We hosted our first HUB Regional Gathering : West Coast on March 4-5, 2024 in conjunction with the first iteration of the “Creative Community Care: Artists Respond to Pandemic Times” traveling exhibition. The purpose of the gathering was to deepen relationships within the network, invite new learning partners into the community, as well as build capacity through interaction with the exhibition and place-based activities in Santa Ana. This and more was accomplished over an intense and rich one and a half days together–in the gallery, on the streets, in restaurants and markets, and in a local host’s backyard. There were even rumblings of Seattle 2025. We look forward to future regional gatherings in other parts of North America to come.

“Creative Community Care: Artists Respond to Pandemic Times” is an interactive group exhibit exploring concerns and questions arising from COVID-19 and racial violence at the intersection of the arts, learning, faith, and the city. Eight artists adapted their creative practices to process their own experiences with grief and memory, relationships as neighbors and friends, and roles as parents and caregivers. Their works invite us to consider the relevance of the arts for healing and dream of new ways we might care for our communities.

The traveling exhibition opened at the She/They Gallery in Santa Ana, CA, on March 1-3, 2024 in conjunction with the HUB Regional Gathering 2024 : West Coast (March 4-5, 2024).

The purpose of the Arts Transformational Ministry (ATM) project is to strengthen the bonds between the five congregations that comprise Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene—namely the English-speaking congregation, Spanish-speaking congregation, South Korean and North Korean congregations and Filipino congregation—and thus as “a unified church” enhance its efforts to be a “bridge-builder” with the surrounding diverse community. LA First Church of the Nazarene hosted a talent show for the community this summer, including an art exhibition and food trucks! They were also busy with their summer program. We are thankful for the work HUB grantee Rev. Michael Mata is doing in the city of LA!

HUB grantee Rev. Sarah Gautier directs “Esperanza Collab” in East Boston, MA. Esperanza is a ministry of Living Stones Church in partnership with EastieFit (a CrossFit gym), Infinite Ballers (a youth soccer development program), and East Boston High School Boys Soccer Team. The goal of Esperanza is to provide free fitness and mentoring programs to Latine youth in East Boston that empowers them to build hope for their futures. In 2023, Esperanza hosted mentorship and fellowship programs for high school and college students, held two 6-week fitness programs, encouraged healthy eating, purchased fitness equipment to bring the “gym” outdoors, and provided strength and conditioning coaching for a boys’ soccer team.

The Pulse of Urban Ministry in the Greater Toronto Area project, led by HUB grantee Jesse Sudirgo, sought to capture a snapshot of the lived experiences of urban ministry practitioners and organizations in order to better understand the formative influences that contribute to their well-being and the flourishing of their ministries. The 6-month project involved the formation of a team of researchers, an event gathering 26 community leaders, a video series documenting 4 sessions concerning the recovery of hospitality in our city, and the completion of a research project involving urban ministry practitioners and educators. We identified the precarity of commitment from institutions in hosting urban formation programs, which in some cases, lead to program closures. We hope to address the bigger picture need to figure out how to design a model for urban formation that is both innovative and sustainable for the institutions and the programs they host.

BLVD Harambee is part of Church of the Messiah in Detroit, MI. HUB grantee Rev. Barry Randolph is the senior pastor there. BLVD Harambee builds leadership through enlightenment, education, empowerment, employment, and entrepreneurship. Four young people ages 23-32 are being prepared for seminary for the upcoming year. Six of them are community activists, and five of them are broadcasters on our Christian radio show called “I Am Detroit!“ BLVD Harambee has helped six members to start their own businesses and two have community-owned businesses.

What does it mean to be church in the city in a time of COVID-19? Sustained by the Spirit is a project developed by City Seminary of New York listening to what is taking place on the ground, and sharing what we are beginning to learn. It is about attending to the ways the Spirit is sustaining us in love, hope, and lament.

As we share this resource of stories and practices, please use this as a way of learning in community, for faithful ministry in this uncertain and challenging time. We hope that this resource might help you think about how to respond and engage faithfully to the challenges and possibilities facing us.

“Since the first summit in 2013, CityLab has grown into a platform for local leaders to exchange ideas and tackle some of the most urgent issues affecting cities around the world.

From confronting the pandemic to reimagining transportation infrastructure, we’re taking a look back at some of the challenges that mayors have addressed at past CityLab summits to improve the lives of their residents and drive global innovation.”