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An inner-city pastor challenges
well-off evangelical suburban churches to partner with inner-city
churches and service agencies.
An inner-city pastor writes about the great divide
between affluent suburban congregations and inner-city service agencies
like his own, which have little power and less money. Speaking within
the evangelical community, he urges suburban churches with a concern for
the poor to develop partnerships with urban churches and service
agencies.
He urges suburban churches to consider some hard
questions: "What is the defining purpose of their ministry? What
population do they seek to serve, and why? What resources do they bring
to this enterprise? What do they lack? Are they close enough to the
problems to propose effective solutions? "They might also ask
whether they are willing to form partnerships with inner-city
counterparts less well-heeled but more credible with the target
population? Would they be willing to accept a reduced role in such a
partnership if the result would be greater service to the urban
community?"
Acknowledging that these are difficult questions, he
adds that "for many evangelical groups, such questions will
challenge the very core of their existence."
The author, Samuel K. Atchison has worked as a
policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a
prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J., and a fellow of the George H. Gallup
International Institute in Princeton, N.J. The story is distributed by
Religion News Service and published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
What do you think?? Are
you aware of partnerships like this that work? Do you see other ways to
bridge the urban-suburban divide? Send us a note to share here!
Click
here for the full story.
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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