Let's Talk: Faith & Justice Elizabeth Grady-Harper & Ivy Long

Happy New Year friends! We are so thankful for all of the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon Boston Faith & Justice Network in 2023, and look forward to what He has in store for us in 2024! Tune into this episode to hear about Elizabeth, Ivy and Andrew's new year resolutions, or "radical resolutions" as Ivy likes to call them, their goals for the year and how they are expecting God to use them in the ministry!

Tune in to this special podcast episode with Reverend June Cooper, who currently serves as the Theologian in the City at Old South Church in Copley Square, and is one of the founding members of Faith Leaders for Housing Justice (FL4HJ) which is a new collaborative partner of the Boston Faith & Justice Network. Rev. Cooper was formerly the Director of City Mission Boston, the second oldest not-for-profit organization in the county and was the first Executive Director of Boston Healthy Start a multi-million-dollar federal initiative that was credited with reducing Boston’s infant mortality rate in the 90’s. Rev. Cooper has a wonderful story of decades of ministry in the Boston area, serving vulnerable communities, and leading churches to a place of active compassion. This is an episode you do not want to miss!

Sara Mitchell is a Community Chaplain with a focus on the South End and those who spend time in the Mass Ave and Melnea Cass Blvd area. What is a chaplain you might ask? An individual who ministers to the spiritual, practical and social needs of the community they serve. Sara shares her story in chaplaincy and journey doing ministry in the city for over 40 years. Through this episode Sara emphasizes that "Mass & Cass is people, not a place" and shares many ways people can engage with communities experiencing housing insecurity.

A home is more than just 4 walls and a roof. 

Tune into this special podcast episode with Kevin Nye, author of "Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness". We learned so much by reading this book with our BFJN community last year and are so thankful to share this conversation with Kevin far and wide. We, as a culture, sometimes want to see homelessness as a personal failure ignoring the need to acknowledge the systems that are at work. In this conversation we discuss what "housing first" means and why it works, as well as the importance of trauma informed care, the ongoing realities of the impact of racism on housing and what it means to lead with generosity.

"Violence is an everyday threat to people in poverty."

Jenn Petersen serves as Director of Church Mobilization in the Northeast for International Justice Mission (IJM), coming alongside churches as they seek to partner with God’s heart for biblical justice and join Him in the renewal of all things. Jenn has over 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, serving in the areas of preaching and teaching, worship, missions, children’s ministry, and church planting.  This podcast episode is a call to Christians to answer the call to serve. Tune in today to hear encouraging stories from Jenn of what IJM is doing and ways you can connect with their work. 

Poverty can have indirect implications for health. Race-based economic disadvantages can influence other social determinants as the intersection with poverty can further limit housing, educational, and employment opportunities, and these have also been linked to worse health outcomes (National Institutes of Health).

Brenda Tsuchiya is the Medical Director of Primary Care at Family Health Center in Worcester. In this podcast episode Brenda shares about her journey to her current position, the challenges the patients at the health center serves and how poverty makes it all harder. In this time we learned more about why community health centers are so important, the vital role they play in vulnerable communities, and the brokenness of the healthcare system here in the United States. We hope that you too will learn more on the intersectionalities of healthcare and poverty by tuning in to this episode today!