North vs. South and the 2014 Election: Precinct Disparity, Turnout Disparity, Social Determinants of Civic Engagement Disparity

Civic Engagement Group

North Tulsa Development Council Leadership Class Project

Ron Robinson Initial Report on 2014 November General Election Voting in North Tulsa compared with some other areas of Tulsa.

Here I I have finished the Voting Data analysis, at least from current data, from the recent election for our own A Third Place Foundation renewal work on the north side and as input for my Leadership Tulsa project on Civic Engagement and North Tulsa, adding in the registration figures and the percentage turnout disparities between North Tulsa and South Tulsa. This is an update to a facebook post I made back in November with preliminary data.

This also looks at the way the concentration of the number of precincts in a given zipcode on the southside might also affect the ease of voting compared to zipcodes on the northside with fewer precincts located in them; the 74126 for example has five precincts serving all or part of it, compared to 15 precincts serving the 74133 on the south side of Tulsa. Turnout disparities range from my own precinct on the northside (Lighthouse School) that had a 20 percent turnout compared with 50 percent turnout for the precinct in Brookside that votes at All Souls Church. It will also look at the apparent affect of lack of social determinants and how that might affect civic engagement the same way it affects health outcomes for individuals and neighborhoods.

Intro: Simply looking at the numbers of votes cast, the turnout percentages by precinct, and looking at the dispersement of the precincts themselves begins to reveal disparities of voice, votes, and difficulty in getting to the precinct polling places….Also, I am using the lens of the vote for Governor, which was the election on the ballot with the greatest number of votes cast….And I haven't looked through the lens of east or west Tulsa yet here either in comparison with South Tulsa; hope others who live there can do so. One of my models was a voter turnout analysis that was done by  I believe professor Gary Allison at the University of Tulsa Law School after, I believe, the 2008 election. I am not sure I have that report easy to find again, but I might contact him for a copy or see if someone on facebook has it still. Finally, I initially prepared the report as an analysis for community needs in the far north area served by the Foundation I serve as Executive Director, so it still contains that focus though I have broadened it out here to cover all of North Tulsa.)

Quick Headline from near the end of this preliminary analysis: Even before looking at numbers of registered and actual voters, we can highlight that we have seven precincts serving all or parts of four zip codes in our far north area with lowest life expectancy and lowest income, and one of the highest percentage of African Americans in Tulsa; contrast that with one zip code in midtown south Tulsa  74114, with the highest life expectancy and highest income, which has the lowest percentage of blacks and Hispanics, which has itself 8 precincts, and compare that with another zipcode in south Tulsa, the most populous, the 74133, which has 15 precincts within its boundaries, more than double the number in all of the far north area. 

Why is this significant? Especially with poorly funded public transportation, with work hours on election days and difficulty getting time off to vote, and with the difficulty and cost to arrange to go to early voting days and to go to the trouble to do absentee ballots (fewer post offices, for example), all of this makes it much easier for people to get to polling places when there are more of them grouped much closer to the people geographically, when you don’t have to travel as far to get to a polling place. (One of our precincts again has no polling place in its precinct, but residents must go to another precinct next to it to vote; its percentage of turnout remains on par with others on the northside, but that still means it might have had higher turnout with a polling place within its own boundaries).

As the northside zipcodes are also the ones with the highest percentages of people with illnesses, with food insecurities and hunger, and this adds to the necessity to make it as equitable as possible to have access to voting. In other words there is a privileging in some zipcodes which makes it easier to have a higher turnout, which gains them more power.  In addition, just as the major factors in a person’s health and life expectancy come from social determinants of health and not from actual physician clinic time factors, so the social capital of a zipcode will affect its voter registration and turnout; how many civic groups, school parent groups, active neighborhood groups, the strength of faith communities, parks and community centers, businesses where people can meet, etc all lend resources and connections and support to voting as they do to other forms of civic engagement. We will also look below at the role of the felony convictions and percentages of people with those and where they might be concentrated and how that can affect voting, as well, in certain areas (see the studies and recent books on the rising mass incarceration among minority populations in particular, and among the poor in general).

Also why geography alone counts: Where someone lives matters; which neighborhoods have a voice matters; there are issues and needs in some neighborhoods that are not present in all, or other neighborhoods. So, sheer numbers translate into votes on citywide priorities; when there is the kind of turnout gap between north and south Tulsa, as well, it will likely affect the time politicians spend in the areas campaigning, and where they focus their resources afterwards.  

Here we go: Far North Focus

This first section is for my Foundation in particular and Far North Tulsa. If you want you can jump down to the overall North Tulsa statistics.

Let’s start with our four Turley area community and area residential area precincts: We start with simple voter turnout; below we will contrast it with percentages of registered voters.

In those four precincts there were 664 total votes cast in the November, 2014 election. Of these four precincts, two are completely in the unincorporated area and two overlap between city and county sides. My interests lay mainly in the total number of votes cast, rather than who they were cast for, but for information sake as political parties play an important role in voter information and turnout and precincts, I will include the election results for this area.

In the two precincts wholly in the unincorporated area the total vote was 333; in those two precincts Dorman, the Democrat, won one precinct 97-73 in voting at Turley Assembly of God; the other Fallin, the Republican, won 75-68 in voting at O’Brien Park; this precinct (551, voting at O’Brien Park) by the way has to vote outside its own precinct boundaries; there is no polling place anymore located in its boundaries; its residents must go within another precinct boundary to vote, a geographic hardship if you are poor; also there was no early voting or no absentee ballots from this precinct (might look at differences in poverty levels relative to areas with high to low early voting and use of absentee ballots). Of those two unincorporated area precincts then Dorman received 165 and Fallin received 148.

Next, Adding in the the two precincts serving both the unincorporated Turley residential areas as well as the city residential areas: there were 331 total votes. In those Dorman won both; at one, voting at The Lighthouse Charter School, Dorman won 81 to Fallin 12; in the other, Gethsamane Baptist, Dorman won 212 to Fallin 18; adding up the total votes in these two precincts that overlap Turley community and city of Tulsa area, Dorman won receiving 293 to Fallin’s 30 (two other candidates receiving the few other votes). For example, my own precinct is the one that votes at The Lighthouse; I live a few blocks outside of the city of Tulsa limits but my precinct covers this area on the county side and the subdivisons like Northgate in the city of Tulsa.

