wfn.org | HUD calls for more collaboration with faith groups

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

June 16, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
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NOTE: This report is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS story #279.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - A conference aimed at furthering the collaboration between
the government and faith groups to expand affordable housing and revitalize
communities occurred June 15 at Riverside Church.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the
interfaith event featured a mix of government officials, members of the
clergy and leaders of faith-based not-for-profit organizations and
occasionally even showed an evangelistic zeal, thanks to a few good
preachers. United Methodists were among the speakers, workshop leaders and
participants in the "Faith Communities and Community Building" Conference.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo also used the occasion to announce that his
agency plans to disburse at least $1 billion in grants to faith-based
organizations next year, an increase of $200 million.

Martin Luther King III, president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, noted that a rousing welcome from the Rev. James Forbes,
Riverside's pastor, set the tone for the day, and said he wanted to
emphasize the importance of faith groups partnering with HUD and other
organizations to improve poorer communities.

He expressed sadness at the number of homeless in America, despite the
country's wealth, and added that his conference headquarters in Atlanta
receives calls daily from people who need a place to live.

Referring to his father's mobilization of ministers in various cities for
the poor people's campaign, King said, "He understood the power of the
ministry. He understood the influence ministers have on their congregations
and their communities."   

He urged faith leaders to send out a "clarion call" to unite and build
partnerships for better communities for the 21st century.

Cuomo noted that even though the United States "is doing extraordinarily
well economically," it cannot be assumed that "those indicators of economic
progress are synonymous with the success of our nation," particularly when
success is defined by racial, economic and social justice.

Past financial excuses for not improving on issues of justice have
evaporated at a time when America has had the largest economic surplus in
history. "We must demand to do it (improve the lives of the poor) now, and
we must demand it from every portion of society," he said.

Partnerships between faith groups and the government on issues of housing,
social services and community building have evolved to the point that
church-state boundaries can be accommodated, according to Cuomo.

But such work needs to be done on a much larger scale. "We need the
churches, we need the temples, we need the mosques - not just preaching the
gospel, but acting out the gospel in their communities," he declared.

Combining government funding with the work of faith communities in improving
poor communities is as potent as TNT, Cuomo added.

The Rev. Emmanuel Cleaver II -- a United Methodist pastor, former mayor of
Kansas City and currently "special urban adviser" to Cuomo -- moderated a
panel discussion of clergy and leaders of faith-based not-for-profit
organizations.

Noting that half of all people who ever lived on earth are alive today, the
Rev. Robert Edgar talked about the "urgency of now" in addressing the
problems of poverty and homelessness. Edgar, a United Methodist pastor, is a
former Congressman and current chief executive of the National Council of
Churches.

The Rev. Raymond Rivera, an Evangelical Pentecostal pastor and founder of
the Latino Pastoral Action Center, explained that the challenge for churches
in community building is not to replicate secular models.

True faith-based community programs address needs in a holistic way, he
said. The organizations he has been involved with work from the principles
of providing personal and structural liberation; offering healing in a
holistic way; serving the needs of the larger community and transforming all
through constant growth.

The Rev. Calvin Butts, the well-known leader of Abyssinian Baptist Church
and president of the Council of Churches of the City of New York, outlined
his congregation's involvement in community development and warned of the
"delicate balance" that must be maintained when working with politicians and
members of the private sector "with whom you don't always agree."

Faith groups must be willing to give up funding if it compromises their
beliefs, he said. "Don't get spiritual laryngitis when you see a few dollars
coming down."

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United Methodist News Service
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