Concordance taps faith-based groups as partners
Community group encourages collaboration among faith communities
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH - The Long Branch Concordance (LBC) is turning to faith-based organizations to play a role in the ongoing effort to meet the needs of Monmouth County residents.

The LBC invited leaders and members of faith-based organizations and communities throughout the county to its Aug. 9 monthly meeting, "More than weekly sermons: Faith-based programs provide needed support in local communities."

"I think it is obvious about the importance of engaging faith-based communities," said the Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong, the guest speaker at the meeting.

"The question is how do you engage faith communities and bring them together in a way that is relevant and meaningful," he said.

Armstrong is the pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton and the director of the Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships within the state Department of Children and Families.

Armstrong said, "I cannot believe that our Founding Fathers meant, 'do not talk to churches on how to do social services.' "

"We need to recognize the meaningful role of institutions of faith," he said. "About 60 to 70 percent of all donations in America are through faith donations. To overlook them is to overlook an incredible source of revenue."

LBC Executive Director Terri S. Blair said she invited Armstrong to the meeting because "He is a man of faith and also a man that works with the government. He brings them both together."

According to Blair, that is just what the LBC is trying to accomplish.

"In addition to spiritual guidance, churches, meeting houses, mosques, synagogues and temples are integral and essential resources of basic needs such as food, housing and employment to Monmouth County residents," Blair said in an LBC press release.

The next step is having those organizations form as a collaborative, according to Blair.

The LBC is planning to design a resource map identifying the current programs offered through faith-based organizations, Blair said.

It will be "an asset map of what [faith-based organization] are doing to help in Monmouth County, and how we can access [them]," she said.

She encouraged organizations willing to participate in the collaborative to contact the LBC at (732) 571-1670 or e-mail lbconcordance@comcast.net.

The LBC is a grassroots collaborative formed in March 2004 to address the needs of Long Branch and Monmouth County residents, by providing information, referrals and support.

Blair said she hopes to hold a similar meeting next year with Armstrong and faith-based communities to assess what the LBC has accomplished.