Sympara

Six churches in the Triad region of North Carolina are moving forward with visions to repurpose their properties for affordable housing and other social-impact uses. Last Saturday we celebrated those visions at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Participants made commitments to support the projects. They also got equipped for the multiyear journey ahead by identifying partners and exploring a "spirituality for the long haul." Thank you to our fiscal sponsors who made the journey possible: Byron Fellowship Educational Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Piedmont Federal Bank, The Winston-Salem Foundation, and Woodforest National Bank. And thank you to Dean Corey D. B. Walker and Wake Forest University School of Divinity for hosting us and grounding us in a theological vision to build the Beloved Community. The good work is underway!

Another gathering of our Charlotte cohort is in the books.

Keeping the books was today’s focus — preparing the five AME Zion churches to seek financing for reuse of their properties for social impact.

The cohort knows that the developer secures financing to build housing, but it’s up to the church to raise capital for other space uses like a community center or health clinic.

With the help of LISC Charlotte Deputy Director Rusty Mills and Program Officer Jordan Braswell, a Sympara board member, we considered other issues related to financial management, including legal structures and governance.

Thank you, East Stonewall Ame Zion Church, for hosting us.

The good work is underway!

A Sympara cohort meeting is always a mix of theological reflection, technical considerations, discernment practices, and various learning modalities, such as one-on-one conversations, as in today’s NC Triad cohort session. We prepare faith communities to advance visions for reuse of their properties for social impact. Along the way, we build the capacity of clergy, lay people, and their neighbors to teach, organize, and lead in new ways.