The Role of a Community Chaplain in a Marginalised Urban Community: Providing Holistic Pastoral Ministry to Pre-Teens at Jane-Finch Neighborhood

By Noah O. Okiror

This book presents findings of further research into the concept I started in my previous book: the importance of dying to self and its implications for outreach to unchurched children in isolated communities. It was centered on our Lord Jesuss call for all to deny themselves in order to follow him. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Gods ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). We have to lose in order to gain (Philippians 3:78), we have to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves (Matthew 10:39), we have to die in order to live (John 12:24), and if you want victory, you have to first surrender (watch the War Room movie). This book delves deeper into the practical aspects of reaching a specific demographic of unchurched children in Jane-Finch.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Dec 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543744286

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Copyright © 2017 by Noah O. Okiror.

ISBN:   Softcover    978-1-5437-4429-3

             eBook         978-1-5437-4428-6

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

I. Theological foundations of pastoral ministry

II. The pioneer/apostolic role of a community chaplain in community engagement and social entrepreneurship

III. The Jane-Finch community

IV. Why the focus on children

V. Who are the Preteens/tweens?

VI. Issues faced by children today and how to address them

VII. The academic and social role of a community chaplain

VIII. The prophetic role of a community chaplain as an advocate for social change and social justice.

IX. The spiritual role of a community chaplain

X. A community chaplain and holistic development of preteens

XI. The sports and health Promotion ministry of a community chaplain

XII. A community chaplain as a peacemaker

XIII. Mobilizing and building a global network of community chaplains and community ministry centres

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mom Keturah Mary Okiror whose example of perseverance keeps me on the straight and narrow road even when storms hit. When our dad, whom I don’t remember, passed way, she could have given up on life and on us but she had the strength to keep striving on with nothing else left but hope. She had hope that, despite all odds, her children would one day grow up to be caring like their dad and to love the God he loved. Her humility teaches me to respect and look up to people others look down on and to always see to it that the poor are not treated poorly.

Introduction

This book presents findings of further research into the concept I started in my previous book: The importance of dying to self and its implications for outreach to unchurched children in isolated communities. It was centered on our Lord Jesus’ call for all to deny themselves in order to follow him; If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). His first invitation was for all who are thirsty to come to Him and drink (John 3:37) and for the weary and heavy laden to come and rest (Matthew 11:28). He then invites us to abide in Him (John 15:4) and not to lean on our own understanding/education (Proverbs 3:5); die to self. Without Him, Noah Okiror is totally useless. That doesn’t boost my self-esteem but it’s the truth. It is therefore utterly arrogant, very naive and futile to even try to live for self.

In His invitation, He did not promise us good health, much wealth or endless happiness but a cross. He called us to die and follow Him! He called us to die to a desire for recognition, to whatever causes weariness, and to even our pseudo national, racial, class and denominational identities because we are now nothing else but followers of Christ. Our Lord’s third invitation was to learn from Him (Matthew 11:29); He was meek and selfless (Philippians 2:3-8). He then sends us to all nations to do likewise; to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). He is calling us from self-centered living to true discipleship. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8); we have to lose in order to gain (Philippians 3:7-8), we have to die in order to live (John 12:24) and if you want victory, you have to first surrender (The War Room movie). If we truly believe, why don’t we live it? Our minds are tainted by our materialistic and narcissistic world. The only solution is the death of the old to give room for the new self.

To win the spiritual war launched against vulnerable children, we have to surrender to Christ and let Him work in us to impact the lives of children in isolated and marginalized communities. This book delves deeper into the practical aspects of reaching a specific demographic of unchurched children in Jane-Finch; the Afro Caribbean preteens. For a long time, most humanitarian organizations have agreed that the best way to transform a child’s life is to build a better community or village. This research attempts to delineate the most biblical and therefore effective ways of holistically improving children’s lives through community engagement and empowerment. I believe this task can be effectively directed by a non-denominational clergy I have named, for lack of a better title, a community chaplain.

