But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:21
Tommy Pacello had vision. He could see the potential for a space before others. He could draw it for us and bring us into the landscape. We were blessed to have Tommy in Memphis.
If you moved to Memphis is the past several years, you might not know how much of transformation the area surrounding the Memphis Medical District has undergone in the past 5 years. The Edge, just beyond Autozone’s right field bleachers, seemed to be a no man’s land. Union between Bellevue and the Peabody was run down. Where we saw blight, Tommy saw potential.
Tommy helped create, and is largely responsible for, the vision leading to the walkable, growing, revitalized Memphis Medical District we see today. His legacy lives on in the work of the Memphis Medical District Collaborative and those he inspired by his perseverance and ability to bring people together with his New Urbanism ethos. When he passed away at 43 from cancer in the pandemic, leaving behind a wife and small children, we mourned.
But we are not without hope. For though we don’t know our days, God does. As much as we question our Lord, He knows the reason we are here. With death comes new life, and his work on this earth planted seeds that will be harvested later. Tonight, we lift up the MMDC and the Pacello family. May the work of the MMDC be true to its purpose and the Pacello family know how thankful we are that they shared Tommy with us. As we pray for the city block by block, we ask for a bit of the vision that Tommy had. Lord, bless the work of placemakers, and the time and place in which they do it. We pray that the Tommy Pacello Fellowship reaches its fundraising goal. In your name, Amen.