STAGE Youth Group Shuns Beach for Spring Break in Detroit

Some members of the Berkley-based STAGE Youth Ministries spent their spring break last week in a meaningful way, cleaning up and fixing up a large Detroit park that had fallen in disrepair – and gaining a little perspective, too.

The 11 students and two adults from Berkley and Royal Oak camped out at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Detroit's Midtown area for the week and were joined by a youth group from Illinois. Carl Gladstone of Motown Missions coordinated the service project.

"We worked at a big park near Joy and Southfield roads next to Cody High School," said Nathan Schleicher, director of the youth group program. "The city-owned park at one point had many athletic fields, tennis and basketball courts, a playground and more."

During the week in Detroit, the students cleared a basketball court and its perimeter of years of overgrowth, painted a 35-foot backstop, painted over graffiti and cleaned up a playground, created a T-ball field, resurfaced a softball field and more, Schleicher said.

STAGE, which stands for Somewhere To Ask God Everything, is sponsored by in Royal Oak and , and  churches in Berkley.

"Too often we see images of only the bad things in Detroit, but these kids got to witness thriving communities and exciting paradigm shifts happening in the city," Schleicher said. "...Kids at Cody High School haven't had their own ballfields in nearly a decade because of how dilapidated and dangerous the park had become, yet by the end of the week, we got to scrimmage with the girl's softball team on a newly refurbished field. What a wonderful symbol to our kids that they can truly create change!"

The group blogged and took lots of photos and video during their week in Detroit. Here's an excerpt:

Thursday, April 5: ... even though the days felt incredibly long, we all worked with such intensity and pride that as we look back on the week it seems to have flown by. Sometimes we forget how close to home we were. At times I would catch myself thinking I was in some other big city like Chicago or in another one of those churches that is so old and beautiful that I feel as if I've gone back in time. But then I truly open my eyes and see my home city. I was actually born right here in Detroit but that fact has, to be honest, always brought embarrassment to me. ... But as the week has gone by and our work project has come to a close, my embarrassment has turned to a pride that I never imagined could exist. I find myself wishing I could fix the entire city. All I want to do is restore it to the glory it once knew. But when I come down from my fantasy world I realize I can't do everything on my own, no matter how much I want to accomplish everything. I need help, just like Detroit. ... Even though we may not see every person our work effects, somewhere deep in my heart I know what we're doing is making a difference. I hope it will eventually bring such a positive change that it will spread until it reaches everyone  in the city some way and somehow. - Miranda

Wednesday, April 4: ... The park is coming along so well it’s unbelievable. It seems unreal how much we’ve done in three days, and we all can see that it is already starting to have effects on the people in the community, like having people offer to come and help us in the next few days. It’s a way more rewarding project than I thought it would be when we started. ... - Moriah

What's next for this group of giving kids? On Saturday, Schleicher is taking a bunch to plant trees near the former Cooley High School as part of the Greening of Detroit program.