Tour of The Nine, Part 2

Manuel High School is in the Whittier community. Whittier is much like Five Points. Gentrification is evident as well as the social and cultural divide. Our church currently meets here. Recently, our pastor visited the principal and her response was "Whenever Providence walks through my door, I know it's going to be an answer to prayer!" Our new cohort of Fellows is being assigned to a class of freshmen. They will meet each week with these freshmen to encourage, listen and serve. I can't wait to see what God does with this.

Our next stop was in the North Park Hill and Northeast Park Hill communities where we met Terrance Roberts. When we entered Park Hill, we left the Crips gang territory and entered the Bloods'. Terrance is a former Blood and was caught in the trap of gang violence and lifestyle at an early age. But he found Christ and has founded Prodigal Son which is committed to save at-risk kids and prevent urban youth violence. 1993 is known as the "Summer of Violence". The Bloods struck first by killing one of the original founders of the Crips in Denver. The Crips struck back by burning down a strip mall in North Park Hill where most of the Bloods hung out. That strip mall laid dormant as an ash heap for years. Terrance, through his passion, faith and vision wanted to rid his neighborhood of this symbol of violence and replace it with a Boys and Girls Club. That facility opens this fall. We are looking at ways that our PCULD Fellows can partner with this ministry.

That brings us to the Clayton community. There is an old college campus that is now used for community services called the Clayton Campus.
It houses the Providence Center for Urban Leadership as well as Upstream Impact, our strategic partner in helping families move out of poverty and achieve their dreams. We also have several Community Groups in the Clayton area and a great park ministry and open grills to reach this neighborhood.

Just a couple of blocks away from the campus is the Steele Street Apartments that houses many of our Fellow including Pattie, Rayanne and I. Our door is always open to you. We would love for all of you to come visit and see what God is doing first hand in The Nine. We are thankful for all of you who contribute to this ministry and for partnering with us to reach this great city. God is alive and on the move. Jesus prayed "Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  As it is in heaven, let it be on earth. As it is in heaven, let it be in The Nine. As it is in heaven, let it be in your city, in your church, in your home. Thanks for coming along.