Faith Communities
Kind work is being done by faith communities throughout Eugene and Springfield.
Local Interfaith Programs
Interfaith Breakfast – The Sunday Breakfast is an all-volunteer interfaith response to hunger serving up around 300 people each Sunday. Breakfasts are served at the First Christian Church in Eugene and volunteers are welcome. To volunteer contact the Coordinator and leave your name and contact information.
Contact: Susan Matthews, Breakfast Coordinator, breakfast@heartofeugene.org
Interfaith Prayer Service in Eugene, Oregon –Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 acted as a catalyst event to bring together people of different faith traditions in prayer and support of one another. There has been an Interfaith Prayer Service every 11th day of the month since then. Each month, people of at least 8 different faith traditions offer a prayer, song, chant, poem or reading from their sacred texts that relates to the prayer service theme. The organization offers assistance to faith communities and organizations throughout the world that want to initiate consistent interfaith services in their own localities.
Local Faith Communities Support Schools
School Partnerships are as varied as each school’s needs. There are lots of ways to partner with school, but here are a few ways to consider!
- Staff/Teacher Appreciation (cards, meals, treats, etc)
- Project Hope
- Volunteer at special events
- After-school programs
- Providing for tangible needs
- Feed Hope (Addressing food shortages and hunger)
- Other creative needs voiced by school leadership!
It all starts with a conversation with school leadership, so reach out and make a connection!
Genesis Summer Reading Academy
The Genesis Summer Reading Academy offers reading instruction to local kindergarten through fourth grade students who have been identified as McKinney-Vento children. As such, their living arrangements meet the federal definition of homeless. By working with a group of partners committed to the education of the most vulnerable children in our community, the Genesis Summer Reading Academy aspires to be a model other communities in Oregon can adopt in the near future.
Other Resources
Kindness In Religions Points to Our Inherent Good – Kindness in religion shows up in many ways and is the recognition of the fundamental importance of caring, loving, and cooperation for millennia. Buddhists might call this fundamental giving our Buddha nature. Christians might see this sense of giving as the image of God inherent in each of us. The importance the world’s major religions ascribe to our connections with others is captured by the following quotes about the Golden Rule also found in the Feedkindness theme song. Our formulation of the Golden Rule is that we give the same loving-kindness to others that we would like to receive ourselves.