The Suffering Servant of Camden, Nj: A Journey in 21St Century Urban Ministry

By Michael Giansiracusa

Welcome to Camden, NJ, a city Walt Whitman once described as "invincible" that has now been labeled "the most dangerous city in America." It is also called "home" by the thousands who live here. Take the author's grace-filled journey into the heart of 21st century urban ministry as he chronicles the city's favorite son, Fr. Bob McDermott, who seeks to revitalize a hopeless city by listening to and believing in a God who speaks through those considered "hopeless."

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491898512

Michael Giansiracusa

Michael Giansiracusa is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of PA and adjunct professor at Holy Family University in Philadelphia. He earned a B.A. in Communications from La Salle University, an M.A. in Theology from Villanova University and a DMin. from The Episcopal Divinity School. He previously served for two years as a youth minister near Portland, OR, taught theology and philosophy at the undergraduate and secondary level for 16 years and later facilitated “cross-boundary” experiences that combined prayer, direct service, deep faith reflection and worship at the Romero Center in Camden, N.J. and Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia, PA. Michael believes that if sacramental worship reflects God’s mission then all ministries must have, as their justification, a relationship with the most vulnerable. He lives with his family in Ardmore, PA.

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© 2014 Michael Giansiracusa All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/29/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9853-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9852-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-9851-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905387

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction: My Faith Journey

Learning to Witness Incarnation

The People of God Have No Name

Listen to My Words

Take up Your Cross and Follow Me

Conclusion

Bibliography

Notes

For Renee, who took this journey with me and Michael, who teaches me about love and compassion every day.

For my mom and dad, who have loved and supported me all my life.

And for Msgr. Bob McDermott, Larry DiPaul and the people of Camden, NJ.

Foreword

For many years, people who have visited St. Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral have asked me, Why doesn’t anyone know about this? The truth is that many people know about us, although a majority of them live in Camden. The spirit of the question is really, Why don’t the people who can help you financially and through time and talent know about this? Michael’s book is one of the ways more and more people will learn our story.

The recent history of Camden is one of enormous challenges. Beset by a relentless cycle of poverty and unemployment, rampant crime, a failing school system, and inadequate municipal services, Camden’s citizens face a daily struggle to survive, to raise their children, and to live productive, happy lives. The daunting statistics tell the story of a city in need.

• Camden’s population is 78,000 and declining, largely due to abandonment.

• Nearly 50 percent of Camden’s residents earn less than $25,000/year.

• A single parent heads 66 percent of Camden’s households.

• Twenty-five percent of all Camden properties are estimated to be vacant.

• The homeownership rate is lower than 50 percent.

• Camden’s unemployment rate currently stands at 18 percent.

• Camden’s crime rate is soaring, with more than 1,000 assaults, 4,000 burglaries, 50 murders, 80 reported rapes, and 1,000 robberies each year. It is one of America’s most violent cities.

The children of Camden are the most vulnerable. They face an uncertain future and could fall into the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and joblessness that has afflicted the city for generations. The people of Camden need our help. With help, there is reason for hope.

But this is a story beyond statistics.

What you will encounter in these pages is the genesis and maturity of several ministries, each guided and led by the spirit of people who care deeply about their community. The world of St. Joseph’s is an exciting one despite the reputation and reality of Camden. These are stories of success, not failure; of opportunity, not abandonment; of hope, not despair. The stories are a blessing for the participants and for all of us who help to make this success happen.

For me, these twenty-seven years I have served as pastor of St. Joseph’s have opened my eyes and my heart to the glory of God found in the poor and the not so poor, in the givers and receivers, in the young and the old, and in not one culture but in many.

This book is an invitation to you to absorb the impact of the work, imagination, creativity, generosity, and faith of so many people. We have over seventy-five people who work full time in various programs that invite others to an experience of transformation in their lives. You will meet this talented band of committed people, past and present, in the creative and successful programs and ministries in these pages.

Together, we have formed a covenant to invite the children, their families and parents, the homeless, youth, and young adults to experience the fullness of the blessings of life; to find success rather than failure; to have hope, not despair; and to learn they have options and to experience the necessary transformation into the fullness of life in God’s kingdom on earth.

My life has been grace filled because the people of Camden have invited me into their lives and shown me the face of God. My invitation to you as you read this book is to prayerfully consider joining the St. Joseph’s community and the people of Camden on this journey. Become a partner with us; invest with us in the lives of the people you read about and get to know on these pages. We need you and your investment of resources and desire to lead others to the blessings and success we all might have experienced.

Discover the people in these pages, and listen to what God may be saying to you; share your blessings with us as we take these programs to even greater heights and for more people even greater success. We are grateful for what so many have done and excited about what lies ahead.

Msgr. Bob McDermott

Pastor, St. Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral

Preface

This book and the journey it describes is very much a personal story. Beyond all the endnotes, it is an exploration of how individuals and a parish try to faithfully worship God and find meaning in the contemporary world. The reality of poverty and violence in places such as El Salvador and Camden, NJ, demand that Christians ask of themselves from what vantage point or post do they, specifically as Christians, see the world.

The liberation theologian, Gustavo Gutierrez, insists that the Christian faith’s point of view must be from the perspective of the poor. One may be poor themselves or one may not be poor but choose to walk with the poor. Either way it is from this starting point that authentic Christian theology can be done. This was the perspective of Jesus himself.

The voices and lives of theologians past and present provide a framework for understanding the miraculous journey of St. Joseph’s in Camden, where a parish and its pastor decided to look at the world from the perspective of its parishioners, who are poor. This parish church was forced to ask from what point of view its parishioners saw God and God’s justice active in the world. What perspective were they to take when they were bold enough to pray, Give us this day our daily bread? Was this a full-stomach prayer and ministry, or were they saying the words with the faith-filled hope that somehow the next meal and ministry would come?

The post that the parishioners of St. Joseph’s and its pastor, Msgr. Bob McDermott, chose to engage the world from has been called one of the most dangerous cities in America. This was not only because of the parish’s location, for there are plenty of churches in struggling neighborhoods that choose not to be immersed in their environments. St. Joseph’s deliberately discerned to place itself on the side of the poor. This is an exploration and analysis of that journey; of how a gospel-inspired institution could exert its life-giving good news influence over the destructive forces of poverty, race, and violence.

When the majority of this book was written, I was a Roman Catholic high school theology teacher and closeted Episcopalian postulant who had come to realize that the God the Roman Catholic Church worshipped had become unrecognizable from the God I held in my heart. I am now an Episcopal priest and rector of a parish near Philadelphia that sits between vast suburban wealth and urban poverty, and I find that the liberative journey of St. Joseph’s and Bob McDermott’s life-giving ministry play an invaluable part in my ministry and the wider church. Our cities are becoming filled with closed churches or hampered with buildings so big that they require far too many resources to stay viable. Have the people of God moved? Or is the church ill equipped to meet the needs of the contemporary world? Why are we not taking seriously the fact that the church is abandoning the very people Jesus called blessed?

My intention is to illuminate the liberation Christology of St. Joseph’s, which is most visibly demonstrated in its commitment to the liberation education of the people of Camden and beyond as a unique and authentic witness to the missio dei. This will