June 22, 2007

NORRISTOWN – “I should have been dead by now – I’ve been in front of death over 300 times! I am alive because God has mercy.”
Former Philadelphia gang leader and drug dealer Joey Perez spoke to a lively crowd of more than 150 people Thursday night on George Street at the Norristown Harvest to spread a message of hope to the community.
The Norristown Ministerium is hosting Perez in a series of three outreach events in Norristown to encourage the members of the community to come together and take a stand against violence.
Twenty-eight years ago, Perez abandoned a life as a violent criminal to become a Christian. Now he is traveling the country to show people an alternative to his former lifestyle.
“So many young people are losing their lives over something that is not that important,” Perez said. “He can set you free if you only give Him a chance.”
Jubilant cheers and cries of “Hallelujah!” could be heard as he spoke to the crowd, which comprised people of many different ages and cultures.
Perez’s voice could be heard up to four blocks away while he spoke. Norristown resident, Ezra Spencer, 17, was riding his bike down another street when he heard Perez, so decided to stop and listen.

Spencer said he was impressed with the crowd, which represented a mix of white, black and Hispanic residents.
“You see the diversity that’s here,” Spencer said. “You don’t normally see that every day.”
To encourage this diversity, Perez gave his speech in both English an Spanish, but to many, his message transcended languages.
“It crosses cultural boundaries, economic boundaries and generation boundaries,” said Mike Stitt, interim pastor at Mecedonia Baptist Church.
Stit, who has worked on this event since March, said the primary goal of the evening was just to “touch lives.”
“If this impacts one, two or three individuals, that makes a difference,” Stitt said.
Theresa Whitney, who has helped the Norristown Ministerium organize the events since early March, said they plan to do whatever it takes to get their message out to the Norristown residents.
  “There just aren’t enough people today who care,” said Whitney. “We’re gonna keep having event after event after event until we meet everybody in Norristown.”
  At Thursday’s event, Whitney was singing up families to receive one of 75 free bags of groceries that were donated from local churches.

In addition to the free groceries, families listened to music performed by The Fairview Village Worship Team, ate dinner and picked up free clothes as they waited for Perez to speak on George Street.
Volunteers from the Ministerium made an effort to send out fliers to the neighborhood residents before the event and also solicited attendees at their homes.
Betty Gibson, 28, said she heard about the event after reading a flier, so decided to stop by because she wants to improve the conditions of the neighborhood.
“We need more unity and togetherness in the neighborhood,” Bibson said. “If we work together, we can make it back like how it used to be.”
The George Street location is one of three areas in Norristown where the outreach events will occur. Friday night’s event will be at the Thriftway parking lot between DeKalb and East Oak Street and Saturday’s meeting will be at the MLK Park between Ash and Walnut streets. They will both begin at 7 p.m.