Inter-Faith of Ambler Hotline

To some, Dr. Martin Luther King's message is so potent that it compels them to serve others - even on their day off. "We've tried to have service projects on Martin Luther King Day instead of just having off from work and school," said the Rev. David Canan, rector of Ambler's Trinity Episcopal Church. "Dr. King stood for equality, and this is one of the ways we close the gap between the haves and have-nots."
The Wissahickon Faith Community Association will sponsor a service day Jan. 16 at Ambler's Hope Gardens transitional housing facility at 31 S. Spring Garden S. Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to assist in painting, cleaning and organizing projects. Paint will be provided, but workers can bring brushes, rollers, ladders and work gloves. Organizers request that volunteers register in advance by visiting www.trinityambler.com or calling 215-646-0416.
Above all else, King's message advocated equality, and the WFCA attempts to do the same.

"Dr. King was very ecumenical and this is every ecumenical," said Canan. "It's not just the Christian churches, but Beth Or and other Jewish congregations. We would be excited if we could get 25 people. But we'll have work for everybody."

Lois Bowman, director of programs at Inter-faith Housing Alliance, the organization that runs Hope Gardens, said the day of service is a fitting tribute to a man who gave his life to the fight for civil rights. "That's what the WFCA does. Nobody's excluded. We bring together our ideas and we kind of bear each other's burdens. We're all trying to basically do the same thing," Bowman said. Apart from the camaraderie that volunteers can share, Bowman noted that the residents could benefit from the example set by those who choose to help. "What it does is that it shows you can do things just for the intrinsic value - the reward you get from inside yourself and not anything external," she said. "That's an important lesson for the families."

Canan described the satisfaction he feels from participating in such projects. "I think these activities are fun. You get to work side by side with other folks you might have not known before. I always have a great time," Canan said. "And you feel great when you're done."

WFCA President Brian Flory said that much like how King worked to uncover the racism buried within our society, volunteering with Hope Gardens could help to raise awareness for homelessness, which many people fail to recognize as a problem in the area.

Bowman summarized the motivation for honoring King with a day of community service. "If we were all willing to give ourselves to a cause like that, the world would be a better place."

According to Lei Barry, president emeritus of Inter-Faith Housing Alliance, assisting the homeless is about paving the way for self-sufficiency with the help of a group of dedicated supporters. Wissahickon High School senior Ben Masanga knows the same must be demonstrated to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, so, for his final Scout project, Masanga chose to create art that would intimate a better life for the residents of I-FHA's Hope Gardens .

"When you think of Boy Scouts and their Eagle projects, they usually make bridges or some kind of hard labor stuff, and I just thought, 'I have skills in art, and I'd like to ... make something look better,'" Masanga said.

Needing to complete the Eagle Scout process before he turns 18 on Dec. 9, Masanga approached Barry, a friend of his mother and fellow congregation member at New Life Presbyterian Church, several months ago about the beautification project for the facility she founded.

Hope Gardens provides transitional housing for a maximum of two years for candidates who qualify after rotating through one-month stays at three of the 24 local churches and synagogues in the program.

"It's not just a bed," Barry said. "It's a whole program to try to help them move their lives forward to self-sufficiency."

Like the Boy Scouts, the program is goal-oriented, with steps leading to higher tiers of autonomy.

"They just kind of need a hand up. It's not really a hand-out. You don't just come in and rest," Barry said. "It's a tough program actually. So, for families who really want to succeed, it's a great program."

Along with the outside painting and mulching tasks he performed, Masanga explained that Eagle Scout requirements call for the candidate to exhibit leadership during the process, so he had to organize a team of 20 or so people, composed of family, friends, and fellow Scouts, to help him work on the mural.

Masanga raised $250 for materials from donations from his church congregation, and Barry contributed the balance of the budget for the project she sees as the gift that she has wanted to furnish the facility with since its opening 10 years ago.

"I thought it was a great idea, particularly because ... when the project was first completed, I had planned on buying some kind of artwork and donating it to Inter-Faith to sort of commemorate the place, as the founder," Barry said. "And I had never gotten around to it in the 10 years, so when Ben approached me, I thought, 'What a perfect gift.'"

Barry said the mural is "something that would stay as a long-term legacy" for a program that aims to publicize the problem of homelessness to a county that doesn't always recognize it.

"They don't realize it because we're dealing with what's called the hidden homeless. A mom and kids are not going to be as visible as say, a single guy laying on the heat grates, which is a totally different kind of homelessness," Barry said. While visibility is a problem that inhibits the effort to help the homeless, the visibility of the mural is unmistakable, as it is positioned in a place of prominence near the entrance of Hope Gardens .

"I love it. I just has a lot of meaning to it. The next day I had to stop and look at it for 15 minutes. When I was going out the first time I was like, 'Wow, where did that come from?'" said resident Cindy Zachery. "It's in a great spot because when you walk out, that's what you see."

"The main reason for it was to make the place look a little brighter," he said. "To see them enjoying it makes me feel like I did a good job and it was a worthy project."

Jay Ebner, who has been Masanga's Scoutmaster for six years, said he fully expects Masanga to achieve Eagle Scout status after seeing his plan come to fruition. "Well, it was unique. We'd never had one quite like that," he said. Ebner said he approved the project because it satisfied the official guidelines, which state that the Scout must "demonstrate leadership and organizational skills in a project that benefits the community."

The mural's central subject of hands mending a broken heart is surrounded with whimsical imagery that symbolizes a diverse group of individuals coming together to make the world a better place. On what was a white wall, the painting offers a burst of color that represents a refreshing respite for the often dreary struggle with homelessness.

"Everybody loves it that has seen it," Barry said. "They're just so excited about it."




	Photo by Bob Raines - Lei Barry looks on as Eagle Scout candidate Ben Masanga works on a mural in the lobby of Hope Gardens in Ambler.