A boxing church that reaches out to women too
They gather for a weekly Bible study and breakfast, and no punches are thrown.
DESPITE ITS rock-'em-sock-'em roots, Rock Ministries has vastly expanded its outreach efforts beyond boxing.
Missionary Lizzie Savar heads the Rock's women's ministry, which meets weekly for breakfast and Bible study. The women's group complements a children's ministry and Sunday school, which occupy the floor above the gym and practice areas.
During one study, Savar teaches a little-known passage from the Book of Genesis, which in its description of dynastic wars and familial conflict sounds more like a Game of Thrones excerpt than a Bible passage.
Savar, who says she works "hours each day" on her weekly talk, weaves the violent passage into a tale of acceptance. Most of the women follow along in dog-eared Bibles.
Laura Moyer, 81, frequents these all-women events, at which she often pokes fun at Rock Ministries founder Mark "Buddy" Osborn.
"I torment the daylights out of him," she jokes. The Rock picks up Moyer's laundry for her and got her a walker for her bum leg.
"They're very good to me here," she says.
Other attendees have struggled with addiction in the past. Michelle Ewing, a passionate Christian missionary, was a heroin addict who came to Kensington from her suburban home to score drugs.
Now seven years sober, Ewing moved her family to Port Richmond, where she does street outreach.
In a group discussion after the Bible reading, a woman named Betty describes her grandson being called the N-word in elementary school.
Ewing is quick to respond.
"There's so much hate in this world," she says. "[God] wants us to respond with love."