Advancing the Kingdom

98 / 150

day of school for seven weeks
—a fifteen-year-old hasn’t been arrested
for six months
—an eleven-year-old is, in space-age
terms, ‘at fourteen and still holding.’ (That’s
the number of cars he’s stolen.)
But the frustrations are constant:
—a reformed truant suddenly decides
he needs a day off, and he takes a faithful
school-goer with him.
—a mother reports that her twelve-year-
old has been getting drunk. (The availability
of cheap wine is one of Joe’s toughest
problems.) ... 40
Progress, although painfully slow,
was being made on building a new
Kingdom House. In the fall of 1965,
three lots on the corner of Rutger St.
were purchased. The City of St. Louis
began building a community center
on Park Ave. With the city taking on
this role, Kingdom House hoped to put
more stress on spiritual and educational
programs for the area. St. Louis
Community Music began teaching a
handbell choir with 2 classes once a
week. The tutoring program grew and
divided into those needing to obtain a
high school equivalency exam and those
that need help with specific subjects.
As part of a cooperation between
the St. Louis Board of Education and
Kingdom House, 60 underachieving
kids grades 4-8 were referred to the
agency for tutoring. Explaining why this
program was initiated, Carol Ottinger
writes, “...one out of every three
students at Madison Elementary will
leave before completing the 8th grade [.]
95
Chapter Three: ‘Suffer the Children…’ (1956 – 1977)
B
P hoto :
B: Artists conception
Mr. Koeppe
reported that
bids would soon
be taken on the
building plans .