Loving One Another, Working Towards Justice

Sep 30, 2020 | UA News

Resource and post by Urban Alliance staff.

Becoming culturally competent and practicing cultural humility are essential to offering direct services effectively because staff and volunteers have frequent contact with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. All too often, well-meaning people do harm because they lack the knowledge, awareness, and skills to understand how their words and actions impact others. By growing in one’s cultural competence and increasing cultural humility, staff and volunteers are better able to build strong relationships with people who are different from them and are better equipped to serve others. These concepts go beyond simply encouraging increased awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences. They also compel people to action when a power imbalance or injustice occurs.

In our booklet, Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility, we explore the concepts of bias and stereotypes, social identity, power and privilege, social justice and more. Download your free copy here or by clicking the button below.

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The staff at Urban Alliance are familiar with Pastor Frank because he is a regular attendee to many of the trainings Urban Alliance provides on subjects like domestic violence, addressing childhood trauma, and better counseling techniques. โ€œThatโ€™s been so valuable to me to be able to bring that back, not only in my counseling but also in my teaching and preaching ministries, โ€œ shared Termine.

Pastor Frank was also one of the original members of the Micah group, a group of pastors that meets at Urban Alliance to discuss and strategize about challenging issues that face the church today. One of those earlier discussions on justice, incarceration, and returning citizens was particularly memorable. โ€œWe all lamented the fact that these men and women were coming out of prison into our churches and just kind of being thrown there,โ€ said Termine, โ€œWe could do better than this.โ€ That discussion planted the seeds that eventually led to the creation of Second Chance Churches – an opportunity for churches to provide support and mentoring to returning citizens that continues today.

When we asked Pastor Frank what he would say to another church that was unaware of Urban Alliance, he said, โ€œIf you are looking to get out in the community and make a difference in the community, Urban Alliance is a super way to do it. Weโ€™re a small church โ€ฆ we canโ€™t do everything. Urban Alliance is a pathway to get our people involved in ministries that are already doing it, doing it well, and just need extra volunteers.โ€

Pastor Frank Termineโ€™s story embodies many things we are trying to accomplish at Urban Alliance: supporting organizations in the communities they serve with training, resources, and opportunities to make a difference. Pastors and non-profit leaders face a wide range of challenges and, therefore, need a wide range of help and resources. Your support can help turn stories of struggle into stories like you find at Calvary Church.

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