When I told people that I would be serving as a missionary in Detroit, Michigan this summer, I received a nearly unanimous response: a look of confusion and uncertainty followed by a mixture of, “Why would you go there”, “Isn’t it dangerous” and “Don’t get shot.” To be frank, my perception of Detroit was very similar. I tried to approach my service with an open mind, but I harbored doubts about both the safety of the work and the impact that a couple college students could have in solving the deep-rooted issues the communities of Detroit experiences.
I have only begun to scratch the surface of this city and the mission we have been called here to do after the first week.
On the east side of Detroit, there is a street called Alter Road. Alter Road separates Detroit from Grosse Pointe. Grosse Pointe is a picturesque Midwest suburb. Well-manicured parks and quaint well-kept brick homes line the streets, unthreatening and inviting. When you cross Alter Road heading west into Detroit, the beautiful parks are replaced with abandoned lots, garbage dumps, and dilapidated homes near collapse.
The difference between the two places, separated by one single street, is like stepping from one world into another. The suddenness with which you can transition from one side to the other is unnerving. There are numerous reasons for this drastic disparity, one of the most prominent is race related. Decades ago, the city of Grosse Pointe placed physical barriers along certain roads that intersected Alter Road, and forced one-way streets, so that it was difficult to enter Grosse Pointe for people living on the Detroit side.
These barriers separated white from black, suburb from neighborhood, and wealthy from poor. The last of the barriers were removed in 2014. And even though the physical barriers are gone, the effects of the barriers and what they represent are impossible to ignore.
Alter Road is an important landmark in beginning to grasp the generational trauma of this city. No human or assemblage of humans, has the capacity to heal this city on their own. No politician, legislation, or social justice movement is capable of healing this city alone. New politicians with new policies have come and gone and nothing has worked. Neighborhood outreach organizations drop in and dry out just as frequently as it rains here in Detroit (which is nearly every day as I’ve learned). Despite their good intentions, they struggle to achieve peace in Detroit.
For us as missionaries it can be overwhelming to face this challenge where many have failed. I want more than anything to help people heal, but oftentimes I feel that on my own, I am wholly incapable of reaching them. I find beauty in that, as Orthodox Christians we are called to allow God to work through us to serve those thirsting for His grace and love. In this way, Christ provides us the strength we need to properly serve. The knowledge that He is by our side in our effort to help His people provides immense encouragement. St. Paul writes,
“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).
Christ provides us with hope even in the darkest of circumstances, and with His strength we can reach peace in the communities that have been abused and neglected. The Detroiters I have met are wonderful, kind, and generous. Many have been born into difficult circumstances, but they continue to exude a joy and exuberance for life that is a clear sign of God’s presence within each of them. The work we have been doing in service of Detroit has been both humbling and enlightening.
In our short time here we have cleaned up abandoned houses, sorted and organized donations to the FOCUS Detroit Outreach Center—so that people in the community can come grab what they need, whether it be canned foods, sweaters and hygiene items. There is a garden we have been tending with the hopes of harvesting fresh fruit and vegetables to distribute to the neighborhood. These are small and simple forms of outreach to the community, and through them we are hoping to weave God’s love into the fabric of the community.
Detroit is a beautiful city, one of the greatest metropolises in America. Although Detroit has struggled through decades of decline and neglect, it remains vibrant and steadfast. God has not abandoned Detroit, and neither will I.
I ask for your prayers that us interns at FOCUS Detroit may humbly give ourselves to God and that He may work through us to reach those who desperately need what only He can provide: hope.
Stationed in Detroit, MI with our partners at FOCUS, Niko Deffigos is a Media Intern for summer 2021. You can directly support him and our ministry work by clicking the support button below.