Poor and Downtrodden? Not in My Back Yard
Many older churches in San Francisco are being forced to close because of the expense of retrofitting. Retrofitting is a good thing in most cases; no one wants the roof caving in unexpectedly.
However, it's taken an ugly twist in San Francisco. Golden Gate Lutheran in the Inner Mission section of San Francisco is an older church with a shrinking membership of around 40. In spite of this, they are home to many 12 Step Meetings, they have a soup kitchen, at one time or another have provided shelter for the homeless and share their space with three other congregations, one gay.
The Mission when I lived in the city was home to low and moderate income folk. Rents were reasonable, the climate is sunny, and it has some beautiful old Victorians. One of the most famous shots of San Francisco is the row of Victorians marching up the Dolores Street hill right about where this church is located.
The Mission has been discovered and the NIMBY's have taken over. The rents have forced many of the lower to middle class (including me) out of the city I have always loved. Homeless on their doorstep? Hungry people lurking? All those 12 Step programs? Horrors. Live and let live? Not in my back yard. The church had operated quietly for many years and was trying desparately to raise the funds for the retrofitting before the deadline when the NIMBY's blew the whistle. Not about the poor - that at least would have been open and honest. About the retrofitting of course. The wheels are grinding and the church which has quietly done so much good for so many years will probably close.
I can understand the importance of safety but these people wouldn't have cared if the church had fallen in. It would reduce the surplus population. They care about their "image" and resale profits and if it hadn't been the retrofitting, they would have found something else and then something else until the church was gone and the poorest among us with it.
The link is to the San Francisco Chronicle (Real Estate section surprisingly). My pastor talked about it this morning and I found the story.
Ann
However, it's taken an ugly twist in San Francisco. Golden Gate Lutheran in the Inner Mission section of San Francisco is an older church with a shrinking membership of around 40. In spite of this, they are home to many 12 Step Meetings, they have a soup kitchen, at one time or another have provided shelter for the homeless and share their space with three other congregations, one gay.
The Mission when I lived in the city was home to low and moderate income folk. Rents were reasonable, the climate is sunny, and it has some beautiful old Victorians. One of the most famous shots of San Francisco is the row of Victorians marching up the Dolores Street hill right about where this church is located.
The Mission has been discovered and the NIMBY's have taken over. The rents have forced many of the lower to middle class (including me) out of the city I have always loved. Homeless on their doorstep? Hungry people lurking? All those 12 Step programs? Horrors. Live and let live? Not in my back yard. The church had operated quietly for many years and was trying desparately to raise the funds for the retrofitting before the deadline when the NIMBY's blew the whistle. Not about the poor - that at least would have been open and honest. About the retrofitting of course. The wheels are grinding and the church which has quietly done so much good for so many years will probably close.
I can understand the importance of safety but these people wouldn't have cared if the church had fallen in. It would reduce the surplus population. They care about their "image" and resale profits and if it hadn't been the retrofitting, they would have found something else and then something else until the church was gone and the poorest among us with it.
The link is to the San Francisco Chronicle (Real Estate section surprisingly). My pastor talked about it this morning and I found the story.
Ann
posted by Granny @ 2/19/2006 03:36:00 PM
1 Comments:
At Monday, February 20, 2006 5:00:00 PM ,
Unknown said...
A similar thing happened in a smal town near Houston several years ago. A group of concerned people wanting to help the downtrodden set up a shelter in a large older house. Residents who took refuge there were assisted in jobs or job training, rehabilitation, and integration into society as useful citizens. They were doing good work and were largely successful in their efforts. The neighbors and community became alarmed at the "type pf people" in their midst and began a series of charges of code violations, etc. As each charge was met with repairs and upgrades, the NIMBYs would come up with another and another until there was no more money in their coffers and they had to close their doors. The community celebrated their victory at getting rid of the "unwholesome element" in their midst. My personal opinion of just who the unwholesome element was differed from theirs.
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