Milwaukee and its churches can be proud of much. The city and its faith institutions have held the traditional line and weathered many jolts during a generation of economic and social change. Tough, industrial-style church buildings, both Catholic and Protestant, still dot Milwaukee’s cityscape and continue to teach and preach the gospel to ethnic-immigrant people far different from their German-Polish founders.

But now is a time for new ideas in a city that has been best known for its resistance to change. Beer, bratwurst and motorcycles can (and are) made most anywhere within the network of global cities. As a current analysis states, “Without fundamental changes, its [Milwaukee’s] economy will become more like Detroit and less like Minneapolis.” (George Lightbourn and Stephen J. Agostini, “Building a New Milwaukee Economy,” January 2004)

Milwaukee’s high-water mark was 1960 when the population peaked at 741,000. Schlitz, Miller and Blatz brewed beer for the entire Midwest, Allen-Bradley churned machine parts for the world and the “Johnny-come-lately” Braves had just captured two National League pennants. These were heady days for one of America’s most ethnically homogenous cities. But a decline was about to hit, hard and fast.

By 1970, population was down to 717,000, by 1980 – 636,000, and by 1990 – 628,000. 2003 estimates indicate that Milwaukee’s numbers have now fallen all the way to 586,000. For more than a generation, Milwaukee has lost people, lost jobs, and lost a vision for the future. But Milwaukee’s churches and the beliefs they stand for may prove to be the city’s salvation – spiritually, educationally and economically.

What follows is a collection of CityVoices interviews with pastors, educators and entrepreneurs who are working to bring about change at the most fundamental levels of Milwaukee’s society. Read about St. Anthony’s School, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & School and The Milwaukee Outreach Center. Discover a few signs of hope (for your city as well) as they lead the struggle to re-make Old Milwaukee.

Contact: Roger Johnson, CityVoices / SCUPE, 200 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 502, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 726-1200, roger@cityvoices.com

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St. Anthony’s Parish – Recasting the Future for Near South Side

(Terry Brown serves as president of St. Anthony’s Catholic School and executive director of Saint Anthony Parish on Milwaukee’s near South Side. In St. Anthony’s unique structure, Brown [a layman] is able to bring his administrative and entrepreneurial skills to bear upon the re-development of an old German / Polish parish. St. Anthony’s now effectively serves the predominantly Hispanic community along Mitchell Street.)

CV -- Mr. Brown, can you give us a fast description of your community?

Terry Brown -- Probably 25 percent of the businesses that were once started in this area have continued. The Latino community here is especially good at entrepreneurial work. So there aren’t many empty shops along Mitchell Street. It’s primarily a Mexican and Puerto Rican community. Many have put together small businesses, whether it’s an appliance, retail or furniture shop. We have a lot of economic activity taking place. It really has transitioned from a German / Polish neighborhood into a new Latino community.

CV -- Realistically, will that kind of economy be able to support another generation?

TB -- The entrepreneurial vocation is essential to neighborhoods. I have many friends who have been in family businesses that continue on, generation after generation. Besides that, we want our kids to have every single option, so that if they choose professions (teaching, clergy, religious life) or if they choose to be homemakers, they are prepared.

CV -- How is the ministry of St. Anthony’s organized?

TB -- The pastor is the canonical head of the parish. I, along with everyone else, report to the pastor. He sets the direction and tone. Obviously, he works with his lay staff to set direction, but my authority is delegated from him. Now, we do have a bit different of a model here at St. Anthony’s School because of school choice in Milwaukee. The state will provide a voucher for parents to send their child to any school within the City of Milwaukee that is part of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. So, the cost of a child’s education is supported up to roughly $5,950 (based on this year’s figures). It gives parents a way to choose the kind of education they would like to see their children receive, public or private.

CV -- Give us an idea how significantly that has helped the school, and then secondarily the church.

