ARK OF FAITH

At the edge of Tyshaun Cauld-well's neighborhood is a tidy block lined with
four big simple buildings.

They stand like a clean beach between the sea of traffic on Interstate 490
and the encroaching wrack of boarded-up houses, vacant lots and tumble-down
rental properties.

Until last year, these four buildings on Whitney Street were owned by St.
Francis of Assisi, a Roman Catholic parish that ran out of parishioners.

Now, one of the buildings is Reaching the World for Christ Ministries;
another is the Ark of Jesus.

For Sunday services at the Ark, a former activities center, folding chairs
are lined up on the gym floor. Late one recent afternoon in that cavernous
upper hall, the backboards had been rolled out and the nets lowered for
pickup basketball.

The Rev. David J. Singleton, a retired Rochester firefighter and an 18-year
minister, raised his voice over the slap, boom and clank of the play.

"With the grace and help of our God, nothing is impossible," said
Singleton, a 45-year-old with a halfback's compact build. "These boys are
little diamonds, waiting to be discovered. Diamonds in the rough."

With many others, he thinks religion is the key to recapturing the hearts
and minds of young people drawn to drug traffic and the other dark charms
of street life.

"There's enough work in the vineyard to go around," said Singleton, adding
parents and teachers to the formula for recovery. "These kids will later
have kids. We need to be loving our generations to come, even though we
can't set eyes on them."

During the 1960s, Singleton grew up in the crime-ridden Hanover Houses on
Joseph Avenue, the son of an alcoholic father and an illiterate mother who
was "a praying woman." Money and food were often scarce, but his mother's
attention was abundant.

His life, said Singleton, was turned around by his mother's constant faith
in God and by the kindness of strangers, who brought the family holiday
food and tutored him in reading.

On the streets today, he said, "A lot of the drug dealers want out. But
they're addicted to the money. They're addicted to the power."

Taking the word of God to the streets, he often says to young men:
"Brother, don't give up. Look up, and you can go up."