(RNS) — Habitat for Humanity was constructed on a pair of easy but profound concepts.
Everybody deserves an honest place to dwell.
Anybody who needs to assist make that occur is welcome to choose up a hammer and get to work.
For almost 5 a long time, these concepts — which Habitat’s founder known as the “theology of the hammer” — have helped Habitat develop from its humble beginnings at a Christian commune in Georgia right into a worldwide housing nonprofit that’s helped greater than 46 million individuals world wide discover a place to name house.
Amongst these houses are 30 “Unity Construct” homes in Nashville, Tennessee, constructed by an interfaith coalition of congregations over the previous three a long time. These congregations imagine very various things about God, stated Kevin Roberts, a former pastor and director of religion relations and mission integration for Habitat for Humanity of Better Nashville. However they share a standard conviction about serving to their neighbors.
That makes a Habitat construct website a uncommon place the place individuals who disagree can work collectively in polarized instances. All they want is a prepared pair of arms.
“While you step onto the Habitat construct website and somebody places a paintbrush or a hammer or a noticed in your hand, nobody asks, ‘Who did you vote for?’” stated Roberts. “Nobody asks, ‘The place did you go to church or did you go in any respect?’”
That inclusive method has helped Habitat thrive regardless of the various challenges dealing with faith-based charities in america — together with getting older supporters in shrinking congregations, a lack of religion in organized faith, and the nation’s rising polarization.
Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Worldwide, stated the nonprofit’s mission is to place God’s love in motion by offering housing. To try this, he stated, requires bringing a variety of individuals collectively.
Utilizing volunteers to assist construct a Habitat home is a social change technique, stated Reckford, one which invitations individuals to care about reasonably priced housing and about working with their neighbors. That’s an essential job in right now’s remoted and polarized instances.
Jonathan Reckford. Picture courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Worldwide
“My statement is that when individuals serve collectively, they concentrate on what they’ve in frequent,” Reckford stated in a telephone interview. “They concentrate on shared values — versus once we sit by ourselves on-line. Then it’s all about how we’re completely different.”
Reckford hopes to develop that sort of intentional bridge-building within the coming years by a brand new initiative known as Group Up — a partnership of Habitat, Catholic Charities, the YMCA and Interfaith America. The initiative was first introduced final fall at a White Home summit.
The concept is to handle the nation’s divisions by inviting individuals to construct friendships as they serve collectively to fulfill neighborhood wants. For Habitat, that can probably contain extra intentional neighborhood constructing on the worksite and an elevated concentrate on interfaith cooperation.
Reckford stated Habitat’s core Christian id and its dedication to interfaith work go hand in hand. Religion in God is at Habitat’s heart — however God is “not a border” to maintain others out.
That deep religion, he stated, permits Habitat to be “radically inclusive” and to welcome anybody who needs to assist.
“We should always not have to surrender what has made Habitat profitable with a view to be joyfully welcoming of others,” he stated.
Reckford suspects that neighborhood service will change into more and more essential for church buildings and different religion teams sooner or later, as individuals change into extra skeptical of organized faith. Habitat, he stated, was born in church basements and grew by tapping into the power and religion of people that have been already church members. Now many church buildings must attain out to individuals who aren’t a part of their neighborhood to proceed their ministry, he stated.
“In our more and more unchurched tradition, neighborhood service goes to be the entrance door for increasingly more religion communities,” he stated. “The primary invitation could be ‘Come to serve with me’ moderately than ‘Come worship with me.’”
Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith America, stated his group’s work was formed partially by his expertise engaged on an abroad Habitat for Humanity undertaking in Hyderabad, India, within the early 2000s. Interfaith America — then often called Interfaith Youth Core — was simply getting off the bottom and Patel and others volunteered on a undertaking in a metropolis that had skilled non secular violence.
And but, on that undertaking, Hindus, Muslims and Christians labored aspect by aspect.
