Christians Supporting Community Organizing (CSCO) is a bold national attempt to change the relationship between the theologically conservative parts of the Protestant church and community organizing.from the report by USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture (Fall, '99). For entire report see CSCO website in "About Us."PURPOSEThe purpose of Christians Supporting Community Organizing (CSCO) is to work for the shalom of our society (Jeremiah 29:7) and of our churches by engaging Evangelical, Holiness and Pentecostal churches in congregation-based community organizations. To work for the shalom is to work for systemic/ structural justice within our communities and churches. By engaging in this work, we are seeking to bring all of life under the Lordship of Christ.MISSIONThe mission of CSCO is to motivate, enable and support churches and pastors of Evangelical, Holiness and Pentecostal traditions to become active members of regionally- and nationally-networked congregation-based community organizations in their city.
Christians
Supporting Community Organizing,
www.cscoweb.orgLeadership
CSCO Discuss
|
Outreach to Other Organizations A priority for CSCO has been to reach out to other organizations. At each conference of these organizations which we attend we have a table exhibiting our work and often a workshop demonstrating it. We have attended SCUPE conferences twice. Last year’s annual meeting followed the National Association of Christian Social Worker conference. We met with NACSW board members. Then last fall we were present at the Sojourner Justice Revival conference in Dallas. This year we will attend the Pentecostal s & Charismatics for Peace & Justice conference.Boston Branch at CUME The Boston Branch again held all-day workshops as the conclusion of a required “Church and Community” seminary course at the Gordon-Conwell Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME). The workshop provides a biblical grounding for faith based community organizing and identifies its strategy. The lead organizer of Greater Boston Interfaith Organization joins CSCO in this teaching. CSCO has been presenting this workshop since 1998. We have kept statistics only since 2004, but the same demography has been true all along. Of the 330 students taught, only 37% have been Euro-American, and of the Euro-Americans almost half have been women. Most of these students are already urban pastors or other congregational leaders. 2009 Annual Meeting
The annual meeting was held at the Benedict Center
in Indianapolis. Local Christian Church pastor, Mike
Bowling, addressed us at the plenary. He stressed the
importance that the congregations which are the members of
a community organization must not only be well organized
internally to involve many of the members in the community
organizing activity. They also must be vital and growing
with mutual love and a vision of God's Reign. Web Site News The website now had at the bottom of the homepage an opportunity to link to Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Holiness writings pertinent to faith-based organizing. This is new and is growing - let us know if you have ideas and suggestions.
|
|