Door of Hope: Writing a Way Toward a Bright Future

Providing a safe landing for people to come, share a meal and connect with others in the community

“I think that the whole project [The Commons on Merton] is making a difference in the neighborhood and whole community. Door of Hope is just a piece of that, but it is fun being a piece of a bigger whole and a bigger mission.”

This quote is from Andy Jacuzzi, Executive Director of Door of Hope, in reference to his experience as a partner housed in The Commons, a shared-space community operated by the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC). Door of Hope (DOH) is a 501c3 non-profit that works with chronically homeless (a year or longer living on the streets or unsheltered or four episodes of homelessness during a three year period) with disabilities. The organization got its start back in 2005 when a group of individuals from the Midtown area of Memphis came together to seek ways to assist those without shelter who had been displaced from Downtown Memphis to Midtown.

Initially, DOH was a “safe landing” for people to come, share a meal and connect with others in the community. The program has since evolved into an organization that provides support services such as helping people who are unhoused obtain an ID or apply for benefits, as well as offering assistance with job searching and job readiness training. DOH currently owns two facilities. One of them houses 10 guests, each with their own room, and also houses the DOH support center. The other is a similar-style facility that houses 15 men and women.

One of the major assets within DOH is their writing group. It was started by a women named Ellen Pruitt. They meet every Wednesday from 1-2pm at the support center.  Participation is open to everyone.  Each week, the group is invited to write stories around a suggested topic and, for those who feel comfortable, read their stories aloud to the group.

Andy’s initial experience at DOH three years ago was with the writers group. He came in dressed in a suit as he would have in his previous corporate jobs. The topic for the day was ‘write about a time when you were in a situation where you were put with somebody that you felt like you had nothing in common with and write about how you found common ground.’ Andy, a man with a well-established career in business and marketing, having never worked with homeless persons before, found a message for him in this topic.

"I was sitting over there in the corner, uncomfortable being around homeless people and obviously out of place dressed in a suit.  As I listened to stories being read aloud, tears began to form and I was deeply moved.  I was ashamed of the way I felt coming in and just amazed by the stories that were being told.  It felt like a personal message from God to me about being judgmental.  Whatever it was, I was hooked from that day and have been here ever since."

The writing group has not only influenced Andy, it has also significantly impacted those in the community. There’s a newspaper called The Bridge in which all of its articles are written by homeless individuals, the majority being members of the writing group. Writers who contribute to The Bridge submit stories and poems, involve themselves in its publication, and get to keep about 75% of the profits for attending sales rep training and selling the newspapers. DOH has published several of the pieces from members of the writing group in book titled Writing Our Way Out of Homelessness.

Andy has really enjoyed being a shared-space partner in The Commons. What he appreciates the most is the synergy of multiple non-profit organizations coming together to make a difference in the community. Door of Hope has been, and will continue to be, an organization that is investing and changing lives for the better.

If you'd like to learn more, consider joining REP and other partners at The Commons on Merton (258 N. Merton) for an Open House on Dec. 2 from 6pm to 8pm.  Here is the invitation.

This story was contributed by Shalom Intern, Kory Turner a student at Drew Theological Seminary.

A Most Difficult Concept for Christians

Leading to the joys and fruits of authentic, relational ministry

One of my favorite resources for Communities of Shalom is the book titled, Building a People of Power by Robert Linthicum.   Within the book, Linthicum gives a great introduction to a key concept that churches need to apply if they are serious about working for the common good of their community and seeking the shalom of the neighborhood where they worship.

This concept is often referred to as the Iron Rule:  Never do for others what they can do for


Members and neighbors from Trinity UMC

themselves.  Or put another way, the people who are best able to deal with a problem are the people most affected by the problem.

Linthicum writes, “I have discovered in more than 50 years of ministry that this concept is the single most difficult insight for Christians to grasp and apply in their ministry.” 

Why is it so difficult? 

One way to answer is to consider that there are three general ways in which a church responds to its neighborhood.  They either have ministry in a community, for/to a community or with a community.

• A church in a community does not see itself as being part of that neighborhood.  This is a church with its building in a neighborhood but with no relationships with the neighbors and other stakeholders.  Most of the members commute to the church, and all activities are designed to serve the membership.
• A church for a community develops programs to serve people outside the walls of the church.  Often this church is motivated through its faith teachings to help people less fortunate, even if they do not attend the church.  Sometimes a church who is doing programs for the community is motivated because it is a shrinking congregation who hopes that reconnecting to the neighborhood might help it grow.  There is great potential in this approach and this approach has a flaw.  The flaw is that, more often than not, the church decides what is best for the community.  Well-intentioned church-folk develop programs to help or fix the people outside the church.  The people outside the church are viewed as deficient and unable to solve their own problems. 
• A church with a community respects and perceives the people of the community as people with great wisdom and potential.  The church does not develop programs for people, but instead partners with the people in dealing with their own issues and pursuing their own aspirations for their community.  A church with the community participates in the community’s struggles and dreams, allowing both to shape the church.

Primera Iglesia Metodista prepares for asset mapping

Being a church in ministry with the community is difficult to do because it goes against our problem-solving tendencies.  It means we may have to give up our timetables and operate at the community’s (sometimes slower) pace.  It might even mean that we have to allow our church to be influenced by the community! 

Once a church embraces the notion of being in ministry with the community, the real journey (and work) of change and transformation begins…for the community and the church.  The activities of the church move away from relief and quick fixes to lasting and sustainable community transformation. The reward are the joys and fruits of authentic, relational ministry.

Imagining the fruits of ministry with

This summer, Center for Transforming Communities has used this framework to help five churches in Nashville imagine ways that the church can grow in its relationship with the community.  We have been exploring the principles and tools of Asset Based Community Development as one approach to doing ministry with the neighborhood.

If you or your church would like to learn more about doing ministry with your neighborhood, I hope you will contact us at info@ctcmidsouth.org. 

-Amy Moritz, Director of Center for Transforming Communities.

Photos courtesy of Nate Paulk, Trinity UMC in Nashville, TN.  Nashville trainings sponsored by the Turner Center at Vanderbilt.

