Shiloh's Victory
Village is based on our family of believers and
our congregation extending its Christian values
of love and compassion to our surrounding
community. Our goal is for our church’s life to
reach out to merchants, neighbors, schools and
community groups. We developed a vision of a
village that represents God's kingdom, by
merging the Western African concept of village
life with the Judeo-Christian traditions of
justice for all people and cultures. A healthy,
Godly sense of diversity based on fairness for
all from the richest to the poorest is the
hallmark of biblical theology. Prophets like
Isaiah, Jeremiah and our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ lived for, taught and died for these
principles.
With all the tremendous challenges facing our
neighborhoods and society, we must think of our
religious institutions as more than islands of
religiosity in secular seas. Isaiah articulated
the concept of a Godly village when he wrote in
the 61st chapter, the fourth verse “and they
shall build the old wastes, they shall repair
the waste cities, the desolation's of many
generations".
During last Sunday's worship service, Gerard
Bingham spoke to us about the work of the Male
Youth Enhancement Project, an after school
program for at-risk young men, which is
rebuilding the waste places of the Shaw
community. Inter-neighborhood rivalries have
caused the streets around the church to be
increasingly unsafe for young African American
men. Several years ago the city spent
multi-millions of dollars to build the Kennedy
Playground. Some said this new state-of-the-art
facility would put the Shiloh Family Life Center
out of business. However, the potential for
fighting at the playground has caused some 40
young men to regularly choose to attend our
Family Life Center rather than go to the Kennedy
Playground. They are coming to Shiloh because
they are looking for safe space. They believe
the church can offer what a public facility
cannot. City governments can build fabulously
well equipped facilities. Only a people of
faith can create A Village that Represents
God's Kingdom. That is our goal and our
spiritual direction for the coming year. One
Vision, One Village, One Victory.
Reading Through
The Bible
January 6: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14;
Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12
