Faithful to Jesus’ prophetic vision, the Presbyterian Association for Community Transformation (PACT) is a network of community-based ministries of compassion, justice, worship and witness. PACT provides spiritual and practical resources for engaging in the prophetic ministry of transformation of communities and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
PACT Principles
- We believe that community transformation is an integral part of the whole ministry of the Church.
- We believe that the Church is called by God to be engaged in ministries of transformation in the context of particular congregations and communities. These ministries of compassion and justice sustain the Church as a faithful body of worship and as a witness to the broader community.
- We are committed to implementing ministries of community transformation through a focus on faith-based community organizing and development.
- We exist to encourage the Church and society as a whole to recognize the importance of social justice in the process of community transformation.
- We seek to provide resources, training and personnel to facilitate community transformation through congregations and other faith-based organizations.
- We work with other networks in PHEWA, with other constituencies and structures within the Presbyterian Church (USA), and with other faith-based and secular organizations to fulfill this mission.
- We strive to be a fellowship for our members and the voice of our members within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the wider community.
Resources and Articles
Congregational Based Community Organizing (CBCO)
Congregational Based Community Organizing (CBCO) is another component of the work of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP). CBCO, the model used by PHEWA and PACT members for decades, is a strategy for rebuilding communities, revitalizing congregations and developing individuals into effective leaders and change agents. There are over 180 congregational-based community organizations across the country, and through a percentage of One Great Hour of Sharing funds, PHP has provided funding for most of them, either in the start up phase or in their on-going efforts with affordable housing and homelessness.
Read more and see how your congregation can get connected.
Congregation-Based Community Organizing; Building Vibrant Congregations, Building Just Communities
This fourteen page primer introduces the Congregational-Based Community Organizing (CBCO) model and offers a glimpse into the experience of several congregations involved in this growing movement. It was written by Trey Hammond (see above) and Phil Tom in 2010 when Phil served the national offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as Associate for Small Church & Community Ministry. Phil was the recipient of PHEWA’s 2009 Rodney T. Martin Award and, since September of 2010 has served as Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Labor.
“Presbyterian congregations across the country are seeking to experience spiritual renewal, to revitalize their congregational life and to transform themselves and their communities. They want to create a deeper sense of community, to fulfill the biblical mandate to pursue justice and create a better world. Congregational-based community organizing (CBCO) is a means for congregations to engage their members to connect with their neighbors and communities, and to address social inequalities while simultaneously transforming communities and congregational life. Through this model, congregational members share their stories, deepen relationships with one another, discover issues of common concerns, develop leaders and act to improve the lives of members of their communities.” Download
2012 General Assembly action: On Instructing Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to Study and Report Corporate Practices of Health Insurance Companies and Possible Divestment of Same
Serving as Overture Advocate from the Mid-Kentucky Presbytery for this item of business was a labor of love and justice for the Rev. Dr. Johanna W.H.van Wijk-Bos, as you will read in her report on this action of the General Assembly. Read more to access web link to the action and for Johanna’s moving and powerful “Advocacy Statement,” delivered to the Health Issues Committee of the 220th General Assembly (2012). Read report
Also see two articles in Unbound:
“220th GA Healthcare Insurance Resolution Deepens “Family Dilemma; Are PC(USA) Ties to Humana a Possible Obstacle to Divestment?” by Rev. Bebb Wheeler Stone, PhD
Health Care Versus Wealth Care: Investors with a Conscience Should Divest from Health Insurance Companies
By Rob Stone
Tikkun Magazine, September 16, 2011
I was the doctor on duty one night in August when the ambulance rushed a man into our Midwestern hospital ER. As I walked into the room, the scene was right out of TV. A nurse was trying to start an IV. Someone was running an EKG. A student had just put oxygen in the patient’s nose. The room seemed crowded. The paramedics were sweating and slightly out of breath.
But my attention was on a pale, thin, fifty-five-year-old man sitting bolt upright on a gurney, clutching his chest and straining to breathe. Cold sweat dripped off his nose. I asked a couple of quick questions as I leaned him forward to listen to his lungs. Someone handed me his EKG showing an acute heart attack. Read article
Creating Pathways of New Life in Urban Congregations
Creating Pathways for New Life in Urban Congregations: Change and Opportunity is a five year follow-up to the Vital Signs of Urban Congregations resource. This resource focuses on how the twelve congregations handled change and opportunity as they moved along in their ministry journeys. A mixture of stories, testimonies, conversations and observations of the dynamics of the urban congregations demonstrates their lives and their witness the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their neighborhoods. Free (plus shipping) PDS #2331610001.