Now we look at the Other precincts in our two mile service area, but which also include areas of population beyond our service boundaries:
At Suburban Acres Library, 440 total votes with Dorman receiving 411, Fallin 23, 5 and 1 for others.
At Traice Academy, the old Lindsey School in Lakeview addition but extending west into our area, 423 Total votes; Dorman with 375 and Fallin with 37 and 8 and 3.
At Tulsa Tech at 38th and N. Peoria, but extending north into our service area north of 46th: 509 total votes, with Dorman 479 with Fallin 25 and 4 and 1 to others.
Adding these three other precincts serving areas within our service area: 1,372 total votes. Dorman received 1265 to Fallin 85. 

So, adding all of the 7 precincts that cover residences within our two mile service area: total votes of 2,036. Of this amount, Dorman received 1,723 to Fallin’s 263. Or, Dorman won with 84.6 percent of the vote with Fallin receiving 12.9 percent of the vote. This compares to Tulsa County Total: 131,649 total votes of which Dorman received 40.3 percent losing to Fallin’s 56.9 percent. And compared to Oklahoma total: 824,831 total votes; Dorman received 41 percent losing to Fallin’s 55.8 percent. (One might factor in, however, being on the losing end of elections and being “outsiders” in the political power structure on the county and state level, then, as one of the mitigating factors to “being heard”.)

Our 7 precinct turnout (in sheer numbers, not with registered voters factored in, and not with percentage of population or elgible to register voters factored in) then was 0.015 percent of the total Tulsa County vote or one and a half percent; and 0.002 percent or two-tenths of one percent of the total vote in Oklahoma. But Let’s look at geographic conditions. These seven precincts serving our area cover basically a four mile stretch from 36th to 76th St. We will see that among many factors, geography plays a part in voter turnout; the higher voter turnout precincts are in precincts with smaller geographic areas making it easier and less expensive to get to the polls. 

More Broadly North Tulsa Statistics:

Next, beyond these seven precincts serving far north city of Tulsa, there are another 21 precincts in all of North Tulsa for a total of 28 precincts for North Tulsa compared to 177 for Tulsa (not counting the ones covering other cities and areas in Tulsa County as a whole, but just concentrated in the city limits basically). That gives North Tulsa some 16 percent of the total number of precincts for the approximate whole city area; or the other three geographic sides of the city have 84 percent of the voting precincts. 

Our 7 precincts cover the geographic area of all or some of four zip codes, and these zip codes have some of the lowest life expectancy and lowest income in the area; contrast that with one zip code in midtown south Tulsa, with the highest life expectancy and income, 74114, which has eight precinct locations alone, and anogther zipcode in south Tulsa with 15 precincts alone.

The turnout in our total 7 precincts in our service boundaries, amounting to 2036, compares to the eight precincts in the one zip code, 74114, which had a turnout of 5,379 votes cast.

So, the one zip code south had more than a two to one voting advantage over the all or part of four zip codes north. One precinct total in the 74114 was itself almost 63 percent of what the total number of votes cast totalled in all of the 7 precincts in our area. 

Overall North Tulsa area, mostly incorporated city of Tulsa but includes some unincorporated adjacent to Tulsa City: A Total of 30,197 registered voters.

Of that amount, In our immediate four precinct area: 586 registered (186 voted) at Assembly of God Turley 31.7 percent; 931 (236 voted) at Gethsamane Baptist 25.3 percent; 457 (95 voted) at Lighthouse 20.7 percent (my precinct had the lowest turnout percentage); 535 (147 voted) at Obrien Park 27.4 percent (even though they have to leave their precinct boundary to vote, the turnout for this precinct is roughly on par with the other neighboring precincts, but location could still be a factor in how many might have voted.).

Total of 2509 registered in all four precincts. In November 636 voted in these four precincts: roughly 25 percent.

Include the other three North Tulsa precincts serving residential areas in our service area:

Suburban Acres Library 1830 (440 voted) 24 percent; Traice Academy 1606 (423) 26.3 percent; Tulsa Tech 2141 (509) 23.7 percent for Total 5577 registered (1372} 24.6 percent

Total for all 7 precincts in which some or all residents live whom we serve in far north Tulsa: 8086 registered (2,036 voted) for 25.1 percent (roughly one in four persons who were eligible to vote did so)

Remainder of North Tulsa: 22,111 registered voters in remaining precincts and of those 6,163 voted, or 27.8 percent.

Total for North Tulsa precincts: 30197 total registered and 8199 voted, or 27.1 percent.

Comparing with some Southside Precincts:

Next, we do a comparison to southside precincts. For now let’s do a comparison with our one highlighted southside precincts in the selected 74114 zipcode, zip with the highest life expectancy in the metro area; remember it has more precincts just within its one zipcode (8) than all of the precincts in our service area (7) which covers all or part of four zipcode areas). Geographical density adds to ease of voter access and to voter turnout; it is only one of the factors of course, but is important. Actually another southside zipcode, the most populous, the 74133 zip in south Tulsa, has 15 precincts. The 74114 zipcode is also the least black and least Hispanic zipcode in the city of Tulsa area, on par with zipcodes in the suburban areas of Tulsa County. The 74133 is only slightly more black and Hispanic.

In the 74114:  Precinct 720062,  2151 registered 1057 voted 49.1 percent turnout; 0065  with 1429 registered 719 voted 50.3 percent, one in two potential voters turned out; 0071  had 2674 registered 1281 voted 47.9 percent; 0075:  895 registered 362 voted 40.4 percent; 0076, 1237 registered 526 voted 42.5; 77, 1336 registered 621 voted 46.4; 0079, 1568 registered 615 voted 39.2; 0085, 525 registered 198 voted 37.7 percent.

Total for the 74114 zipcode 11,815 registered 5379 voted, or 45.5 percent (20 percent higher turnout than from our far north precinct turnout, and 18.4 percent more than the total North Tulsa).

It may be useful to look at some comparisons based on possible ethnicity data, even within the general geographic areas of Tulsa. For example, within North Tulsa, the highest concentrations of black population is in the 74126 and 74106 zip codes. We have the data for the 74126 outlined above:

it covers the precincts at Turley Assembly of God, Gethsamane Baptist, Suburban Acres Library, The Lighthouse School, and at O’Brien Park (where residents of the 74126 go to vote in a neighboring zipcode location). 4,339 registered voters in 74126 and 1,076 voted, for 24.7 percent

which is a few percentage points lower than the total North Tulsa voting percentage, but in the 74106, there are 9,299 registered voters and 2,544 of them voted, or 27.3 percent, which is just slightly higher than the total North Tulsa voting percentage; putting the two zipcodes together results in a 26.5 percent voter turnout. Also to note is that the 74106 has six precincts within it, two less than the 74114 but one more than the 74126.

