Ohio congregation expresses love of neighbor with Family Promise

It’s hard not to have a place to call home, especially at the holidays. But, because of a program called Family Promise, created in 1981 with the partnership of a UCC church in Summit N.J., families in transition have a place they can go, and be together.

Fairlawn West United Church of Christ in the Akron, Ohio, partners locally with Family Promise of Summit County, living into a ministry that tangibly provides for and shows love for their neighbors in their time of need. The congregation works with 10 other area churches, taking turns hosting homeless families, so parents and children have a safe place to have a meal and stay the night.

Fairlawn West is deeply involved in the UCC 3 Great Loves initiative with its partnership with Family Promise.

The 3 Great Loves initiative, which runs through General Synod 2019, is a visible witness to the denomination’s collective efforts in one uniting mission. It embraces the many types of ministry in which United Church of Christ congregations are already engaged, all working toward making a more just world for all as God’s hands and feet. UCC churches and organizations are invited to discern and lift up the love of God, through their expressions of Love of Neighbor, Love of Children, and Love of Creation in their community.

Recently UCC videographer Bob Lormor had the opportunity to learn more about the Family Promise program and how it has become an important ministry at the Ohio church, one that enriches the lives of the members and supports the people they’ve reached out to in the name of Jesus Christ.