By Rebel Hurd, Church on the Street
There are challenges when working with those living on the margins of society. There are challenges serving those who live on the margins of society. There are challenges walking alongside those struggling with homelessness and poverty on the margins of society. What might it look like, if, instead of looking through a lens of those who serve, or those who police, or those who construct; we instead look through a lens of being community together, being a neighbor, weaving a web that might entwine trust, provide hope, create compassion, and fabricate dignity?
If our communities are thirsting to connect and address challenges, would not the first opportunity be to provide water fountains for those who are thirsting? Or might we provide public charging stations for folks for emergency purposes and job searches without the fear of being arrested for theft of utilities? Or maybe, since we are ambitious thinkers, we do like the city of Dallas, Texas did, and we could create our own Thanksgiving Square https://thanksgiving.org/thanksgivingsquare/; an opportunity to be a community of interfaith, healing, and gratitude. Imagine what that might look like in South Dakota.
We all build walls. Our walls might be visible, and they may be hidden. We are all builders of something. For my family and me, we would like to be remembered as builders of people, passions, and dreams.
Rebel Hurd
Church on the Street
327 S. Dakota Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Rebel@churchonthestreetsf.org
churchonthestreetsf.org
AIA South Dakota is the professional non-profit membership association of architects, future architects, and partners in the building and design industries, and the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) AIA South Dakota advances the mission that design matters in every South Dakota community.
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