EXEGESIS REPORT
Date: 7/27/2016
Location Community and/or Neighborhood:
Downtown Scranton
Zip Code: 18503
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
History and Background of Community/Neighborhood:
Scranton is located in the heart of one of the great deposits of anthracite coal in the world, which provided the underpinnings for much of Scranton's industrial growth until the middle of the 20th century. In 1840, the Scranton brothers arrived and found only five houses in the village. The Scrantons built a forge that later became the nucleus of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. A new name was given to the settlement in 1845:Harrison, in honor of the president. Finally, in 1851, the name was changed to Scranton.
When the railroad arrived in 1853, it provided an outlet for the iron industry and the coal mines. The population rose to 9,000 by 1860. Scranton absorbed some of its suburbs in 1866 and was chartered as a city. A bitter strike in 1877 resulted in the imposition of martial law and the collapse of the miners' union.
Everhart Museum's collections include 19th- and 20th-century American art and natural history displays, including Dinosaur Hall. The Electric City Trolley Museumoffers tour excursions, and The Houdini Museum caters to lovers of the occult.
The oldest institutions of higher education in Scranton are the University of Scrantonand Marywood College, both Roman Catholic schools founded in 1887 and 1903, respectively. In addition, the world's largest provider of extension courses, International Correspondence Schools, was founded in Scranton in 1891.
OBSERVATIONS:
Social Climate Observations:
Downtown Scranton is primarily made up of people who work there during the day and then leave to their smaller, safer communities surrounding Scranton. It has gotten so bad that the city has begun taxing people who work in the city, but do not live there. It is a heavily democratic community in which almost every Democratic presidential candidate from JFK until today has visited this city. To get a sense of who lives in downtown Scranton you need to visit after 6pm. It is a diverse group of people who are living and moving into the area from New York and New Jersey. The main reason is the cost of living is very low. The University of Scranton in located in the downtown area. The university gives the downtown life. I think without it, it would be dead.
Scranton loves its history. It likes that it was the first major city with electricy and Steamtown Historical Park is located there. They tend to glorify the past while trying to make changes for the future. However, their future is like the 1980's. They have not embraced the 21st century. One example is they are trying to resurrect a bankrupt mall. This mall has been in decline for many years, and the way people shop online especially with a university next to them does not make sense.
Physical Climate Observations:
Scranton is divided into smaller communities. The downtown area is set apart because of the Scranton Expressway and Rt. 11. Also the Keyser Creek and Lackawanna River divide this area as well. There are small hills that make traveling around downtown Scranton a little tricky, because it is not laid out in straight lines.
Economic Climate Observations:
Unless this area of the city makes some major adjustments, I don't see Scranton being a mecca for business anytime soon. There are plenty of office jobs and university jobs in the downtown, but they are not brining in new business like other areas.
Spiritual Climate Observations:
St. Ann Bascilica is a monument to the Catholic religion in the Scranton area. It is a powerful organization with power over the people and elected officials. Their authority has deminished over the past couple of years because of the stance on immigration and the coverups. However, the tradition is still strong even if attendence and donations are down. The guilt that the younger generation feels causes them to not attend a traditional protestant service. New churches need to minister outside of their walls in order to reach these families and younger people. This generation may never step foot into a building, but will listen to the gospel at a park or neutral venue. Scranton is a spiritually depressing place. The guilt and tradition can be very frustrating and time consuming to seeing a result of sharing the gospel message. On the positive side, there are new ethnic communities growing in pockets of the city. These communities are much more open to new churches and the gospel.
IDENTIFIED NEEDS:
Potential Needs Identified:
Like any urban downtown area their are social justice needs like working with the local food pantry or homeless shelter.
English as a second language would be helpful to the new immigrants
College ministry at the university of Scranton (maybe not on campus because of the Catholic influences)
To find ways to give people hope in Jesus (being very relational)
CONNECTIONS:
Connections Made During Exegesis:
Eric and Anna Schroud who have a cell phone business and family in this area for many years.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recommendation Summary:
Either an urban church plant or a collegiate church plant. Both have their pros and cons. They are both going to have a hard time to develop stable leaders and financial stability. My recommendation would be to make an effort to begin a collegiate church plant. I think one could attract more partners and resources. I also think that is may be able to pull some other people from the community because it would have to be ethnically diverse. In the long run, a college church might help change the spiritual landscape as older Catholics pass away and that heavy tradition is slowly released. The churches who are making the most impact are living and ministering outside of their building. They are meeting the people where they are, loving them, and intentionally sharing Jesus with them. I would highly recommend for the church planter to live in this community.