Servant Leadership: Living, Loving, and Learning in Community

Making a difference through radical love and inclusion

Not too long ago, I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with Floridia Jackson, a Memphis native who has most recently become the Director of the Memphis School of Servant Leadership. Floridia has been active with this school for several years. She started off with The School while in seminary. At the time, she was seeking a group of people that were “like-working” in that they shared in a common mission to make a difference in the world through radical love and inclusion, and work against oppression and other injustices. She was encouraged to move forward in this mission in the classes that she took on “the call” and “racism to reconciliation” at Memphis School of Servant Leadership.

Floridia Jackson, Director,
Memphis School of Servant Leadership

According to Floridia, the Memphis School of Servant Leadership is a school that seeks to “raise up Christian servant leaders for the church and the world.” All classes are free as the school recognizes that not everyone might be able to pay. Each individual in the classroom, whether teacher or student, are on a journey together. The teachers are referred to as companions instead of facilitators/teachers to reflect this principle.

Instead of a board of directors, the Memphis School of Servant Leadership has what is referred to as a ‘mission group’. In addition to managing the business and order of the school, this group meets together for spiritual development. The mission group gathers every two weeks to pray with each other about the direction the school should be going, shifts and changes in their personal lives as a result of their connection to the school, and ways in which spirit is calling them to work against oppressive and racist structures.

Floridia has enjoyed being a partner in The Commons, the shared space operated by Center for Transforming Communities. Every day at the office provides an opportunity to experience the God in others, be it someone reminding her of what’s going on in God’s global world, updates on the work other partners of The Commons are doing in the community, or an African woman nursing her child as she waits for her two other children who are in the Refugee Empowerment Program classes, reminding her of the way in which God loves and nurtures us.

In her own words, Floridia states that “Community is when we stop to pause, to see, to witness that God-life, God-force/energy in one another.” Imagine a world where people acknowledge and carry out the call to serve and live in true community. This is the work that is being done through the Memphis School of Servant Leadership.

Namaste’ (The divine in me acknowledges the divine in you)

Author:  Kory N. Turner

Kory is a seminary students at Drew Theological Seminary.  He is serving as a Shalom Intern at Center for Transforming Communities this summer.

A Community Clothed in Compassion

Community Clothes Closet of the South Memphis Shalom Zone

I had the opportunity to shadow Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) Director, Amy Moritz, on a Friday afternoon in February in the South Memphis Shalom Zone. In the prior week I had begun learning about the community group capacity building and sustainable social change work that CTC engages in, so this opportunity to see the fruit of such labor was a  welcomed one. Amy invited me to join her on a visit to the community’s Clothes Closet and we were sincerely welcomed by several volunteers, including Toni Hines who has a lead role in the operation of the Clothes Closet. Stepping further into the store, we could see several customers being escorted around the store and warmly assisted with selecting items. I could see that people were comfortable there and the volunteers were enthusiastic about the work they were doing. Ms. Hines gave us a tour, discussed daily operations, and shared with us some potential opportunities for growth.

 

The South Memphis Shalom Zone Community Clothes Closet is located on the property of Centenary United Methodist Church (UMC). Six churches constitute this Shalom Zone but Centenary UMC, Greater White Stone, and Greater New Salem are central to the operation of this service project.  First conceptualized in August 2012, the Clothes Closet has been operating since June 2013 and has served 300 people.  Community members are welcome to “shop” at the Clothing Closet on Monday or Friday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  People from any neighborhood in Memphis can visit once per month and will be greeted by a volunteer to assist them with shopping for their one dress outfit, two tops, two bottoms and incidental items.

The work that most significantly impacts the community around the Clothes Closet is being noticed from afar. Donors include church members as well as unaffiliated individuals.  Ms. Hines stated that they have donations waiting at the door or have “donations made by people who have just heard about what we do.” The Clothes Closet is also on a referral list for the local Red Cross, and as a result, this Shalom Zone has been able to assist families that needed clothing due to the tragedy of a fire. Although the Clothes Closet has mainly served people within the community of the project site, Ms. Hines expressed a desire to expand their reach as well as improve operations and add services.

Due to the efforts of the supporting churches, various donors and about 20 regular volunteers, those in need of clothing have a welcoming place to have their need met in South Memphis. Desiring to address more than just immediate needs, Ms. Hines and other volunteers are having intentional conversations about how to grow their services to meet the underlying needs of their patrons. This Shalom Zone hopes to be able to     facilitate seminars for patrons focusing on topics like personal budgeting and how to get rights reinstated post incarceration.

Through this visit, I was able to see the Shalom principles in the work of those involved with the Clothes Closet and in the project itself. This shadowing experience gave me a greater appreciation for the capacity building support that CTC provides Shalom Zones in the Mid-South as well as the power of compassionate community group.

Author: Sydney D. McGhee

Sydney will be graduating in May with a Master of Public Administration from the University of Memphis.  She is passionate about service and social change.

Neighborhoods are the Strength of Our Communities

The Power of an Asset-based Approach

With years of corporate experience, a wealth of wisdom, and a refined lens of perspective Dr. Mary Jo Greil takes a moment to share some insights on her work with Center for Transforming Communities. She has served on the Board of Directors for three (3) years while leading her own consulting firm, Carson Greil Group. An organizational change expert, Dr. Greil assesses the value of the asset-based community development approach as a powerful mechanism of change.

FirstWorks@TheCorners: The Asset-Based Approach Making a Difference In Highland Heights

You can hear the passion, the sincerity, and love that emanates from Amy Pearson, Executive Director of FirstWorks - a tutoring program in the Highland Heights community. She takes a moment to speak candidly regarding the great work that FirstWorks@The Corners does as part of Communities of Shalom. Moreover, she highlights the amazing gifts, assets, and potential that are so alive and vibrant in this historic neighborhood.

Living an Attitude of Abundance is Indeed a Paradigm Shift

Exploring a different vision for creating community

“Whatever the problem, community is the answer.”

This quote from Margaret Wheatley could have been the mantra for “Engaging Community.  Narrating Change.” last fall with John McKnight, Peter Block and Walter Brueggemann and continues to be the mantra for the people who seek to create community everywhere in their daily lives.

Building upon what 350+ Memphians learned about creating community last November, Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) invited participants to continue the conversation and explore a different vision for creating community - one that changes perspective and emphasis from problems to possibilities.  The vision supports an abundant, satisfying, and strong community that emerges from naming and building upon the existing gifts and assets of individuals living in a neighborhood. 

