The first Thursday of May is considered the National Day of Prayer in the United States. I heard about many churches and congregation members who were willing to venture to a meeting place in their city to pray. What I did not hear was how these individuals engaged with the city. In fact, for many it was the first and last day to be present in the city until next year. Yet, doesn’t this seem like the perfect opportunity to go investigate the places and spaces of our city?
About a year ago I completed the final term of my sixth year as a board trustee for a large, citywide nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. In this role, I served as the chair for the External Relations Committee. As chair, one of my key initiatives for the board was to offer tours to our library branches in the various communities that we served. There are a total of 19 branch locations throughout the city, and we would visit three at a time.
However, I fully realized that if we truly were going to make a point to visit these library branch locations, this meant either adding or eliminating the libraries whose locations were in some of Pittsburgh’s most dangerous neighborhoods. I did not want any participant to feel uncomfortable or to be taking some sort of safety risk.
After all, let’s be real. Consider the makeup of a city. Unlike rural areas, a city is large, diverse, and can be complex and even a bit intimidating. While we had libraries in low-risk areas, some library branch locations were situated in areas that were rated an “F” grade by safety standards. This means these areas have high rates of violent crimes that included gun-related violence, robberies, and high incidents of property- and drug-related crime as compared to the city average.
But wait a minute. These are our libraries. These are our patrons. These are our neighborhoods. How could I even consider crossing any one of our libraries off the list? These areas are also largely under-resourced areas struggling to provide critical community access and initiatives. It was imperative for us to be present in these spaces.
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Dr. Gia R. Tatone is a ministry and leadership coach who helps Christian leaders and communities grow with clarity and purpose. Holding a PhD in organizational leadership from Regent University, she brings deep academic training and hands-on community development experience to her coaching work with Church Doctor Ministries. A university lecturer, published author, and proven community leader, Dr. Tatone equips leaders to make a lasting Kingdom impact.
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