Lisa Allgood, Executive Presbyter
“Jesus said to the rich young man, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me”.” – Luke 18:22
This is a story about what happens when a group of committed, intentional believers believes in something greater than themselves…
Several years ago, Community of Faith realized their building was becoming more costly to maintain than they felt they wanted to manage. Admittedly, they were housed on an amazing piece of property, a hill which provided a stunning view of the city of Cincinnati. They sold the property and nested in the basement of Crescent Springs Presbyterian Church, forming their own continuing worship community, which has brought in some new families.
But post COVID they knew they had to live up to the conversation they’d had with the Presbytery and Presbytery Trustees at the beginning of this journey: the proceeds were to be used primarily for mission. They had plans, which of course COVID derailed, but now at the point where they could move forward, and with the urging of Reverend Sharon Carter, they decided to give out $10,000 grants to a number of organizations they’d become embedded with. Just a few examples of their far-reaching impact include:
But get this one: the same church created a fund, also supported by the Presbytery, to begin a campaign to reduce medical debt in Kentucky. Starting with their $10,000, they raised an additional $13,000 (including a donation from the Presbytery) for the RIP Medical Debt campaign which eliminated more than $3.3 MILLION dollars of medical debt across every county in Kentucky for more than 5300 people.
Let me say that again: $23,000 of donations eliminated $3,300,000.00 of debt. Freeing more than 5300 from that debt.
To that we say “well done, good and faithful servants”. A special thank you to Dawn Farwick, the Community of Faith Clerk of Session, for driving that program.
