A longer version of this article originally appeared in Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, and Walking Humbly: The Witness of Some Southern Presbyterian
Keep ReadingThis article was originally published in Marian Wright Edelman’s Child Watch Columns on Feburary 6, 2009. Reused by permission. All rights retained by Marian Wright Edelman and the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Incarceration is becoming the new American apartheid, and
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From Ministry Tourists to Pilgrims Maps have always fascinated me. As a child they allowed me to escape the confines of the urban landscape of Chicago’s southwest side. I loved learning to read maps, gleaning insight into faraway people and places with a kind of romanticism. Conversely, as an adult,
MoreI currently live and work at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical retreat center and intentional community in Richmond, VA. Richmond Hill was originally a Catholic convent established in Richmond’s historic Church Hill neighborhood after the Civil War. As the Union army advanced on Richmond, the Confederate army set fire to the
More“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city… a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” -Luke 2:10b-11, NRSV (emphasis added) The “city” has been an important image in Christian theological and popular imagination since its
MoreThe Unity of the Gospel and our Common Need for God’s Compassion Urban ministry is often typified by a focus on those who live in depressed socioeconomic conditions. This type of ministry is almost always associated with conditions of poverty and Jesus’ preferential option for the poor. In reality, however,
MoreA response to the following news story. It was late, when she turned onto Caldwell, wondering if the kids were in bed yet, if her husband had remembered to take out the recycling. She was ticking through e-mails still unanswered, when she spotted the dark form, lying knees to chest
MoreThe work of urban ministry is a love/hate relationship for me. You have to hate it enough to love it so that your heart breaks for it. I’ve seen urban ministry glamorized a lot recently; it appears to be the “trendy” type of ministry to engage in these days. In light
MoreIn my office, I have a print of a painting by the African American artist Horace Pippin, who is one of my heroes. The picture is titled “Holy Mountain III,” and it is one of three scenes Pippin painted that depict the promises found in Isaiah 65:17-25. In this picture,
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Growing up in the mountains of Western Maryland, youth ministry was an integral part of my life. Most of my friends attended church, and I found myself regularly joining their youth groups. I’d say during my middle and high school years, I was going to some sort of church youth
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“Why are you doing this when you could be at the pool or playing video games with your friends?” This is the question that I loved to ask campers every summer for the four years I co-directed “Summer in the City”, a mission based camp for middle school youth in
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In 2010, I decided to embark on a major life transition. I left my comfortable, full-time job, gave up my car, and moved. Why, you might be wondering? What adventure could I have possibly signed up for? Where would I be going? Someplace exotic and exciting, right? Well, sort of.
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