CRCC’s Executive Director Brie Loskota was quoted by United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) about management of congregations during economic disasters that arise in wake of extreme weather.
An excerpt from the full article:
Loskota, managing director of the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, focuses at least part of her research on congregations that manage to deliver the best care for their communities.
Simply put, being inclusive in response means fully using your capacity to care for your fellow human beings, Loskota explained: “Ask yourselves: Is your theology so exclusive that you can say a freezing person doesn’t deserve a sweater?”
Loskota was speaking at a one-day workshop entitled “California Faith Communities Summit: Leading Congregations.” The meeting, one in a series offered throughout the state, was hosted by California Volunteers, the state’s lead agency for coordinating volunteers and monetary donations during a disaster.
Loskota urged participants to become acquainted with the changing cultural and religious landscape within their own community—and that means readily crossing so-called “cultural lines” and “faith lines” to reach out to others.
“Despite the fact that we hear we’re an increasingly secular society, the majority of your region is engaged in religious congregations,” Loskota said, “and you must begin to navigate them in order to understand who might be potential partners,” she advised.
