It is horrible when you hear that there has been a killing in your neighborhood. There are times when we will get the news that one or two or even three people (almost always young men) have been killed in a matter of days. I feel so strange when we get this kind of news… Continue reading The homefront
Category: South Central
Who is my neighbor?
Yesterday afternoon we stuffed our children into fleecy little Old Navy costumes and made our way over to a Halloween carnival sponsored by the neighborhood homeowner’s association. We are not ourselves homeowners, but we were invited by my sister and our good friends who are. It was a great little party set in the front… Continue reading Who is my neighbor?
Prime Time
Driving home yesterday afternoon, I came across the filming frenzy of blocked off streets, semis, and trailers a few blocks from our house. I had seen the little film placards with “CSI” on them, so I wasn’t surprised to see a bunch of fake Las Vegas police cars parked along the street where they were… Continue reading Prime Time
Yea, though we walk…
Last night we were scheduled to have our monthly block club meeting. Though I had just seen our Senior Lead officer days earlier, I knew that there were a number of updates he planned to give us on some different things going down in our neighborhood right now (things that he did not feel at… Continue reading Yea, though we walk…
Officer friendliest
I was mixing Aaron’s rice cereal for dinner last night when I heard a commotion in our driveway below. I walked closer to the windows to see who was making the noise and was surprised to spot our Senior Lead Officer coming quickly toward the back of our house. He saw me in the window… Continue reading Officer friendliest
Casualties
In the past week, three men have died within walking distance of our house. They have each died of gunshot wounds. They have died on streets and corners where I regularly walk with my kids. They have died in close proximity to the homes of people we love. They have died as a result of… Continue reading Casualties
A problematic location
Two things I read this week troubled me. The first was an article on gentrification by urban ministry practicioner Bob Lupton where he considers how those doing urban ministry should think about the different issues raised by increasingly gentrified urban cores (thanks Anthony Siff at MereMission for this link). Lupton writes: “Resisting gentrification is like… Continue reading A problematic location
Ouch
I have two small children (wow, I can’t say that I have two under two anymore!), and getting out of our apartment is at times a physical feat. We have a back door that exits to where our cars are parked, and this is the door that Doug and I have always used to come… Continue reading Ouch
Mix tape
I often write here about the sights and sounds of my neighborhood. It is a lively place that surprises and intrigues me, and while there are occasionally things that shock me there are many more things that begin to feel quote normal and expected. Like loud parties with lots of Mariachi or hip-hop music that… Continue reading Mix tape
Preaching: A meal for the whole family
I preached yesterday on the subject of “testimony,” or telling our story. We are beginning a series at our church that looks at our spiritual growth through different aspects of our Christian life: prayer, fasting, racial righteousness, reading the Bible, etc. My sermon was the first of the series and I explored the reasons why… Continue reading Preaching: A meal for the whole family