I write this with great sadness in my heart. In all of my 18 years in ministry through the vehicle of the inner-city children’s church The Jesus Party, my heart has never been as grieved for my neighborhood as it is now.

I have had a very rewarding life experience working with youth through the years. The thought of two 12-year-old boys being suspected of two major fires in the downtown is very depressing.

I am known as different things to different people in different circles. To my children, I am hard-headed; to my church, I am a hard-liner; and to evildoers, I am a hardass. Whatever the case might be, I would like to think that my compassion runs as deep as some of my convictions.

I do not believe the problem lies with the children as much as the culture to which the children are exposed. If those children are found guilty of arson, I am all for punishing them — I do not believe in giving a green light to people for misbehavior or malicious misconduct. I do not subscribe to the get-out-of-jail-free-card kind of thinking. However, I do have a heart and those are children we are talking about.

Those are children who have been raised in a ghetto atmosphere. Most of the children being raised in the inner-city of Lewiston are subject to some things that other children are not exposed to in other parts of town.

I am not making excuses for anyone, but I would like to point out a few things to try to get a better understanding of all the recent chaos.

Many of the children who grow up in our neighborhood do so in the surroundings of condemned and abandoned buildings. They view broken windows, rotten porches, boarded up doorways and vandalism as they make their way to and from school every day.

Children learn to ride their bicycles on sidewalks filled with trash and littered with mattresses infested with bedbugs.

Several of the families that fell victim to the horrible fires were living in condemned buildings, which leads me to ask a very important question — if you had to live as a child in conditions like that, would you not want to burn the place down?

Of course, doing wrong is always wrong but most adults, as good as we might think we are, have had wrong thoughts from time to time throughout life. For example, who has not had automobile trouble and wished the dumb vehicle would just get stolen? Who has spent all their money on fixing the foundation of their home only to have the roof leak after?

It leaves you so frustrated you wish the place would just burn down.

How many people have been affected by the burden of a very sick loved one? I have heard people say they wish that their loved one would just die and get it over with because it was just killing them.

In reality, no one wants their vehicle to be stolen, their house to burn down, or their loved one to die. Sometimes these thoughts pass through our minds so quickly because of our desperation and feeling of hopelessness.

If adults have struggles with life issues, how much more can we expect from our children?

Eighteen years ago my family set out on an adventure and established an inner-city ministry for children. It would require our family to move from a nice residential area to live and raise our family in the ghetto. I will assure you that the experience has left us more blessed than bruised.

We have always tried to teach our children that though they lived in a ghetto, the ghetto did not live in them. The whole idea behind the ministry of The Jesus Party was to create a fun-filled atmosphere that was healthy, clean and safe for children.

It was important that our location be smack dab in the middle of all the action. We were always opposed to taking the children out of the downtown. Rather, show them that they can be successful and grow where they are planted.

I do believe we have a responsibility to provide safe and healthy surroundings for our children, no matter what street we live on in this city.

Soon, a verdict will be made on the fate of those children. I pray mercy and grace prevail.

The Rev. Douglas Taylor is leader of The Jesus Party in Lewiston.