifestyles to one diversity class and I didn’t take too much away from it. After reading Urban Ministry in a New Millennium, I find myself with a much better understanding of those who live in the inner city, the views of people on the outside, and the issues that must be tackled in order to make a difference. I’ll admit that while reading the book, I started to feel a sense of hopelessness myself. There’s so much suffering and work to be done and I feel that I could never even make a dent in any progress. I was, however, encouraged by the models Claerbaut gave at the end of the book on organizations that had been successful in starting programs in the city that have really made an impact. I believe it really depends on educating the workers about the urban environment and who they are trying to reach and setting up specific goals and areas in which they will target. Too often does a well-meaning organization get caught up in the hierarchies and paperwork and forget the original reason of why they are there.

Urban Ministry in a New Millennium is a very important tool that should be used by all first-time workers entering into any type of ministry or service in the inner city. I believe that if police officers, human resource managers, pastors, government and non-profit workers read a book like this, they would go into their job with a greater understanding of the mindset and lifestyle of the people in which they are serving and therefore would avoid a lot of conflict and confrontation. Fear is what keeps people defensive and distant and with knowledge comes the power to be sensitive and deal effectively with all sorts of issues. In regards to the course Christ and the City, the book gives us a starting point on which to found our ministries and efficiently serve the people of the city. It reinforces Jesus’ call for us to serve the poor and hungry, mild and meek, young and old. In order to spread the love of Jesus Christ, we must go to the people who need it the most, the ones who feel forgotten and lost: the poor of the city.

Reaching the Unreachable

2007-09-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

Harvie Conn, co-author of Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City and the People of God, once said that “You can’t reach what you can’t see.” You can’t minister to people that you don’t live with and communicate face to face with on a personal, daily basis. To many people, the city is hidden away and looked at as a distant problem, something that is full of one group of people- those in poverty and with no way out and who want no way out. In order to minister affectively to people in urban areas, we must first see the city as a diverse, heterogeneous place full of life and vibrancy, with all types of groups that need attention and love. Unfortunately, if you aim to reach all of those groups at once, you will be ineffective in reaching anyone at all.

Urban Ministry is seen as a staple in urban teaching tools for pastors and church planters, covering the history of the city, the challenges of urban ministry and offering examples on mobilizing leaders and churches on how to bring about change in their communities. Harvie M. Conn and Manuel Ortiz worked together and wrote numerous books on urban ministry issues throughout their careers at Westminster Theological Seminary. Known as “missiologists”, they dedicated their research and writing to mobilizing the evangelical church to reach out to cities, an area that had long been feared and left alone to it’s own demise. Divided into six sections, the book covers The City Past and Present, Biblical Perspectives, Understanding the City, Developing Urban Growth Eyes, Promoting Kingdom Eyes in the City, and Leadership and Discipleship for the Urban Church. Each section reads as its own textbook, offering numerous historical and present-day examples, insights, and motivation for urban ministry. The wisdom that Conn and Ortiz share come from real-life experiences as missionaries and church planters in cities around the world and inspire future leaders to bring about social justice in their own towns.

In a white American’s eyes, the city is either seen as a “melting pot” or a “ghetto.” Conn and Ortiz define it as "a relatively large, dense and socially heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God's divine purpose." The way in which you view the city comes from where and how you were raised. Those who were raised with the Protestant work ethic tend to see the poor as lazy and deserving of their circumstances. They believe that those who work hard will make it in this world. Unaware of the problems of poverty and the lost mentality of the urban poor, the suburbanite knows no sympathy for those people. The ones that do enjoy the city and see it as a melting pot are usually blind to the hidden problems overtaking the inner cities. It is possible for someone to visit the city and never see the real side of poverty. Instead, they can be tricked into thinking the city is all flashy historical sites and high-end shopping and dining. Most people feel comfortable in viewing the city in that way, choosing to ignore the blight of the poor.

