Collaboration and resource sharing is a major part of “building our way out of the housing crisis” and Bricks and Mortals is committed to doing just that. Wednesday on December 7th, we held a Summit with Mayor Adams, Pastor Gil Monrose and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, and the Mayor's Working Group on Faith-Based Affordable Housing & Community Development, which was Chaired by Bricks and Mortals’ Executive Director, Kate Toth.
The Faith-Based Affordable Housing Summit discussed the Action Plan developed by the Working Group. The summit consisted of panels and built momentum for utilizing faith-properties and supporting faith communities, so they can continue to support their communities. Thank you to all of the panelists, attendees, working group members, everyone working behind the scenes, and Trinity Church Wall Street for hosting.
Collectively, we mourned in October when we lost legendary faith-leader, Rev Dr. Calvin Butts of Abyssinia Baptist Church. Paying homage to Rev. Butts, City and State has published a list of 100 faith based leaders who represent the remarkable diversity of faiths and systems of belief in New York.
The Faith Power 100 list includes many Bricks and Mortals partners:
We’re so grateful to see members of the Bricks and Mortals community acknowledged for the excellent work they do! Congratulations to everyone on the list
The Faith Power 100 only covers the tip of the iceberg regarding leadership, advocacy and community development coming out of faith based organizations in New York City. Recently, The Christian Culture Center (CCC), the largest house of worship in New York City, with 37,000 active members, received full City Council approval for an Innovative Urban Village in East New York. The CCC’s vision for this Urban Village is to establish a sustainable, diverse neighborhood, with income-based affordable housing, purpose-built community services and robust economic opportunities for the new and future residents of East New York.
On the West Coast, The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego is hosting The Good News Festival, a faith based festival with workshops like Land Acknowledgement and the Church, Affordable Housing and Faith Communities, Food Security and Faith Communities. This festival is timely considering a new bill was just passed in California permitting churches, nonprofit colleges to build homes on their land. In response to the nationwide housing crisis, we can expect to see more faith-based organizations involved with development and real estate as a way of creating income and expanding their mission work.
