Evening star., 1952-03-30
The Week in Religion
By Religious News Service

Widespread population shifts
caused by ever-increasing con-
struction Of large-scale housing
projects have created a problem Of
mounting Importance to churches
In metropolitan areas.
In New York City alone, as. of
last November. q total Of Isl pub
lie and private projects housing
193,500 families. or an estimated
653.217 individuals. were occupied,
under construction or definitely
scheduled.
Every one Of these projects has
had, or will have. q profound effort
upon the churches in the neigh
borhood in which 1t is located.
For, although the churches them
selves usually are left standing,
the homes of members are razed
and the majority of their con-
gregations who live in the COM
munity are swept away.
Meanwhile. the families who
come the new project and replace
them are not only strangers to-
the neighborhood but almost In
variably are of q completely diff
ferent ethnic, social and spiritual
background.
The resultant necessity of re-
building congregations has pre-
Sented metropolitan churches in
these situations with q problem
wholly new to American religious
life.
Research Program Launched.
To meet this and other chal-
lenges to urban churches, the New
York City Mission Society non-
denominationaD has instituted a
research and planning organiza-
ton called The Pathfindfng Serv-
ice for the Churches.
A recently-published report by
this agency stresses the need for
church planning on an interde-
nominational basis to meet the
situation.
Especially important is prepar-
alton for the newcomers, since
thousands of people, needing inn
mediately a full-scale ministry.
move into the projects within a
period of a few weeks or months.
Churches do not have the time
to develop and finance a program
as they do in more slowly devel-
0ping areas.
An outstanding example Of
church action to meet the advent
of a new housing project is the
program sponsored by Dewitt
Memorial Church in New York,s
lower East Side tenement area.
The church. built II years ago. is
on the edge of the 16-building
Lillian N1ald Houses project.
opened two years ago. Within
another couple Of years, it viii
be hemmed in on three sides by
Baruch Houses, a 1,900-unit
Federal project. condemnation pro-
ceedings for which already have
begun.
When the latter project is COM
pleted, virtually the entire tene-
ment area which once constitutee
the church's constituency will have
replaced by large-scale housing.
Block Captain System.
A "block captain technique for
rebuilding the congregation was
developed by DeWitt's pastor. the
Rev. Donald j. Walton. Under
the plan, a member Of the con-
gregation living in each OF the
buildings in the 16-square blocks
covered by the Lillian Wald Houses
was designated the church's repre-
sentative in that building.
The block captains job is to
call on each family in the build
ing, acquaint it with the church's
work and services and extend ap
invitation to join the congregation.
In Washington and Los Angeles
the major problam up to the
present has been more one OF pro-
viding completely new churches
for large housing developments,
principally of single-family homes
or apartments, on previously un-
developed areas. Chicago, on the
other hand, already has begun to
encounter problem similar toI
that of New York churchse. This
trend also is likely to be felt soon
In such metropolitan areas as the
lake cities. Bottom. Philadelphia
and Los Angeles.
A special aspect Of the problem