Drawing upon the methodologies of discussion and community building (i.e. knee-to-knee three person groups of “strangers”) introduced by Block, McKnight and Brueggemann, CTC continued to introduce participants to various conversation methods to engage in a lively dialogue about community at a recent gathering at The Commons.  Participants shared moving and interesting stories about how an assets/gifts approach has been applied to build and strengthen community in their neighborhoods along with concrete ideas for learning and sharing “practices of community.”

Here are a few insights from the evening.  (To read the full notes from the meeting, click here.)

• Our culture often mistakes the event (the gala, the luncheon with a keynote speaker, the conference, etc.) as community.  In our modern era, the event has taken the place of community.  We need a re-imagining of events as an experience of and catalyst for ‘true’ community.
• Storytelling moves individuals from being reduced to sound bites (or a recital of a resume) to seeing other, deeper dimensions of our humanity.  Crafting agendas and space for small group conversations and for people to share their story at a more personal level brings healing and connection – necessities of life.  In sharing and hearing our individual stories, we begin to get a glimpse of the universal story in which we are all interrelated.
• Living an attitude of abundance is indeed a paradigm shift.  And, it is living out of this paradigm shift that deep community is experienced.  It requires a shift of values and language from doing for or giving to another person to values and language that recognizes everybody as having gifts to contribute.

There is more to come!  We are just at the beginning of what is possible when we support each other in being intentional about community.  There will be more invitations and opportunities to explore a different vision for creating community.  Visit the CTC website for more information or to sign up for our enewsletter at www.ctcmidsouth.org.

Until the next gathering, you can join the discussion by sharing your story in several ways:

• Below in the comments section, or
• Contacting us at info@ctcmidsouth.org or
• Linking your story to our Facebook page and/or Twitter feed.

Does rugged individualism limit our ability to build community?

Possibilities through the lens of a Kenyan ministry

This week I had the pleasure of a visit from Stanley Gitari Imunya and Mary Karimi Gitari of Kenya.  Our mutual acquaintance, Susan Hillebert, organized our meeting believing that our respective work, though 8,000 miles apart, had much in common and that there are things we can learn from each other.

Indeed, I was very intrigued about the work of Zoe Ministries which uses community as the basic building block that nurtures the ability of aids orphans to become self-sufficient.   When orphans are accepted into the three-year program, they are formed into supportive communities of about 80 children that work the tenants of the program as they also show care, support and compassion for each other.  The stories of the children’s generosity and the way they make decisions that care for the whole of the community and the least among them impressed me.  Click here to read an example story. 

Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) also uses the basic building block of community in our mission to strengthen and renew neighborhoods across the Midsouth.   As we finished our conversation, I shared with Stanley that I was eager to learn more.  What are the tools, the processes, the methods that Zoe Ministries uses to bring the children together in community and foster such deep generosity and selflessness? 

 

My question seemed to puzzle Stanley and I realized that I was not going to get his handbook on building community.  I realized, upon reflection, that what I wanted to know did not need special methods and processes in Stanley’s culture.  What I wanted Stanley to share with me were tools for countering the North American culture of individualism, competition and scarcity.  I was hoping for tools that would move a group of people from seeing themselves as individuals with self-interests to protect to seeing themselves as a community, a collective, interdependent, where the well-being of the whole is represented by the well-being of the least among them.

As Peter Block, author of Abundant Community, writes, “Caring for our community and convening citizens to care for their community is difficult work. We are working against the whole tide of the dominant culture which worships individualism, self-interest, and competition.”  

Although Stanley cannot teach CTC and the Shalom Zones how to build community in a society rooted in rugged individualism,  there is still much we can learn from the way he, Mary and the Zoe Ministries ‘seek shalom’ for the orphans in their country.  And, Stanley and Mary were interested to know more about how community and cooperation is fostered through CTC in the Shalom Zones and at The Commons.

Peter Block goes on to write that even though you will not see it much in the news, initiatives like Communities of Shalom and other citizen-based initiatives are creating a surging “movement toward interdependence, generosity, and cooperation that is changing the world.”

I hope you will join us in this movement!  Read the stories of community posted throughout this blog.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ctcmidsouth.org.  Sign up for our enewsletter where you can find out about more ways to be involved.

- Amy Moritz -

Please share your comments below or at info@ctcmidsouth.org.

Connecting friends through gifts, passions and knowledge

Binghampton United Methodist Church mapping assets through Advent Study

The gifts, skills, passion and knowledge of the Binghampton United Methodist Church (BUMC) congregation and its neighbors are converging in ways that church members hope will catalyze new possibilities in the neighborhood through expanded relationships.

People working in ministry can sometimes be seen as doing “for” someone as opposed to “with” someone, says BUMC lay leader Barbara Vann, so the congregation is always on the lookout for new ways to come alongside people in their community in a shared quest to learn from each other.

An Advent Study now being shared with community members seeks to expand conversation around what the diverse people of the neighborhood have to offer, especially those who might consider themselves clients utilizing services as opposed to friends with something to contribute.

Over the four weeks of Advent, people who come to the Food Pantry that the church operates will be given the opportunity to define their passions, skills, gifts and knowledge.

Sharing bread at the 2011 Christmas Party.

This gift inventory, as well as those discovered within the congregation, are being collected and will be shared during a Christmas luncheon on Dec. 19. The hope is that a greater understanding of what each person has to offer and how they can impact the community as a whole will emerge, Barbara says.

If a person takes the time to identify their gifts and talents and put language around them, they might instinctively look to others and wonder what gifts they hold inside, she adds — at least that’s what she found after this process of discovery was introduced by John McKnight during a community conversation event hosted by the Center for Transforming Communities last month. 

In the eyes of BUMC church member, Lisa Smith, this is a means of igniting new possibilities centered on friendship.

Lisa has lived in Binghampton all her life, and since 1999, she’s been working at the Food Pantry offering support to friends and neighbors.

The word the central food bank in Memphis prefers when referring to the people in need, however, is client.

Yet, Lisa has given herself license to change this perspective.

“No, they’re our friends because they live around me and they’ve been around me for a while,” Lisa says.

Stigmas would more readily lift if that language could shift in more communities, she adds, and people might feel less ashamed to visit the Food Pantry when times are tight, especially if they have an opportunity to honor and offer their gifts. 

