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Feb. 6, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) — Empty space — 44,000 square feet of empty space, to be exact — greeted the Rev. TroyAnn Poulopoulos at Galloway United Methodist Church, her new appointment in midtown.

Rattling around in all that empty space and footing the utility bills for it were about 40 active church members. Bob Kermick, the church lay leader, estimates that when Poulopoulos arrived in June 2004, 15 attended the early service and maybe 25 the late.

“And I guess the greatest percentage of our members are 70 years old or older,” Kermick said.

It didn’t look promising.

“Before I came, I think the church had taken a vote to sell the facility and buy a small house so they could continue to have a presence in the community,” Poulopoulos said. “But, as a courtesy to me as the new pastor, they decided to hold off one more year, to see if there were any changes at all.”

“We were analyzing the situation,” Kermick admitted.

Poulopoulos said she encouraged the congregation to pray for ways to connect to the life of the midtown Memphis community. Driving around the neighborhood, the newly appointed pastor found a thriving arts colony on one side of the church and an economically depressed area on the other.

“A large part of the neighborhood has been revitalized,” Poulopoulos said, “but much hasn’t been.”

Recognizing that unusual measures were needed to turn Galloway around, Poulopoulos scouted the Internet, looking for churches in similar situations. She found Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark., and made a road trip to visit with its pastor, the Rev. Betsy Singleton. “It became a point of hope for us,” Poulopoulos said.

Taking a page from Quapaw Quarter’s playbook, Poulopoulos started looking around for connections to the community. She walked various groups through the church 30 or 40 times, searching for ministries and people “who fit with us and our sense of ministry.”

One who came, looked and stayed was DeWayne Hambrick, the creator of Graffiti Playground, a program that offers young people free training in the performing arts.

Hambrick, a professional dancer and actor, portrayed Henry the Octopus on “The Wiggles,” a children’s TV show, and was King Cole for five years on the “Barney” show.

He was born and spent his grade school years in Memphis, moving with his immediate family to Salt Lake City when he was 14. After years of successful work as an actor and dancer on both stage and screen, Hambrick moved back to Memphis.

“I knew when I came home that I wanted to give back, work with kids,” Hambrick explained. During visits through the years to members of his family in Memphis, he had noticed many young people just hanging out when they should have been working or at school.

“Instead of complaining, I knew I should do something with these inner-city kids, something positive. I wanted to give them something to do other than be on the streets.”

He decided to offer to kids ages 8 to 18 what he knew best: training in the areas of vocal arts, dance, drama, photography and film. And he would offer it for free.

The name for his program came to him on his way to a spa one afternoon. “I saw some graffiti and thought it looked cool; it was a sign of expression. And since we were going to sing and dance and play, then it should also be Playground!” he said.

Word of mouth brought kids to him from South Memphis, Orange Mound, Olive Branch (Miss.), Germantown and even Brownsville, Tenn. Some were white, some were black, all were hopeful.

The first six months were spent practicing at Studio B in Germantown and at a local YMCA. The first two stage productions were at a high school, “but we had trouble with the sound; the building was the problem.”

Knowing he needed to move to offer a better quality show, Hambrick was interested when he heard about Galloway.

“Betty Tyler invited me to meet with Pastor TroyAnn,” he said.

Hambrick’s first impression of the old church building was less than positive. “It looked like a dungeon, cold. But then Pastor TroyAnn showed me around, took me upstairs. I fell in love with the third floor. It reminded me of the TV show, ?Fame.’ There was a dance studio with a hardwood floor and never-ending space!”

Not long after that, he and Poulopoulos struck a deal, making Galloway the new home of Graffiti Playground.

“When we first heard the word ?graffiti,’ most of us at Galloway said we didn’t need that,” Kermick said with a laugh. But it didn’t take long to convince the congregation to give the program a chance.

“I’ve supported her, TroyAnn, all along,” Kermick said. “Of course, sometimes I get into it with the church treasurer, my wife Claire, over finances,” he added with a sly chuckle.

Supporting the various programs now housed at the church has been a financial strain, Kermick said. Fortunately, one initiative, “Families First Work Training,” helps cover the cost of utilities. The program, providing job skill training for parents on welfare, came to Galloway through cooperation with Centenary United Methodist Church.

“We have a whole slew of people using the church now,” Kermick said. He listed

“Celebrate Recovery,” a Friday night support group for people with “hurts, habits, hang-ups and addictions,” and Stephen Foster’s Jazz Orchestra for youth. Foster is a sax player who escaped Louisiana a few steps ahead of Katrina. A celebrated music teacher in New Orleans, he’s offering a free instrumental music clinic for Memphis kids.

“I see a good future for the church,” Kermick said. “We’ve had 15 to 16 new members join since August, some African American, some white. We have a mixed congregation now, and we’ve accepted that.

“I say, let’s go!” he said. “If we can get our finances smoothed out, we can do well.”

Other programs housed at Galloway include DaGalloway, a Friday night coffee house; “Food, Not Bombs,” a ministry of the MidSouth Peace and Justice Center; Wednesday and Friday night meals for the homeless; a Wednesday night community youth group; Galloway after-school on Wednesday and Thursday; Girl Scouts and Brownie Scouts; a Karate program for all ages; and movement classes for women in jazz, hip-hop, African Movement and yoga.

“We have a grant from the McKendree District through Church Extension to help us become more handicap-accessible,” Poulopoulos said. The money is for a limited use elevator for those in wheelchairs.

Mission groups from San Diego State University and churches in Cordova, Tenn., and LaFayette, Ind., helped the church clean up. “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” signs have been posted. “They really improved our ?curb appeal,’” Poulopoulos said.

“This has been such a success of the connectional system,” she said.

And it has been a success for DeWayne Hambrick and the kids of Graffiti Playground as well.

“I’m proud of all my kids,” Hambrick said. “Some are really talented; no, all are really talented. I’m proud of them all, but I think I’m most proud of one girl, Sherita.

“When she first came to me a few months ago, I thought I’d pull my hair out. I really had to pray for her. She has a strong personality and a mouth on her. And she really didn’t care what came out of her mouth.

“The average person would have said, ?you need to leave,’ but something told me you can’t give up on her,” Hambrick said.

“You can’t give up on her because that’s what she’s used to,” he said. So he walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. “I love you, Sherita,” he said.

Now, a few months later, Sherita is the leader of Graffiti Playground’s dance team.

“Kids have seen the transformation in her and it makes them want to be better people,” Hambrick said. “She has come so far.”

He said he doesn’t spoil his kids. He makes them work hard.

“But I do remind myself that they are kids and that I’ve been on the same side of the tracks they’re on. I have to be there for them.”

*Farmer is director of communications for the Memphis Annual (regional) Conference of the United Methodist Church. This story originally appeared in the Memphis Conference United Methodist Reporter.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org

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Resources

Memphis Annual Conference

Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church

Youth Ministries