Missions & Community
Missions & Community
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TagsDignity and respect are the key to a multimillion-dollar ministry supported by a successful thrift shop
Dorcas Ministries attracts hundreds of volunteers who work at its secondhand store — and believe in its larger mission as one of the region’s premier social welfare agencies.

Events and books help undocumented immigrants tell their stories
A Texas seminary shares the stories of immigrants as a way of breaking down barriers and building better lives for immigrants in the U.S.

Celeste Kennel-Shank: ‘It was the safest place I knew as a child.’
A pastor and journalist tells the story of the Community of Christ in Washington, D.C., in which she grew up. It was a five-decade-long experiment in living and worshipping in a neighborhood parish that intentionally ended in 2016.
Eva Marie Stahl: Easing both the stress and the barriers created by medical debt
Faith communities are among donor-partners helping RIP Medical Debt ease the financial burden of health care.

Jennifer M. McClure Haraway: Congregations can help each other navigate opportunities and challenges
Emotional support, information and practical assistance are all ways congregations can benefit from developing relationships with other congregations, says the author of “No Congregation Is an Island.”
Black churches exercised their ancestral power during the pandemic. What’s next?
Black churches stepped up in the pandemic with information, support, food, testing and vaccines for their congregations and communities. That work needs to continue, writes a pastor and associate director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches.

Gil Rendle: Do Christians understand the great truth that they hold?
If all Christians care about is organizations, then the church doesn’t have much to offer an individualistic society, says a consultant and author. But what if Christians let go of programming and focused on the pearl of great price?
Matthew Desmond: The will to end poverty
Poverty abolition is about political will and policy choices, and churches can play a crucial role in shifting both, says a leading researcher and author.
Considering the future of the 'Old First Church'
In this two-part series, United Methodist Church Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. and the Rev. Audrey Warren reflect on First Churches -- those anchor congregations in American downtowns. How can these institutions, which may be rich in tradition but strapped for cash, adapt to a changing society?
Observation, interpretation and intervention are key to revitalizing our big downtown churches
Nearly 50 years ago, the authors of “What’s Ahead for Old First Church” examined the strengths and weaknesses of these anchor institutions. The lessons are surprisingly relevant today.