Prayer Walk

It smells really bad by The Sal today. I have been told by our facilities guy that it is the city's new compost pile that is the culprit. And so when the wind blows like it is today, you'd swear we were working in the middle of a city dump! Nonetheless, I took a prayer walk today, somthing I have been seriously slacking in, and something immensly important in our line of work. Sometimes we get caught in a rut where we are working on planning/logistics for so long that it gets difficult to get out and actually go into the neighborhood aside from when we are heading home for the day. So once I got a few blocks south of The Sal, the smell diminished and I was able to focus in and pray about various things. Here are a few things I prayed for that you can pray for too if you want.

• The continued revitalization of the downtown both as a commercial space (wiseguys, blackstones, lunch studio, brown sugar cafe, the torch, and more), but also as a residential space (lofts, apartments, dorms, etc..).

• That the vacant homes would be rennovated, fixed up, or have families in them.

• That the burned out homes and homes slated for demo would be removed soon and that the space can become side lots or back lots, or green spaces in the neighborhood.

• For the Court Street business strip, specifically for continued support of the good businesses, for the empty commercial buildings to be utilized by businesses that meet the service/needs of the community, and for the accountability of some of the less reputable businesses so that they no longer prey on the poor and underserved (one place sells expired goods).

• For the illegal dumping especially in places where the land has not been taken care of. Someone saw a fallen tree and got the idea to dump their garbage by it for someone else to deal with. Another house had a large quantity of expored food dumped next to it. The burnt out houses are also getting illegal dumping. People figure the city has to remove the structure remains so they might as well pick up their trash too.

• For expanded use of Memorial Park. This summer we expand our picnics in the park program. (more later)