Advancing the Kingdom

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Advancing T he Kingdom: Kingdom House
and probably always will be, but tenants
of Darst and Webbe have demonstrated
that being of a different race, culture or
religion does not mean that one rejects
another human being as a good neighbor.
There is less crime in Darst than in the
other housing projects in St. Louis and the
crime rate in housing projects has been
proven to be lower than in the city as a
whole and definitely in the neighborhoods
immediately adjacent. Last year the Police
Commissioner, Sam Priest wrote a letter
to the President of the Kingdom House
Board expressing appreciation of what is
being done by Kingdom House and saying
that it is definitely an influence for good
and that he hoped that funds would always
be forthcoming to keep Kingdom House
operating. It’s an old statement that ‘the
slums breed crime.’ This is definitely a slum
neighborhood. If we do not provide help for
the needy and good influences for our young
people, crime will increase. And where do
desperate people go to commit their crimes?
Surely not so much in their neighborhood
they live in. Perhaps by helping them, we
may be also protecting ourselves. There is
in this area a great sponge of need that is
impossible to hope to fill. You recall that
Jesus said, ‘The poor you have always with
you’. Those who work at Kingdom House
know the truth of this saying and so in His
name, the Staff at Kingdom House with your
help feeds the hungry, clothes the naked,
gets the sick into clinics and hospitals
and goes to courts with those who are in
trouble.36
The Church of the Master held its
first service in October 1962. Yet despite
the fanfare and good attendance, Rev.
Aukema left the following year to
assume a new position in Wisconsin.
Despite yet another pastoral
setback, the Program Book for the
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A
P hoto:
A: Best friends
“Field work students
from the Social Work
School complete
their year and new
students come in...”