The “Food Lady”, as Lisa is sometimes called by people in the neighborhood, has a unique perspective on the people she meets and has always had an eye for connecting the gifts and talents of the people she meets. She’s connected caregivers to people in need of childcare, for example, and seamstresses with people who want to learn to sew.

She sees the Advent Study as a way to help map some of these gifts and looks forward to the discussion this concept might inspire at the upcoming Christmas luncheon.

This is one more step in the neighborhood’s journey to becoming more like it was when Lisa was a child, at least in terms of connectivity among neighbors.

“It’s getting back to being a friendly neighborhood like it used to be,” she says.

“When I was little, everybody knew everybody, and it seems to be coming back around to that.”

- Kristian Partington -

Click here to download the Advent Study.

Please share your comments below or at info@ctcmidsouth.org.

Competition gives way to cooperation in Hickory Hill

Diverse group comes together for community transformation  

 

Dianne Love at quarterly Shalom Gathering

If the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) is a spark to help ignite strengths and gifts in neighborhoods of Memphis, then the collaborative spirit Dianne Love sees in Hickory Hill is a sign of that fire burning brighter every day.

Competition gives way to cooperation in this part of Memphis as people from all walks of life gather under the auspices of Communities of Shalom to envision what is possible in the neighborhood while working together to make that vision a reality.

The Making it Happen Shalom Zone and its team of dedicated volunteers offer enrichment programs for youth and opportunities for adults to map their own assets and discover new paths in life. Dianne says what encourages her most is the fact that everyone is working together to achieve a common goal.

People tend to be territorial, she says, but in her Shalom Zone they have pushed aside any thought of ownership in the transformation process to focus on the strengths and assets of all partners and community members.

“We are from all walks of life at first contact,” Dianne says of the team of volunteers, noting that when the group first got together it was associated foremost with Capleville United Methodist Church.

 

“Over time, as we have worked these programs, the thing that is encouraging to me is that we have merged across the lines of denominations,” she says, and several churches and community organizations are working together.

The work is not about what is best for the agenda of individual partner organizations, she says. The focus is entirely on what is best for the neighborhood, and that focus is attracting more interest all the time.

"We’re having more and more people and organizations who want to join and be partners," she says. A growing relationship with the Police Department adds another layer of depth to the work of transformation in the neighborhood, for example.

Dianne was recruited by the CTC to the Communities of Shalom as president of the Parent Teacher Association at her children's school, and is site director for the Making it Happen Shalom Zone.

When asked about the greatest assets she sees in the group and the work it is doing to help catalyze change, she says it can be seen in the lack of competition among many partners. 

The partners “want what’s best for the community, at any cost," she says. "What can we do to make the community whole? What kind of resources can we offer to the community?"

Though times are tough, Dianne sees enrichment programs connecting the assets of youth and adults alike, and a diverse team of people are all offering skills to back these programs up.

"We kind of have our own niches of what we do . . . and as we put together those parts, it makes a whole," Dianne says.

- Kristian Partington -

If you have questions, comments or a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Photo courtesy of www.focusforthegood.org.

Faith and the Great Transition

Interview with Jay Van Groningen, Communities First Association

We’re hearing more and more of this economic and social shift afoot, what some are calling the great transition or the great turning. A critical field of action some have identified in this shift is that of what might be called the faith community or faith system.

Axiom News, through its work with the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC), spoke with Communities First Association executive director Jay Van Groningen recently on the question of a possible new role for faith given this transition. CTC is an affiliate of Communities First, which represents about 300 neighborhoods across the U.S. where local residents are beginning to see their gifts, committing to work together and taking ownership for their communities.

  

What do you see as the possible new role of faith in broader society, especially given some of the significant economic and social shifts/upheaval happening right now?

Jay: I don’t think that’s new at all. If you look back at the reformers, John Calvin (1509-1564), for example, had as part of his imagination that the city of Geneva would be restored because the people of faith, that is, folks who were followers of a sovereign God, would become co-reigners with him, making all things new.

Calvin had a theology and a practice of trying to develop leadership and programs and activities that literally brought prosperity, and he really promoted the common good as an essential component of the work of the church. Calvin even created an office within the church, the office of deacon, which had as its primary focus mercy and justice. How do you address the systems that perpetuate poverty, and how do you respond to folks who are poor in a way that leads to them not being poor any longer?

I think back also to Martin Luther (1483-1564) and his emphasis on Christian education. It was all around the idea of needing to equip people so that as Christian thinkers/leaders they bring a transforming power to their business, to whatever endeavor they get into. It was a desire to be a contributor to the common good, the redemption of all things, to be contributing to the kind of world that God smiles on, as opposed to the kind of world that God has to come and pour relief on.

So I would say this is not new at all. I would say that in fairly recent history the church has been abdicating its role as an agent, among other agents, of change towards the common good in community

But I don’t agree with the premise that it’s new; I think we’re rediscovering what historically has been a big part of the role of church in society.

I’ve been raised in an environment that says the Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, so if he is the God who reigns, then let’s co-operate with him in making all things fruitful and good.

It is true that many churches have abdicated faith to kind of a private realm that doesn’t have influence outside my own private life, me-and-Jesus kind of thing.

But honestly that ignores a whole religious tradition that has historically believed you can’t isolate religion. If religion counts, it counts because it is a transforming force, that is, it is a force that has the world and its renewal as the heart of the theology.

 

So you say you see a recent reawakening and rediscovery of this original calling. Any thoughts on what’s provoking that?

Jay: There are several things that are provoking that. The younger generation for one has grown very disaffected with the religion of their parents, because it is a religion that doesn’t seem to have influence. It seems to have been so privatized that it doesn’t matter.

Younger folks today are demanding a kind of religion that has a power to transform, a power to contribute to the common good, a power to have a redemptive imprint.

So that’s one piece.

A second piece is that there is a growing awareness that in the impoverished communities there is no lack of churches.

Just as one example, my wife and I sold our house in suburbia and moved to a declining neighborhood in the city we live. In this declining neighborhood of 1,500 households, there are no fewer than 11 church buildings and 11 places where on a Sunday or Wednesday night there are active worshipping communities. And these 11 churches have so little influence on the place they occupy that the neighborhood continues to go down and down.

We’re now at a 60 to 40 ratio of owner versus rental. The middle class has virtually left.

