“Poverty and racism are an offense to God.”
Together, we are activating the gifts of the faith community to help end child poverty in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Data from the Racial Equity Index (Metropolitan Studies Institute at USC Upstate) indicate that the life expectancy of a child born today, less than two miles northwest of Main Street, Spartanburg, is 68.2 years, while a child born two miles southeast of Main Street, Spartanburg, is 85.3 years – a difference of over 17 years.
45.7 % of children in this city live in poverty.
Black people are three times as likely to live in poverty as white people.
The wage gap for Black and Latina women shows that they are paid less than 57 cents for every dollar paid to their white male counterparts.
Love your neighbor as yourself -Mark 12:31
How we do this together
“Friending bias is lowest on average in religious groups…. Friending bias is negative in religious groups because religious-group friendships do not exhibit substantial homophily by socio-economic status (SES)…. if friending bias in all settings was reduced by an amount equal to the difference in friending bias between neighbourhoods and religious groups, most of the disconnection between low-SES and high-SES individuals in the US would be eliminated…. from Social capital II: determinants of economic connectedness
Mission
To end child poverty in Spartanburg
Vision
To build a community of connection and sharing, for mutual thriving
Strategy
Pastoral
Be with children and their families who are living in poverty. Listen. Seek to better understand their lives, and to connect them with immediate resources, access to services, and connection with the wider community. Encourage their gifts.
Congregational
Build a network of congregations serving children and their families who are living in poverty. Share knowledge and resources between congregations.
Community
Align efforts of congregations and organizations serving children and their families who are living in poverty.
Advocacy
Develop projects and support for gaps in community services and thinking.
Culture
Create a culture of connection and sharing for our mutual thriving.
Who is involved?
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
Trinity AME Zion Church
Jesus Our Risen Savior
Mt. Moriah Baptist Church
Central United Methodist Church
First Presbyterian Church
Episcopal Church of the Advent
Hub City Roots
Fernwood Baptist Church
Second Presbyterian
Spartanburg Food System Coalition
Silver Hill Memorial United Methodist Church
Bethel United Methodist Church
St. John's Lutheran Church
Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
The Salvation Army
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
Trinity United Methodist Church
Life with Jesus Ministries
Mt. Carmel Baptist Church
The Bridge at Green St. & BridgeWay Village
Would your congregation consider hosting?
Meetings are held once a quarter, generally on a Tuesday or a Thursday in January, May, September, and November.
We meet from 12:00pm-2:00pm, with lunch and meeting from 12:00-2:00pm and a training from 2:00-3:00pm.
We plan for 120 attendees. Your congregation does not have to be large to host–we have made this work in large and small spaces both.
The Faith Initiative pays for the lunch. Lunch can be provided by congregations themselves or catered by someone connected with the congregation. Either way the Faith Initiative invests in the congregation through the lunch.
With every meeting we try to create a lived experience of the banquet table of the kindom of heaven, the Beloved Community we know we can create together.
Thank you.
