For Evangelization in the City
Let us pray that in large cities often marked by anonymity and loneliness we find new ways to proclaim the Gospel, discovering creative paths to build community.
How might evangelization take shape in cities across the United States today? Answering this question seems to me a tall order, especially because cities can feel so large and impersonal, full of social ills, and lonesome. But, thankfully, God is good and came up with a beautiful answer: Homeboy Industries.
Homeboy was founded in East Los Angeles during the 1990’s by Fr.Greg Boyle, SJ, and has grown to be the world’s largest gang rehabilitation and reentry program for formerly incarcerated individuals. Their services cover a wider range than probably thought possible, from having a paid 18-month program to help ease the “Homies” (as they like to be called) back into daily life after experiencing incarceration or homelessness, to running a cherished cafe staffed entirely by Homies in the program, to providing free resources such as personal employment services, therapy, tattoo removal, and so much more. I was fortunate enough to find myself in their legal department after college because I had decided to participate in a year of service through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
In my view, Homeboy evangelizes through serving others and by being a conduit through which the people can experience God’s radical kinship, openness, and love. During my time there, everyone was welcome. It didn’t matter whether the Homie or Homegirl had just come in off the streets of LA not knowing a thing about the organization, or whether they had tried Homeboy five times before and failed. Its “success” comes not from analyzing each Homie as a problem to be solved or a person to be evangelized, but by seeing each human heart designed for and in need of love. With its doors open, Homeboy need only let God’s love and mercy do the heavy lifting.
By Donovan Walsh
Donovan attended Marquette University for his undergraduate studies, where he majored in Peace Studies and Theology and interned with the PWPN. Immediately following graduation, Donovan participated in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year, working in the Homeboy Industries legal department. He is currently attending law school at the University of Minnesota.