Case Study: Building Community in my Neighborhood Part 3

Introduction

In our Church in Mission class, we learned that the kingdom of God is a new way of living that reflects Jesus’ words and actions. His counter-cultural approach included a revolutionary view of structures at every level of society. Rather than coming in as a triumphant king to replace the oppressive rulers of the day, Jesus showed by example that the least is greatest. He valued women in a highly patriarchal society. He reached out to the marginalized that were often cast out from their communities. This paper will explore what the kingdom of God would look like in my neighborhood with an emphasis on relationships, reconciliation, and being a contrast-society, and what steps might be taken to move in this direction.

Context

My case study is an exploration of how to build community within the context of my neighborhood, specifically along Los Robles Avenue. The neighborhood is very ethnically diverse and there are a number of homeless people living in the area. Since moving here in September, I’ve witnessed multiple arrests, heard search helicopters on more nights than not, awoken to the fights and yelling matches of neighbors, and heard rumors of drug houses. Local policemen have warned the women in my building not to walk down Los Robles at night alone or only with women, because it’s not safe. According to Officer Rickey Pickens from the Pasadena Police Gang Outreach task force, the Bloods and the Crips are active gangs in our area and were recently responsible for murders on a nearby street.

In contrast to the unity and reconciliation that are part of kingdom living, there is much dissention among the people living in my neighborhood. Although many races are represented on my street, there is not much interaction between them beyond an occasional greeting. Gang warfare may contribute to this separation between the races, with fear keeping many from interacting with ethnic groups outside their own. Language barriers also prohibit conversations between many neighbors. There is a large Spanish-speaking population along our street, but most of the non-Hispanic people do not speak Spanish. Differing socioeconomic levels also create distances between people groups by affecting how people dress, talk, and interact.

The cost of living in the Pasadena area makes adequate housing impossible for many of my neighbors. Next door to one another you’ll find large families crammed into small apartments and relatively wealthy suburbanites enjoying spacious apartments with 1-2 residents. In addition, Los Robles is a very busy street, which makes it very difficult to get to know those across the street. The noisiness along the street is another factor hindering casual conversations between people as they walk past each other. Most of the buildings also have gates around them preventing the type of casual interactions that are found more commonly in suburban areas.

However, the kingdom of God is still present even in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations. This kingdom, according to the book Churches That Make a Difference, is characterized by “renewed right relationships with God and neighbor, especially poor persons (Sider, Olson, Unruh 2002, 47).” Within the area of relationships, there are many kingdom-like characteristics that I’ve witnessed particularly in the Hispanic community on our street. Hospitality is a major emphasis and regular celebrations with vibrant music, an impressive spread of food, and a large gathering of family members are the norm. The quinceañera celebration is an example of this emphasis on hospitality. When a girl turns fifteen, her family throws her a huge party and the all of her extended family and friends gather. When our next door neighbor celebrated her quinceanera recently, there were balloons all over their backyard, loud, festive music playing from the speakers, and several tables filled with relatives.

Unity is showcased in the strong sense of family and the importance of those relationships. The love and joy shown between family members is a powerful example of how God’s kingdom is evidenced in our neighborhood. Even when families are living in crowded conditions, they always open up their homes to relatives. Another neighbor has a trailer on his lot where relatives are living and at one time housed another relative in the closet of his garage.

Construction projects on homes also reflect the strong familial ties within this community. Everyone pitches in to help one another with their time and skills. Such work can also become just as much of a social event, as it gives family members an opportunity to converse and catch up on the happenings of the week.

There is very little evidence of reconciliation beyond polite smiles and soft greetings between people of different races and nationalities. Within our building, Korean families and American families have formed friendships that I think are an example to others around us, but there is still much growth needed in this area.

Kingdom of God

In order to begin developing relationships in the neighborhood, we have the difficult task of entering into strong social networks as an outsider. The most obvious hurdle to overcome is a lack of trust. In order to establish a sense of trust, we would first need to plan consistent times of interaction.

We would also need to plan outreach events on a more regular basis. Currently, our apartment complex plans outreach events once a quarter, which is insufficient as a means of building relationships. Because seminary students have many demands on their time, the most effective means of keeping up this type of ministry would be to have a core group committed to more consistent forms of outreach and a secondary group of volunteers who would come as they were able.

The relationships needed to form the basis for transformation in our neighborhood will not form overnight. The ministries that are successful in this arena are those that are committed to long-term involvement with a community. With Fuller being a more transient community, a ministry to Los Robles would necessitate partnerships with local churches and organizations that are already doing this type of work. This would ensure a continuity of service rather than a short-lived attempt.

Another key component of transformational ministry within our neighborhood is found in the concept of a contrast-society. In his work Jesus and Community, Gerhard Lohfink uses the nation of Israel as a means of explaining the term contrast-society. He states that “Israel is to be a holy people with a social order which distinguishes it from other nations (Lohfink 1982, 123).” He goes on to say that the “church as a whole should be an alternate type of society” by standing out from society and its structures (Lohfink 1982, 125).”

