Week 3: God in the Midst of the City

The Entry into Jerusalem – Icon by Rolland Duke Dingman

“God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.” -Ps 46:5

This week is Holy Week, a week that begins with Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem to waving palms and cries of ‘Hosanna!’, includes his crucifixion at the hands of the Roman authorities, and ends with his Resurrection, the ultimate triumph of life over death. In Matthew’s Gospel, it is after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and during Holy Week that Jesus weeps over the city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37) As we go through this final week of Lent, when Jesus came to the city and we saw some of the worst of what humanity can do, let be reminded that the person of Jesus Christ shows us that God is in the midst of humanity and in the midst of the city. As our authors this week explore different visions and strategies of urban ministry, we remember that any ministry we do is enabled by a God who is already at work in the midst of the city.

Mapping the City: From Ministry Tourists to Pilgrims, Joseph L. Morrow

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, I have become increasingly aware that maps also allow other people to read (or more often misread) me. “So we’re headed to the Southside…is it safe?” is a line I’ve heard regularly from students in urban studies groups I’ve taught, youth from urban mission groups I’ve guided, and friends for whom I’ve served as unofficial city ambassador. Such questions illustrate to me how easily one can misread a map – so that Chicago’s Southside becomes a wasteland bearing little resemblance to the complicated stew of Americana that I call home. Continue Reading

Congregation-Based Community Organizing: Building Vibrant Congregations and Just Communities, Phil Tom

In 2012, the Rev. Emily McGinley, a Presbyterian minister, began her ministry to organize a new United Methodist church-start on the Southside of Chicago, with outreach to the Hyde Park and Woodlawn neighborhoods. She spent the first year reaching out and having one-on-one conversations with her neighbors on the street, at neighborhood events, at soccer games – wherever she could talk with someone about the hopeful new church plant. Rev. McGinley cast her net wide and far. She set a goal of making 25 contacts a week. Every time she talked with someone, she always asked who else she should talk to. Continue Reading

Self-Development in the City, Cathy Surgenor

When I was small, my grandfather used to tell me that the shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept.” It made a strong impression on me, perhaps because it was the only verse I can remember him quoting. It was powerful to think of Jesus, the Son of God, crying together with his friends in the face of death. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus also wept for the entire city of Jerusalem: “If only you knew the things that make for peace!” Jesus was picturing what would happen to that beautiful city in the years to come, when not a stone would be left upon another. Continue Reading

Following the Call of the Prophets, Michael Fagans

Not too long ago, a group of homeless people gathered around a table at a local Presbyterian Church in Clearwater, Florida. As they ate together and talked, they began to form a community and started to dream about opening a thrift store together: Homeless Solutions of Clearwater, Inc. The profits from their co-op business model could provide enough income for them to be able to move off the street and into apartments they could call their own. The church heard them, and in addition to a grant from the Self-Development of People (SDOP) Committee, a lawyer donated his time and experience to help start their business. In addition, 12+ churches in the Presbytery of Tampa Bay donated goods to provide a beginning inventory, and another volunteer helped them price for sale. Sound too good to be true? Perhaps, but this is what the Kingdom of God can look like on our earth. Continue Reading

See the Face of God in the City, Glenn Balzer

One Sunday, after parking our car in the vacant lot across from the church where we worship, our family made our way around a make-shift memorial that had been set up the night before. 24 hours earlier, a vigil had been held for a young father of two who had been gunned down. 48 hours prior to that, this young father had arrived in Denver for a rare visit with his children; his desire to escape the cycle of gang violence had driven him out of town a few years earlier. As I walked by this memorial of flowers, teddy bears and candles, I thought of the tagline for DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection), the program for which I am the Executive Director: “See the face of God in the city.” DOOR hosts volunteers for anywhere from a day to a year in 6 cities across the US. The majority of our participants come from our two denominational partners – the Mennonite Church USA and the Presbyterian Church USA. Continue Reading

Read more articles in this series.

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) is bringing a resolution to the 221st General Assembly (2014) entitled “The Gospel from Detroit: Renewing the Church’s Urban Vision.” Click here to see the full text of that resolution.