One of the communities discussed in my previous research is Jane-Finch (aka) Black Creek, in which I started pioneer work in 2009. It is an area east of Highway 400, West of Keele Street, north of Sheppard Avenue West and south of Steele Avenue West. Jane-Finch is one of the central areas of the city of Toronto, Canada, which tend to have high population densities with most people living in high rise apartment buildings. These areas, also known as inner cities, tend to be impoverished minority neighborhoods.

A survey was conducted in 2015 as the community’s response to the ‘Toronto Strong Neighborhood Strategy 2020’, a 15-year city effort to improve the health and wealth of its poorest districts. Of Toronto’s 31 so-called ‘Neighborhood Improvement Areas,’ Black Creek and Glenfield-Jane Heights scored lowest in terms of health, well-being and social equity. Both neighbours fall within the Jane-Finch community, an area in the city’s northwest corner that residents say is getting worse, not better, in terms of social services and economic opportunities (The Toronto Star). Jane-Finch neighborhood therefore continues to be synonymous with the negative social ills of crime and it remains the least liveable of Toronto’s 140 neighborhoods.

After working with different children’s groups; as a chaplain at Cadets Canada, an Education Coordinator at Boys’ Town Singapore, and as a school teacher in Uganda, Kenya, and Botswana and in Vancouver-Canada, I have a better understanding of children’s emotional, social and spiritual unmet needs. I have also found the preteens as the most misunderstood and therefore most neglected group among children. I am therefore consumed with a deep longing to shepherd or nurture these lambs so that they too can experience wholeness through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Shepherds traditionally tend to God’s sheep. This was demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ the chief shepherd. The times are bad; the world is descending into chaos. Hate and violence seem to be escalating unabated. Even the best experts in various fields are running out of answers. We all desperately need a shepherd to guide us on a day to day basis. Jesus is the lover and shepherd of our souls. Jane-Finch needs a shepherd: a shepherd with a heart for Christ’s little lambs; the children and especially the most vulnerable; the preteens.

Missionaries in the past trained for a particular missionary context; learned about the culture and were taught to be sensitive to the culture of the people they were to reach. Jane-Finch is a multitude of cultures. Even within most households, the children practice a different culture and speak a different language from their parents. Besides this, preteens at Jane-Finch have their own culture; a different worldview and a way of doing things in comparison to the mainstream culture and their parents’ cultural backgrounds. They are very Canadian in all ways and yet there is also parental influence at home. Besides that they are also part of the kids’ culture, very noticeable in schools and in the social media. Some children may find all this very confusing. How does a missionary or a chaplain effectively address these various world views? Is this even possible and do we know what we are talking about when we discuss inner city or urban ministry in this day and age? Is the solution ethnic churches? The purpose of this research is to grapple with all these issues and to spark a conversation which will possibly lead to some solutions. Right now, the church doesn’t have a positive response to what is going on in our very diverse inner cities. The issue isn’t simply lack of funding, poverty or bad parenting. The problems are cultural, political, spiritual and systemic. Poverty, violence etc. are just symptoms of the deep rooted issues in these communities and in society as a whole. A chaplain has to commit to going to learn; he/she first of all has to commit to being and remaining a student of a particular community. One size doesn’t fit all. What worked in other inner cities may not necessarily work at Jane-Finch. A community chaplain therefore has to engage in continuous research; in a ministry of creating brand new knowledge for that context.

In the book of Mark, we are told that, As Jesus landed, He saw a great crowd waiting, and He was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34). The plight of humanity is still the same today; everyone needs a shepherd. Indeed, We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus’s ministry involved caring for those already rescued and going after those who are still lost and scattered around the world; in a holistic manner. He was a servant to all. He washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:14). He commands all of us to serve one another. His mission was to find the lost; For the Son of man came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10) and before he went back to heaven, he commissioned his followers to go into the whole world to seek and save the lost (Matthew 28:19-20).

