“Spring Cleaning” with Micah 6

“… to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

            When you think of spring cleaning, what comes to mind first? With me, it’s indoor projects like washing the windows and having the carpets cleaned. Al thinks about projects outdoors… weeding, pruning, spraying, cleaning out old debris and making room for new plants.

Recently a work day was organized to do some “spring cleaning” in an underprivileged neighborhood of Pontiac, Michigan. Al and I decided to join in, along with Steve and Robin Read from our small backyard church group. Our own projects could wait—at least for one Saturday—while we participated in the community outreach with people from several organizations as well as members of our church.

The work day was organized and hosted by the Micah 6 community, whose mission is to make a difference in Pontiac’s most needy areas by living in the neighborhood, offering free produce from their large community garden, providing tutoring and summer programs for the children, Bible studies, church services on Sundays and just being good neighbors.

Micah 6 hopes to involve their neighbors in the gardening and other activities, thus establishing a sense of pride and ownership in the community. It was gratifying to see that some of them came to participate in the cleanup day, working side by side with the other volunteers.

Coleman Yoakum, the executive director and person who spearheaded the formation of the Micah 6 community in Pontiac about nine years ago, met with the large group who had assembled at a park on that Saturday morning to assign work projects around the neighborhood. The four of us along with several other folks were given the assignment to remove trash from a former parking lot.

We worked all morning on the unsightly lot, filling up the huge dumpster provided by the city to the brim, then depositing many trash bags beside it. I couldn’t help but think about the people whose houses backed up to that lot. Many of them had neat yards and obviously took pride in keeping things clean. How did they feel, looking out their back windows every day, watching truckloads of junk being dumped there? It must have been depressing.

As the trash was cleared away, small treasures began to emerge… clumps of fragrant mint growing up through the cracked asphalt, ground cover plants already sending up blue blossoms, tulips and lilies that had migrated from neighbor’s yards… I could almost hear them breathing a sigh of relief, free from the layers of trash that had covered them. By the time we were finished, the empty lot looked much better.

Afterwards, Louis, one of the team leaders who is also finishing up his grad work in urban sociology, offered to take us on a tour of the Micah 6 compound—an abandoned school with an impressive community garden situated on the playground and two houses, one occupied by the men on the team and the other, by the women.

The stately brick school building is destined to become a community center, helping to revitalize the area after years of struggling economically. As we walked through a long corridor and stood inside the large gym, I could imagine the excited chatter of the children who once attended school there.

 It is going to take a massive effort to renovate and restore the school, beginning with the cost of developing the blue prints. Eventually theater, classes in the arts, sports programs, a weekly farmer’s market and health related services will be offered to people in the area.

Micah 6 derives its name from the book of Micah in the Old Testament.  In chapter 6 verse 8, the Lord requires that we humans seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with Him. As we seek to live according to His will, He creates remarkable changes in our lives and in the lives of those around us—bringing beauty from ashes, changing mourning into joy and evoking praise where there was once despair.

The folks from Micah 6 in Pontiac are living proof of this! May we also experience God’s amazing transformation as we surrender our lives to Him.

*Isaiah 61:3 NIV

 

For more information on Micah 6, check out their website: https://www.micah6community.com/