Two hours before he was installed yesterday as the Twelfth Baptist Church’s new pastor, Arthur T. Gerald Jr. was recruiting members of his congregation to walk through the sprawling Warren Gardens Housing development and other crime-plagued areas in the shadow of the historic church to reach out to at-risk youth.

Pictured: The Rev. Arthur T. Gerald Jr. (right) received congratulations from (left to right) state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, state Representative Willie Mae Allen, and state Representative Gloria Fox.

“I’ve always felt that the church should be about the community,” said Gerald, sitting in his spacious second-floor office on Warren Street yesterday afternoon. “It’s great to be a house of worship where people come in, but we as a church have to have a passion about the community, so we’re going to go out across the street and walk and speak to people and let them know that we’re here for them and we care.”

Gerald, 62, became the church’s 13th pastor during an installation service that began at 4 p.m. yesterday and lasted more than two hours. The speakers list included Mayor Thomas M. Menino and several state and local elected officials.

Gerald, said Menino, is “someone I can count on, rely on to give me counsel and wisdom, who can talk to at-risk kids.”

In addressing Gerald and the dozens of clergy assembled during the ceremony, Menino said: “Let’s continue to work together. We face many challenges, so let’s stay focused and make sure every young person in our city has a bright future.”

Gerald succeeds the Rev. Michael E. Haynes, a former state representative and a political insider also known for his work with at-risk youth.

Last March, with a 70 percent vote, Gerald became pastor-elect of the church. Now the formal title of pastor gives him the ability to establish a team and to implement a plan to focus on community and youth.

In doing so, Gerald said he is returning the favor he received as an impressionable youth. He said he may have ended up incarcerated if it weren’t for positive role models, men who stepped into his life.

“If it wasn’t for people like Mike Haynes and Jeep Jones, I may have ended up in prison by hanging out there with the negative elements in the community,” he said. “Those two men gave me a positive spin on life.”

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SOURCE: The Boston Globe
Brian Ballou | bballou@globe.com