TB -- It has helped the school in that education has normally been the primary apostolate of a Catholic parish, certainly in ethnic neighborhoods. It’s expanded that apostolate significantly. Before we had school choice, we had roughly 225 children in our school, heavily subsidized by a parish of modest means. We simply couldn’t provide health insurance or competitive salaries for teachers. Computers were donated and old. We have now gone from 225 children to 710 children. We’ve expanded into another parish school that closed up down the street a couple years ago. We’ve also made major reforms in our curriculum in order to insure an outstanding academic program at St. Anthony School. Our program is now on a par with any parish school in the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

CV -- Did you and many others from parishes, have to put on a power play with the state legislature to see this happen?

TB -- In the 1990s, Governor Tommy Thompson favored school choice. Basically the Democratic legislators from Milwaukee came together with the Republican legislators throughout the state who supported school choice. That combination of Democrats (who were willing to oppose the teachers union) and Republicans provided enough votes to pass school choice. In 1996 religious schools were allowed into the program. It’s been very political. I spend a lot of my time just meeting with people, telling them the success of our school and how all the schools in Milwaukee are getting better because of competition in education. The Near South Side of Milwaukee is now the most competitive educational environment in the nation.

Contact: Mr. Terry Brown, St. Anthony Catholic Parish, 1711 South Ninth Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204, (414) 645-1455, brownt@archmil.org

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Our Savior’s Lutheran Brings Wholistic Vision

(Penny Schwid is the administrative secretary at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church [ELCA] on West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee. In an interview with CityVoices, she described a bit of Our Savior’s ministry in one of the city’s most cosmopolitan communities.)

CV -- What is your neighborhood known as here along Wisconsin Avenue?

Penny Schwid -- Some people know it as the Historic Concordia neighborhood. Some people call it the West Side. A housing association here calls it the West End. We are a part of consortium of churches called Central City Churches, eight congregations along Wisconsin Avenue, Our Saviors being the furthest west.

While we’re centrally located and draw people from all around, we identify our mission field as our surrounding neighborhood. There are people here who need the church and need to know God. We’ve been placed here to worship and live with this community.

CV -- In what ways is Our Savior’s Lutheran reaching out to the “least, last and lost?”

PS -- In conjunction with Central City Churches, we support a daily outreach ministry to people who come to our facility. We focus on providing hospitality to the homeless. We offer telephones, fax machines and computers for people to begin job searches. We’ve become increasingly connected with other organizations over the past couple years. The city health department is present several times a month to provide screenings and make health care referrals. We work closely with Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force, and we have a big food pantry here at our church.

CV -- What “hot button” issues might Our Savior’s get involved with for the future?

PS -- Our focus of ministry will remain pretty much of what it has been for the past thirty years. The congregation has always had an interest in social issues. Pastor [Barbara] Rasmussen’s vision to make Our Savior’s “a church where God’s diversity works,” kind of sums things up. We desire to be a place of hospitality for all people who come our way, recognizing that all people who come bring gifts and talents for ministry.

CV -- Some are negative about Milwaukee’s future, pointing to recent losses of people and jobs. Is Our Savior’s Lutheran addressing those issues?

PS -- The church council voted last month to support an affordable housing initiative. We’ve recently agreed to join with other churches in that effort. We recognize that housing is one of those issues tied to a culture of poverty that some neighborhoods experience. The outreach ministry is here to provide information about jobs and help people with the basics of skill building. In that way, we help people write a good resume and practice for a job interview.

Contact: Penny Schwid / Rev. Barbara Rasmussen, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 3022 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208, (414) 342-5252, office@oslcmilw.org

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Holy Cathedral COGIC Offers Words of Hope to Milwaukee

(Dr. Charles McClelland is pastor of Milwaukee’s Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ and founding president of Word of Hope Ministries, located in the Sherman Park community. Since its founding in 1996, Word of Hope has trained and placed over 450 people in full and part-time jobs. Focusing on both job readiness and the computer-based skills necessary for employment, Word of Hope has expanded its outreach through the Ready4Work program – an effort to provide job placement and training for ex-offenders.)

