Biden’s emphasis on uniting our nation, and his implicit reference to the role of faith in declaring his “whole soul” was in it, are significant. It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will advance an approach to working together across differences, particularly between government and diverse faith-based and community-based organizations. Whatever approach the Biden administration takes, it will be building upon over two decades of bipartisan principles advancing faith-based and government collaboration.

Just days ago, in the heart of Advent, the Supreme Court upheld the religious freedom of Muslim Americans whose most sacred capacities to live out their faith were deeply violated by those in power in the federal government. This Supreme Court decision should be celebrated by Christians. And the spiritual import of the season in which this ruling came down should not be lost on Christians.

On Jan. 6, a group of people who felt disenfranchised were led to do something incredibly destructive. These people were not just bad actors. Their sense of disenfranchisement was exploited by those with political power. The events of violence at the Capitol on Wednesday were a horrific assault on our essential democratic institutions.

On Jan. 6, we celebrated Epiphany - the Magi’s revelation of the Christ-child. This year, Epiphany was also the day a group of domestic terrorists invaded the U.S. Capitol.

The COVID-19 pandemic and political turmoil have left Black communities and faith-based groups struggling and in need of a large-scale response that can stabilize and strengthen their vital role in American society. Read this article by Rev. Khary Bridgewater and Chelsea Langston Bombino.

Like many other school districts around the country, Columbus City Schools (CCS) announced midsummer that they would not be reopening for in-person instruction in the fall due to COVID-19. Earlier in the year, when the schools had been forced to close, almost a quarter of all CCS students did not receive instruction through the district’s online learning system. Church networks and faith-based nonprofits around the city realized that they had the resources that could provide a solution to this pressing need that had become evident, and sought to collaborate with CCS and other community-based organizations. In a collaborative effort with Catalyst, the Columbus Dream Center, and other faith-based nonprofits, the faith community is coordinating an effort, dubbed ‘For Columbus Kids,’ to offer CCS students Learning Extension Centers (LECs). An LEC is a safe, adult-supervised environment provided by a faith-based or neighborhood partner organization in which students can work on their online learning. LECs follow public health recommendations, including mask wearing, social distancing and thorough sanitizing. They also offer students and families instructional assistance, access to meals, peer engagement and connections to other supports, such as spiritual community, if desired.

This article explains how this collaboration works, exploring how these LECs are carefully monitoring public health guidance and the governmental rules on religious organizations and government partnerships. It is worth noting, this collaboration between congregations, faith-based networks and the local school district could be carried out quickly and comprehensively in Columbus both because of the strong, pre-existing faith-based networks and because of successful past collaboration between religious organizations and other groups. Now, with this well developed collaboration and all of the resources it has made available, other places can consider using ‘For Columbus Kids’ as a model for doing the same.