The church often teaches about personal success, which in turn alienates and shuns those in desperate need. Too many of today’s “megachurches” are geared towards the middle-class and will hire someone as an urban outreach minister to “take care of the rest.” At least, that’s what it feels like to “the rest.” They feel like they are on the receiving end of charity, instead of building a relationship with a caring individual who desires to help change their life. They see the church as an institution, not a collection of individuals all doing their part in renewing lives in their city. Once vibrant and holistic, inner-city churches now move out to the suburbs, following the migration of their members. Those that remain in the city see most of their congregation commuting from outside, leaving immediately after the service is over. The work of transforming the community is left to the few who still live in the neighborhood, often dependent on outside funding or government assistance, who frequently have other agendas.

The history of the church in the city is a subject that Conn and Ortiz master. The early church was seen as a “club” in which members had weekly meetings, rites and passages, rules to follow, meals together and goals to be accomplished. Those goals were reaching people outside the club and bringing them in. They write that “the cutting edge of the church in the city is its evangelism to all unreached peoples.” Throughout the New Testament, a common theme is the poor because God does not want us to forget them. But the modern day church feels that offering plates and soup-kitchen volunteering makes up for the lack of real urban ministry that they have. Many of Conn and Ortiz’s frustrations with the evangelical church stem from the fact that the church preaches from the New Testament every Sunday but yet does not utilize the Word in every day life. Urban churches must be able to reach all demographics of people and disprove that “Sunday at 11am is the most segregated hour in America.”

Paul is used as a great reference for church building and urban ministry. It was said that Paul stayed away from social and political issues, but in 1 Corinthians he speaks of the gap between the rich and poor, prostitution, slavery, homosexuality and women’s rights. He taught the church ways to reach out to the world without forgoing their own values and without having to make political decisions. This, of course, becomes impossible in today’s urban city. Churches that are mixed with different races, political views and economic classes often make it difficult for church leaders to decide on which missions to pursue effectively. Urban ministry is something that is best lead by those living in the community, but not many suburban church members are willing to move there.

Conn and Ortiz stress that the church must mobilize in urban areas to gain effectiveness and confidence from the residents in that area. Consumerism, individualism and privatization are all subjects that threaten the growth and success of the urban church. Because of the success of many suburbanites, they don’t feel the need to turn to the church in order for support. They feel that they can handle life on their own and have no need for God. The church continues to feed its own and forget about those outside their doors.

Coming from a suburban “megachurch” myself, I feel a bit conflicted about Conn and Ortiz’s views concerning the effectiveness of these churches. With a congregation of over 3,000, my church has over 75 missionary families they support all around the world and in Philadelphia as well. We have a “satellite” church in the inner-city and work with numerous organizations and people who have a place in their heart and lives for urban ministry. I was raised on youth missions trips and a liberal perspective of city cultures and people. I believe that it’s not the size or location of the church that matters, but the people running the ministries and teaching the members who determine the outcome of the church’s mission. I do agree that it is sometimes hard to “break in” to a megachurch. You can feel lost in the crowd and start to think that no one even notices that you’re a visitor. I’ve attended my church since I was 7, so I’ve never had that feeling, but I know that when I visit other churches, I determine how much I like it by how open the members are to me. Conn and Ortiz write, “In the small cell (church) one finds a stronger measure of accountability, greater flexibility and a deeper rooting in the local community and culture that is missing from the regional focus of the mega church.”

I admire Conn and Ortiz’s passion for the city, but I also realize that there are people all over the country that need attention and God’s love, urban, suburban and rural. My next door neighbor could be struggling just as much as someone in North Philly. I think that sometimes we base the severity of people’s problems with the amount of money they possess (or lack). Just because someone is financially stable does not mean that they have less problems that someone with almost no money. Yes, having money can make things less stressful, but death, suicide or drug addiction knows no financial barriers. It can happen to anyone, regardless of their economic status.

This book is an absolute staple when it comes to the background, history and insight of planning an urban ministry or starting a church. I think that it was written to be timeless and offer help along the way of your spiritual journey. It can be read entirely for thorough study or can be sampled in bits and pieces for missional examples. In my research of the authors, I have discovered that this book is used in almost every seminary, theological and urban ministry class in colleges around the country. The information is imperative to learn if you have not had the opportunity yourself to live in another country or in the inner city. Learn from the masters, live their example and take it to the streets!