On a fall morning in 1978, Leonard Dow left his home in working class Philadelphia and arrived at the expansive, picturesque campus of in Lansdale, Pa. He was one of 30 black freshmen and sophomores recruited by Lancaster Mennonite Conference to integrate the 400-member mostly white student body.
Dow, a ninth-grader, traveled no more than 25 miles but found himself in another world. The jolt would sow questions about faith and society that would ferment and eventually give rise to a model of ministry that knits a congregation into its surrounding community. The jolt would also inspire Dow to a lifetime of service within the Mennonite church. In addition to 19 years鈥� pastoral leadership in Philadelphia鈥檚 (OCMC) and 10 years as board chair of its nonprofit offshoot, Dow also served as a bishop of the Philadelphia District of Lancaster Mennonite Conference, vice chair of Mennonite Central Committee U.S., and board chair of Kingdom Builders Anabaptist Network of Greater Philadelphia.
Dow, now working for out of Philadelphia, is 91短视频鈥檚 for 2017. He will be recognized at 91短视频’s during a Homecoming Celebration Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium and the Sunday, Oct. 15, worship service at 10:30 a.m., also in Lehman Auditorium.
At first Dow begged his mother to let him leave Christopher Dock. The racial rift, economic divide, foreign Mennonite culture and unfamiliar Anabaptist theology presented too many hurdles. A top student until then, he struggled with Christopher Dock鈥檚 academic rigor. Basketball helped to smooth the path.
He stayed the four years. A public speaking teacher surprised Dow by encouraging his gift in oratory. Bible and theology classes set him to pondering. He didn鈥檛 know what to make of Christian nonviolence. 鈥淐ome teach that at Eighteenth and Glenwood,鈥� he thought, of his home neighborhood in which factory closings and crack cocaine tore families apart. 鈥淚 dismissed it but respected it,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd later in becoming a Mennonite pastor it did impact me.鈥�
Dow鈥檚 dream of playing Division I basketball vanished with a torn hamstring. Depressed, Dow decided not to attend college. His father arranged for him to work at the clothing factory where he labored. Soon, 鈥淚 begged him to help me find a college,鈥� Dow related. 鈥淢y mother said, 鈥楾he Mennonites were good to you in high school, why not give them a shot?鈥欌��
Thirty years later, Dow鈥檚 record as the university鈥檚 top men鈥檚 basketball scorer endures, at 2,192 points, as does his rebounding record. His grade-point average also soared after he met Rosalie Rol贸n 鈥�89, a serious student and his future wife. 鈥淣either of us had cars or money so most of our dates were in the library. My GPA doubled.鈥�
Dow majored in business. 鈥淚n Mennonite circles the emphasis is on decreased mobility. I affirm that, but when you grow up poor, you ask how does the Kingdom speak to those not in a position to go down but rather need to build capacity?鈥�
After graduation, Dow took a banking position with Univest in Souderton, Pa. He saw how Mennonite investments create sustainable communities within which money recycles, one dollar spent four or five times over. 鈥淚n economically challenged communities, the money flows out,鈥� Dow observed.
Twelve years later, Dow felt God calling him to integrate his banking background and his embrace of Anabaptist theology into a narrower focus on his Philadelphia church, OCMC. He became its lead pastor in 1999.
The Christ-centered theology Dow learned in high school and college pointed the way for his vision for the congregation, which he felt might die without change. Jesus was concerned with people鈥檚 souls, but he also healed the blind and lame, enabling them to set down their beggars鈥� bowls, Dow said.
鈥淢y understanding of salvation is that it comes spilled out lavishly into a community, like the spirit on Pentecost. What would it look like if such a salvation were spilled out into an urban community that knows nothing of Mennonites or Anabaptists, a post-Christian world?鈥�
To find out, Dow began by organizing a community festival so residents of the changing neighborhood鈥攑eople of color moving in and young whites out鈥攃ould get acquainted. Church members listened when people told them about their hopes and needs: 鈥淵ou know, summer is hard here because the kids have nothing to do.鈥�
The response, a six-week full-day summer arts and academic program. In the fall, those same children needed a place to go when the closing bell rang. An after-school program was born.
The 3,000-square-foot church building soon burst at the seams. Sunday attendance doubled from 40 to 80. Needing space and because 鈥渃hurch isn鈥檛 the best place for implementing new ideas quickly,鈥� OCMC set up the nonprofit Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association and a governing board that hired a church sister to direct it. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when things started to take off,鈥� Dow said.
Ten years ago, Dow pushed his vision further. The church purchased a 40,000-square-feet building, using a quarter of the space and leasing out the rest to nonprofit and for-profit community-focused entities. 鈥淭his marketplace model now provides income to cover building costs and generate income for the association鈥檚 ministries. When the remaining debt is paid off in the next 10 to 15 years, the church will have the capacity to generate even more income for Kingdom purposes. God鈥檚 grace enabled us to take this risk in church, in a community in which nobody is wealthy,鈥� Dow said.
Today, Oxford Circle is Philadelphia鈥檚 most ethnically diverse neighborhood, flourishing with young families. The church and its association maintain a busy hub of community-building activity. Adults attend GED prep and ESL courses and, at a local school, workshops on financial literacy, immigration rights and fair housing. Since last September, the association partners with Kinder Academy to provide quality day care for up to 110 infants and toddlers.
The social entrepreneur recently wrapped up his tenure as lead pastor. 鈥淢y calling as a pastor was such a blessing yet specific to OCMC,鈥� he said. Since April, Dow鈥檚 calling and vision have been expanded to urban churches nationwide as Stewardship and Development Specialist at Everence, a Christian financial services organization.