By the way, That most populous zipcode, the 74133 in south Tulsa, with 15 precincts alone, accounts for 20,505 registered voters; in the latest election, 7,760 voted, for 37.8 percent.

More Data Needed For Further Analysis on Why there is the Voting Turnout Disparity:

Next needed data would compare the total number of registered voters in North Tulsa precincts with the number of adults 18 years and older, i.e. potential registrants, to get a percentage comparison between zipcodes in Tulsa. And then we need to factor in percent of persons with felonies living in the precincts/zipcodes who are not eligible to vote (bearing in mind that felony convictions alone do not prevent voting in Oklahoma; only if the time of the original sentence has not lapsed.)  And again it would be good for a followup looking at eastside and westside precincts.

Take A Virtual Tour Guide To Turley/McLain Area History, Current Issues, Seeding Future Renewal

Turley and McLain Area Far North Tulsa Tour GuideBook 2014

Sponsored by A Third Place Community Foundation

This tour covers much of our two mile service area and is part of old Turley area, now both city of Tulsa and unincorporated areas. We call it McLain/Turley area or as the planners do, Far North.

1.   Turley/Cherokee School Begin Tour

Note: Some of the oldest places connected to Turley won’t be on this tour due to their relative remoteness: some of the early business and residences by Bird Creek and Bird Creek Falls, which was a kind of park and resort and camping area, on 86^th St. west before you come to Highway 75. Tornadoes on that road also known as Cyclone Road shifted the focus of the town to the new area near the train tracks. On 76^th St. west of Peoria in areas of trees now at the flat land at bottom of Turley Hill was an early trading post site after the Cherokee Removal in the 1830s. Also along Delaware Creek east of Victor Ave. in late 1800s was another trading post. And on the south side of Turley Hill is the Turley Runestone markings.

Much has been left out we know; we trust that the “Turley elders” will fill in gaps, bring their own stories of what used to be where.

Turley School district from around the time of statehood; boundaries went south up to Apache toward downtown; Turley Schools closed and the area merged with Tulsa Schools in mid-1930s; at that time the high school closed and students went to Central; junior high and below stayed at Cherokee which was the name picked by students in a vote between Cherokee and Wiley Post (Post later became the name of the nearest other elementary school, on 54^th St. west of Peoria). The junior high remained until 1966 and it closed and students went to Monroe or Gilcrease Junior Highs. At that time Morse Elementary School in Turley north of Cherokee on Victor Ave. also was closed and students came to Cherokee. At some point after that the sixth grade was shifted to Gilcrease and Cherokee became PK-5 until it was closed in 2011.

Since it closed we have been working to attract other nonprofits to come in and help us provide a center for healthy living as the school system has indicated a willingness to sell it to us way below market value, but we have been unable to attract others. Right now The Lighthouse Academy, a Tulsa Public School charter school in the former Greeley Elementary School at 63^rd St. N. and MLK Jr. Blvd is considering expanding as it grows and might use Cherokee for its mid-high and high school grades and has begun talks with TPS on that. When we held community forums after the closing of Cherokee, residents said bringing in a charter school would be their top preference other than reopening Cherokee. We have talked with Lighthouse about re-installing the local historical display in the school building if they get to use it; this might also make it much easier to resume the Cherokee School Reunions.

In meantime, we still have some landscape beautifying the grounds, a remnant of our landscape project for Cherokee; we decorate the Memorial Arch and the Evergreen Tree by it for Christmas or Other Holiday Seasons.

2.    Old Downtown Area

Immediately adjacent on all sides of the School property were located a mixture of homes and businesses. Appliance and general stores, gas station and domino parlor, pharmacies, doctors offices, and the Grotto Movie Theater, and more. Along 60^th St. (old Commerical Street) from Peoria/Highway 11 to the Midland Valley train tracks (where depot was located) was the old downtown; stores, hotel, lumber yard, the post office, churches, grocery stores, and residences and more. The train was passenger then freight and then was changed to the current Osage Prairie Trail connecting downtown Tulsa north out to Avant. We are currently working with Tulsa cyclist organizations and area transportation planners to have a Trail Appreciation and Awareness Day to provide hospitality to those who use it and to raise up the issues of security and safety along it. We also hope to get a grant or county funds to allow us to create community kiosks at Trail intersections to provide “Where You Are” type information on the surrounding areas, sites, and businesses. The vacant land where the old downtown buildings were would make a good “pop-up” street event site to show potential investors. Beautification efforts along the Trail could be reinstituted by our “guerilla gardeners.”

3.   Drive North Peoria from Cherokee to the Daylight Donuts Store at 74^th by the north Welcome to Turley Sign then turn and drive south to 46^th St. to Generation of Destiny Parking Lot.

The Stretch between 46^th and 66^th St. along North Peoria (where the city bus service ends) has been envisioned by us as a Far North Main Street Project since it is almost entirely commercial and educational now. Imagine a Sign at Both Ends signaling Far North Main Street, with redbuds and planters and sidewalks and street lights providing beauty and safe transportation and incentives for private and public investment, and with it monies for current businesses to be a part of the beautification and promotion.  Notice the current lack of sidewalks in many places that especially in wet weather forces some people especially in motorized scooters into Peoria Ave. You just have to come back at night to see the effects of few street lights.

To the north from Cherokee: Highlights on the east side include the old Britton Feed Store and where Dutch’s Pawn Shop is now the former Turley Volunteer Fire Dept. building erected in 1949. The old Cullison’s grocery store now used for storage; the current Cullison’s Hardware Store, our oldest continually operating business, family owned independent hardware store where John Miller’s Truck Equipment used to be; the Assembly of God church site; a vacant building just north of it was the Wynn’s Grocery Store and was our first site for The Welcome Table church which began the A Third Place Community Foundation and projects; the 24 hour Maverick gas station which used to be Gibble Gas; the former Smokey’s Hondas buildings, current Shorty’s Restaurant; where the Freedom Bank (formerly the First National Bank of Turley) is located was the site of a sawmill and had been the flower sanctuary planted by local gardener Claud Cox. The intersection of 66^th and Peoria on the east where the meridians are used to have a large billboard advertising Coors Beer. On north on the east side were residences, and a few businesses such as where Butler’s BBQ is now located where the original Lions Club building was (lions still on the roof; and the flag pole is dedicated to Lions leader Ray Perkins who was a Turley business owner) and the Star Café where you can still see the Star sign saying Eat (we would love to get it and the old funeral home sign for a Turley Historical Section at our GardenPark and Orchard) and where the donut store is was also a bar, and then convenience store. Just off Peoria on 71^st is the First Baptist of Turley (formerly Golden Hills Baptist).