Apostle Paul as well reminds us of our primary role;

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

Jane-Finch needs to be reconciled to God, through the ambassadors of Christ who are willing to die to self; step out of the comfort and safety of the four walls; out of our ‘sanctuary’ or ‘blessed assurance’, into the world riddled with emptiness, chaos and hopelessness. The children in particular are the most vulnerable and when we serve them, we serve Jesus (Matthew 25:37-40).

Food, water, clothing, inclusion, physical and emotional healing etc. are all real human needs. The six dimensions of wellness as defined by researchers are: physical, emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, spiritual and environmental. Insel et al. state that, These dimensions are interrelated; each one has an effect on others, and researchers have found important interconnections between the wellness of the mind and of the body. The process of achieving wellness is constant and dynamic, involving change and growth. Wellness is not static; ignoring any dimension of wellness can have harmful effects on one’s life (Insel et al. 3-4).

The title of a community chaplain is descriptive of the context and the nondenominational/multidimensional role of such a shepherd or servant, in a simple and understandable way. A community chaplain’s role can vary from community to community depending on the nature and the needs of a community. His/her role may also change depending on the changes that take place within a community. The community therefore determines the kind of ministry provided by the chaplain and not the other way around. He/she is also encouraged to continuously seek to understand the community. He/she can then be innovative in engaging residents in order to find solutions to their problems.

I have put more emphasis on reaching children and especially the preteen category because they too have needs that must be met by God and yet we have largely neglected leading them to God. Spiritual formation ought to start early in life before they fall deep into the deception of Satan. Children are born open and receptive to the Lord. That is why our Lord said that, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14). He also stated that, And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:5). And to adults he said that, I tell you truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).

Statistics reveal that 75% of Christians trusted Christ before the age of 14. In some young countries like Uganda, 51% of the population are under the age of 14. We can no longer continue to ignore that huge segment of society. Children are capable of saving faith and we are commanded to teach them; Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children there after (Deuteronomy 4:9). We are to teach them to all the children in our community for it does take a village to raise a child. Preteens in particular have been ignored; even research or books on preteens are very rare.

Given the proliferation of video games and social media, children today face real issues which require proactive intervention. There are also various effects of social pressures, divorce, addictions, incarceration of parents and HIV Aids on families. A holistic approach to child development needs to be effected. A community chaplain has a crucial role to play in holistic child development. He/she is well positioned to transcend traditional, denominational and religious barriers and reach all children at risk no matter the background. The current church system is very parochial, legalistic, and quite often self-interested. Even a well-intentioned mission’s director always feels paralyzed by the rigid church culture, a self-serving vision and an inward focus. The church has failed to carry out its missional role of going to the world to be a good neighbor and has relegated it to parachurches, government social services and to the law enforcement!

During the memorial ceremony for the Dallas shooting in 2016, President Obama said,

What Chief [David] Brown said is true…we ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of ourselves. Systemic issues in the U.S. allow poverty to ‘fester’ so that entire neighborhoods don’t have access to education and employment, leading to increased crime. We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book. And then we tell the police: ‘You’re the social worker. You’re the parent. You’re the teacher. You’re the drug counselor.’ We tell them to keep those neighborhoods in check at all costs, and do so without causing any political blowback or inconvenience. Don’t make any mistake that might disturb our own peace of mind. (theblaze.com)

Most children today have no positive male role models. Most of them are raised by single mothers, taught in school by female teachers and are attended to in hospitals by female medical professionals. Most of the images they have of men are from movies and the media, where men are often portrayed negatively. The girls grow up despising men and the boys go through life guilt ridden and ashamed of who they are. Those with immigrant fathers at home, have generational and cultural differences. They therefore long for fatherly love and guidance. That is why they easily fall prey to an ill-intentioned adults who pretend to give them that much needed fatherly love. They will always struggle emotionally until they find their true identity in God the Father of all. A community base shepherd can help build a bridge between them and the body of Christ.

Community chaplaincy is basically an attempt to recapture the church’s role of providing holistic pastoral care to all God’s people, especially to those