Archive
Civic Engagement: A Call for More Than Just Every Four Years
This article originally appeared in The Ismaili USA. Every four years the citizenry of the United States engages the political process through national elections. The election cycle seems to lengthen with each …
Why Do Buddhists Give Money in Sri Lanka, But Not in the U.S.?
During visit to observe a Los Angeles-based mindfulness group a few months ago, the teacher asked me to explain to her students the significant role that dana, one of the ten pāramitā …
Beyond Prayers and Protests: Building Trust Among the Police and Community in Downtown Los Angeles
This is the first in a series of essays about the Trust Talks. The next event is October 3. On a Saturday last April, a group of pastors and other faith leaders …
The Gay Sex Worker Who Defied Sharia Law in Banda Aceh to Organize
This post originally appeared on Global Post. JAKARTA, Indonesia — Faisal Riza started as a sex worker in one of the riskiest possible places for any kind of transgressive behavior: Aceh, a …
Building the Future of Religion, One Burrito at a Time: Service Groups and Religious “Nones”
On a recent Thursday night, a group of about 75 volunteers for the Burrito Project commandeered the kitchen and fellowship hall at the Church of the Epiphany to make 1,000 burritos to …
Hampers of hope in Harbor City
This post originally appeared on Al Jazeera America. HARBOR CITY, Calif. — From the Pacific Coast Highway exit off the freeway in Harbor City, it is impossible to miss the towering exhaust stacks …
A Family Occupation: Samuel Chu on the Occupy Central Movement in Hong Kong
Samuel Chu has been a community organizer in Southern California for the past decade. On September 26, 2014 he left Los Angeles to join his father–a Southern Baptist minister, community activist and …
LA Voice: Congregations and Communities Building Electoral Power
For many years in the United States, churches have been at the center of progressive political and social movements. From abolitionism to child welfare and of course the Civil Rights Movement, religious …
From #GivingTuesday to Giving USA, New Lessons for Faith-Based Organizations
Huffington Post Religion covered the Faith+GivingTuesday+SocialGood summit, which featured CRCC’s Rev. Mark Whitlock, Brie Loskota and Nadia Roumani. The summit convened representatives from religious organizations, universities and entrepreneurs who are exploring the …
Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the Program on Environmental and Regional Equity announce the publication of “Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities.” While some …
One LA: Standing Together
This documentary, One LA: Standing Together, explores the creation of a broad-based community organization in Los Angeles County. One LA , an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation, unites citizens to address issues such as housing, education, and immigration reform. The video includes interviews with One LA leaders, including Ernesto Cortés, Jr., Macarthur Fellow and lead organizer for One LA, and footage from the 12,000 person inaugural event.
Christians Supporting Community Organizing: A New Voice for Change Among Evangelical, Holiness, and Pentecostal Christians
Timothy Sato and Donald E. Miller report on the activities of Christians Supporting Community Organizing. Download a PDF of the Report
Civic Participation and the Promise of Democracy
Craig McGarvey explores civic engagement strategies (faith-based and community organizing, popular education, collective learning) and provides an overview of these strategies in California. Download a PDF of the report
Practicing the Faith: A Conversation with Rev. Eugene Williams
The Rev. Eugene Williams was executive director of Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches (LAM), a coalition of forty small and midsize congregations that worked in South Central Los Angeles. In 1997, LAM advocated …
Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches: Organizing Congregations to Create Change
Introduction Even though I was an outside observer, I felt some anxiety as I turned east off of the Harbor Freeway and headed to Mount Olive Second Baptist Church in the heart …