A Partnership with Upper Sand Mountain Parish
Twice a year, we take our kids on a retreat, a camping trip, or a mission experience with kids from churches in the Upper Sand Mountain Parish. There may not be a more maligned part of the state than West End or Sand Mountain. Many consider West End to be the most dangerous neighborhood in the state. Our kids are often labeled by outsiders as gang bangers or thugs. Often times, people are afraid to drive through our community. At the same time, many consider Sand Mountain to be the most backwards part of the state. The kids there are often labeled as rednecks and country bumpkins. Many people from outside their community look upon them with an air of condescension. And folks from our two communities are often pitted against each other. We begin to believe the stereotypes we have heard about the other. And yet, we don’t know each other. Most of our kids have never had a meaningful relationship with a white person their own age, and many of the kids from Sand Mountain have never had a meaningful relationship with a black person. Through this partnership, we hope to get to know each other and realize that we are all God’s children.
