Roosevelt Park Rising: A Memoir
Reggie Smith, an African American from the West Side of Chicago, came to Grand Rapids, Mich., in the early 1990s to become the pastor of Roosevelt Park Christian Reformed Church, a congregation with a rich, generations-long Dutch-American heritage on the southwest side of town.
We learn about this experience from his fascinating new book, Roosevelt Park Rising.
When Smith arrived in West Michigan, the book recalls, there were some who looked askance as they first set eyes on him. He was a young man with a baseball cap on his head, a hiphop-like cadence in his voice, and a deft, if somewhat tentative, urban manner about his walk.
But naysayers soon turned into supporters when it became clear that Smith was more than adept at taking the helm of a church that had set down roots in the community way back in the latter part of the 19th century. It also was a church that had spun off other churches and, by the time Smith arrived, had become a sort of amalgamation of itself, with Grandville Avenue CRC (the original congregation) joining with Bethel CRC, a daughter church that, because of declining membership, had returned to join forces with the church from whom it had begun.
So it was a rather complex situation that Smith encountered when he came to West Michigan. But he was up to the task. Even as a portion of Roosevelt Park members began moving out to join and worship with outlying suburban CRC congregations, following a trend seen across the denomination, Roosevelt Park stood strong under Smith’s guidance.
And what was it specifically about this pastor that helped to solidify the base and keep Roosevelt Park moving forward? It was simply that Smith learned as he went – although that wasn’t easy.
Smith was a young man who had once dreamed of becoming a lawyer but had then switched to train as a minister, and, as the new pastor at Roosevelt Park, he showed church members that he cared about them. Raising a family of his own in a home only blocks from Roosevelt Park, he spent long hours visiting people wherever they happened to be – in the lobby after church, in a grocery store parking lot, on a park bench, in a neighbor’s home, in an alley, or in a school yard. He listened to the concerns of people, both young and old. He baptized dozens of babies, married young couples by the score, and buried long-time churchgoers.
He also attracted attention and kept people coming back by preaching the gospel, which not only gave members comfort but also encouraged them to get involved in the changing neighborhood that surrounded the church. He preached and lived out a message that emphasized being social with just about everyone he encountered.
Smith's memoir also recounts his years in which he learned the ropes, smoothed tensions among people, forged friendships, and soothed the troubled waters in a part of Grand Rapids that was quickly moving from being primarily Dutch to Latino.
It is obvious from his finely crafted new book that his early years were full of challenges. But those times were as nothing compared to what began to take place when the Roosevelt Park area transformed into a community filling up with families from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and beyond.
As groups from various Latin American countries began to call this part of Grand Rapids their home, a host of issues arose. And these were not necessarily matters tied directly to the life of a church. Reggie Smith, ordained to preach and teach and lead a congregation, began to see that the gospel he carried must also be the Word that he shared beyond the walls and traditions of worship held on Sundays.
Knocks came to Reggie Smith’s door from people who needed more than a place to attend church. They needed help finding a secure home in which to live, a job to help pay their bills, and a local school in which their children could learn.
With these things in mind, Smith began circulating the community to learn of the local people’s many needs and to start finding ways to meet them.
In the process of his work in community engagement, the pastor found himself deep in the mix of building a neighborhood association along with goodwill. After all, the Jesus whom he sermonized about on Sundays was also the Son of God, who spoke about a kingdom coming to bear on the everyday dimensions of life. From finding food for the hungry to calling forth children to be by his side, Christ made sure that people knew his message was meant for everyone, not only in the synagogue but everywhere else as well.
As one decade followed another, Smith found himself at city hall advocating along with many others for proper zoning to ensure safe housing for families moving into the community, as well as seeking to help establish best practices for people in the business world so that they could accomplish what they set out to do.
In his book, we read about how he joined with others to address and quell gang violence, how he and others played a role in shutting down a local bar that was a source of trouble, and even times when the pastor had to dodge a bullet or two.
Linking church and community wasn’t always easy. Smith found himself at times satisfying one segment of life in his parish while another cried out for attention. Throughout, says Smith, he did the best job he could – and yet wasn’t always successful. But from the start, his faith shaped him, and he never tired of sharing it with the people he served.
Smith’s book invites the reader to focus on a community rising, and it is inspiring to see how that took place. Obstacles and hardships came up and got in the way. Then, over time, even as the community itself rose and found itself renewed, the church began to struggle. People continued to move on, seeking worship experiences in churches beyond the city limits.
At Roosevelt Park, the leaders responded in creative ways in hopes of stemming the outward tide. They held bilingual worship services, offered a hiphop service, and tried other ways to keep attendance up on Sundays.
But eventually the church had to close. So we also read about hard decisions that had to be made, hearts that were broken, and significant efforts that continued to go into trying to keep the doors open.
Once the church closed, however, Smith remained committed to serving on the neighborhood association and doing his best to help handle difficulties that people in the community faced as they tried to keep their homes and businesses intact and healthy and, as much as they were able, to keep their eyes, hearts, and minds fixed on a decent multicultural future.
Meanwhile, Smith took on a role for the CRC denomination to promote diversity. In this role, he has been able to use much of what he learned while walking the streets and preaching the gospel in the Roosevelt Park community. These days, the community he serves is much larger and more diverse – and yet also at times divided.
No doubt, Reggie Smith will continue to help accomplish for the CRC at large many good things that will take root and bear fruit as the years unfold. And in the meantime we have the story of Roosevelt Park Rising to show how the work of a caring, compassionate pastor, along with the efforts of a gospel-based community, working in their wider community, can build a story of diversity that leads to growth and good results that can point people to the glory and hope of the kingdom of God.
