Our Changing Community

Our hometown was on the national news, but not for something good. Mexican drug trafficking organizations have been in the news lately and our little rural town got named in a recent report showing the locations of Hispanic gang activity. It seems a little strange to watch all the big cities mentioned in this news clip, and then see our little Appalachian town shown on the map. The Washington Times had another article that mentioned Galax as well. Our church is situated right in the middle of a highly populated latino population. We are also in a very poverty stricken area as well. This does make me think about how we as a church can truly reach out to our community. It’s scary…

In April, the Justice Department reported that Mexican drug cartels represent the “largest threat to both citizens and law enforcement agencies in this country and now have gang members in nearly 200 U.S. cities.” The 200 cities include Washington; Baltimore, Frederick and Greenbelt in Maryland; and Arlington and Galax in Virginia.