Reconciliation Services Executive Director Fr. Paisius (David) Altschul was featured in the recent edition of Kansas City’s alternative weekly publication The Pitch. The opening excerpt from the article is below. To read the full article, click here.

Wind swirls around him, inflates his black robes and blows loose trash above his ankles.

The Rev. David Altschul pauses this morning and considers the debris outside Reconciliation Services, the nonprofit he runs at the corner of 31st Street and Troost. Over the years, the organization has provided counseling; referrals and advocacy for uninsured, underinsured and low-income people; a food pantry; and a place to worship.

Photo Credit: Michael McClure

Troost, Altschul decides, resembles a beach. But instead of wave after wave of water, litter and loose scrap are what continually wash up on its shores.

He smiles, finding humor in the observation where others might see another reason to despair. To Altschul, the debris signals not defeat but the ongoing work that must be done to turn Troost into his vision of a “village.”

Altschul’s optimism stands out as much as he does on the avenue. Dressed entirely in black, with his ZZ Top beard and long gray ponytail, he attracts attention. Rabbi? Gandalf? Osama bin Laden? He has been called all three.

The names don’t faze him. Instead, they give him a chance to explain that he is a priest in the Serbian Orthodox Church.

For the full article, click here.