The BREAD organization consists of 40 Columbus-area congregations, of different religious traditions. Each congregation believes something different – about the nature of God, the name of God, about what God wants us to do. Each shares a commitment to pursuing justice in God’s name. St. Stephen’s participates in BREAD as a social justice ministry to address systemic issues/problems in the Columbus metro area.

The St. Stephen’s BREAD Team and Justice Ministry Network organizes house meetings to discern issues of concern and build an organizing network to keep parishioners informed on BREAD’s progress. The Team and Network recruit participants to do the research work in defining the issues, finding solutions and meeting with decision makers on action plans.

They also work toward getting St. Stephen’s parishioners to participate in the Nehemiah Action, a mass gathering of congregations where the faith community brings current issues before those with the power to make change. St. Stephen’s participation in BREAD has helped bring about a change in the delivery of mental health services, the development of a land bank for abandoned housing, and a restorative justice program focused on stopping violent crime.

As BREAD: we listen to our community; we research the problems to identify workable solutions; we gather a large number of people, in order to show our power and get the attention of the decision-maker who can implement the solution we are asking for; we follow-up on the public commitments to address the problem and the implementing the solution requested.

Click here to visit BREAD’s website.