CV -- Dr. McClelland, what fuels your vision going for the wide-ranging ministries (jobs, health, GED, communications, Ready4Work) launched from Holy Cathedral and Word of Hope?

Charles McClelland -- I think our primary commitment here is meeting the needs of people who really want to improve the quality of their life. That’s at the center of what we’re about. I worked for Milwaukee County government for 19 years, working in several program areas. One of the things that always stood out to me was the deficiency in speaking to the spiritual needs of individuals. Bureaucracies, by law, can’t do that.

When I left county government, I had no desire to start another program. Nevertheless, I wanted to use the buildings alongside our church for community efforts, and that’s what God’s spirit told me to do. I’ve accepted social outreach as part of my pastoral ministry, improving people’s lives from economic, physical and spiritual perspectives. We’re made of all of that. The spiritual component for Word of Hope is the quality of our service. We treat people well, as you would want to be treated. Word of Hope speaks to programs of health care, job placement training and technology. Those needs are not going away.

CV -- Milwaukee is getting bad press from those citing the loss of population since the 1970s and the loss of jobs in the past few years. What do you see as the biggest citywide issues?

CM -- I think that diversity at our whole infrastructure level is important. Decision-makers who shape this city have not been inclusive. Taxes that businesses pay in Milwaukee are way above the national average. Businesses are moving to the surrounding counties, to Illinois or even to Mexico. They’re not seeing a user-friendly environment to businesses.

CV -- Some are saying there’s a “brain-drain” of young people leaving for Chicago.

CM -- Yes, and again, I don’t think the level of diversity is where it ought to be for this community. We have more diversity in the area of elected public officials, but diverse leadership across many fields needs to get connected for the good of the community. Harold Washington’s election as mayor of Chicago back in the 1980s was a good model for breaking through ethnic barriers in that city. But we have not yet experienced that in Milwaukee. There needs to be a continued push for coalitions and partnerships.

CV -- Is downtown Milwaukee lively enough to provide a sufficient number of jobs?

CM -- Milwaukee was once a blue-collar city with strong industries. But that day is gone. Downtown Milwaukee and the common council are trying to get employers to move in and provide livable wage jobs. But that’s an ongoing battle. Downtown filled with a lot of social life. The Midwest Airlines Center (convention center) is a state-of-the-art place. But if you’re talking about providing livable wage jobs for the city’s black community, that’s still to be realized.

Contact: Dr. Charles McClelland, Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 2677 N. 40th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53210, (414) 447-1967, wohmprres@yahoo.com

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Mt. Calvary Lutheran: Mission Through Education

(Rev. Tom Eggebrecht is pastor of Milwaukee’s Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, an LCMS congregation serving the community with its growing elementary school. During more than seven years of ministry on the city’s northwest side, he has seen ethnic change, school growth and church development occur simultaneously.)

How would you describe you church’s neighborhood?

Tom Eggebrecht -- South of Burleigh Avenue is primarily African-American, the other side is a good mix of people. We have African-Americans, Caucasians and a pretty large Orthodox Jewish community as well. It’s a very diverse, family-oriented neighborhood. St. Joseph’s Hospital, just two blocks away, provides a lot of stability to the community.

CV -- What live issues are going on in this community?

TE -- Education is definitely one of them. We see that in the students we bring in to our elementary school. We also see a lot of family issues that we have to help deal with. Milwaukee is seen as a very racially segregated community, especially as you separate the suburbs from the city. It seems as if a lot of people have latched on to the national publicity of a couple years back and it’s almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But it is an issue and we see it expressed in the area’s politics, as far as voting and voter registration.

CV -- A lot’s been written about Milwaukee’s loss of population and jobs. Would people in your neighborhood go downtown for work, or would they get on an expressway and go out to suburban business areas?

TE -- Yes, all of those. I haven’t seen too much trouble with people who want to work finding a job, and a lot of them are able to do so right here in the area. Welfare to Work here in Wisconsin has created a boon in childcare, and day care center jobs. Our community has seen somewhat of a revitalization. Just north of us is an enterprise center with both retail outlets and meeting areas. This is probably the most racially integrated area in Milwaukee. People here like to take pride in that and say, it’s possible.

CV -- How has your church changed as you’ve watched your community change?

TE -- There’s had to be change, with the advent of Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. (Choice is a Wisconsin voucher program currently offering as much $5,950 per student per year to families who qualify by income.) Prior to my pastorate, Mt. Calvary took a parochial view – the school was only for the children of church members and not an outreach. I believe that it’s our foremost outreach to our community. The mission comes right to us five days a week. Our congregation has accepted that change very well.

The second big change is with our church. We are now getting some of the “school families” involved with church. Last March we baptized 17 children and 2 adults, all as a result of the school choice program. Right now we’ve got a newcomers class with a number of people coming for adult confirmation. We’ve recently called Michelle Pitts to a newly-created post as Director of Christian Outreach – a link between the school and the church. Michelle, in her own words, is “a bridge,” somebody who tries to enlighten church members about community needs, and tries to get new people into our church.

CV -- Are you seeing groups of churches join together to help each other here on the northwest side of Milwaukee?

TE -- I’m currently on the board of a new organization called Greater Milwaukee Sponsors – hopefully an arm of IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation). Our board is made up of leaders from all different faith backgrounds. We’re looking at housing, and a wide range of issues. There’s another group around here called Sherman Park Association of Religious Communities. We’ve also been involved in some of their initial efforts to protest violent crime in our community.

Contact: Rev. Tom Eggebrecht, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 2862 N. 53rd Street, Milwaukee, WI 53210, (414) 873-3931, eggebrecht@aol.com

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Milwaukee Outreach Center – Phoenix Rising on the West Side

(Mike Rintelman has served as Executive Director and Community Program Director for the Milwaukee Outreach Center since 1990. His responsibilities include coordination and oversight of community projects, benevolent resources, mentoring training, and the PHOENIX Life Skills Training Program.)

CV -- As you look at Milwaukee’s people who may have “fallen through the cracks” educationally, are you in any way able to catch up on those basic educational needs?

Mike Rintelman -- We designed our PHOENIX Life Skills Program for people who have fallen through the cracks, to help re-integrate people into the work force. PHOENIX was designed to be a bridge, consisting of two (perhaps three) parts. The first week is an intensive, motivational, challenge. Students look at how they’ve viewed life, who has been in their life, who has told the truth, and who has not. All of this has an influence on how they view the world. We then help them create a personal mission statement and five main priorities for living. Then we go through time management, communication skills and all the important things. The social service system doesn’t give people a reason why. It doesn’t offer people hope. Ours is a Christian program, so everything is in the context of a person’s God-given capabilities.

During phase two people review what they’ve learned and practice job-specific tasks. They look for jobs and gain strength by talking about their experiences as a group. About a year ago we started an additional phase of adjustment through a small business we started. People with greater educational gaps can start working and be paid for piecework while simultaneously going through the program.

Some ask us, “Isn’t this quite demanding?” The reality is that the work world is demanding. You have to come on time and do your work. You’ve got to learn how to deal with sickness and those types of things.

CV -- Is PHOENIX now your biggest endeavor?

MR -- It is our largest effort, especially when you consider the training of volunteers and mentors, along with recruiting and inter-facing with agencies. We have some great relationships with the state’s Department of Vocational Rehab. A lot of groups now trust us. Often we’ll have a client come in to see us who has been through five or six different agencies, and they never go back. We’ve ended up being the coordinator between agencies.

CV -- Many analysts speak so negatively about loss of people and loss of jobs in Milwaukee. What do you see happening?

MR -- Milwaukee’s been an interesting environment to watch. In the last three years, politics has been marred with corruption. We’re now seeing some stability. As far as jobs go, the Milwaukee Public Schools have been a failing system that’s really “dumbed down” the work force. There are all kinds of reasons for jobs to leave, inflated wages included. But in Milwaukee, the biggest reason has been the lack of an educated work force. When reading levels are sub-par upon graduating from high school, they just can’t compete. Employers are going elsewhere.

CV -- What’s evidence do you see of God at work in Milwaukee these days?

MR -- Milwaukee has been and still is a very segregated community. We have barriers all over the city. But churches are beginning to put down their walls and say, “We’re going to begin reaching out to our community.” Some of those walls of segregation have begun to come down, both denominationally and racially.

Contact: Mike Rintelman, The Milwaukee Outreach Center, 724 South 27th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53215, (414) 385-2233, mike@tmoc.org

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Dream of Equal Schooling is Unrealized

(Excerpted from Alan J. Borsuk’s article in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, January 3, 2004)

The relationship between education and success has never been greater. That carries even greater emphasis in the Milwaukee area. The portion of the metropolitan Milwaukee population that is black or Hispanic is rising and the future for the community as a whole is inevitably tied to the future of such large parts of the whole. There is growing evidence that the gap between black and white in Wisconsin is among the largest in the United States.

In data on test scores recently released by the federal government, a difference in performance of white and black eighth-graders on math and reading was larger in Wisconsin than anywhere else in the U.S. In fact, a higher percentage of black eighth-graders from Wisconsin scored "below basic" in both reading and math than in any other state. In math, 76% of black Wisconsin eighth-graders in the test sample scored "below basic," compared with 61% nationally. (White students from Wisconsin performed in line with white students from around the U.S.) A recent, privately funded study concluded that the gap between white and black high school graduation rates was bigger in Wisconsin than anywhere else.

Previous studies said that the gap between whites and blacks in Wisconsin when it comes to incarceration rates was the largest in the U.S. The same goes for the gap in approval rates for mortgage applications in the Milwaukee area. While researchers dispute whether Milwaukee is one of the nation's most segregated cities, there is no doubt that, even with a growing number of exceptions, racial separation is the predominant pattern for neighborhoods.

Are we more racist than other places? There's no way to quantify that. There is no question that many white people did not want black people around in the Milwaukee of a generation or more ago, and racism is not dead. But who knows if it is worse here than elsewhere? Do we not spend enough on social services or helping people? That seems unlikely, given Wisconsin's history, even accounting for tighter spending in recent years.

In fact, one suggestion is that the opposite is true: Wisconsin's generous approach to social services over past decades made the state a preferred destination for low-income people who had poor educational backgrounds and work records. At the same time, there are fewer middle- and upper-income black households in the Milwaukee area than in other metropolitan areas. The result, this theory goes, is a black community that is poorer than other black communities, and consequently one that has more problems.

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Milwaukee’s Losses: Brew City Goes Flat, 1970-2000

(Excerpted from the January 2004 report by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, “Wisconsin’s Quiet Crisis: Why Building a New Milwaukee Economy Matters to Wisconsin,” by George Lightbourn and Stephen J. Agostini. To see the entire report, visit http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume/Vol17no1.pdf)

Population

The 2000 Population Census showed that Milwaukee was home to 596,000 residents, a decline of 31,114 or 5% from the 1990 Census. This most recent ten-year decline is the continuation of a trend that began in the 1960s. It was in 1960 when Milwaukee reached its highest population of 741,000 residents. The contraction in population has lowered Milwaukee’s standing among America’s big cities: it was the nation’s 11th largest city in 1960, and is now 19th, the city’s lowest ranking since 1880.

Per Capita Income

While population change is generally indicative of underlying economic trends, income, specifically per capita income, is a better measure of a city’s economic vitality. Use of this indicator shows how Milwaukee has undergone a pronounced decline since 1970. In 1970 Milwaukee’s economic performance was about the average for the U.S.’s largest cities: its per capita income was 96% of the average of the other 49 big U.S. cities at the time, ranking it 30th among all 50 cities. While clearly not the best economic performer among large cities in 1970, Milwaukee was close to the average and certainly far from the worst.

Thirty years later, Milwaukee was in a starkly different situation: by 2000. Milwaukee’s per capita income had negatively and significantly, diverged from its peers. In 2000 Milwaukee’s real per capita income stood at $15,138, a full 23% below the average city per capita income. Milwaukee has become one of the six poorest big cities in the nation. This is a startling change from Milwaukee’s relative economic position in 1970.

Employment

Between 1970 and 2000, the total number of U.S. jobs increased by 88%. Some areas of the country surpassed this performance, in some instances generating job growth that doubled the total number of jobs in the region. Unfortunately, Milwaukee County’s annual job growth between 1970 and 2000 averaged 0.6%. This is less than one-quarter of the national employment growth. What caused this poor job growth? The loss of 77,360 manufacturing jobs was so significant that even a sizable increase in service jobs over the thirty years, proved insufficient to lift Milwaukee County’s growth rate to anything approaching the national average.

Is Milwaukee better off today than it was in prior years? On most measures Milwaukee is decidedly worse off economically today than it was thirty years ago. Its shrinking population signaled the city’s substantial economic diminishment over the last thirty years. In 1970 Milwaukee looked like the average large and economically successful U.S. city — its average resident enjoyed income levels akin to those of other large cities and its prominence as a U.S. manufacturing hub promised sustained economic viability.

Thirty years later, Milwaukee looked like the handful of shrinking and economically faltering large U.S. cities. Its economic base was significantly altered by the transformation of the U.S. economy in the 1980s and 1990s, and its average resident received an income demonstrably lower than the average American and the average big city resident.

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Introducing the Association for Metro/Urban Ministry, By Mark Walden, director of the Association for Metro/Urban Ministry

In becoming a part of SCUPE, the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education, CityVoices has become the publication of the Association for Metro/Urban Ministry. AMUM is a recently launched network bringing together urban ministers across the nation and across many denominations. Created with a start-up grant from the Lilly Endowment, AMUM has two basic purposes:

1) To serve as a central information clearinghouse for the urban ministry community. AMUM's web site connects its members and other users with jobs, grants, conferences, trainings, print and audio/visual resources, job-seekers, educational programs, volunteer programs, and more.

2) To serve as a central point for networking around urban ministry. AMUM provides a place where those doing urban work can connect across lines of geography, denomination, theology, profession, or any other division. AMUM members can share ideas, build partnerships, and develop relationships, both through the web site and through AMUM-sponsored gatherings, such as SCUPE's Congress on Urban Ministry.

AMUM is a new and still-growing ministry; your ideas are invited, as well as your contributions to our web site. Membership is quite affordable, and offers benefits beyond those available to other users of the web site, including print mailings of CityVoices. Check out the site - www.amum.net - and join the Association for Metro/Urban Ministry today!

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Thanks for Reading CityVoices!

Next month’s CityVoices focuses on vision – the vision an urban pastor needs to lead a city church, the vision that a city minister needs to lead any sort of ministry in an urban place. We’ll explore how vision is developed, sustained and shared. And we’ll even consider what happens when competing visions for ministry arise. Look for an important edition.

Remember to contact CityVoices for the very best in resources for city ministry. “Starting a Nonprofit at Your Church” by Joy Skjegstad ($14), and “A Theology as Big as the City” ($13) by Ray Bakke can be purchased by calling CityVoices at (312) 726-1200. Also contact us to purchase Corean Bakke’s new book, “Time to Talk in Church About HIV and AIDS” ($10). Please browse through the Bookstore section of the CityVoices website (www.gospelcom.net/cv/pages/cvshop.html) for a complete listing of all available resources.

Thank You!
Roger Johnson – Editor, CityVoices / SCUPE
200 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 502, Chicago, IL 60601-5909