There’s nothing like a community block party! Friends and family come together to celebrate the fun of the summer with music, dance, food, and a lot of laughter in Auburn Gresham’s Renaissance Park. St. Sabina Church threw 3 block parties this summer.
Under the leadership of Rev. Michael Pfleger, St. Sabina has been a beacon of hope in the Auburn Gresham community for 33 years since 1981, when he became the pastor. A church that “turns believers into disciples” believes that faith demands action beyond the four walls of the sanctuary. In order to build a connected community of families it’s important to provide occasions to bring folks together in a safe environment – from the smallest children to the seasoned elders of the community.
As you enter the block party, you walk past young men playing basketball on the courts set up in the church’s parking lot. There is a group of boys and young men talking and laughing as they watch the teams play ball and wait for their turn to play. Unique to this scene is the group of male volunteers playing ball with the brothers from the block. You may pass by the benches and see a group of elders getting served a hamburger or hot dog as they watch the children riding their bikes around the block party and greet the people as they arrive. The line to get food is long however, no worries because St. Sabina has prepared enough food to feed 500 people. There is a popcorn and snow cone station offered by police officer Cheryl Clark.
If you like dancing, St. Sabina provided a DJ (Sam Williams, DJ Farley Jackmaster Funk, & a new DJ Kris Williams) to play the latest songs for the young, oldies but goodies for the not so young, and house for the house heads. Radio personality Tony Sculfield came by one night to greet everyone and enjoy the fun. Senator Jacqueline Collins can be seen dancing and laughing with everyone. This is the community where she was raised and all of these people are just like family.
The well-known and beloved Father Pfleger walks around in an attempt to personally greet everyone he can while the children continually run up to him for a hug or a hi-five. The children’s corner has 2 Jumping Jacks, a big Tires obstacle course, a foos ball table, bean bag toss, and face painting. The staff from The ARK has volunteered to watch the youth in the children’s corner. Father Thulani and Minister Lymore can also be seen walking around greeting everyone.
Young adults volunteered to walk around the party to get folks registered to vote and pass out flyers about all of St. Sabina's outreach services. Members of St. Sabina volunteered to serve food, chips, and beverages. To affect change in a community one has to become a member of the community celebrating the good times and providing comfort and assistance in the sad or hard times. St. Sabina is definitely a member of the Auburn Gresham community.
FAITH & ACTION = BLOCK PARTY by Lisa Ramsey