Some of these churches have become commuter-based institutions that gather for the holy huddle on a Sunday.

What I’m getting at here is that there is a growing awareness that these 11 churches by and large in their recent history have been inoculated against owning responsibility for what happens to the neighborhood story; they’ve been so disconnected from it, and they don’t accept that as their role any longer.

They know that the kind of religion that doesn’t leave a redemptive imprint is in some respects a gutted religion.

So there is a growing awareness that you can occupy a space, but if you don’t see any influence on that space, what good is it?

There’s a growing dissatisfaction with a theology that doesn’t connect with God’s ongoing restorative presence in his world.

Maybe there is a third influence, and that is these mega-churches. Some of the leadership in these mega-churches have been brought to a place of repentance because while on the one hand they can fill many, many pews and testify to many, many personal relationships with Jesus, they are beginning to understand the isolation of their own members in the world.

In a way they’ve been feeding a privatized Christianity that doesn’t have impact. Some of those networks are now really focusing on mercy and justice in impactful ways in the world. They’re starting to address some of these questions.

 

Do you have any stories to tell of where you’ve seen this impact being made particularly powerfully?

Jay: My purview really is the 300 neighborhoods (connected to Communities First Association) where this inside out, this asset-based approach, is being worked.

Out of the 300, we have currently 60 of those neighborhoods where residents now literally respond to anything that affects them and their neighborhood; they literally have created their own citizen power and capacity to tackle anything they want together.

They’ve created a culture of “together we can.”

So that’s been remarkable.

What does that look like?

In one neighborhood, everybody is on welfare; that is, they live below the poverty line and they’re eligible for public support. And in this neighborhood there is an abnormally high incidence of residents who are receiving services from community mental-health agencies, which means there is an abnormally high presence of people with disabilities — mental, social, physical disability.

And in this neighborhood there is a higher-than-usual single parent heads of households ratio, and this neighborhood used to be one of the highest crime neighborhoods in the city.

A young Christian woman graduated from a Christian college with a strong sense of calling to go and live among the poor. Her name is Tracy, and she moved into this neighborhood and spent six months doing nothing but getting to know the first and last names of her neighbors, and asking questions such as, “If they could wave a magic wand and make one thing better, what would they like to see better?”

She was having conversations about things like, do they like this neighborhood or don’t they? What do they like about it? And if they could make it better, what would they want to work on?

And so now I’m going to advance the story six years

Today Tracy is the executive director of a small non-profit in this neighborhood and she has formed a neighborhood council made up entirely of the residents themselves.

It’s called SOAR, which is the first initials of four of the streets of that neighborhood. What that says is, to be a member of this council you have to live here.

In the springtime they do spring cleanup together in their neighborhood. Mind you, every single resident, but one, out of maybe 1,200 households, is a renter.

But they take responsibility for the condition of the neighborhood. They do spring cleanup; they do flower planting together; they do community breakfasts. Out of their meager incomes they rent an apartment at a community center; they had to go to the city to get an ordinance variance in order to do that. So they know how to approach the city around zoning.

They had traffic problems and the city wouldn’t listen to them. So finally they organized to the point where they were able to literally change the geographic landscape and the traffic flow so it wasn’t dangerous for the kids in their neighborhood any longer.

There was a group of residents outside the neighborhood who didn’t like the high crime at one time, so they were trying to block off the street access into their adjacent neighborhood. Well, this committee said you don’t get to do that, we’re public, too. And so they were able to fight or ward off this attempt to literally fence their neighborhood in so there was only one in and one way out.

Anything that affects their neighborhood, they’re now able to take responsibility for themselves.

The most recent thing I heard out of this neighborhood was that there is more public transportation out of there than any other neighborhood, but it didn’t have its own shelter. The council was able to work with the city and the bus company, and now they’ve got their own shelter.

So they get to do life together. They name what they want to work on, and then they work on it together and they succeed at what they do.

There were residents in that neighborhood when Tracy first did her listening who said my only dream is to get out of this neighborhood.

Today some of those same residents say you couldn’t pull me out of here with anything. This has become a community of co-operation and care and mutual gift-giving for the common good. It’s so strong, residents choose to live there today.

Every neighborhood is different, of course, but what I’m telling you is we’re literally building citizen power and capacity to act on what the neighbors care about together; making life better.

 

How do you define faith when there are a number of belief systems at work, a variety of denominations and takes on faith?

Jay: So, do I dare to believe that there is a God — and I’m comfortable saying “God as you know him or her” — do I dare to believe that there is a God, and does that God continue to have a relationship with this world? And can I believe that that God is a generous God, generous enough to allow us a fruitful life, if we choose to live it together?

So, for me, faith is believing in the kind of God who says, “I’m still an active God in this world and I choose good things for you, my children, if you will also choose them.”

For me, faith is having a personal relationship with that kind of a God, and choosing to partner with God in the things that would please God.

 

What kind of premise are you working with in saying that?

Jay: For me, the premise is the Holy Bible; that’s where I’m rooted and I know that in other faith traditions they also have their equivalent standards and I think there is a great deal of commonality that can be found among them.

But I don’t know how else to answer that; again, for me, the Bible is my standard.

I accept that others have their standards and I’m not really that interested in going in too much depth or particularity in terms of working together for the common good, around what’s your standard?

What I’m really trying to find is, do you care enough to act?

And then we can have conversations around where is that care rooted, where do you draw that care from? So those kinds of questions draw us back to some of those discussions about standards and belief systems and systems of faith.

 

Right, but it begins with caring enough to act.

Jay: Exactly, and that’s the asset-based community theory — discover who cares enough to act, who cares enough about being part of a communal story and let’s do life together.

Religion doesn’t have to be the thing that tears us apart; it can actually be the motivating force that draws us together.

Please share your comments below or with michelle@axiomnews.ca.

1,000 examples of community strength in The Heights

Reflections on  what’s possible through cooperation

While 1,000 people were coming and going during a back-to-school party at Treadwell Middle School in September, Anna Terry had a chance to speak with one of the security guards who works there.

He grew up in The Heights and played basketball at Treadwell, he told her, and as he spoke to her about his younger years and his connection to the neighborhood, a look of pure nostalgia was written upon his face.

He was thankful to see the spirit of community alive and well that day, and Anna was struck then by how tightly the people of the neighborhood are woven, and how eager they are to work together to make it a better place to live.

