by Brian Wilcox

Over the summer, my co-worker Trevin and I have had the privilege of attending Street Church. Attending on a weekly basis, we began to become part of this tightly woven community. To a one time visitor, the community is an inspiration and a breath of fresh air. To a regular attendee it is hope for a broken city.

Attending on a regular basis meant the people became more than faces; they became our friends. As relationships and the community continued to grow it was becoming apparent that this was more than something we did on Sunday mornings. It had become a community we were invested in.

For those that don’t know, Street Church is a small community driven church that meets in the streets of the Old Town Mall area of Baltimore. This area, gang & drug over-run, is being reclaimed by the gospel through this caring community. As a ministry of extreme urban mission, Street Church has been growing for the past three years. It all started when two people sat in the Old Town Mall holding “Need Prayer?” signs. This simple act drew people in, and Street Church was born.

Last week, something amazing happened. As part of Trevin and I’s love for this community, we used our connection with Serve the City Baltimore to form a partnership. In-line with Serve the City’s vision of only working with already existing organizations, they supported Extreme Urban Mission by sending people and resources to serve this festival. The idea was simple, work with members of the community to clean up the Old Town Mall area, and offer food and prayer to all of those that passed through. Crazy enough it worked! If we had just sent volunteers to clean up, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. Having men from the community come out and serve with the volunteers builds a sort of sweat equity. The men now take ownership of what they’ve done; creating a sustainable long term investment into the community.

The response at Street Church the following morning was un-real. Those who had cleaned up, now had a strong sense of accomplishment. Those who weren’t there, were in awe of what happened, wishing they had been a part of it. A dark overgrown corner, once used to shoot heroin, was now engulfed with light so that nothing can be hidden. An overgrown fountain, out of commission for some time, was transformed into a place for Church to be held the following morning. A trash can, that hadn’t been emptied in years, was now accessible for the sanitation department to pick up, relieving a stench that had overtaken the area. The physical differences were impressive, but the psychological impact was astounding. Anyone working in a community development field can tell you, the only way to make a true impact in a community is to get members of the community involved. This is exactly what happened at the Old Town Mall last Saturday.

Only time will tell what lasting difference this event made; but I am confident that the members of the community will continue to step-up and take ownership of this area. As this community provides a hope for the Old Town Mall, I hope this community can extend beyond this area and provide hope for the rest of Baltimore.

About the Author

As Serve the City Baltimore (STC) was just starting up, Brian was oversees interning with Serve the City Brussels. Already knowing the Serve the City system and bringing an array of media and design skills to the table, Brian has been a great fit since he officially joined the team in 2010. Brian is going into his senior year at Lynchburg College studying Electronic Media Communication Studies and Graphic Design. You can find Brian on twitter @bWilcox424

by Trevin Hoekzema

The past couple of Sundays, I have been going to the Baltimore Street Church with some friends.  It started with Brian and I fulfilling our jobs as interns with Serve Greater Baltimore.  We were asked to check out this movement at Old Town Mall that’s been creating quite a stir in the Christian circle in Baltimore.  Before we knew it, we were worshipping with the church community and serving breakfast.  The job responsibility quickly became a personal desire.

by Charis Hagan

Nervous, uncertain, excited… just some of the emotions going through my head as I got onto the van headed down to Wilkens Avenue in Baltimore. This was definitely going to be out of my comfort zone. Today, I was volunteering with the Samaritan Women organization, a Christian ministry encouraging health, healing, and hope in Baltimore. When I heard about The Samaritan Women’s van outreach program to women addicted to drugs and stuck in prostitution, I did not initially think, “oh, here is a ministry I can see myself involved in.” Despite living near Baltimore City my entire life, I was pretty unaware and sheltered from the harsher side of life in the city. Sure, I knew that people did drugs, but human trafficking in my city? My experience with the Samaritan Women’s van outreach was eye opening.

