2020 Community

, ,

A Multi-faith Conversation: How Faith-Based Nonprofits are Serving During COVID-19 (Part 2)

, ,
A Multi-faith Conversation: How Faith-Based Nonprofits are Serving During COVID-19 (Part 2)

For many Americans, communities of faith are the stabilizing force for good in times of crisis. But in this unusual crisis, the familiar practice of coming together for support has been made nearly impossible. As such, faith-based organizations and congregations that are often closest to those in need – like under-resourced individuals and families, especially in communities of color – are themselves struggling to survive, let alone serve the community.

In a special event hosted by Independent Sector, a national membership organization that works to strengthen civil society, participants in CPJ’s Sacred Sector initiative shared urgent frontline stories from their work, representing a range of diverse faith-based institutions, and consider the connection between service and citizenship for advancing justice for their communities in the context of COVID-19.

Presenters included Sacred Sector Community participant Pastor Harold Dugger of First Baptist Church of Capitol Heights, Sacred Sector Fellow Dr. Denise Strothers of Healing Communities, Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team Director Ismail Royer with the Religious Freedom Institute, and Sacred Sector Director Chelsea Langston Bombino, who served as moderator for the conversation.

, ,

Part 2: Hispanic Congregations - Religious Freedom to Embody La Familia in Civic Engagement

, ,
Part 2: Hispanic Congregations - Religious Freedom to Embody La Familia in Civic Engagement

In this second article of a two-part series, Dr. Gus Reyes shares how Hispanic congregations and ministries can draw on their faith-based values to shape their actions toward a hopeful civic engagement. In this article, Dr. Reyes takes up this theological notion of la familia as a unifying theme in the common faith walks of Hispanic congregations, and apply the idea of family to how our Hispanic faith communities are living into their spiritual commitments around civic engagement during the dual challenges of a global pandemic and heightening tensions around the pursuit of racial justice. Dr. Reyes states that it can be challenging for Hispanic congregations to engage civically: “Hispanic faith leaders see they have a role to play in shepherding their co-religionists’ understanding of the importance of speaking and acting thoughtfully in the public square. And yet, it is not easy to show Hispanic Christians one definitive way to carry out the Lamb’s image in this nuanced moment. For some, civic engagement may look like finding one or two issues at the local government level that they can meaningfully engage in with a public official. For others, it may mean encouraging voter registration, exploring serving as a volunteer commissioner at the municipal or county level, or simply starting with praying for our public leaders.”

, ,

A Multi-faith Conversation: How Faith-Based Nonprofits are Serving During COVID-19 (Part 1)

, ,
A Multi-faith Conversation: How Faith-Based Nonprofits are Serving During COVID-19 (Part 1)

For many Americans, communities of faith are the stabilizing force for good in times of crisis. But in this unusual crisis, the familiar practice of coming together for support has been made nearly impossible. As such, faith-based organizations and congregations that are often closest to those in need – like under-resourced individuals and families, especially in communities of color – are themselves struggling to survive, let alone serve the community.

In a special event hosted by Independent Sector, a national membership organization that works to strengthen civil society, participants in CPJ’s Sacred Sector initiative shared urgent frontline stories from their work, representing a range of diverse faith-based institutions, and consider the connection between service and citizenship for advancing justice for their communities in the context of COVID-19.

Presenters included Sacred Sector Community participant Pastor Harold Dugger of First Baptist Church of Capitol Heights, Sacred Sector Fellow Dr. Denise Strothers of Healing Communities, Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team Director Ismail Royer with the Religious Freedom Institute, and Sacred Sector Director Chelsea Langston Bombino, who served as moderator for the conversation.

, ,

Hispanic Congregations: Religious Freedom to Embody Familia in Worship and Service (Part 1)

, ,
Hispanic Congregations: Religious Freedom to Embody Familia in Worship and Service (Part 1)

In this first article of a two-part series, Dr. Gus Reyes shares how Hispanic congregations and ministries have been impacted by COVID-19. Dr. Reyes explores the distinct spiritual strengths of these organizations and how their faith calls them to seek out innovative, creative solutions in the face of a global pandemic. Dr. Reyes unpacks the ways in which our current public health crisis has posed unique challenges and opportunities for Hispanic faith communities.  Hispanic congregations draw on their distinct Christian practices related to their conception of family to navigate how to flourish during COVID-19. Dr Reyes shares: “The motivation for this community-centered, service-oriented spirit in Hispanic congregations is our common understanding of family, or la familia. We know that Hispanic faith communities and leaders operate in a very familial and relational way."

, ,

Black Ministries Are Essential Services, Now More Than Ever

, ,
Black Ministries Are Essential Services, Now More Than Ever

(OPINION) Questions and conversations surrounding structural racism and how to address it have risen to national attention, particularly in the disparate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and in recent incidents of violence against Black people. Chelsea Langston Bombino interviewed Pastor Cheryl Mitchell Gaines, founder and senior pastor of ReGeneration House of Praise, also known as the Church in the Field, in southeast Washington, D.C., to explore her vision for the role of community-based, Black congregations and faith-based nonprofits in advancing solutions relevant to structural racism.

,

A Meditation for Mother’s Day: Supporting Mothers During COVID-19

,
A Meditation for Mother’s Day: Supporting Mothers During COVID-19

This Mother's Day, the sacred role of mothering is taking on different shapes and forms under the strain of COVID-19. The social architecture that once supported the vocation of motherhood - from pregnancy care, to mental health providers, to houses of worship - now looks fundamentally different. For many mothers, COVID-19 has resulted in a type of liminal existence and loss in motherhood – the  loss of the normal rhythms and practices of institutions and communities that are vital to our capacity to thrive as mothers and as families. During COVID-19, a public justice framework requires varied institutions, including government, as well as faith-based and community-based organizations, to work together to address the multifaceted challenges this pandemic presents. COVID-19 is certainly influencing how we carry out our God-given vocations, including motherhood.

,

Congregations and Christian Citizens Essential to Ending Human Trafficking

,
Congregations and Christian Citizens Essential to Ending Human Trafficking

This article, drawing on the research Sacred Sector Fellow Denise Strothers completed for her dissertation, addresses the overwhelming task of how a congregational communities and faith-based organizations can take steps to assist victims and perpetrators of human trafficking. This article equips Christian men as citizens, as well as faith-based organizations and their leaders, to address the complex social challenge of human trafficking holistically, integrating congregational best practices on how to work with exploited people, an understanding of how to influence public policy and advocate for justice in human trafficking, and an awareness of how their faith calls them to shape culture through public positioning. Denise states: “My research reflects a holistic public justice approach because it encourages both individuals and their faith communities to live out their right roles and responsibilities, based on their intrinsically held sacred values.”

,

Press Release: Hispanic Ministries in Texas and California Join Sacred Sector Learning Community

,

Sacred Sector, an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, is a learning community for faith-based organizations and emerging leaders within the faith-based nonprofit sector to integrate and fully embody their sacred missions in every area of organizational life. In late February, Sacred Sector partnered with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), an association representing over 40,000 Hispanic ministries nationwide, to launch a Sacred Sector Community in California. Sacred Sector also partnered with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists), representing over 1,000 Hispanic ministries in Texas, as well as the San Antonio Baptist Association, representing over 500 ministries, to launch a Sacred Sector Community in Texas. Sacred Sector Community specifically empowers congregations and ministries to proactively address the challenging legal and cultural environments in which they have a sacred calling to serve.