wfn.org | Bangladeshi man inspires Indiana church to offer micro credit

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 1, 2001     News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.     10-21-71B{508}

By Lynda C. Ward*

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (UMNS) -- Most United Methodists have never heard the term
"micro credit," but at Broadway Christian Parish United Methodist Church, it
is not only a familiar concept but also a ministry that is transforming
people's lives.

Micro credit, pioneered by Bangladeshi economics professor Muhammad Yunus,
is the practice of giving small, collateral-free loans to people who would
not be able to secure financing from a traditional bank. But micro credit is
more than a transaction, proponents say. It is a partnership between lender
and borrower enacted not only to improve the financial situation of the
borrower, but to transform his or her life.

Last spring, Broadway's minister, the Rev. Michael Mather, traveled to the
small, impoverished Muslim country of Bangladesh to study Yunus' Grameen
Bank. Mather wanted to see how he could adapt the concept of micro credit to
meet the needs of his parishioners and the surrounding neighborhood on the
south side of South Bend. As a result, the pastor helped Broadway establish
its own version of micro credit.  

"So far we've given 10 loans, but we don't charge the high interest," says
Mather, referring to the 20 percent interest that Yunus' bank charges. "We
charge only 1 percent and put that money back into our program to help keep
it going."

To date, Broadway's loans have supported, among others, the opening of
Le'Loupes Jewelry; Dean's Accounting and Bookkeeping Service, which received
both a loan and additional office space inside the church; a sewing service
started by a group of women in the church; and Beanie World and a bicycle
repair shop, both run by youth. 

"The loan has given me the tools I need to get going," says Dean Hunt, of
Dean's Accounting and Bookkeeping Service. "Broadway has also helped support
my business with a donation of a computer, desk, and filing cabinet, [these
were] gifts from the people at Broadway and other churches."

Broadway has given out $1,500 in loans since late spring or early summer.
The largest loan was for $500 and was paid back in full with the 1 percent
interest a matter of weeks, according to the church. The smallest loan was
$50. The average amount of a loan is between $200 and $300.

The loans vary in duration. Three were six-month loans, one was for a week,
and the others have been for between one and four months. In all cases, the
loans have been paid back to Broadway "in time" or before the time due.  

The church also supports its borrowers in other ways. Broadway Market is
open at the church one Saturday each month for the public to peruse the new
businesses, and a Web site, www.broadwaytownsquare.com, gives those ventures
a presence on the Internet.

Micro credit has its critics, especially those who say that it is more "loan
sharking" than ministry. But Mather reminds people that Methodism's founder,
John Wesley, encouraged Christian groups to offer similar loans. 

"Micro credit is ministry because it is investing in the gifts of people who
the world sees as poor, needy and empty, but who we know are the gifted and
beloved children of God," Mather said.

For Yunus, the ministry fulfills one of the pillars of the Islamic religion:
the pillar of charity. That emphasis on charity is something that Islam has
in common with Christianity.

Micro credit has been ministry to Broadway as well, for the parishioners are
quick to tell how their service to others has increased their faith and
offered them deeper insights into what it means to live in community. For
more information on micro credit, visit www.CrossandFlame.org.

# # #

*Ward is the communications coordinator for the Michiana (Ind.) District of
the United Methodist Church. 

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United Methodist News Service
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