A group of 8 met at a row house on Wilkens Avenue to organize and pray before heading out to talk with the women on the street. The house also serves as a drop-by place for women where they can shower and get a meal. Later this year, another property will be renovated into a “spa house” for women to receive similar care and counseling as needed. As it was my first time with the group, I was to mainly stay on the van, observe, and pray. To be honest, I was fine with that because I still was not sure what I was getting myself into. We headed out with sandwiches, bottles of water, and little gift bags for any women that we may encounter. The van basically circles several blocks around Wilkens Avenue and stays out for about an hour and a half. There are places were certain women are expected to be and the more experienced people along know where to look for them. A log is also kept of every conversation, which also includes a place to record names, ages, and prayer requests. Each time the van stopped, one of the guys with us would jump out to “secure the area” and then 3 or 4 women would get out to talk with whomever we had found. They would offer food and drink and, depending on the relationship, would then ask about current drug use and whether she would be willing to go to detox. They also offered cards to the women with the organization’s information on it and a contact number if they wanted help getting into detox. I was amazed at how direct the conversations were and how comfortable the others were with asking questions. Most stops ended with a time of prayer with the individual. At one point I was allowed out of the van to go into a home of a woman that the van group has gotten to know. She wanted us to pray for her brother who had a badly infected sore on his leg, and he refused to go to the hospital. As I entered the house, a stench of filth and urine greeted me. But as we stood in a circle, holding hands, and praying for this stranger, I could feel God’s peace and encouragement surrounding me. For some reason, and this may sound kind of corny, I felt more alive in that situation than I have in a long time.

Too soon we got back to the meeting place to briefly process the events of the afternoon and again pray for the people we had encountered. The coolest part for me was seeing how much these people care about what is going on in their city. They know names, stories, family members, and other simple things. One by one, little by little, they are making connections and starting relationships just by trying to meet these people’s needs. It could be as simple as providing baby formula and diapers to a new mother or sidewalk chalk for the neighbor kids. They are trying to provide a safe environment where those needs can be met. I think all too often when we speak about sharing the gospel, we think of handing out Bibles and giving our testimonies. Today, I was watching others interacting with women strung out on drugs, just trying to form a trusting relationship by providing basic daily needs like food and water. To me, that was sharing the Gospel. It is meeting needs as we see them, trying to mirror Christ’s love to people that see themselves as unlovable. That is something that excites me!

The next time, I will probably still feel nervous and uncomfortable, but I am looking forward to seeing how God uses me in this ministry.

About the author

Charis has been a key volunteer with Serve the City Baltimore since its beginning. In 2009, Charis traveled to Europe to volunteer with Serve the City Brussels and will return this summer to volunteer with Serve the City Dublin. Currently, Charis is pursing a Master’s Degree in Counseling from McDaniel College. She hopes to put her training to good use, serving the needy and marginalized in Baltimore.

by Patrick Donohue

Last Saturday, 15 Serve the City volunteers had the opportunity to lend a helping hand at the 2011 edition of HONfest in Hampden. Café Hon has been a great supporter of Serve Greater Baltimore so we saw it as an opportunity to give back in gratitude.

We arrived in the early morning hours of Saturday to find a flurry of activity and a buzz on The Avenue over the fast approaching festival. Quickly we discovered many who had been working hard for several hours, some as early as 4:00 AM. There were so many volunteers serving joyfully, looking forward to throwing a festival for and with the community of Hampden.

Say what you will about the “HON” controversy. What we discovered was a group of volunteers who simply love Baltimore and enjoy celebrating one of its most unique cultural expressions. Everyone remarks how Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods. HONfest is one of those experiences that celebrate the distinctiveness of one of its most exceptional and unique neighborhoods.

It was a pleasure to rub shoulders with, chat with, and sweat with other volunteers who love Baltimore and want to celebrate its uniqueness. We will not soon forget all the bee-hives, cat-eyed glass, and other great volunteer experiences we shared at HONfest.

About the Author

Patrick has overseen Serve the City Baltimore (STC) from the beginning. Founding it in 2009 after being inspired by a week long service trip with Serve the City Brussels the summer before. Since its beginning Patrick has been instrumental in helping grow the program into what it is today. Patrick works to connect STC with other organizations while maintaining a full time job at Chapelgate Presbyterian Church.