There is a dying and a descent, a clinging and a letting go. There is a moment where the only thing left is the image of the shadow of hope, Hope bleeding and crying out on a God-forsaken tree.
It is the destruction of a temple, a dwelling place of the Spirit of God. The temple of His body rose again on the third day, because death could not hold it.
Will we?
There is talk about tearing down Michigan Central Station, and this highlights a dilemma: do you restore broken and abandoned homes, at the cost of delaying urban renewal? Or do you demolish them, thereby detracting from the character and history of the city itself?
I can see the old train station from outside my window, and it is — perhaps because it is falling apart — one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Even if leaving it standing makes it a hotbed for crime, I still hesitate to see it go.
There is a beauty in decay, the beauty of hope. Detroit is my city — a city abandoned, a city divided, a city in ruins. There is no worldly reason for those who remain to stay here, but we will not leave.
Perhaps a Voice calls from another world, with hope for restoration.
In this post I am beginning something, something larger than myself. The goal is to create a publication – online or in print – that will be wholly concerned with the New Detroit, a place that can only be seen with eyes of faith. In this publication, people of widely varying backgrounds – city and suburb, white and black and Latino, rich and poor – can come together to explore their place in this great work.
The need for such a forum is great, and yet I am a broken and inadequate worker for the task. Lord, help me to not get in the way of your vision, help me to seek out for your Word in the midst of words.
Rise From Ashes - toward a new Detroit 