This Is Our City

Brandon, you of all members of the Springwater Community are the last person I would expect to use the kind of sensational hyperbole that I see in this article. It gives me a lot of pause and makes me question the direction that Springwater Community is taking lately- and Second Stories too.

"Brandon - You describe a bombed out hulk of a neighborhood that nobody would ever dare visit after dark. That's funny, because the neighborhood I live in is vibrant, friendly, safe and overcoming long-held and untrue stereotypes. It's no paradise, but it sure as hell isn't what you described."

Charitas, read what they said about messianism in context. They're not talking about guarding against Jesus as messiah, they are guarding against the urge to go into a place with a lot of issues and see ourselves as miniature messiahs to everything that hurts the neighborhood. This community is doing a lot of cool stuff and harboring a lot of conversations. It's sad to see the amount of vitriol expressed towards it in these comments. As somebody involved in a faith community a couple miles down the road, I'm glad to know those mentioned in this article and to see the work they are doing.

Thank you for this article. It is good to remember that the church not only has a function toward those outside the fold, but it is charged with ministering to those who are being perfected in Christ's image - that is to say, those of us who profess faith in Christ. Springwater, and similar groups who are faithfully attending to the King's business, have helped me to draw near to Christ, to live within his grace, and to encourage me to participate in kingdom activity. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience God's grace through your faithfulness.

I was so delighted to read this article about Rusty & Marylou, our friends from 1979 in Goshen, Indiana, where we attended the same church and helped facilitate their wedding. I'm not at all surprised by their ministry to "the least of these," after knowing them as sincere followers of Christ way back then.