|
|
|
|
Photo of Cleveland, Ohio by our own John Baumgardner!
For a whole album of photographs of our beautiful city, click on the picture below, or click HERE!
Picture by Kristin Cassidy
A GREAT Interactive site about a GREAT art installation: http://www.themindofcleveland.com/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Sermon, Sunday, August 26, 2007 (click on any part of text)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Only the most RECENT items will be displayed on this page. For most of the content for the City Of God site, refer to the locations below:
-- For ARTICLES about all things urban and God's love for the City, click HERE! >>The most recent article will be posted below, all others are on the ARTICLES page.
-- For NEWS about all things urban and God's love for the City, click HERE!
-- For LITURGY about all things urban and God's love for the City, click HERE!
-- For RESOURCES about all things urban and God's love for the City, click HERE!
-- For INFORMATION about the Near West Side of Cleveland/Ohio City, click HERE!
Don't abandon or blame the city, reclaim it: Mark Giuliano
In the aftermath of a recent shooting in downtown Cleveland, I've been thinking about the thoughts of the late Yale scholar, Letty Russell, who once compared the city to a battered woman: The city is beaten and bruised, isolated, abandoned and then blamed as if she somehow did this to herself. How easy it is for us to take what we want from our city -- jobs, resources, entertainment -- while disavowing any responsibility for her. A shooting in our city shouldn't be cause for retreat or blame. To the contrary, it ought to awaken within us a deeper resolve to reclaim our city as a place of civility, culture, commerce and faith. Those who abandon her for the suburbs or grumble with reproach about her dangers, as did the person who commented online, "War combat zone. Stay out of Cleveland war zone, all of Cleveland" in response to Michael Sangiacomo's June 3 article in The Plain Dealer, are not only out of touch with the strength the core brings to the entire region, or the growing downtown neighborhood -- 10,000 residents strong and representing the city's highest per capita income and level of education -- they are also part of the problem in that they perpetuate a myth that crime is unique to downtown or that you will be safe if you avoid downtown. Is downtown more dangerous than Beachwood? It was just a year ago that three hostages were held at gunpoint by a rape suspect in Beachwood. Yes, Beachwood. Why is it so hard for us to remember that story? Because crime in the suburbs just doesn't make the news the way it does when it happens in the city. And because we refuse to demonize the suburbs the way we do our downtown, let alone talk honestly about the crime that exists there. It would destroy the illusion of suburban security and possibly pop our bubble of safety. Instead of blaming our city in times of crisis, we need to get involved. First of all, the Public Square location of Club Allure, which has had shootings before, has to be questioned. We as a people can decide what we want or don't want in our city. Violence of this kind has no place in our new residential/mixed-use downtown neighborhoods. As the senior pastor of the Old Stone Church, Allure's next-door neighbor, I hold the right, officially, to oppose the liquor license for that location. At this point, I see no reason to sign anything but "opposed." The recent Warehouse Bar Owners Memorandum of Understanding and forthcoming nightclub legislation will help bar owners care for their patrons, within and beyond their venues, as well. But we have to be more than reactive; loving a city means being proactive. When strengthening our bodies, trainers tell us to start with core strength training. The same holds true for our region and our city core. With more than $2 billion worth of development under way in downtown Cleveland, this is the perfect time to re-engage in the life of our city. Gather some friends and take an art or historical tour. Walk our downtown streets and shop in its stores. Eat in its world-class restaurants and worship in its historic sanctuaries, claiming sacred space, peace and civility for our city once again. One of my favorite things about living and working in downtown Cleveland is the sense of community I share among my neighbors. Rarely am I out for a walk or dinner in a cafe that I don't bump into a friend and visit for a while. I feel a relative sense of safety because I know my neighbors and I spend time with them in my neighborhood. One of the best ways to help a battered woman heal is through a kind of love which empowers her. Fear and reproach, or perpetuating misguided myths about her dangerous behavior, only keep her down. Truth-telling, love and generosity of spirit are what will lift her up again. It's your city, Cleveland; why not love it enough to call it home again. Giuliano is the pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square and president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association.
Cleveland's Group Plan Commission launches debate on a greener,
healthier vision for downtown Cleveland To read this story online, go to: http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/10/clevelands_group_plan_commissi.html
Landscape architect Tom Zarfoss wanted the Mall
district to be entirely wireless, so anyone could use a computer,
anywhere.
Ray Suarez Speaks About Church and Urban Issues at the 2009 General Synod of the UCC To watch the video, click on the photo above, or go to: http://vimeo.com/6741201
Ray Suarez offers a look at the
post-denominational church
To read this story on the UCC website, go to:
http://www.ucc.org/news/ray-suarez-offers-a-look-at.html New Video About Detroit Shoreway Development Click on the image below, or go to: http://www.vimeo.com/4980685 http://www.vimeo.com/4980685
|
|