Anna settled in the neighborhood about three years ago with a passion for community development and a sense that, of all the places she’d lived in the U.S., a home for her rested in Memphis.

“There’s a strong community spirit among the neighbors and residents and a pride in The Heights,” she says.

She recently began using her background in community development as the sole staff person running The Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC) in partnership with Binghampton CDC.

She is also working closely with the team of volunteers behind The Corners, a Communities of Shalom zone organized through the Center for Transforming Communities, which helps connect the strengths of various churches, individuals and other stakeholders.

The challenges are many — 1 in 4 houses are vacant and seen as blights on the neighborhood, and people are clamoring for a meaningful gathering space — but so are the opportunities, and in that back-to-school party, Anna saw all the necessary elements of community transformation present.

People were connecting with each other around their children and the school they attend, which is close to the hearts of so many who live in The Heights. Abundant generosity was in the air as a host of community partners drew upon their relationships to bring live music, a Model-T Ford, games, refreshments and horse rides to the party.

That spirit of collaboration sticks out in Anna’s mind as she reflects on the day.

“It was really nice to have a party that big and to not be that taxing on any one group or entity,” she says.

“At the end of the day, I was tired but I wasn’t beat down; it was a sort of sweet exhaustion.”

Looking back, the nostalgic security guard and joy on the faces of children as they rode a horse for the first time are lasting impressions of a day that proved what’s possible when people come together.

As the work of community development continues, Anna says these impressions will carry forward.

- Kristian Partington -

Please leave comments below or e-mail to kristian@axiomnews.ca.

‘It’s so important to get the questions right,’ says Carrie Brooks

Deep engagement sparked as people define their commitment to Memphis

Building community networks and connecting the passions of people working in various community development capacities is a key focus of Carrie Brooks and the organization she directs, Making a Difference in Memphis.

So, gathering with 300 community members to discuss a new Memphis narrative was familiar territory for the veteran scholar, but this truth and the fact that she was already deeply familiar with the works of the three facilitators — Peter Block, John McKnight and Walter Brueggemann — did nothing to lessen the impact of the day, however.

From the very beginning, when the first questions were posed by Peter asking people to define themselves in groups of three strangers not by their experience, but by their commitment, she was steadily intrigued.

Groups of three.
Carrie Brooks (right).

The follow-up asked people to consider what gifts they received from the other two people they met, and Carrie could see people instantly gleaning a deeper understanding of their role in the greater narrative, simply because of the nature of the questions they were answering.

“The questions (Peter) posed were so different for so many people than what they’re used to at a conference kind of setting,” Carrie explains.

“These are incredibly different questions and that’s my main takeaway. Their questions really changed the conversation, and it’s so important to get the questions right.”

The buzz and energy she felt throughout the day was a direct result of deep engagement sparked instantly through the prompting of all three facilitators, she adds.

Brooks is an expert in adult education and development who, through her work with Making a Difference in Memphis, has helped a plethora of people working in a wide variety of community development realms – from elder abuse to infant mortality to domestic violence – discover new understandings of who they are as learners, and what they can do to be more successful in their work.

People come to her program thinking, “ ‘I’m going to meet some people who are different from me, people I don’t know, and maybe I’ll have something in common with them,’ ” Carrie says, “but at the end it seems that they feel that they’re part of a learning community and they don’t feel that they’re working in isolation anymore.”

The people who attended the CTC event came bearing the gifts and commitment to transformation in ways large and small, yet many may have felt they, too, work in isolation at times. The new connections made there hold much promise.

The follow-up to the mid-November event as these various levels of commitment translate into on-the-ground action is something Carrie looks forward to, beginning with a meeting of some of the key organizers on Dec. 3.

“It’s definitely an exciting time,” Carrie says. “It’s a great time to be here.”

- Kristian Partington -

If you have a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Powerful conversations for Memphis’ Carl Awsumb

"I’m excited by what’s going on in this city"

One of the first questions posed to the gathering of 300 community members in Memphis on Nov. 14 urged attendees to consider the gifts they have to offer of themselves, and that introspective concept sits in Carl Awsumb’s mind as he looks back at what inspired him most during the event.

“I thought that was a very, very powerful way to bring you to the present moment,” Carl says.

“I’m as guilty as a lot of people are of thinking in terms of what I’ve done to help me define myself, and I think this conference helped me realize that there were lots of strings attached to that.”

A week later, he attended a meeting hosted by Latino Memphis, and though he knew nobody in the room he found he was able to instantly connect with people by using the same question of gifts to begin conversations.

Carl, a retired architect, spearheaded the creation of a community garden network in Binghampton, and through this work he has become entwined with community development and the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC).

Carl Awsumb (left) at Farmers Market

The CTC organized the Nov. 14 event and invited guests from across the Memphis area to hear from three community development thought leaders, and learn from each other.

People “maybe overlook the main gifts that they’ve got,” Carl says, but those gifts took center stage and the energy he felt, especially from within the young people in the room, was exciting.

“The thing that really knocked me off my comfort seat was the number of teenagers who were able to stand up and articulate so clearly,” he says.

“It was amazing to listen to these young people.”

It can be easy for people to become isolated, Carl adds, and the meeting was “the best forum that I can think of to allow people to really interact across age and ethnicity and income.”

It was a pleasant new conversation, far outside the traditional views of conventional Memphis media and the many citizens there who are all too eager to highlight the city’s shortcomings.

The crossroads the city is at today, and has been at for some time, is the choice of a new dialogue of possibility.

I left that conference thinking, ‘You know, I don’t have the financial support, but I’ve got the emotional support of all these people,” he says. “We came together and there was a collective force there that gave me the strength to carry on.

“I’m excited by what’s going on in this city.”

- Kristian Partington -

If you have questions, comments or a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.
Photo courtesy of www.focuseforthegood.org

Memphis Faith Community Inspires

At a crossroads between deep commitment and finding their voice, Peter Block observes

“I was inspired by a faith community, by mostly Christian churches, who’ve decided to extend their property line to include the neighborhood and their local community.”

That is how thought leader Peter Block says he left a gathering of about 300 Memphis residents who had come together to discover the resources and wisdom already existing in their neighborhoods and how those can be connected for greater productivity.

