required reading for those seeking to do ministry in portland
A friend that’s a part of an intentional community in outer southeast Portland and I were talking the other day about how frustrating it is to see tons of energy coming from people wanting to church plant and picking Portland as where they’re focusing, only to target all of the “cool” spots around town. My experience in Portland is such that there’s more than enough energy going into those spots, but there’s tons of places that need more incarnational work. (I have a post upcoming about why this is important) In the meantime, I’d like to pass along two articles that should be required reading for anyone wanting to do ministry in Portland.
The first is by my friend and mentor, Paul Louis Metzger - What the Gospel Means For Portland. Here’s an excerpt:
although Portland is green, its central city is becomingincreasingly white. This is an area of grave concern. Although some may wish to label this as simply an economic reality, race and class often track with one another in the United States as much today as in days past. While ethnic minority numbers are decreasing in the central city, this liberal town (including its churches) has never really been known for caring structurally for those of ethnic minority status. As one urban studies professor said about urban renewal in Portland, “For many African Americans, urban renewal equals Negro removal.” This was and is the response of many in the black community, as city landmarks, stores, cafes, bistros, and art studios have arrived in the heart of predominantly black neighborhoods and business districts, including the Rose Quarter and Alberta Neighborhood. Regardless of how the rest of us might perceive it, that’s the interpretation of many African Americans’ experience.
Paul does a good job of identifying the racial and economic issues that are so often missed when people are only aware of the Portlandia image of hipsterdom here.
And speaking of economic and racial issues, Willamette Week had an excellent article a while back on The Other Portland. The other Portland is east Portland, where many times there aren’t sidewalks, it’s the area between I-205 and Gresham. It’s rough and many times you’ll find another language spoken as much as English. It’s nothing like the image of Portland in the media, and has gotten rougher in part due to the gentrification(wikipedia definition) that has been highly touted in other parts of Portland.
The short of it is this: if you’re looking to come to Portland to do ministry and love your neighbors, please, please, please ignore the allure of the “hip” parts of town and consider the over looked, the places where there is so much work to be done. It won’t be easy, but it will be good. - I’ll be writing more on this soon, I promise!
