Miami Herald - July 30, 2006
Peter Bailey, pbailey@MiamiHerald.com

Few weeds grow amid the green expanse, but neither do any flowers. A couple of shattered crack pipes, broken bottles and paper bags litter this urban meadow.

The Rev. Devin Brown says God wants a church here.

"Brother, this is where we need to be, not in some air-conditioned building," said Brown, director of ministries at Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church. "We need to be in the center of the storm."

Sherdavia Jenkins, 9, died July 1 just around the corner from this field while playing in her front yard, shot by killers who probably had crisscrossed the grass. She is among a dozen people, 18 years old and younger, who have been slain so far this year in Miami-Dade County, according to the county medical examiner's office.

REQUEST DENIED

Brown and about 20 other ministers throughout Liberty City, Opa-locka and North Miami have been lobbying county officials since January to allow them to host an outdoor service every Friday night on the vacant land, which the county owns.

Planning more than just services, the ministers will provide hot meals as well as HIV and blood pressure testing and other services.

But officials have denied their request, citing a lack of community support.

"It's not that we're not trying to support the community in these trying times, but we don't think the residents will be in support of this," said Cherra McLeod, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Housing Agency. "We're not hearing the support from the residents at this time."

McLeod said officials have asked pastors to give a tally of residents who support the initiative, which would require a permit.

The pastors don't think they need to.

"We're out here, and we see how much the community is hoping for a spiritual and economic revival," said Cheryl Sejour, pastor of Gateway Family Fellowship church.

Added Brown: "The killers and dealers don't face any red tape. They go about their business freely."

So far, the ministers have committed to holding Friday night services at their respective churches.

They want to take turns offering weekly services at the green in an effort to deter some of the weekend violence plaguing the long-neglected neighborhood of aging public housing.

DEADLY DAY

Friday nights have proven deadly for some Liberty City teens, police records show.

Last year, Remondo Grant, 17, was gunned down on a Friday night, April 29.

James Lewis, 17, was shot to death on a Friday in August.

"It's time to get outside the walls of the church," said the Rev. Dennis Jackson Sr., pastor of United Praise and Worship Christian Center. "Somebody on the streets has to hear us."

He describes a surreal dream:

Gospel hymns muting the sound of gunshots as hundreds storm onto the field in praise and worship, inspired by the Holy Ghost to take back their community.

On a scorching recent afternoon, several of the pastors gathered on the field to discuss that dream.

"This can't be a one-time thing. When the cameras are gone, we have to be right here," said George McRae, pastor of Mount Tabor.

"This is our backyard," said John Cox, pastor of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

"We need to address the economic and social disparities alienating this community."

COMMUNITY LIFELINE

Amid the storm, Mount Tabor sits steadfast.

The church, 1701 NW 66th St., has been a lifeline to the neighborhood, known by residents as Pork 'n' Beans, for more than 17 years. It serves hundreds through a host of outreach programs, including HIV/AIDS and drug intervention. About 330 members of the church's congregation are recovering drug addicts.

"Our congregation is a reflection of the community's pain," Brown said.

Brown also heads a youth group, Keeping It Real, which provides peer intervention and mentorship services.

His demeanor doesn't reflect the storybook pastor. His words aren't tailored by poetic muses. "There are a bunch of chump pastors out here. They're scared to go into the community," Brown said.

"They'd rather collect tithes and offerings and go home."

In a neighborhood that is home to more than 300 churches, Brown says many pastors have abandoned their true purpose -- a duty he outlined from Luke 4:18:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

CHURCH IS OMNIPRESENT

There is a church located on virtually every corner in Liberty City. Some are small and quaint, others large and majestic, but their presence reflects the religious roots that run deep in America's urban communities.

"The church has weathered us through worse. It got us through the civil rights movement," Brown said.

"The church has always saved the black community," he said.

But there are obstacles.

A cloud of apathy hovers above the neighborhood, hurting police efforts to investigate crimes.

"The neighborhood is a problem that has been left unattended for years, and now it has spiraled out of control," McRae said.

"It's like a fire that was building slowly."

McRae said the group of ministers plans to lobby officials until a tent is erected amid the broken glass and shattered pipes, until the gospel echoes from the green.

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