The gathering was facilitated by the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC), which has been working primarily with faith congregations to have similar conversations on a smaller scale across the city.

Peter Block

“The idea that the churches are forgetting about their certainties and instead asking the question, ‘How can we engage everyone in a neighborhood, regardless of their religion, regardless of their beliefs or their economic situation; how can we create a social fabric in this place?’ I think brings a Christian message into the world as strongly as all the preaching and broadcasting and missionary work in the world,” says Peter.

“Instead of saying we’re going to send missionaries out to expose people and bring them into the fold they’re saying, ‘We, as a church, are going to live out our beliefs or Christ’s message, since they’re mostly Christian, by embracing and just being connected and getting to know the people in our neighborhood’ — and that’s very inspiring.

“That creates space for every belief system and it creates space for the work of the faith community, I think, at its best.”

Peter was invited by the CTC to join the event, along with John McKnight and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann. Each brought a unique gift to the conversation: John’s lifetime of experience making sense of how community can care for itself, Walter’s years of work reinterpreting the Bible and Peter’s commitment to the idea that if there is a gathering then it is possible to create the future in that room.

In addition to being inspired, Peter says he learned a few things, including the power of connectors, such as Amy Moritz, executive director of CTC, who has now been part of eight neighborhoods across the city that have begun actively creating a new future for themselves together.

He also observed a phenomenon he has seen in second-tier cities across the U.S., which is a desire to “win the race for what’s wrong with us,” an observation he says he is still uncertain of what to do with, but it dawns on him that it reconfirms that a city is its narrative.

“It’s not so much its geography or its built environment or its historical development.

“Basically what’s decisive is the story a city tells itself, and every second-tier city in this country is competing to have the most problems, which tells me it’s not accurate. It’s just story.”

The CTC and its extended community are looking to help change that story, with these conversations being a key part in that.

Amongst the work — inviting people to identify four capacities they have, including their gifts, their skills, their passions and what they can teach.

The premise in this — never take labels seriously for people; discover what they have to contribute to their community, and people who seem useless or problematic will step up to make a difference.

“Our research indicates that what makes strong neighborhoods is when what people have to contribute is made visible — which is what we were doing that day — and then connected to become productive,” says John.

“It’s the identification of gifts and their connection for a better life.”

While connections were certainly sparked on that day and gifts made visible, and the commitment of the people shone through very clearly — nobody, for instance, was paid to be there — Peter says he sensed the crossroads the community now faces is finding its voice.

“What got me is that they had some very strong leadership from the community there and I just felt that their commitment to that place and caring for that place was bedrock.

“I just don’t know if they’ve found their voices or their energy yet to know that they can create an alternative future.”

- Michelle Strutzenberger -

Feel free to comment below or e-mail michelle@axiomnews.ca.

‘Deep satisfaction’ in planting the seeds of change, says Amy Moritz

CTC director soaks in possibility, reflects on memorable conversations

Amy Moritz describes the past six months as a period of deep preparation as she and a core of volunteers connected to the Center for Transforming Communities in Memphis prepared to plant seeds of change.

Through their many connections to people in the city working to strengthen local vitality, one neighborhood at a time, they have been cultivating the soil, so to speak. When 300 people gathered for a conversation about the possibilities last week, she could see these efforts paying off. 

Thought leaders Peter Block, John McKnight and Walter Brueggemann helped guide guests through a conversation about the creation of a new Memphis narrative that looks beyond problem-solving to one that honors the gifts and possibilities.

“On Nov. 14, perhaps some new seeds were planted in some very rich soil that will take root,” Moritz said the morning after the event.

“Today, I’m still wondering what that will look like. I know it will be something amazing but that’s kind of where I am — just knowing that the soil has been properly cultivated; there’s a deep satisfaction that that occurred and some great seeds were planted.”

She talks of energy in abundance and a deep sense of commitment in the room as people from all walks of life shared the hope that comes by relating to one another in new ways and cooperating to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

She recalls Peter Block at the end of the day offering his reflections and speaking of the same level of commitment. As an influential voice in community building, he is invited to speak at many events, he told the group, and he chooses which ones to attend carefully based on the level of commitment and energy he can feel in the community inviting him.

As he shared those words, Amy realized just how deep the dedication to the city is among so many community builders, and in the quiet morning after the event, she was still soaking in these reflections.

She is careful to not rush the next steps, she says, though she is eager to see what will sprout in the next few weeks from the seeds that were planted.

“I really want to just marinate in what this is and trust that it is going to be very apparent where this takes us,” Amy says.

It’s about being present in the moment and open to what will naturally emerge, and considering the feeling in the room during the event and the depth of conversation, Amy says exciting times are afoot in Memphis. 

- Kristian Partington -

If you have questions comments or a story to share about your experience with community transformation in Memphis, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Timely conversations for a church at a crossroads

Jacob’s Well founder looks forward to new connections

at Nov. 14 event

Jacob’s Well is a church that today finds itself at a crossroads in its mission to serve the people of Memphis, and as its founder, Rev. Jamey Lee looks forward, he finds hope in the connections he might make during a gathering of community leaders hosted by the Center for Transforming Communities.

Jamey founded the church in Memphis back in 2010, and its heart is given to the service of God by offering reconciliation, rehabilitation and reciprocation — bridging the racial divides of the city, and offering hope for people struggling through the pangs of addiction and poverty.

“The city of Memphis is a city divided,” Jamey says, but Jacob’s Well is discovering people of all backgrounds coming together across racial and economic lines to worship and pour their faith into the betterment of their community.

“Every person has a gift to bring and every neighbor has value,” he says.

Since its founding, the Jacob’s Well congregation worshipped and met regularly at Highland Heights United Methodist Church at Summer and Highland, but this fall, they answered a calling and moved to work more closely with citizens in downtown Memphis.

The home of Jacob’s Well is now the Holy Community United Methodist Church and the streets around it; an area that is new to Jamey and to many of the core volunteers who work through the church in the service of God and their neighbors.

His hope is that in attending a gathering of 300 or so community members Nov. 14 he will discover new alliances and relationships that will carry his church through this transition.

“With us moving it really opens this new chapter of the Jacob’s Well story and as the leader, I’m at a crossroads,” Jamey says.

“I hope that this event will provide something — a spark, and new relationship, a new idea — that can help us in our journey forward.”

