Church in the Forgotten Places

This week I would like to give you a tour of The Nine, the nine communities in Northeast Denver that are densely populated, racially diverse, historically poor, and have a wide range of needs. I would like you to see where God has called us to live and serve. I would like to begin this tour with an article written by our pastor, Jason Janz, on the Sunday we kicked off Providencia with a service in Swansea Park.

"Today, Providence has our worship service in Swansea Park here in Denver. Swansea is a forgotten place. Coupled with two adjacent neighborhoods, Elyria and Globeville, it straddles I-70 as it dumps air pollution into this place. Globeville is the only neighborhood I know that has been cut into four pieces by the Interstate system. “The Mousetrap” of I-25 and I-70 have left indelible scars upon this immigrant community. People have to hose down their siding once a year to get the tire residue of the sides of their houses. You can imagine what that does to your lungs. One out of three residents die of cancer. Elyria, however, is perhaps the most forgotten neighborhood in all of Denver. It’s mainly industrial until you stumble upon 10 blocks of humble homes and trailers filled with young families with children and a few old codgers. Denver residents, you may wonder where it is. Just remember when you went to the Stock Show to visit the exhibit hall. If you were to turn and look east, you would see the entrance to Elyria.

My friend, Alysa McManus, and I invited every home in Elyria to come to the service today. I was burdened as I walked the streets. The only retail establishment open was a liquor store. It sits in the shadow of the Purina plant that regularly emits an odor that overtakes the neighborhood for hours. I can smell it at my house and I’m a mile away. I can’t imagine the smell up close.

A man walked up to me and asked me if I was a “registered deacon.” I told him that I wasn’t but that I was a pastor. He asked me to pray over his home. It was a center of drugs and bad activity and he was now renting it and wanting it to be used for good. He told me his story of being an ex-offender and a thug who ran these streets but now he wanted a change. We had a sweet time of prayer. Pray for “Uncle D.”

If you look below the surface of middle class eyes, you will see some beautiful aspects about this place. The residents don’t seem to have sold themselves to the hamster wheel of the American Dream. They seem more content. A large number of people were on their front porches tending to flowers, a game of cards, a small yard sale, or just chatting with one another. And the children. They were laughing and playing with little to no knowledge that they lived in a forgotten place.

When I came downtown, I thought I was going to the forgotten place. However, the new urbanism movement has actually made downtown the hot place to be. But tucked away under the highways and in the middle of industrial parks, you will still find places where Jesus would be centering his ministry. That’s where we’ll be today and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part. I believe this neighborhood and these residents will have a deep ministry in my life."