Jericho Partnership Aims to Enable Community Reconciliation through Sharing Hope, Serving, Praying & Giving; Building to Shar

Jericho Partnership Aims to Enable Community Reconciliation through Sharing Hope, Serving, Praying & Giving; Building to ShareFest 2018

DANBURY CT, April 25 – Jericho Partnership’s 26 church congregations and eight ministries are joining together to launch a multi-faceted and long-term initiative aimed at breaking down the divisions and barriers within our community – clearing the path to community reconciliation and lasting transformation in the city of Danbury.

Beginning with the Jericho-sponsored Greater Danbury Prayer Breakfast on May 3, Jericho is planning a broad series of events, programs and activities – serving the most vulnerable among us - that will build towards a ShareFest weekend in spring 2018 – where hundreds of area church and community members will serve Danbury’s neediest people in tangible ways through service projects on Saturday, and then gather on Sunday for a massive prayer and worship service.

Jericho’s plan for community reconciliation, which is now part of its permanent mission, comes from a strategy developed by Dr. John Perkins, founder of the Christian Community Development Association. He calls for transforming inner-city neighborhoods, and the lives of those who are suffering, through “living the gospel of Jesus Christ… desiring for your neighbor and neighbor’s family that which you desire for yourself and your family.” His plan, and Jericho’s plan, addresses the spiritual, social, and emotional needs of those living in poverty, immigrants, widows, and orphans, and is widely viewed as a way to reconcile people to each other and to God.

“At Jericho, we’re sensing that we need to work to reconcile all the people in our community to God and to each other - to help break down the divisions that exist and that impede transformation of our city,” said Bill Beattie, Jericho’s Chairman.

This Community Reconciliation Plan, which was formally adopted by Jericho’s Board of Directors, has seven goals: 1) Absorb Pain, 2) Proclaim Hope, 3) Point to God’s Authority, 4) Bring People Together, 5) Give Generously, 6) Reflect God’s Character, and 7) Protect the Vulnerable. The activities and events that are planned are designed to meet these goals.

“One of the reasons Jericho exists is to give living evidence of a loving God to a watching city,” said Carrie L. Amos, Jericho President. “How beautiful will it be for the people in our community to see thousands of God’s people coming together in unity, to live out the gospel by serving amongst those who may not look like we do, pray like we pray, or worship like we worship?!? This new objective will give us ample opportunities for the community to come together in Christ’s name to love and serve those in need.”

During the next several months, Jericho will be getting its new objective off the ground in various ways:

• Holding Community Prayer Gatherings between now and November, open to the public and held at various Jericho Church Partners.
• Recruiting more volunteers from the community who would serve as mentors, at various levels of commitment, to those we serve.
• Proclaiming hope for our at-risk youth and their families on June 23, Jericho Award Day, when Jericho awards more than $250,000 in scholarships and grants to students in our programs.
• Expanding its programming for the most vulnerable in inner-city Danbury; youth who are fatherless or at-risk of dropping out of school, children without access to healthcare, men who are homeless and/or struggling with addiction or mental illness, women or couples who need pregnancy counseling, students who are struggling to learn.
• Organizing Good Samaritan Multicultural events on the Danbury Green to engage with people in the community; holding purposeful “listening sessions” with people outside our Partnership to understand the concerns in the community, and to share the love of God.

“With everything we’re doing over the next weeks and months, we see it as just the beginning of the reconciliation process in our city,” said Amos. “There’s no such thing as ‘one-and-done’ when it comes to building authentic relationships with the many different cultural and faith communities in Danbury. We’re in it for the long haul, and we are expectant that God will do significant things through our ministry.”