Going back south on Peoria on the west side: where the auto salvages now are located was the former Rainbow Skating Rink, and a large Tomato farm and residence. Nearer to 66^th St. is where the old drive in joint was located, Blackburn’s, Red’s, Sonic, Shorty’s, then King Taco Palace. On the northwest corner was the Smith’s Grocery Store and original bank site, then a bookbinder, and then the building burned and later was demolished. Going on south across from current bank area was a laundramat (an older one in a building now torn down), in the strip mall now abandoned was a western wear store, and video store, and then church, and after several years empty was the site of our first Third Place Community Center and OU Health Clinic; it was a funeral home and flower shop after us before they left; also it is where the Post Office was located before it was closed. Near it was a Chiropractic Center and Church. We are still interested in applying to bring in a Village Post Office, a partnership between a local business and organization and the USPS; drop boxes remain at the postal site but no services otherwise…The abandoned Turley Restaurant is site of long time restaurants and gathering place; there were mobile homes located behind it that had been abandoned but they have been removed…The current fire department building is next. We are working with the Fire Dept. to create a public Fire District Board to allow property taxes to fund the department instead of the unpredictability of membership dues, especially as the community becomes more mobile; the election for that would be the first official Turley only election of any kind since perhaps the election of the old school board. To the south of it is an old body shop that has deteriorated and until recently was open for several years with dangerous glass shards; it is one of the main sites we have been pushing to get cleaned up as part of the Health Dept. Environmental Quality division’s Turley Project on property nuisances….Warehouse Market and area was a pasture for many years; across the creek where the used appliance outside store is now used to be Sawyer’s Pharmacy; we have been pushing for its cleanup; when the appliances are removed each night and on Sunday the area in front is full of junk. To the south before you reach the Turley Water Dept. is the hair salon and also used by Nation of Islam study group on Sundays and some evenings. The Turley Water Dept. is one of our oldest organizations; a private nonprofit that buys water from City of Tulsa and administers the lines in this area; all sewer line service is with the City of Tulsa even in the county areas; other areas use septic systems.

South of the old downtown going up the hill on Peoria: Ruby D’s wonderful consignment shop, the turley tag agency, other shops, automotive repair places you will see dominating now all up and down Peoria along this two mile stretch (reflects poverty areas, and the effect of poor public transportation). Near the top of the hill on the west was the site of the old Ninde Funeral Home; the clock sign from it is still located next to old firework stands; we would love to get the sign for a Turley Historical Section at the park, along with the Eat Sign at the old Star Café. On the east side of the hill was Bussman’s Corner, and residences. It is where the renovation is going on for the Welcome To Turley Sign and our planting bed for it thanks to grant from Keep Oklahoma Beautiful.

Off of Peoria not on the tour: two blocks east on Quincy is the Turley Odd Fellows Lodge, our remaining civic lodge.

Crossing over  to city side of Peoria: on the east where old pawn shop was the site of an early department store, Suttle’s Variety. The Kingdom church building was originally Northside Christian (disciples of Christ). The Plaza Center is the former McLain Village Shopping Center that was full of many department stores and specialty shops; finally under new ownership after years of abandonment it is being fixed up and put into more use and has much potential; it is the site also of one of the weekly Mobile Grocery stops; Sweet Lisa’s has a carryout restaurant; it is the site of our only liquor store. To the north and west of it is the former Wiley Post School which was then the YWCA and Tulsa Health Dept. building and now is the site of a youth activities and educational outreach center EduRec sponsored by World Won Church on 36^th St. near N. Peoria….In the residential area to the east, on 53^rd St. before you get to Utica is the site of one of our partners, Sarah’s Residential Living Center, a small intimate group home for seniors; they are hoping to repurpose some of the many abandoned houses on that street (I believe 13 just from Peoria to Utica on the one street alone) for group home support. To the north of McLain is the Northridge Shopping Center that once was full and had a twin cinema. Across from McLain are several businesses; there used to be a series of cafes often frequented by students, and the McLain Music Shop, and a recently torn down abandoned Wilshire Bar that was open for years. There was also for a while a place where trampolines were stretched over holes dug in the ground and kids paid to jump….To the south of McLain on the east side was the longtime Meeks Furniture Store and at the corner on 46^th St. there was a grocery store where the abandoned Generation of Destiny building is now located. Just around on 46^th St. to the east was the site of St. Jude’s Catholic Church where the radical priest Father Dan Allen began Neighbor For Neighbor northside renewal organization, one of our role models, currently located on 36^th Street in the old Northland Shopping Center.

McLain High School was opened in 1959 serving far north Tulsa. For a while in the late 90s early 2000s it was called Tulsa School of Science and Technology. The mascot was changed from Scots to Titans. About 10 years ago or so it was renamed McLain but the mascot remained Titans. At homecoming you will see many wearing both Scots and Titans. We are on and helped start the McLain Alumni and Community Foundation a few years ago. We help with a variety of connections and support areas, helped get uniforms, helped get the McLain Greenhouse, work on homecoming which will be Friday Oct. 10 this year, and the Annual Taste of North Tulsa major free dinner from local restaurants and community fair this year Thurs. Oct. 16, and have helped send students on flights with American Airlines partners to learn about aviation careers, and help out in many briefer ways and are a conduit for people seeking to support the school financially; McLain was the last high school in the district to begin a community and alumni foundation. It began as a 9^th grade to 12^th grade,then went to 7^th grade to 12^th grade for one year and then the 7^th grade got its own building (see next tour section) and it is now 8^th to 12^th grade. East of McLain is Northridge Addition and Berry Park and Pool; Berry used to have ball diamond; across from it was a YMCA; on 48^th east of Berry Park is Monroe School. It was originally 7^th to 9^th grade then closed; then used as both site for Margaret Hudson School for pregnant unwed girls and women and the Tulsa Schools Adult Education Program with classes for the GED test (all now moved away or shut down); now it is the site of two programs: a PK up adding a grade each year Spanish and English dual immersion school where all classes are taught in both languages, and a 6^th to 8^th grade Demonstration school using different teaching methods and space arrangements. East of Monroe is Penn Elementary School, one of the two remaining traditional public elementary schools serving our area (where there used to be eight Cherokee, Morse, Greeley, Houston, Alcott, Penn, Post, Lindsey).At the corner of 46^th and Lewis is a major spot in our area, the 24 hour Quick Trip store.

