Brother Matthew Connors was a baker, a butcher, a bus driver, and a grounds maintenance guy since joining the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries at the age of nineteen. At the age of fifty he was assigned to a black church in a poor part of Greenville, Mississippi that suffers the crime, drug, and gang problems that are prevalent in poor inner cities across America. He thought he was going to maintain the property. Instead, he found himself in the improbable role of becoming a father figure and mentor to scores of boys ...
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Brother Matthew Connors was a baker, a butcher, a bus driver, and a grounds maintenance guy since joining the Society of the Divine Word Missionaries at the age of nineteen. At the age of fifty he was assigned to a black church in a poor part of Greenville, Mississippi that suffers the crime, drug, and gang problems that are prevalent in poor inner cities across America. He thought he was going to maintain the property. Instead, he found himself in the improbable role of becoming a father figure and mentor to scores of boys and young men on the likely path to two destinations; death or prison. How these boys and young men responded to this short, Irish, white guy from Massachusetts is a testament that gang members will pursue a different path in life given the chance and a dedicated guide. This is as much a story about all the boys and men who chose to walk away from gang violence and crime as it is the story about Brother Matt. God put Brother Matt in their midst to provide a spark to these boys. They turned that spark into a fire for life; their words an inspirational light to others coming behind them."Brother Matt taught me how to coexist...because before I met him I was a Vice Lord and before I knew Brother Matt I couldn't see a gangster and it not be an issue, you know what I'm saying? We banged and we banged hard. The streets are a cold place. And the streets will take the warmth and joy out of anybody. Because if we're going to be honest here, as blacks in the South, there's certain roles that we get pretty much forced on us because there are not a lot of options. You know, Brother Matt gave you the other option. The option that nobody else would even think about giving you. You know what I'm saying? The option to think about things, the option to hope, the option to believe in your damn self..".".the Bible says, "Be not deceived for some have entertained angels unknowingly." And I did. I entertained an angel." -Ken Baker
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