Sympara

What are the prospects for spiritual community across lines of division? The next Sympara writing group, starting March 10, will take up this question. The group will explore how community is sustained over time amid conflict, loss, and other changes. We will draw out stories of spiritual community and, as the writer and pastor Mahan Siler puts it, throw out anchors by which to pull ourselves toward future possibilities. The writing group is part of Sympara's initiative Aging for the Common Good. Read about the program here: https://lnkd.in/ehuzbeX There's still time to join us. DM Daniel Pryfogle if you are interested.

One important feature of The Sacred/Civic Placemaking Project launched by Sympara on Saturday: We’re bringing development partners into the eight-month cohort journey at the start rather than waiting until the end. The developers will help the church and nonprofit participants discern what kind of affordable housing they are called to build (i.e., permanent supportive housing, multifamily rental, workforce housing, senior housing, a homeownership model, or some mix). That discernment will be supported by site analysis, public theology, and appreciative inquiry into each organization’s history of sacred/civic placemaking and community outreach. Pictured here with our senior consultant Deborah Tien is Marcus Kornegay, MBA, MS, cofounder of the nonprofit developer Prosperity Alliance. Marcus is also a board member for our partner Wake Forest University School of Divinity, which hosted Saturday’s kickoff. We expect our developers to do theology with us in the coming months!

The Sacred/Civic Placemaking Project is underway! Yesterday we kicked off an eight-month peer learning experience at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. The cohort of six North Carolina churches and one nonprofit are exploring the possibility of building affordable housing on their properties. Clergy, lay leaders, nonprofit executives, and development partners mapped out this journey of discernment around the question: How might our property bless our neighbors? Thank you to our funders for making this possible: Wells Fargo, A.J. Fletcher Foundation, Woodforest National Bank, Bryan Fellowship and SECU Foundation. Marcus Kornegay, MBA, MS Yolanda Winstead Sloan Edemann Bryan Franklin Deborah Tien Gabriela "Gaby" Scarritt Suzie Koonce Mark W. Boyce

Here’s a helpful one-pager for faith communities considering providing sanctuary, produced by American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago.

“Churches and other faith communities can play a really pivotal role in the aftermath of disasters because we have the flexibility in creating our infrastructure.” — Kate Shem, elder, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC https://lnkd.in/g_BbFh7Q

We're launching The Sacred/Civic Placemaking Project Jan. 11, 2025, at Wake Forest University School of Divinity with two cohorts of congregations that will explore the possibility of building affordable housing on their properties. The eight-month peer learning experience will help congregations discern their calling to housing, engage neighbors and other community stakeholders in visioning, and prepare for the multiyear journey with developers, funders, and programmatic partners. We still have a few spots open for congregations in the Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gSwiF-8Q. And DM Daniel Pryfogle if you're interested.

Looking for resources to help you implement intergenerational or cogenerational strategies? Download our recently released Nurturing Cogenerational Social Connections resource guide, webinar recording, and slides at https://lnkd.in/e8HFfYxr! These materials provide a wealth of information on the topic, as well as highlights from the webinar featuring Eunice Lin Nichols with CoGenerate and Daniel Pryfogle with Sympara. Be sure to register for our next webinar, Transformative Narratives for Socially Connected Communities on January 22 from 3-4 pm ET which will be followed by a discussion group from 4-5 pm ET - https://lnkd.in/eYzFd4D7. #wellbeing

Could these empty spaces be for the repairing of the world? A #GivingTuesday invitation from Sympara cofounder Daniel Pryfogle.

We're changing how religious organizations view their property. Help us equip more leaders and congregations to steward these places for the common good. Please donate today at https://lnkd.in/ezytexp. #GivingTuesday

Repurposing empty church classrooms for the life of the community. A Parish Collective story.