The day-long event is spearheaded by the Center for Transforming Communities and will focus specifically on asset-based community development under the guidance of author and community advocate Peter Block, thought leader John McKnight, and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann.

A conversation about what is possible in neighborhoods across Memphis is exciting, and considering the sheer number of nonprofits and ministries working towards change in Memphis, Jamey has great hope for the day.

- Kristian Partington -

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Why could Nov. 14 be a good day for Memphis?

Pastor Marlon Foster shares his excitement

The countdown is on to what could be a turning-point for Memphis, Nov. 14, when more than 300 people will gather to think and talk and make plans around pulling their city to a new greatness.

If that sounds highly aspirational, that is just what it is, although there are “feet on the ground” behind this dreaming.

The people and ideas out of which this dream arises include the Center for Transforming Communities, which has been working in Memphis for more than 20 years, and is spearheading the Nov. 14 event.

The asset-based community development (ABCD) which will be integral to the gathering has been at the center of CTC’s work and is yielding the results it’s intended to. That is, people in neighborhoods are realizing their gifts, seeing new possibilities and taking ownership for the changes they want to see happen. These results have been documented in Memphis, as well as in many other places that have introduced ABCD.

In addition to bringing together people from across greater Memphis, the Nov. 14 event will see author and community advocate Peter Block, ABCD thought leader John McKnight, and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann join the conversation.

Marlon Foster is pastor of Christ Quest Community Church in Memphis, one of the many faith-based organizations participating in the event.

He says he is seeing great possibilities in the day for a number of reasons, amongst those the fact that there will be such a broad cross-section of the Memphis community participating.

He has also been privy to some of the specific plans for the day, and says those are getting him excited, too, knowing how carefully every part of it is being considered, even down to moments for reflection.

“I think the intentionality of the day is going to offer so many possibilities, it’s going to offer newness, it’s going to make room for creativity,” Marlon says.

Having Peter, John and Walter guiding the conversation will also be powerful, he foresees. He shares his vision of them essentially offering what he calls a “tap on the shoulder,” an invitation to consider this or that insight or piece of wisdom, and “then backing away to allow us to engage one another as a Memphis community.”

Marlon says the best that could happen through the event next week is that people make new commitments and see specific ways they can join in or start new efforts that shine a light on their own neighborhood’s gifts and help people in them see new possibilities. The ultimate result would be those same people then together taking ownership for whatever happens in their neighborhoods going forward.

- Michelle Strutzenberger -

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail michelle@axiomnews.ca.

Drawing spirits of change together in Memphis

CTC chair looks to transformative conversations on Nov. 14

That perspectives change and people will consider the meaning of community in a different light using the language of asset-based engagement rather than deficit: this is but a sampling of Wayne Puckett’s hope as the Engaging Community Narrating Change event draws near.

With little more than a week to go before the long-planned conversation gets underway at Memphis’ Rhodes College with thought-leaders Walter Brueggemann, John McKnight and Peter Block, Wayne is feeling excitement, expectation, and a little pressure as the final logistical details are worked out.

As chair of the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) board of directors, and member of the planning committee organizing the Nov. 14 event, Wayne has been involved since Day 1.

Her hope is that participants will act on a clearer understanding of the parts they can play in creating their ideal community, knowing that those parts need not be overwhelming or insurmountable.
“It’s like the individual thousands of drops that go into a bucket to fill it up,” Wayne says.

“I would like for people to walk away feeling inspired and connected through the conversations, through the possibilities.”

They might also find inspiration in knowing they are not alone in working to catalyze change in the neighborhoods where they live and the city they love.

Between full-time work, evening teaching commitments, volunteering, and raising two grandchildren, Wayne understands the propensity among busy people to zero in on their work and life, possibly missing what others are doing as a complement.

Holding a space for people of all walks of life to come together might offer new insights into just how expansive the dedication to this shift in community understanding really is.

“I think people might find it surprising that there is so much of an entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to people trying to be in-service and to do something that makes a difference,” Wayne says.

Drawing these sprits together in the service of each other is what the Nov. 14 event is all about, and making sure the momentum sparked there carries forward will be the ongoing mission of the CTC.

- Kristian Partington - 

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail kristian@axiomnews.ca.

The antidote to isolation in Memphis

‘There’s much more of a feeling of knowing your neighbors,’
says musician

There is something to be said for a community where neighbors know each other and wave from their front porches to passersby as twilight invites post-supper strolls.

It makes for a comfortable place to call home, and it is part of the reason why Anthony Gilbert was drawn to the Memphis neighborhood of Binghampton, where he’s lived for about a year now.



“In Binghampton, as opposed to other parts of the city, there’s much more of a feeling of knowing your neighbors,” Anthony says, pointing to the diversity of the neighborhood as part of its charm.

In the neighborhood where he grew up, “people have forgotten that cultural knowledge of what it means to be part of a community,” he adds. “It has disappeared over the last generation or two.”

Anthony is a classically-trained musician specializing in violin and viola who finds in Memphis the freedom to pursue his art within a well-established underground music scene where people aren’t looking for or expecting fame, just a place to explore their passion.

After moving to Binghampton, he entered The Commons on Merton with no knowledge of The Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) and its quest to foster connections among partners and their work building a stronger community.

He needed a space to work other than his house, which holds far too many distractions to tempt him away from focusing entirely on his music, and The Commons had space. He also supplements his income teaching eager music students, so it helps to be connected to the network The Commons offers.

Today, almost a year after joining The Commons, the sound of Anthony’s viola or violin is often heard echoing off the walls of the old church building — a sound he hopes is welcomed by his neighbors.

He teaches a steady stream of students, which pay on a sliding scale depending on what they can afford, and he’s part of the larger Commons, if only as one person amidst many adding to the mosaic of change in the neighborhood.

There’s a lot of work to do in a city where more than a quarter of the population live at the poverty line, but at The Commons and through the work of its partners, change is happening one step at a time.

“I’m not saying that Binghampton is a paradise,” Anthony says. “People are still suspicious of each other on some level, and I think that’s just an ingrained habit, but I think certainly what’s happening in Binghampton is the antidote; it’s the start of something.”

Anthony’s hope is that his contribution and the gift of his music is a welcomed part of the transformation taking place in Memphis.

By Kristian Partington, Axiom News