Faith-based community organizing has a fine history. I’m talking about Gamaliel, the faith-based network that trains community organizers nationwide to work on immigration, health care, and transportation issues. I’m talking about the Jeremiah Project, which calls young adults into faith-based service projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I’m talking about Brooklyn United Methodist Church, and its provision of care to the sick and elderly in New York. I’m talking about PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing) and how it puts faith values into action. There are more faith-based initiatives than I can possibly name.
But the “time famine” has deepened for many clergy, who are the gateways to so many congregations. It is time to switch direction. Instead of going from internal parish strength to external extra-parochial action, where we add value to the community from the value we have privately and internally, we need the community’s help. We...
