Anyone that really knows me also knows my religious affiliation--Or lack thereof in reality. If you don't, just so you know, I'm agnostic. I've never been a fan of organized religion of any flavor, for many reasons I won't go into detail about here.
However, taking the dogs for a walk in the Cole and Whittier neighborhoods today, I realized that having lived in some of these more diverse neighborhoods since moving to Denver, I've begun to understand what a church, in its purest sense, can bring to a neighborhood.
This realization came to me as I walked by a Baptist church a few blocks from our house. An African-American boy had approached me and asked to pet the dogs, which was a welcome surprise, rather than one of the million colorful comments ("Them is some big ass dogs!") we normally get walking "the ladies" as we call them in the neighborhood.
As the boy pet the dogs, I looked around the church yard, and saw several other boys hanging out, from their attire and the sweat glistening on their foreheads, I hypothesized that they were in between games of basketball in the church gymnasium. Near them a large man was tending an equally larger barbecue grill, quite possibly the largest grill I've ever seen, and each and every square inch of cooking space was covered with beef ribs and chicken. I hadn't had breakfast at this point, so my mouth was watering profusely. There was a pleasantness about the yard and these people--They were friendly and easily approachable, which I can't say about every person or gathering we happen across in Cole. It again didn't hurt that they too had abstained from making comments about my "Rock-wilers".
In a neighborhood with so much ambivalence between people, even animosity, I see how a church can truly bring people together. And, in a time and place where kids seem to be given every opportunity and excuse to take the wrong path in life, I see now how a church, no matter the denomination, can provide a safe haven, and positive influence on neighborhood children.
Coming from rural white-bread America, I don't think I ever was exposed to this side of Churches, at least until I lived in Tucson, and at that tender age I was so self-centered I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed it even if it hit me over the head.
Where I'm from, Church is simply somewhere you go to reassure yourself that you're a good person, and that you're still in God's favor, no matter what mistakes or sins you committed the week before. I'd even go so far to say that many of the kids I grew up with never really knew why they even went to church in the first place, other than the fact that their parents told them to. But there's my bias creeping in again...
I'm sure there are many people suffering from that disease in the churches in our new neighborhood, too, but regardless, I now see the churches, any churches, as a welcome and invaluable neighbor to have nearby.