There are some ministries that are demonstrating what it means to be a counter-society by reaching out to the marginalized people living in Pasadena. For example, Lake Avenue Church has a substantial outreach program that provides food for the homeless and mentoring for at-risk children. Harambee Ministries states their mission as providing a “safe place where children and youth can learn and develop into indigenous leaders for Northwest Pasadena and beyond.” The story of Harambee Ministries is an inspirational one when looking at transformational ministry in a neighborhood. In 20 years, they’ve radically impacted a neighborhood once called “blood corner” with high crime rates by focusing on three key areas: “relocation, reconciliation and redistribution.” Relocation refers to living among the people you’re ministering to, reconciliation would be restored relationships, and redistribution refers to a more balanced division of resources.

Within the context of my neighborhood, to be a counter-society would mean to distinguish ourselves from other streets by showing love to our neighbors. We would need to look at the four different levels of outreach outlined in Churches That Make a Difference: relief, individual development, community development, and structural change (Sider, Olson, Unruh 2002, 86). This would involve meeting not only physical needs, but emotional and spiritual needs, and looking at the ways to change the environment and structures that are causing these problems.

The third area of focus would be reconciliation. David Fitch, in writing about evangelism to postmoderns, explores concepts that are more far-reaching. He explains that postmoderns respect “a truth that can be seen and experienced in life” and that postmoderns “challenge us to live the truth we tell as a body of believers (Fitch 2005, 49).” These same ideas translate well for working towards reconciliation within our neighborhood. We have to live out the truth in our daily lives. It is easy to say that we are not racist or that we’ve moved past many of our prejudices, but do our lives reflect this? If we want this message to be conveyed, we have to demonstrate it in our actions. As we exhibit an equal valuing of all people and humble ourselves to combat the privilege that society has given to white culture, we are also living out the truths of God’s love and witnessing to His reconciliatory power.

Activities

In the area of relationship-building, we could start with small steps to increase our visibility in the neighborhood. For example, the sidewalks are very busy in the middle of the afternoon, and we could plan to be out walking during those times so as people get used to seeing us we can start talking more with them. There is also a small grassy area in front of our apartment complex that we could utilize more often to keep the gated entrance from preventing conversations.

Because family relationships are such an important emphasis with our neighbors, we could also try to build relationships with them by hosting events for their children. One idea would be to organize a summer Bible school for neighborhood kids, so that the parents would get a little break and we would have a chance to get to know the families who came. We could also host a neighborhood block party to encourage more interaction between not just us and our neighbors but also our neighbors with one another.

To work towards being a contrast-society, we can continue forms of outreach that show God’s love in tangible ways. Our apartment complex recently participated in Fuller’s Day of Mercy and spent the morning picking up trash along several blocks of Los Robles. This act of service kindled in us a desire to do more to impact the neighborhood. We found several bags of bottles that people had hidden behind bushes to possibly pick up a later time. It was sobering to think of empty bottles as someone’s treasure worth hiding. We also brought along bags of socks and other small necessities to give out to poor people we encountered. It was interesting to observe the reactions of people along the street as we passed them. Some thanked us, others brought their trash up to us, and others avoided eye contact and continued on their way. But regardless of their reactions, they were aware of what we were doing.

Last quarter, we did a Swap Day, where everyone brought out items to the front of the building to give away to our neighbors. This form of outreach has already produced friendships with neighbors on our street. Homeless people who hang out in our neighborhood have told our community coordinator that they’ve let others know that they should leave our buildings alone and have also warned people in my building to turn and walk the other way when there was a dangerous situation up ahead.

The Day of Mercy and the Swap Day are both examples of “a multilayered approach to social outreach (Sider, Olson, Unruh 2002, 88).” According to authors Ronald Sider, Philip Olson, and Heidi Rolland Unruh this approach requires one to “Concentrate on one area of ministry well and yet address the multifaceted needs of the whole person through: collaboration, keeping in mind that holistic ministry is an ongoing, evolving process, and a strong relationship component helps your ministry adapt to the complexity of people’s lives (Sider, Olson, Unruh 2002, 88).”

In order to work towards reconciliation, we could also be very intentional about shopping at the local grocery store, going to the public laundromat, and walking to class as a way of demonstrating that we don’t think we’re above our neighbors. It is easy to see the disconnection that occurs when I drive my car everywhere while my neighbors bike or walk. Another point of disconnection is when I drive to the other side of town to shop at a more expensive grocery store and the rest of my neighbors shop at the local store with more crowded aisles and less selection. These choices are not always easy to make. I find that in shopping at the local grocery store I often elicit stares as one of the only white people shopping there. Being a single woman presents unique challenges in this type of situation as there are often times when I’ve been ogled or subjected to unpleasant remarks. However, I have also had many positive interactions from shopping at the local stores. I find that God gives me more opportunities to give. A woman approached me recently after I had just finished loading my groceries into the back of my car and asked for food. It was such a blessing to be able to share a little bit with her. I am learning that while I might escape some of the hassles I encounter by shopping at a nicer grocery store, I will also miss out on being able to reach out to those in need.

Conclusion

The kingdom of God is already evidenced in some respects by the relationships and sense of community among by neighbors, but there is still a long ways to go, particularly in the area of reconciliation. In order to move towards our goal of being a contrast-society, we must be deliberate in making ourselves active members of the community, rather than distancing ourselves in our choices of transportation, stores where we shop, and more. Jesus gave us a wonderful example of acting against cultural systems and norms when they are not furthering God’s kingdom. By first taking the time to see where these norms need to be upturned and then actively seeking to change them, we can hope to have a lasting impact on the streets where we live.