Eboo Patel. Picture courtesy of Interfaith America
The expertise left Patel satisfied of the facility of service as “a standard desk for interfaith conversations,” he stated. As he appeared additional into Habitat’s historical past, he discovered the group’s late founder, an Alabama lawyer named Millard Fuller, started the work partially so his Christian pals might get alongside.
“Millard Fuller’s unique imaginative and prescient was: Hey, my evangelical and mainline pals can’t even discuss Jesus as a result of it simply results in an argument,” Patel stated. “However we are able to serve collectively.”
That ecumenical method to working collectively naturally led to interfaith work, stated Patel. The concept of serving to your neighbors, he stated, is frequent amongst many religions. It doesn’t matter what they imagine about God, every religion has its personal model of the theology of the hammer. There’s one thing “additional sacred” when individuals of various faiths work collectively for the good thing about others, based on Patel.
“Everybody has a narrative to share,” he stated. “You’ve opened up what we known as mutually enriching conversations between individuals of various faiths.”
This previous weekend, Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity, based mostly in Colorado Springs, devoted its second interfaith-build home, which introduced collectively Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, together with a Native American group.
“We attempt to pair two religion congregations collectively from completely different traditions in order that they’ve the chance whereas on the development website for the day to get to know each other,” stated Chloe Henry, the Religion in Motion program supervisor for Pikes Peak Habitat.
Pike’s Peat Habitat has additionally organized an interdenominational Christian home construct in addition to interfaith dialogue occasions the place individuals can discuss how their religion conjures up them to care about reasonably priced housing. This previous yr’s interfaith occasion centered on the matters of accelerating Black homeownership and on constructing a neighborhood the place everybody belongs.
Nashville Habitat additionally has held interfaith dialogues in addition to interfaith worship companies — involving Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Christian clergy — at Congregation Ohabai Sholom, a Nashville synagogue higher often called the Temple.
Mustafa, a future Habitat for Humanity house owner, poses whereas engaged on a undertaking within the Nashville space in August 2022. Picture courtesy of Habitat for Humanity of Better Nashville
The Temple first turned concerned with Habitat when a previous president of the synagogue wished to get congregations concerned in a social motion undertaking, stated Rabbi Shana Mackler, who additionally serves as a senior scholar. The Unity Construct started with three congregations and now entails almost two dozen.
“We’ve stayed concerned largely as a result of individuals love direct motion initiatives, and since it provides us the chance to attach with different homes of worship and spiritual communities in doing good, significant work,” she stated.
For Lauren Brooks-Gregory, the interfaith service on the Temple is among the most essential points of the Unity Construct. Brooks-Gregory, who’s 40, stated she first turned concerned in Habitat as a youngster and discovered in regards to the Unity Construct by her Calvary United Methodist Church, the place she grew up.
The church has lengthy been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity of Better Nashville, which has helped 1,000 households change into owners.
Lauren Brooks-Gregory. Courtesy picture
She stated the interfaith service units the tone that everybody concerned is dedicated to the identical purpose — placing a roof over a household’s head.
Brooks-Gregory took over as a volunteer coordinator for the Unity Construct in 2022 and stated she needs to construct on the legacy of those that got here earlier than her. In her position, she works alongside the purpose individuals in every congregation — who’re liable for elevating funds and discovering volunteers. She stated there’s room for congregations small and enormous to get entangled.
She hopes the interfaith work of Habitat will change into much more intentional sooner or later. A former youth pastor who now does coaching for {an electrical} contractor, Brooks-Gregory stated strengthening relationships between individuals of various faiths takes intentional effort and planning — particularly in attempting instances.
“The hassle to get alongside is ever-changing,” she stated. “It simply appears completely different proper now. However the wrestle has at all times been there.”
Brooks-Gregory stated she loves the way in which Habitat places individuals in movement to get one thing constructive carried out, whereas they get to know every. That gives area for understanding, she stated.
“Let’s apply interfaith dialogue. But in addition, hand me that two-by-four.”
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