TRANSFORMATION TEAM

The Transformation Team is a group of ten employees -- both Christian and Muslim -- who support the projects of the Priority Areas. Each of the ten specializes in some aspect of community development. For example, Andy Whittet is a community profiler. When a local congregation or a community group in one of the Priority Areas seeks the help of the Transformation Team, after a series of meetings with residents of that area to determine that the Transformation Team is an appropriate group to work with them, Andy does an in-depth demographic study of that area to help the local congregation better understand the community in which they are located. The 35-page profile that Andy showed us for the area where Gayle and I are living, details data and analysis of the age, education, religion, employment, income, housing costs and the health of the residents of the area. This is an invaluable resource to any congregation that wants to determine the needs of the community they would like to serve. They are helped is this assessment by other members of the Transformation Team. When finally the local congregation decides what they would like to do to improve the quality of life in their neighborhood, a consultant is hired to do a feasibility study -- an action plan to achieve their goals. Often, the congregation will need to raise major money to meet these goals. One of the functions of the Team is to help the local group raise funds. Regular workshops are held throughout the city using the title "Fit for Funding," led by Team member David Zabiega, to help the local group prepare the proposal and locate sources of funds. I'll be writing more about this whole process after we see it in action.

PRIORITY AREAS / SCOTLAND

What does it look like when a major institution in a country accepts the challenge to end poverty? Scotland, a country of approximately 5.5 million inhabitants publicly acknowledges that a significant percentage of the population is being economically left behind. After the University of Glasgow identified poor areas from around the country The Church of Scotland took up the challenge to work intentionally with parishes and community groups in the poorest five percent --53 “Priority Areas,” 34 of which are located in Glasgow, a city of about 600,000 people, with the goal of eliminating poverty. The comprehensive program includes creating and encouraging dozens of other organizations and initiatives that are seeking to overcome the isolation and exclusion of poor people from the resources available to the larger community.

The faith community throughout Scotland is increasingly aware that poverty is the defining social issue facing the land, and the churches, especially from the poor areas are in the lead in a growing movement to end poverty. I heard someone at one of our meetings say that wealthy churches seem to be stifled by their wealth, (materially rich and spiritually poor) while the poor churches are developing innovative and transformative new ministries. We witnessed how this change is taking place when Gayle and I attended a forum of the Priority Areas. Thirty people had gathered, ten leaders from The Church Scotland headquarters in Edinburgh and the others from several Priority Areas churches. After fresh scones, coffee and tea, an older man named Bill described the deterioration of his community caused mostly by the deindustrialization of the past thirty years: “There are now problems of anti-social behavior, alcoholism, drug addiction, domestic violence, vandalism, many others.” His church, the Barlanark Greyfriars Parish church was totally demoralized as membership shrunk and the bills piled up. “We were well aware of the deprivation in our area, but our heads were buried in the sand, worrying abut how to meet the next bill. But then we heard Martin Johnstone speak and we caught a new vision of how we could be serving our community. With help from the Priority Areas team we have started a feasibility study to see what the community needs and how we can meet those needs.” The church, focusing on the needs of the surrounding area, is bounding back. Where there was despair there is now hope.

Later at the forum, each guest from church headquarters in Edinburgh was asked to consider two ways that their departments could establish programs to help rid the country of the scourge of poverty, and to pledge to the group that they would follow up with these programs. On hearing the list, the poor people promised that they would be visiting the guests in a few weeks to monitor progress. Clearly they are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the society and will not be still until they see positive change.

I think I first heard it from Willie Baptist, Poverty Scholar in Residence, at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and I heard it again in a sermon at a Priority Areas service today: poverty will never be ended until the world wide faith community supports the campaign. That is our challenge.