4.   west on 46^th St. to MLK Blvd.

On the south side before the Trail was where the Bud’s A&W Stand was; also on the south side is the Zion Plaza that used to be Suburban Acres Shopping Center full of department and variety stores. On the north is the Suburban Acres Library. West of it is the former Alcott Elementary School closed in 2011 and reopened later as McLain 7^th Grade Center. To the north is the Valley View subdivision, and Chamberlain Recreation Center (recently threatened with loss of staff; site of many old Teen Dances and basketball leagues) and pool and Dickinson Park; Valley View also had its own private neighborhood swimming pool that for many years was fenced and overgrown. At the corner of 46^th or Dan Allen Blvd. and MLK Jr. Blvd is one of the remaining old burger stands The Freeze, used to be Tastee Freeze.

5.   north to 56^th St. Stop at new Health Dept.  

To the west between MLK Blvd. (old Cincinnati Ave.; still Cincinnati Ave. south of Archer) and the Osage County Drive/Line is Carriage Hills addition. The former Houston Elementary School is now Bunche Early Childhood Development Center, early and PK and Kindegarden. Gilcrease School is now First Grade to Sixth Grade and is the traditional school that receives all the students from the former Cherokee, Morse, Greeley, Post school areas….The  new Health Dept North Regional Wellness Center diagonal from Gilcrease and across from the abandoned for several years now half built church building is a multi million dollar public investment on the unincorporated side in the county serving all of northside. It is one of our major partners. For the community it has a community play area, and community garden, and walking trail that was built back as it existed on its own on the site before the building. Inside it has many programs for health needs and a Community Multi Purpose Rooms for meetings and events. It also houses the OSU Physicians Clinic. On Sat. Oct. 11 from 12 to 3 pm there will be the major annual community event, FoodGloriousFood with booths and fun events and this year art cars and more stressing healthy food and living resources. We are a part of the Community Advisory Board for the Health Dept. and Rev. Ron was privileged to be asked to give the benediction at the opening of the building in 2012, a year after our OU Health Clinic closed…If we were to go back east on 56^th Street you would see the City of Tulsa Fire Dept. and the entrance to Suburban Hills addition, inside the city limits north to 61^st St.; and the convenience store called Turley Food Mart on the south side of the street. By the intersection of 56^th and the Osage Prairie Trail there is a fishing lake created by flood management of the creek that runs from Delaware Creek past Cherokee School and our community center and to the lake.

6.   Drive to 66^th St.

Note on your right at 61^st St. the Turley Residential Center which used to be called the Turley Correctional Center; it is a private correctional facility contracted to the state dept. of corrections as a women’s only pre-release center. It has facilities the community can book to use such as meeting space. Its creation back in the 1980s sparked the creation of the Turley Community Association opposing its opening and the drive that never materialized for Turley incorporation. Across from it is a run down abandoned off and on small commercial area where convenience store was. On the west is the entrance to the Northgate Addition and city of Tulsa property, and on the corner is the former Greeley School now The Lighthouse Academy Charter School, a public charter school sponsored by TPS; when it opened when Greeley was closed, 75 percent of the students at Greeley remained in it. It currently has 377 students from PK to sixth grade, and is adding a grade each year; it has 344 students on a waiting list; it has an arts-focused curriculum, and receives private corporation support as well as it is part of a national organization. North of Lighthouse is the City’s Vining Park.

In Northgate Addition, in the Suburban Hills addition east of MLK Jr. Blvd and north of 56^th St, also in the city, and in a few other housing additions in our service area there are 34 scattered housing sites owned by the Community Action Program in Tulsa (14 being rented; 20 sitting vacant); we are hoping this year to buy those from them to be able to manage and put back into use in a variety of ways, and are awaiting IRS rulings on the possibilities. It would become one of our next major community renewal projects for the Foundation.

7.   east to Lewis Ave. with a detour on North Victor to roundup club and old community center

We go up into Turley Hill on the south side (this is both a scenic area and popular illegal dumping site at times). On top of the hill has become a concrete and construction dump site; to the west are acreages and several nice homes on OakCliff Drive. Up on the hill near where the runestone is located (in an area you have to walk through woods to get to) was once a bar that is now in ruins. There is no water utility service to the hill. East of Peoria on the south side are businesses churches and residences and where the former Steve’s Burgers and gas station were located in the rundown burned out building there for years now.

On Victor north of 66^th St. we come to the Turley Round Up Club Rodeo Grounds where rodeos are held several times during the year. Next to it is a dilapidated building that used to be the Turley Community Center. Up to about ten years ago it was still used off and on for dances then was condemned and closed. The Roundup Club has announced it is hoping to raise funds to tear down and build a new community center on the site. Just north of it on vacant land where an oil pumper now operates were little league ball fields…back on 66^th St. on the north side east of Victor is the Chapel Hill Funeral Home where the former private church school and church Cornerstone was located; another prerelease center was trying to come into that space but after resident protests was denied; the funeral home also owns the Chapel Hill cemetery, predominantly African American historical cemetery on 66^th St. just east of Highway 75 and across from the site of the former Tulsa Speedway….On Highway 75 itself at both the 66^th and 56^th St. exits we had a matching grant (cost us $500) to put in Roadside Wildflowers to beautify the entrances to our community from the highway, but the state highway department messed up the planting and then stopped the program called Color Oklahoma right after that, and though the signs remain and though we have tried to continue to “seed bomb” the area, the mowing practices work against the roadside beauty.

We turn, however, at the corner of 66^th and N. Lewis is an intersection with a lot of traffic coming in and out of the community, and two large medians that for years were neglected, overgrown, trash strewn and then mowed and poisoned; we have taken them over unofficially and have maintained and begun planting and have the vision working toward of a beautiful low maintenance native plant wildflower plots and a nice low welcome to turley sign. There used to also be a bus stop at the location but it has been eliminated.

8.    South to O’Brien Park.

Formerly Northside Park, a county governmental agency, it is now split between activities used by local area residents such as few remaining shelters, the recreation center and community pool and outside walking tour and fitness facility. Most of the Turley Community Association meetings are held in the Center. We partner with the park to promote activities such as the recent well attended Puppy Palooza to help promote animal welfare, and the Easter Egg events and fall festivities and summer day camp. The Center is home to a local wheelchair basketball team. Many of its ball field facilities are used by groups from outside the area but there has been a local youth baseball and softball and current basketball league formed as there used to be. Also a golf course used by McLain golfers as well as others. A current political effort is underway to look at options of combining city and county park departments. A Third Place received both state and regional awards from the Parks and Recreation Societies for our Welcome Table GardenPark creation.

