Heaven Skates News

May 2004

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

If you read the verse just before this one you’ll find the purpose for this passage isn’t to teach prophecy, but to provide encouragement to Christians whose loved ones have passed on.

Recently while traveling in Virginia, one of our board members, Jim Pietrowski, came upon an all too familiar scene -- firemen and paramedics working on someone lying on the ground. He soon found out that two young boys had been run over by a van while skating on the side of the road. The morning paper revealed that Austin Brown was killed that Saturday and his friend, Nathan Horvath, was in intensive care. The newspapers said Nathan was hit first and the van rolled over him. When the vehicle struck Austin, he was thrown to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. That’s why I tell so many people about the importance of wearing a helmet, but many times that advice falls on deaf ears.

The news article Jim brought back to add to my collection of many shows a roadside memorial in honor of Austin. This is a little of what the article says about him: Austin Brown was a boy who traveled the world, served as his family handyman, and never had any qualms about showing his mother affection in public. He was just 12 years old and in seventh grade. He was taking high school math and had an adventurous spirit. Please pray for these boys’ families. I have e-mailed the news paper for an update and will keep you informed.

WHY WHERE THEY IN THE STREET?

That’s the same question I asked eight years ago when two young boys where struck here in Woodstock and one of them died. If you’ve been downtown in Woodstock lately, you can’t miss all the signs saying "No skateboarding, inline skating, or bikes on the side walk." If kids can’t ride on the sidewalk then where will they ride? In the streets! Our city officials can find money to build dozens of athletic fields, but when it comes to skating they outlaw it and push these kids into the streets. I have article after article about skaters who’ve died while skating in the street, and our laws seem to put them there.

Why don’t they just go to the local park, you ask? I also have story after story of skaters who’ve been arrested for skating in parks and school grounds. There isn't much to skate in local parks so they skate things like park benches. This gets them in trouble. You’d would think they could just go to the local church and skate in the parking lots. But they get ran off from there also, and some church staff members call the police to have the kids removed from the grounds. Many skate videos show church folks abusing skaters and skate magazines have articles depicting Christians as awful people. I have even seen a article showing a skater being baptized to Satan.

It saddens me every time I hear about skaters being run off church property. So do you have any questions about why skaters won’t come to church on Sunday? If someone told you to leave the church grounds or called the police to have you removed from church property, would you attend services at that church? If you weren’t a Christian at that time, what would you think of Christians? How might this affect your decision to accept Christ?

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Out of sight, out of mind.

Skaters have such a passion for the sport that they find places out of sight, like behind department stores and inside industrial parks. Unfortunately, that’s a perfect location for the drug dealers to go and entice skaters to try drugs. Many other bad things happen in these areas. When a secular park it built many times they become bad places also. The problem is hidden unless someone like me makes people like you aware that there’s a serious problem. Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the age 15 and 19? The fastest growing age group for suicide is 10 to 14 years of age. If we don’t do something to help who will?

We have a solution.

God has confirmed many times over to me that we need our skate park up and running again. Today in church, as in past Sundays the skaters will seek me out and fill my row. This Sunday I had about six skaters sitting in my row because they know I’ll accept them just the way they are. They know I care. The young skater who sat right next to me said, "Everyone looks down on us because of the way we dress." As I talked with him, he told me another familiar story of how even other kids their own age don’t accept them just because they skate. Then they ask me about being on our team. It looks like God is reassembling the Heaven Skates team. Sometimes I’m amazed at seeing God’s hand at work. One acre or more is all we need and we’ll be back up and running again.

Why Me, Lord?

I‘ve asked that question many times. Why me, Lord? I’ve been told many times that this is one of the hardest ministries to raise funds for. Like the young man said to me in church "They look down on us because of the way we dress". I can tell you it’s true. One thing is for sure, God gave me this ministry, and I have been blessed in many ways because of it. Please keep praying for us, because I can see the effects of your prayers each day. If you’d like to help in any way, please call me at 404-312-0726.

Are you interested in meeting?

I was thinking of having a cookout and prayer time in a local park for our supporters and anyone who might be interested in coming. I may have some of the skaters give their testimonies. If you’re interested, please let me know by sending me an e-mail or call me at 404-312-0726.