Why go it alone?

Since coming to FPWA in May, 2007 I have spent a great deal of time talking to representatives of churches and faith-based organizations about the work there is to do to help the neediest of our city. We have talked about the real challenges for women and men, children and youth, the sick and elderly, the homeless and near homeless, the under-employed and the unemployable. All of these New Yorkers, and more, need our help. And yet, too often the feeling is that the vineyard is vast and the laborer few.

Leader after leader, pastor after pastor, and worker after worker has described their sense that the only truly effective way of tackling the needs of the people in their community is to ask themselves what they can do on their own, and then to set out to do that particular piece of ministry, alone. One pastor told me that all churches doing human service outreach are “congregational churches” in the way they serve people: they do whatever it is that their congregations can do alone and do not worry about or count on anyone else to give them a helping hand.

As denominations have fewer resources to give to their parishes, as more churches and community-based organizations compete for fewer dollars, and as networks of organizations run out of collective steam after two or three years of fighting to formulate an effective working group, churches and faith-based service organizations are settling for doing the best job that they can do, alone. While this attitude is understandable, it is truly a regrettable response that needs to be challenged.

The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies is a membership organization for a good reason. Our history has proven that each of our members is stronger and more effective when they partner with others who share their particular concern for the people they serve. By networking, collaborating and uniting to address the needs of New Yorkers, we have demonstrated that there is a clearer sense of what the needs are and what solutions might work; there is greater support to continue to work for change, and an increased likelihood that funders will support our efforts; there is an enhanced ability to speak truth to power, and recognition that our collective voice is far more powerful than a lone voice crying in the wilderness. FPWA, like many other organizations made up of partners committed to standing together, reminds us that far more can be accomplished when we are willing to work together to find solutions to our city's problems.

Together, we can make a positive impact on the lives of millions of New Yorkers while keeping New York City a great resource for global prosperity. We do not need to surrender to the enticement to isolate our efforts or fearfully guard our work in our own little part of the vineyard. Faith communities of every tradition have proven the power of moving forward with a common mission, under a unified banner for the welfare of the whole human family, thus becoming an undeniable and unstoppable force for change.

In the months and years ahead, FPWA will be offering you many opportunities to join forces with us for the welfare of the city and its citizens. I hope that you will welcome the opportunity to think, work and speak together for the welfare of us all.

- The Rev. Joel A. Gibson