9.   West on 61^st St. to stop at Welcome Table GardenPark.

Across from O’Brien on the west is the mobile home park in our area; we have been working with residents on safety concerns during tornadic weather since there is no storm shelter in our area and often those ill or disabled or without transportation don’t have same options living in a mobile home and not often being able to go elsewhere…South side is the Vann Industrial Park area, now called GreenPark to encourage businesses to promote ecological construction and resources; it purchases land and then gives free to companies to build on if they will commit to hiring a certain number of employees (though often those employees don’t live in this immediate area). The presence of the companies there was very beneficial during the August 2011 wildfires when they used their equipment to create a fire break to stop the spread of the fire from destroying even more homes and businesses…Just west of the Industrial Park on land the park now owns at Utica Ave. used to be the site of the Turley Veterans of Foreign Wars building and grounds where turkey shoots were held even after the building was torn down after the VFW closed and merged about five years ago. We would also like to get that sign to include in our Turley historical sign section at the gardenpark…If we were to go up the hill, Boyer Hill, on Utica toward 56^th St. we would see another scenic drive and spot and also a frequent spot for illegal dumping.

We go back to 60^th and up from Cherokee west to the curve at the top of the hill and arrive at our own Welcome Table GardenPark and Orchard where we will get out for a tour and more information on its history and current projects, site of the former Leo Beeler property. To the east you will see still more of the overgrown and burned out property; to the west there is the unofficial trail made by residents pushing shopping carts back and forth from the Suburban Hills addition to Warehouse Market and other stores on Peoria. We are pushing for county funds to clear out the fire hazard growth of red cedar trees along the trail and across from our park, and we are working toward getting a better trail with better security on this county right of way property, and the land that the Methodist church owns next to it we want to use as a restful native plant preserve for those walking by with or without their shopping carts loaded down. This is the land across from the current park where we started our demonstration gardens that helped lead to the vision for the gardenpark and orchard. At the park you will hear about our current partnership with an Eagle Scout project to work on a new Welcome Sign and Welcome Area where we will honor donors and create a hospitable and accessible space for those with physical disabilities as well; about our new Kitchen Greenhouse we raised funds for and will be building; still hoping for funds for an additional hoop house so we can grow year round and teach cooking and preserving; about our beds, our children’s playhouses of gardening, the park as site for community parties and food giveaways; our need for another deck and also a stage and larger chicken coop.

Across you will see the Turley United Methodist Church, one of our major partners, and the oldest church in the Turley Area having been founded in 1909 and built the oldest current building, our own Welcome Table Center site, in 1925.

10.                     Finish at Welcome Table Community Center, 5920 N. Owasso Ave.   

Our building was begun as a community church in a brush arbor on the site in 1909; then in 1910 as a Methodist Episcopal church there was a wooden frame steepled building; it was moved later to Sperry to be used as a church and then part of the funeral home; in 1925 the church finished construction of the brick building. In 1940 it added the office wing to the north; in 1952 it added the fellowship hall building. In the early 1960s the church moved to the top of the hill, worshipped in Cherokee School during construction, and Witt Memorial Indian Methodist Church owned the building until the mid 1980s, being noticeable for their community wild onion dinners. Then they moved and merged to become part of Tulsa Indian Methodist Church and Zion Baptist Fellowship bought the building, using it as church and as child care center until its pastor was murdered in the early 2000s; they then put efforts into the Zion Plaza on 46^th St. where Suburban Acres had been; on again off again ministry was in the building then was vacant and used by people trespassing until we purchased it at the beginning of 2011 after much had been vandalized. The downstairs Indian art painted on the walls themselves by the Indian Methodists remained untouched, however. We have expanded our free food store program in it now partnering with the Food Bank and others, our clothing and items store, our art room, our free books library and meeting space, and we rent to the national religious organization housed here, the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship and to The Welcome Table Church which is the church which formed A Third Place Community Foundation in the first place but as a non faith-based nonprofit now with leaders of many faiths. 

All About Us Links

Welcome OU Tulsa Graduate Social Work students and also the students from Phillips Theological Seminary who will be working with us or studying us this semester, and welcome all as we start several important community development projects this year. A pivotal year for us about to start thanks to received donations for two major projects, one at the gardenpark and one at the community center, plus we are waiting word on a big low income housing initiative we are hoping to take lead on, and we will be increasing our engagement with area schools during this upcoming year. Only with your support of our all volunteer grassroots neighbors helping the neighborhood projects.

Learn more about us and share please with others these links below:

1. 1. The workshop at General Assembly which includes the slideshow and video on our MIracle Among the Ruins area and projects, along with our history and our approach to missional church. http://youtu.be/kUBVuJebUTc
   
   2. http://missionalprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/06/ministry-in-abandoned-places-3rs-of.html?m=1
   Text that went along with the workshop this summer. And A quick look at our area link http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-quick-look-at-our-area.html
   
   3. More background into our response and where it comes from and how it manifests: http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2014/04/who-we-arewhat-we-dowhy-summary.html
   
   4. Why we are here and needed revealed in Fall study by OU at A Third Place http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-we-are-here-and-needed-revealed-in.html
   
   5. the link of links that go into depth on our demographics and our projects and our vision and includes my lecture to the Graduate Social Work Convention at OU in Norman.
   This is a post that accumulates various other basic introduction posts about our area of the 74126 and 74130 and about our renewal efforts and partnerships and plans and visions within it. The starting point for those who would like to work with us; getting to know us. Caveat: the observations and analysis is mine; obviously others in our area have their own experiences and analysis and visions.
   
   http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-virtual-tour-of-our-area-far-north.html
   We always like to begin showing our area and immersing in it in order to understand why we do what we do and how we do it as a response to the world around us; the focus is on building up and growing the neighborhoods primarily, and only building up and growing the organization in order to accomplish the first.
   
   Our latest breakdown of demographic and ethnographic studies and the OU Turley nutrition survey of residents in our two mile radius:
   http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2012/09/serving-our-areaby-numbers.html
   
   An overview of the renewal vision: called The Four Directions in our area:
   http://turleyok.blogspot.com/2010/05/four-directions-initiative-tnt-vision.html
   
   A post on health responses to the life time expectancy disparity in our zipcode:
   
   http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-view-from-74126-on-health-care-after.html
   
   Based on a presentation given at OU Tulsa by members of a team from there after study time at Dartmouth.
   
