A Block Party in Homewood

A small group made up of young adults from my church wanted to do a service project in Pittsburgh, so I invited them to my house last Wednesday night to throw a block party for kids in Homewood. The kids from my neighborhood had an absolute blast hanging out in our house, playing in the giant inflatable in our back yard, playing with squirt guns and nerf dart tag, playing street football, playing xbox and Wii games, and eating lots of good food. The small group did a great job of connecting with the kids and making the event fun for them, and several of them expressed an interest in becoming a mentor. The evening was a huge hit, both here in my neighborhood with the kids and with the members of the small group. The small group told me that they want to come back to Homewood and do another block party soon. I have to admit, there's nothing quite like a block party in my neighborhood!

Urban ministry has many challenges (for instance I had to help my mentees navigate through two shootings in my neighborhood last week), but it also has many rewards. The level of community that I get to experience sometimes is amazing. I think a lot of people are searching for the "real" life, and I find that "real" life quite often in my experiences in urban ministry. I'm not saying it's for everybody, but sometimes it seems like every day of my life is a new adventure with new friends and new experiences and authentic community. I wouldn't trade it in for anything. And I love to share my calling, my neighborhood and the people in it, with new people who come to visit me. Most people in Pittsburgh only have a negative perception of Homewood because that's all they see on the news, so I love it when people come to Homewood and leave having had a very positive interaction with the real Homewood... not the one characterized by violence and crime, but by good friendships and struggling people who depend on one another to get through each day. God is doing a great work in Homewood.