Interfaith service focuses on urban violence

"With more than a dozen fatal shootings this year in Albany alone, gangs, drugs and crime are engulfing the poorest minority neighborhoods," said Andreas Kriefall, lead organizer of ARISE (A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment). "Gangs and violence are symptoms of inequities that exist in housing, schools and taxes. Drastic income disparities are creating impoverished city schools. While suburbs and cities are actually inextricably linked, they appear to be unequal, racially divided worlds."

On Jan. 7, ARISE is sponsoring a Covenanting Liturgy at the First Church in Albany in hopes of eliminating those inequities.

Seeking change

The service will include a memorial liturgy for victims of violence in the Capital District; prayer, music and inspirational speakers; and the covenanting of congregations to form a strong, regional coalition to take action.

More than 500 people from around the Capital District are expected.

Success stories

* Chicago, where an interfaith partnership secured funds to build housing for 13,000 inner-city residents;

* Milwaukee, where a group was able to reduce class size in inner-city public schools; and

* Youngstown, Ohio, where a new grocery store was opened in the inner city.

"These things are possible," said Mr. Kriefall. "It just takes people to become part of a disciplined organization."

Commuters

Often, the churches located in the inner cities act as what Mr. Kriefall called "commuter churches." They once served people who lived in the neighborhood; while the families continue to attend services there, they have moved to the suburbs.

"People commute in from the suburbs to the church," he said. "If they don't recognize the connection between cities and suburbs, the churches will become islands in a sea of poverty."

Faith communities, he said, can't ignore the problems that exist in the cities where they are located. "The outbreak of gang- and drug-related crime is the most urgent and dramatic evidence of the deepest inequities and community problems in our area," he said, "the tip of the iceberg."

(The ARISE Covenanting Liturgy will be held Jan. 7, 4 p.m., at the First Church in Albany, located on North Pearl. All congregations and community groups interested in learning more about ARISE are welcome to attend.)

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