   A post on educational justice and community abandonment and the proposal to focus program changes at McLain School and its feeder schools:
   
   http://www.turleyok.blogspot.com/2013/01/mclain-high-school-take-survey-get.html
   
   The comprehensive lecture given at OU on our history, our responses, our vision:
   
   http://turleyok.blogspot.com/2010/10/ou-lecture-pragmatics-of-collaboration.html
   
   6. Some recent sermons that update our work
   
   http://www.progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-spirituality-of-missional-messiness.html The Spirituality of Missional Messiness, how to stay centered and hopeful in places of despair.
   
   http://progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-world-and-church-needs-now.html?m=1 The missional call to move beyond our own concerns of institutional survival; why church is changing.
   
   http://missionalprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-liberal-missional-church.html?m=1 The look at why progressives need to become missional, and the missional church needs progressives.

SOS (summer of service) for your urgent support: The Welcome Table Report: 4 days left to support our Northside Miracle Among the Ruins Faithify projects

The Welcome Table August 2014 Report

 

What a SOS, Summer of Service, it has been so far here at The Welcome Table on the northside of Tulsa. You can experience it in the links below, and particularly help respond to our SOS this week by supporting with a pledge our two all or nothing Miracle Among The Ruins projects for here, crowdsourcing on Faithify for a Kitchen Greenhouse at our community gardenpark and orchard here in the 74126, more important than ever now that the Gateway Grocery has closed adding more abandonment to our healthy food desert, and also the remodeling of a Community Room for both local groups here and for those visiting and serving with us. We have a donor who will match all new or increased pledges but we need to act soon. Details below.  Also see at the very bottom for what the real miracle is here.

 

Start by going to the new Slideshow below, then at the links for the Faithify projects you can also see the new video about our work and ministry here. Then see our plans for the building that burned down on our site and how to support the new garden plans by the free food store. Speaking of the corner store, we just finished distributing six tons of food in one hour here this past Friday thanks to some 40 neighbors who showed up to help hand out the food to other neighbors. The next day we gave out more during one of our regular food community days. We also had meals at the Center or the Park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Just in one weekend we fed 160 families, representing some 750 individuals. We haven't done it alone; we have been hosting two youth groups both from the Kansas City area, for example, one from a United Methodist church and one from a Unitarian Universalist church; we have had a guest minister staying with us and more planned, and we have a project underway with Eagle Scouts, and we have partnered twice this summer with the Cherry Street Farmers Market and Restore Hope Ministries to bring fresh vegetables to our folks.  

1.     http://youtu.be/bE8ALvs8vyo View our Miracle Among The Ruins Slideshow; see the statistics on hunger and food insecurity, images of decay, and images of resistance and growing community spirit and strength and support where others walk away and pretend we don’t exist.

2.      http://shar.es/MT95EKitchenGreenhouse. See our new video and Donate and Share and help us as we only have four days left to raise our total needed of $6,000 to build a GreenHouse Kitchen in our community gardenpark and orchard where the row of abandoned houses and property damage and illegal dumping once stood out in our community, where we now have community events and help people eat healthy food, but where we need a Greenhouse Kitchen in order to grow food year round and help people learn to cook it; they won’t learn to grow it if they don’t know how, on limited budgets and with little kitchen equipment, how to cook healthy. That is only 60 people donating an average $100 to make this happen; 60 people from around the world; if you can donate more than $100 please do so because many people will only be able to pledge less than that. You can pledge often. Your pledges will not come out of your bank account unless we raise the full amount.

3.      http://shar.es/MTDIq Community Room. This includes our new video too. Donate and Share and help us as we only have four days left to raise $7,500 to remodel, renovate and put into year round use our biggest south building of our abandoned church building we bought and put into use for the community center and free food store. We need to make it accessible and usable not only for our neighborhoods but also for those who come in to learn and serve with us, whether they are local students we work with or groups from around the country and world. That is only 75 people giving an average $100; see above.

Surely, we can reach up to 135 people, or fewer if as we hope people will give to both our needed projects, who will give an average of $100; but it will take all of your help to help us reach those people. So little goes such a long way in impoverished areas like ours. That is the way, though, that amazing things happen. It is why we call what we do Miracle Among the Ruins. Even though we are all volunteer, with all the ups and downs of life here, all the setbacks, still we have a good track record and history of transforming the spirit of despair to hope, from isolated lives to community engagement.

4.     http://naturespath.appbuilder.spredfast.com/fbcontests/showentry/Gardens-For-Good-1/142107 Here is the final major project this summer: we were hoping enough people would vote for us that we would make the finals for one of the grants in order to clear out the rubble of our burned building by the community center, and to build a wheelchair accessible community garden and social space with deck right there by our free cornerstore food pantry to connect with the 1000 people we help feed monthly; another blight to beauty and “third place” space. We didn’t make the cut, but we are still committed to doing the project, even if it takes longer to do it. Your special donation, or connections of construction people willing to donate some work for us would make this miracle and dream come true too. You can donate atwww.athirdplace.org orwww.turleyok.blogspot.com. Or sending a check to A Third Place at 5920 N. Owasso Ave. Turley, OK 74126.

This Thursday with a free lunch at noon we will hold an important community organizing meeting to get updates on all the projects underway in our area and how to support them and our neighbors. Here at The Welcome Table, 5920 N. Owasso Ave. From fire dept to local schools to upcoming events at the county park to the Heritage Day lunch in September to getting updates from county and state officials about the needs of our area and several other ongoing blight to beauty areas here come and connect. See our coming events below for more information.

Also we are selling special missional t-shirts here for the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship: Love The Hell Out Of This World, God Is Love, and from a slogan from some of the early supporters of universal salvation we have Death and Glory tshirts with that motto, a skull, and the off centered cross on it. You can see all three and how to order from us by going to

https://m.facebook.com/UUCFtees

Here is a link to recent talks and sermons I have given about various aspects of our work here:

http://www.progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-spirituality-of-missional-messiness.html The Spirituality of Missional Messiness, how to stay centered and hopeful in places of despair.

http://progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-world-and-church-needs-now.html?m=1 The missional call to move beyond our own concerns of institutional survival; why church is changing. 

http://missionalprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-liberal-missional-church.html?m=1 The look at why progressives need to become missional, and the missional church needs progressives.

http://missionalprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/06/ministry-in-abandoned-places-3rs-of.html?m=1

The notes on the workshop I led along with three other ministers who have been here to our ministry on the northside during the General Assembly of the UUA in Providence, RI this summer.

