Welcome to the first issue of The Congregations Project! This newsletter aims to share hopeful stories of congregational impact from a wide diversity of denominations, traditions and perspectives in the United States. None of these stories are, in isolation, a full representation of the ways God is at work in congregational life — but our hope is that taken together they allow us to see more clearly the big picture of congregations and their impact: lives and communities transformed, ministries meeting needs in new ways, churches finding resilience or creating opportunities for new connections.
Check out the stories below or submit your own. And thank you for reading!
When Sheila was growing up, church was one of the only places where she felt safe. She wanted to create this feeling for others, so she started the "Dream Team" at her parish, which hosts small public gatherings — like "ice cream Sundays" — with the goal of deepening their relationship with their neighbors.
The New York Times: An influential order of nuns decided to complete its mission when the last sister dies. The only question left is how to finish well.
We feature stories from congregations that have a clear impact: lives transformed, ministries meeting needs in new ways, churches finding resilience or forging new connections.
All submissions chosen to be featured will be eligible for a small monetary award that will be given to the congregation(s) named in recognition of their work.
Featured resource: Generate a religion demographics report for your zip code
This tool from the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) assists church and community leaders in accessing free online information about their communities. The initial map shows the location of other churches in your area and the Community Profile Builder provides you with social, economic and religious information on the community or neighborhoods you select.
"That relationship that we have with the holy — guess what? It exists everywhere we go. If you're only finding the holy in these walls you're missing out on so much more."
- Sheila Foster
"Dream Team" member and Director of Community Involvement, Grace Episcopal Church
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