It takes more than one person to bring about change. When everyone gets involved, that's when the Rev. Madai Taylor said change will happen.
Some of his tactics are outward - such as preaching for 30 days last April or preparing to embark on a seven-day prayer walk through the Pleasant Valley neighborhood - his message Wednesday was for people to look inward first.
"When we begin to look at life, we have to understand there are circumstances that occur daily that are out of our control," Taylor said. "But the one thing we can do is determine how we think about them and determine how these situations will affect our lives."
Taylor spoke to a group of more than 40 during the Life Enrichment Senior Series at Friendship Haven. His topic was creating a better community through spiritual wellness.
"The better we are doing spiritually, the more prosperous we are, the more productive we are and the happier we are," he said. "Spiritual wellness has a lot to do with attitude - a lot to do with how we are thinking about ourselves."
The mission spearheaded by Taylor to combat drugs in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood and ultimately the entire community has sparked public interest in the situation.
When asked by an audience member specifically about the drug problem in Fort Dodge, he compared the problem to an onion.
"It's layered, one layer after another," he said. "I think that people, in many ways, are trying to escape life through drugs."
He also pointed to what he referred to as a "serious break- down in families where children have no type of spiritual foundation, no teaching or training" as a major impact.
In an attempt to mend that break down, the AGAPE church holds an Early Intervention and Prevention program at 5 p.m. every Thursday night for kids ages 11 through 17.
"Our number one target is to educate our kids. We go to Web sites and find everything that relates to drugs, we have people from Community and Family Resources, people from the police and sheriff's department who talk to the kids," he said. "We do everything we can to help the kids not become a victim of drugs and drug trafficking."
Taylor's speech was well received by Leola McKinley, a Friendship Haven resident.
"It was great. It was great that he described what the church is doing and what they are doing in the community," she said. "If a few more of us would be willing to stand behind them, it would be a wonderful thing."
Promoting wellness and improving quality of life by helping older adults stay active and vital is the purpose behind the Less is More series. The series of speakers began in October 2008 and has focused on the six different aspects of wellness - intellectual, social, emotional, physical, spiritual and vocational.
Organizers agreed the series has given people a different perspective on what it means to be well.
"A lot of people are coming away with a whole different view of what spiritual wellness is," said Dorothy Griffin, of Trinity Healthy Living, one of the sponsors of the series. "It's really broadened people's view on how it's a whole, complete package."
Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net