Coming Events, including our upcoming worship gatherings:

Come Join Us…..

Free Meals on Saturdayweather permitting, Welcome Table Community GardenPark and Orchard, 6005 N. Johnstown Ave. Help The Garden and Eat Together. 9 am Breakfast Aug. 9, 16, 23, 30. Call918-346-3475 for Bonnie Ashing, M.D. for more information.  

Food & Community Daysat 10 am to Noon, Wed. Aug. 13, Sat. Aug. 16,Wed. Aug. 20, Sat. Aug. 23, Wed. Aug. 27. Or by appt. once a month visits. Welcome Table Center, 5920 N. Owasso Ave. serving the 74126, 74130, 74073. Call Rev. Ron Robinson, 918-691-3223 for more information.

Neighborhood PlanningThurs. Aug. 7, Noon Free Lunch Meeting at the Welcome Table Center. Find out what issues we are working on to improve the quality of life here in the McLain/Turley area, or bring your ideas.

Puppy Palooza, Sat. Aug. 9, 11 am to 3 pm, O’Brien Park, 6147 N. Birmingham. Food. Dog Training. Pet Adoption. Rescue Agencies. Pooch/Human Swim. Agility Control. On-Site Vet. 

Community BreakfastSat. Aug. 9, 7 to 10 am, $5 with Kids 10 and under free, Odd Fellows Lodge, 6227 N. Quincy Ave.

Turley/McLain Area Seniors for those 55 and over and their families in 74126 and 74130: Meet Second Wednesdays (Aug. 13) 10:30 amBingo and Noon Lunch, Turley United Methodist Church, 6050 N. Johnstown Ave. and On Third Wednesdays (Aug. 20), 12:30 pm Lunch and Field Trip Planning at The Welcome Table Center. 

Legislative Forum/Community Issues. Sat. Aug. 16, 10 am Rudisill Library, Pine & Hartford Ave.

Turley Area Community Association meeting and Town Hall, Tues. Aug. 26, 7 pm. The Welcome Table Center.

12 Step Recovery Group, each Saturday 6 pm at the Welcome Table Center.

Turley Fire and Rescue Dept meetings, eachThursday 7 pm 6404 N. Peoria.

Turley Water Dept.meetings, last working day of each month, Aug. 29, 8:30 am. 6108 N. Peoria Ave.

Welcome Table Communityworship: Sunday Aug. 10, 5 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church for Taize service, 5^th and S. Cincinnati Ave. (leave the Welcome Table carpool at 4:30 pm) with meal following; note different time for this week: Saturday, Aug. 16 5 pm at The Welcome Table Center (we are exploring going to a special monthly missional Ancient Worship For Contemporary Times event); Sunday, Aug. 24 5 pm at The Welcome Table Center and meal gatherings: see or call Rev. Ron Robinson at918-691-3223 orwww.progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com

Growing Healthy Lives and Neighborhoods on the Northside Through Small Acts of Justice Done With Great Love.

www.athirdplace.orgwww.turleyok.blogspot.com

A Third Place Foundation 918-691-3223 or 918-794-4637

Looking ahead: Special Turley and NorthSide Heritage Day Lunch at Noon at The Wecome Table Center on Sat. Sept. 20 following a tour and talk on the area past, present, and future that will begin at the Center at 9 am.

Plan Now for a conference here on Spiritual Practices in a Missional Setting, Friday to Sunday, May 29-31 at The Welcome Table.

And finally this is still just a brief report of this summer's work here. We have projects small and large cooking in the community so stay tuned, or better yet, come and see. And please share. There are still many people right around us, in the Tulsa area, and across the nation who are still finding out about this amazing work done by people who are just getting to know one another, by people who are just getting out of prison and being trusted again, by people with illness and sickness of many kinds, and yet all moving forward and beginning again in love. 

Blessings, thanks for all you all have done with us, and more coming soon.

Rev. Ron Robinson
The Welcome Table Missional Community,
www.progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com,
Minister
A Third Place Community Foundation
www.turleyok.blogspot.com
5920 N. Owasso Ave. Turley OK 74126
Executive Director
Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship
www.uuchristian.org
Executive Director
Phillips Theological Seminary
www.ptstulsa.edu
director of ministerial formation for uu students and adjunct faculty in practical theology

Our Property Fire, Our Missional Transformation Space Plans in Its Wake

Three years ago our ministry was featured in the cover story of the Unitarian Universalist World Magazine; the artwork was a photograph taken inside the "old parsonage" of the abandoned church we were hoping to buy at the time in order to move our community center, clinic, food store, clothing room, etc. to the much bigger space; we had dreams of using the old parsonage, fixing it up drastically, and letting people stay in it who came to work in our area with us, or maybe using it as a garden center, showing how such houses in our area could be beautified for the neighborhood. We were able to buy the property even though before we closed on the property ownership itself the main building was greatly vandalized for the first time in its 90 year history even though it had been used by squatters for some time. The old parsonage began to be used as a storage area. We had a decision to make right away: work on fixing up the buildings, repairing the damage from the vandalism, and then open to the public, or clean up and get right to serving others in and through our damaged buildings. We, of course, chose the latter approach.

The other night some squatters during the night who were using the old parsonage caught it on fire, intentionally or unintentionally could not be determined though there had been fires off and on in abandoned buildings in our area recently. It burned quickly and thoroughly. Thanks to the effort of our partners, the volunteer fire dept. and the Tulsa Fire Dept and our neighbors the fire did not spread much to our main community center building, the old brick church, though one door was damaged by heat and the fire dept effort.

Now we are in the midst of trying to raise funds to remove the rubble from the old parsonage fire; and we are dreaming of what might come from this event that can help us continue to transform our zipcode which is the lowest life expectancy zipcode and one of the poorest in our Tulsa area. We are envisioning an expanded "third place" outdoors area that would be a free public place of and for community even when our building is closed; we have boosted wifi so it reaches there; we have and will expand outside electrical outlets so people can charge their cell phones if their electricity is turned off; we have an outside hydrant that people can use to fill up jugs with our water to help at their homes without running water. We plan to create a wonderful outdoors garden deck area. We have already begun on that side of the building with a permaculture project that will help with flooding and create rain gardens and more outdoor spaces to become more hospitable even when we are open and overflowing indoors.

We need your help to be able to pay to get the remains cleared off and to replace it with the new deck and other amenities. $5,000 is our goal for this particular project.

That photograph of me inside the old parsonage even before we owned it captured the essence of our deep mission to bring a peaceful presence to lives filled with scarcity and anxiety.