From community activist to clergy candidate

Once seminarian Terri Youngblut lobbied over zoning issues in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties section. Now she’s working on a new faith-based career.

By Laura Blanchard

Terri Youngblut: From "zoning queen" in Northern Liberties to seminarian. "Faith-based groups and non faith-based groups can work together so that everyone benefits."

For seminarian Terri Youngblut, ministry is the logical next step from civic activism.

Youngblut is no stranger to the concept of leadership as service. At one time publicity and communications officer for the Lutheran Settlement House in Philadelphia’s Fishtown, Youngblut was most recently executive director of the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, serving the Philadelphia community that includes the Delaware Avenue/Spring Garden Street nightclub district and the 16-acre plot that housed the former Schmidt’s Brewery. Youngblut was a community activist and lobbyist who wore many hats during a "critical juncture" in Northern Liberties life as the community moved from blight to entertainment hotspot. Today, the community features revitalized housing increasingly attractive to young professionals across its resurging landscape. .

"I was the zoning queen," Youngblut says. "You name it, I had to deal with it: gambling, strip clubs, nuisance bars, insensitive development. And then there were the quality of life issues – we had to advocate on issues relating to abandoned houses, drug houses, dumping, and graffiti." She can point to some notable successes during her three-year tenure.

The Schmidt’s site is a case in point. Under the previous owner, it had been allowed to deteriorate, becoming a place where crime was commonplace. There was regular drug use along with the occasional violent crime – murder and rape. It was also a common place for "short dumping," illegal disposal of household refuse and construction debris. "It took us years," Youngblut says, "but we finally got it into sheriff’s sale, and into the hands of a principled developer. Now it’s being developed as a mixed use site with a shopping center and townhouse apartments." Other successes included bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to develop Delaware Avenue’s Festival Pier as a family-friendly alternative to places such as Hooter’s on the booming entertainment waterfront.

Despite these successes during her three-year tenure at Northern Liberties, Youngblut felt that something was missing. "Faith was the missing element," Youngblut observes. "With much of the funding coming from government sources, faith-based organizations had difficulty obtaining funding. And in other helping organizations, employees can’t cross a certain line. They can’t bring ministry into counseling, for example, even though some counseling situations simply cry out for ministry."

Now in her second year at the seminary, Youngblut sees seminary study as the logical next step. "It’s not just that I didn’t want to have to worry about crossing that line and jeopardizing public funding," she explains. "I also think that when a faith-based organization is involved in social programs, it attracts more people willing to give more deeply of their time and talents than they might to a secular organization. There are many ways that the church can be a vehicle for social justice and social mission."

Asked about a possible model for collaboration between churches and public entities, Youngblut cited the work of the Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project (EPOP), a faith-based organization of 25 churches, public schools and neighborhood institutions throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. Funded by dues paid by member institutions, donations by individuals and grants from foundations, EPOP has teamed churches and community organizations in projects to build or restore playgrounds, strengthen school lunch programs, establish literacy projects, housing rehab, and improve the quality of life for the disadvantaged and underserved populations in its neighborhoods. "With a model like EPOP," says Youngblut, "you can get faith-based groups together with non faith-based groups and everybody benefits."

In her second year of the M.Div. program, Youngblut, who held down the Urban Program information booth at last year’s new student orientation, says the decision to come to seminary is one she’ll never regret. "The first year wasn’t an easy year," she comments. "But I could kick myself for waiting so long because this is what I was meant to be. Now I understand the look of contentment on so many people at this place. It’s the right path."

Laura Blanchard is web site designer and an occasional author for The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.