Healing Communities: The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Serving Returning Citizens

Healing Communities: The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Serving Returning Citizens

Healing Communities is an example of a faith-based nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with other sectors of society, including government, to empower returning citizens with spiritual and physical resource for societal reintegration. This article discusses the how Healing Communities partners with other programs and resources, like Sacred Sector, to build capacity to promote restorative justice. Healing Communities’ coordinator stated at a recent event: “Sacred Sector does have a spiritual calling to provide resources to ministries to do these things. So let them help you do them!”

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A Sacred Act: How Religious Groups Can Support Nursing Mothers

A Sacred Act: How Religious Groups Can Support Nursing Mothers

Faith-based organizations and congregations often play a vital role in supporting the health and well-being of families, particularly mothers and young children. Many religious organizations believe the family is a foundational institution in society, created by God to serve as a first community for children. Many faith groups recognize the inherent beauty in God’s normative design for women to nurse their babies. By God’s great design, there is evidence-based research that shows how breastfeeding contributes to better whole-person (physical/mental, economic, relational) outcomes for all involved. Although breastfeeding is not always possible or practicable for every mother and child, there is strong evidence that breastfeeding has positive impacts on individual family members and on society.

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IRFA Director Joins Conversation on  the New White House Initiative for Faith and Opportunity

IRFA Director Joins Conversation on the New White House Initiative for Faith and Opportunity

By Chelsea Langston Bombino June 26, 2018 Last month, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order revising the federal faith-based and community initiative. The initiative,…

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Why The Black Church Is Vital For Healthy Communities

Why The Black Church Is Vital For Healthy Communities

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in Public Justice Review (Vol. 6, 2017). Pastor Cheryl Mitchell Gaines, J.D., M.Div, is the founder and Senior Pastor…

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Religious Freedom and the Social Safety Net

Religious Freedom and the Social Safety Net

By Chelsea Langston Bombino Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Public Justice Review, Volume 6: “Freedom to Serve the Vulnerable.” The past four…

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What we can learn from Notre Dame and the contraceptives coverage discussion

What we can learn from Notre Dame and the contraceptives coverage discussion

By Chelsea Langston Bombino Last week, the University of Notre Dame was at the center of public discourse. Here is an account of what happened,…

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