News

Gardening to Make Beauty Out of Blight

Riet Schumack is growing more than flowers among her Brightmoor neighbors.

This Is Our City February 8, 2013

Riet Schumack couldn't believe it when she sensed God calling her to Detroit. "I hate big cities, so when the Lord called us [here]—there was no way around it—we spent many years questioning God," says the Dutch native. After moving with her husband to the struggling Brightmoor neighborhood in 2006, Riet wondered how she could serve her neighbors. She took an inventory of her passions, and "children" and "gardening" topped the list.

What happened next is documented in this short film, the second shot on site in Detroit by This Is Our City filmmaker Nathan Clarke. Riet's story is for anyone who is called to make something good and beautiful out of brokenness—that is, all of us.

Our Latest

Public Theology Project

What the Iran War Could Do to Your Soul

War, in every case, is hell. Let’s watch out for ourselves, lest it also make us hellish.

Ideologies Don’t Save, But We Act Like They Do

Domonic Purviance

Even the most admirable societal aims become spiritual distortions when we treat them as ultimate.

John Perkins, in Life and Facing Death

“If we are going to help others understand who Jesus is, our own lives must reflect his character and love.”

News

Excerpts from a Judge’s Ruling in Favor of Minnesota Refugees

Judge John R. Tunheim said the US government had made a “solemn promise” to the persecuted whom it had welcomed to the country.

Can Reading Fix Young Men’s Modern Malaise?

Good literature can steady and orient unmoored men in their early years. But for renewal, they need to read Scripture.

News

The Syrian Pastors Who Stayed

Hunter Williamson

Violent clashes have led many Christians to emigrate, yet some church leaders see a revival brewing.

The Russell Moore Show

Allen Levi on ‘Theo of Golden’

The author sits down with Russell in Andrew Peterson’s Chapter House for a conversation on the breakout novel.

Review

American Christianity Is More Than Its Politics

Matthew Avery Sutton’s impressive new history is insightful, helpful, colorful—and incomplete.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastprintRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube