When love increases.. crime decreases
Meet Mack McCarter, Winner of the 2019 Lumen Christi
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by Elizabeth Boo Neuberget, Catholic Extenstion
n neighborhoods across Shreveport, Louisiana, a powerful movement is taking place that is rooted in neighborly love and faith. Based on the conviction that people crave connection and that vibrant communities are built on meaningful relationships, neighborhoods are being dramatically transformed, block by block. Mack McCarter, who is leading the way, has seen the physical, emotional and spiritual evolution of several communities in the 25 years since he started his ministry. Mack spent his adult life in ministry, having gone to seminary and been a pastor of an evangelical church in west Texas for many years. He returned to his hometown of Shreveport in 1991 and discovered many neighborhoods— that were once vital and thriving—were in great decline. They were facing gangs, drugs, violence, crumbling homes and people living in isolation. During his time in Texas, he had 16 THE CATHOLIC CONNECTION
poured over scripture, counseled members of his flock, and sought to lead them as faithful followers of Jesus. But even within this vocation, Mack has discerned a deeper voice, urging him to pay close attention to the poor. Christian life, he understands, is more than seeking personal holiness. It is about loving your neighbor, no matter what it takes. And that’s how he found himself, on a Saturday morning in 1991, walking through the Allendale neighborhood of Shreveport, just trying to be neighborly. He knew no one, and no one knew him. But he was aware that the murder rate in this area was at a rate averaging nearly two people every week. God told him to head toward “the Bottoms,” the toughest area of the city, and go door to door. He thought about taking the easy route first—“drive-by blessings,” he calls them, recalling how he tried to hedge on his promise to God. But God told him to go door-to-door on Saturday mornings, when “the bad guys are hungover,” and try to make
friends. The first people to greet him were kids, who unselfconsciously wanted to play with him. Emboldened by this spontaneous ice-breaker, he began to knock on doors, introducing himself and saying he wanted to be friends. Many, he said, were more than a little dubious. But the key is that he came by every Saturday. And within three months, people were waiting on their row house porches, waiting for their turn to meet their gregarious neighbor. Mack decided to enlist the help of the Bishop of Shreveport, William Friend, because in Mack’s experience, “Wherever the poor were, the Catholic Church was.” He knew that Catholics reached out to the margins to help people. He explained to Bishop Friend his dream to renew their city by helping to establish new relationships among its residents. The bishop was convinced. He invited Mack to speak in any of the Catholic parishes in the city and gave him a check for $10,000 to get to work.
