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Pine Hills in Springtime
Last night we walked a few blocks through our neighborhood to go to the kinda-monthly meeting of the Neighborhood Association. As we approached the street that leads into the neighborhood, we saw a group of young people. I said to Tracy, “Better call the cops.” This, you might have guessed, was a joke. Let me explain.
See, last month at the Blockwatch meeting, we (PineHillians? Pineys? P-Hillz?)… we were told that if we see a group of more than about 4-5 young people, we should call the police. Yes, indeed. We must call the police and report suspicious activity.
As we got close to the kids, and approached them, I noticed a little one in a stroller. (A teen-age-type was pushing.) One of the kids said to us, “Don’t worry. We ain’t goin’ rob you.” Then another said, “Naw, they trick-or-treating!” Which was funny, because I’d said to Tracy just before that the weather & the time of day & the neighborhood reminded me of Halloween as a girl.
Anyway, we smiled & said hello, and kept going. I considered asking if they were all right, because I could sense some agitation. I could also see some people in the distance ahead blocking the sidewalk. Was there conflict? But they didn’t seem to want our involvement. So, on we went.
Uh oh. There’s more.
Half a block later, we ran into the other group we’d seen. This time it was our neighbor, Blockwatch Guy, and a couple of security guards. (I’d have called the police, but there were only three of them. Besides, they said the police were on the way.)
I think because we appeared to him to be Us and not Them, the Blockwatch guy was friendly, and told us all about the problem. The kids were congregating at the corner store, and they needed to go. He was there to make sure they went, and didn’t come back. His demeanor was… well, let’s just say he’s made it known that he carries a weapon, and he’s not afraid to use it. It was not a posture of humility.
It made me wonder. Where are these kids supposed to hang out? There’s no “official” places, “acceptable” places, except inside the homes in the neighborhood. I can think of a zillion reasons a teen might not want to be hanging out inside their house on the first spring-like evening after months of cold and gray. Stale odors, abusive parents, boring parents, no space to move…
Tracy and I started to continue on, talking about the experience. Soon, we realized we did want to go back and see how the kids were doing. But by this time they’d left.
Neighborhood Association isn’t for “neighbors”
Pine Hills is laid out pretty clearly. It’s roughly between a rectangle and a football, bordered by a thoroughfare on the north, a creek (that I love) to the west, and freeways to the east and south. It’s easy to guess where the borders are, but if you did, you’d be wrong. The borders of the official neighborhood are drawn with all sorts of angles, to exclude all those folks in apartments. When I look at those borders, my heart breaks.
According to the census data, there are way more apartments than the 550 houses the neighborhood association includes in its boundaries. Wonder if that’s why we exclude them? We do it, not just by declaring them somehow “not part” of the neighborhood association. But also by taking an Us/Them posture at the corner store, on the playground, on the street…
What would happen if, as a start, we considered the whole neighborhood, invited folks from the apartments to meetings, hung out with the young people we run across on the streets?
Just call me Polly Anna.
So then I got this idea…
Well, actually, I’ve been really at a loss. We left our ministry in Eugene, and have been waiting, watching, walking, looking for where the path leads from here. Winter is a slow time in Columbus, and it makes sense that we’ve spent a bunch of time in quiet waiting. And it makes sense that with the first green shoots of spring (like the ones in our yard, which cheered me greatly!) — with spring, we would find ourselves breaking out, ideas forming in our minds and hearts like buds on the trees outside our window. :)
It’s not that I haven’t had ideas. I’d like to go to the Baptist Church in the neighborhood, and help the folks there figure out how to love the neighborhood. But will they have me? I’d like to get pizza or burritos and share a meal once a week, like we did in Eugene. But where? I’d like to turn my garage into a hang-out. Don’t get me started on why that’s a bad idea.
But last night, I was around real people, and something clearer started to form. (Hang on. I’ll tell you what in a second.) It’s something I’ve had glimmers of before, which is part of why this feels more real. In the past, when the “right” path has shown up, it’s shown up with a life of its own. We’ll see whether this turn out to have that kind of life in it.
ok, here it is
What if, right along side the Blockwatch patrollers, there were Radical Love Project patrollers? What if we wandered the streets and talked to people with love and respect, offered help and kindness, befriended folks and encouraged them? That might be something I could handle. No 501(3)c paperwork, no accounting nightmare, no zoning board. Just two feet on the pavement. I think that’s how God likes me. Walking.
Posted by Angela under about us
Thursday, March 11, 2010
9 Comments
One thing that stood out for me was the question the Blockwatch guy asked us as we passed: “Feeling safe?”
I’m not quite sure what to make of that question. In part, I’m sure he was hoping to be appreciated for his efforts at helping people feel safe. But that agenda seemed to come with the assumption that we couldn’t feel safe were it not for what he, and people like him, were doing. And even that we shouldn’t feel safe without specific circumstances that are on the right side of “adequacy.”
The biggest part of that message, though, might have been the idea that safety should be of the greatest importance to us. When I think about what Jesus taught, and how Jesus lived, an emphasis on safety is not what I see. There are other priorities for us to embrace, instead.
I am with you on that. Safety isn’t the first priority. And when you make it the first priority, it seems to me like scary things follow–things that don’t encourage connections.
But safety is *a* priority. It’s not something we disregard. It’s just that we’re actually much *safer* if we’re out there making friends with people. I’m guessing it’d be a lot harder to hurt “Angela” or (“the pizza lady”, as I’ve been called) than it would be to hurt “some lady” who nobody knows.
“…it’d be a lot harder to hurt “Angela” or (“the pizza lady”, as I’ve been called) than it would be to hurt “some lady” who nobody knows.”
That says it all.
Spread your love.
Great stuff.
I’m glad Columbus has 2 people walking around the streets trying to figure out how to love their neighbor.
two things immediately came to mind with that story. the first is from the first minute or two from this piece by doug rushkoff. life, in.c is a fantastic book i think you and tracy would like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOBWhVe68os
the second came from this post where i argue that even churches are not normatively safe anymore: http://notes-from-offcenter.com/2010/01/22/unsafe-the-american-default/
when property values and “doctrinal purity” out-strip human value and flourishing, we got a problem.
I am a part of a growing community of LOVeolutionaries called The LOVEolution. We would love to interview you about your project! Send us an email to sepslugseven@gmail.com or chris@uplinkproductions.com if you are interested in taking part!
Very insightful, Angela. It’s also interesting with a city that has a Community Coalition made up of representatives from Neighborhood Associations, who often is not there. It’s blamed on the neighborhood for not sending a rep with no effort to help those communities surface, support and empower the good that is there. Assumptions are poison to restoration. What you see is what you do. Blessed by your heart!!
That’s a cool idea Angela!
Eve, and I have another cool story to share with you guys next time we see you.
Hope you are feeling better soon, and can get back out and do some serious love-walking.
Had a little bit of suspicious activity on our end riverdale, was wondering if you could put us in contact with someone from the neighborhood watch.