General Synod 35 Sponsors, Including the Cornerstone Fund, Offer Generous Contributions to Those Gathering in Kansas City
Written by Renee DeLuca
When the United Church of Christ gathers in Kansas City this coming July 11-15 for General Synod 35, there will be many generous donors to thank for making it happen. Through these partnerships, UCC members, colleagues, and national staff will gather for inspirational worship and fellowship, engaging youth activities, and plenaries that lift issues that demand a faithful witness.
Once again, the five UCC financial ministries have joined to pledge a large chunk of those contributions at $65,000. Great thanks go to the Church Building & Loan Fund, Cornerstone Fund, Insurance Board, the Pension Boards and United Church Funds. The UCC financial ministries have a long history of providing resources and services to help protect and grow churches, and they have stepped up once again as we go “Into the Deep,” the theme of this year’s Synod.
Representatives of the financial ministries will be present during Synod, with exhibits, learning opportunities and more. Attendees will be able to discover the many different services, resources and programs that they each offer.
Grateful to our partners
“We are grateful to our partners and champions for their continued commitment to the United Church of Christ. Sponsor funding for General Synod is an important supporting component to offering this extraordinary and inspiring event,” said Michelle Carver, director of philanthropy for the UCC National Ministries. “We are excited to engage with everyone as together we explore Into the Deep at Synod in July.”
There are others to thank as well.
Silver Sponsors ($5,000):
Affiliated UCC seminaries for their joint sponsorship of $3,000:
- Andover Newton Seminary at Yale
- Chicago Theological Seminary
- Eden Theological Seminary
- Moravian University/Lancaster
- Pacific School of Religion
- United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Bronze Sponsor ($2,500):
The Rev. Dr. Ron Patterson and Ms. Charnley Marsden.
Blue Sponsor ($1,000):
To learn more about sponsorships at General Synod 35, visit the website here.
Registration is open for General Synod now. You can make your reservation HERE.
2025 UCC Earth Summit, Sponsored by the Cornerstone Fund, Addresses Climate Change and Announces New Partnership
Written by Renee DeLuca
The United Church of Christ’s third annual Earth Summit was held on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Hosted by Brooks Berndt, minister of Environmental Justice, it was held on Zoom and attended by people around the country. This year’s partner was the South Central Conference and First Congregational Church of Fort Worth, Texas, where there was an in person gathering as well.
The event was kicked off by UCC General Minister and President, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, who quoted Jeremiah 29, verse 11, “Where God says, for surely I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare, and not for harm to give you a future with hope.” Thompson said she sees a future with hope in this Earth Summit gathering. “There is shared commitment to helping our communities and our neighbors, including those affected by extreme weather and by pollution, which is especially harmful to children and our elderly populations.”
The Rev. Arlene Turner, chair of the Board for the South Central Conference spoke next. Turner described watching a family of eagles from a camera focused on their nest in Big Bear Forest. “We gather today, not only for our ourselves, and our denomination, but we gather to live into our covenantal relationship with this eagle family. Let us learn to listen to nature.”
Berndt later announced a new partnership agreement with Creation Justice Ministries, that will expand the UCC’s Creation Justice Church program into an ecumenical program that will be available to over 30 other denominations. “We will be connecting, uniting, and working with other denominations on creation justice like never before. This will also extend to our new Climate Hope affiliates program, which has from the start been ecumenical,” said Berndt.
“At a moment when faithful environmental action is both critical and urgent, it is inspiring to see the body of Christ come together, offering unique gifts in a shared spirit of purpose,” said Avery Davis Lamb, executive director of Creation Justice Ministries. “Through our growing partnership in the Creation Justice Churches program and our joint advocacy efforts, we have an extraordinary opportunity to energize congregations across denominations, amplifying our collective work of healing God’s planet and God’s people. In this Easter season, this partnership is a living sign of resurrection hope—working together for the restoration of creation.”
Isn’t every day Earth Day?
After sharing the Climate Hope art contest winners, the Summit continued with the introduction of the Jim Antel Lecture keynote speaker, climate scientist and author Katharine Hayhoe. Hayhoe posed a question to the audience, “Isn’t every day Earth Day? Don’t we live on this earth every day? Don’t we depend on the air and the water and the resources that this earth provides to us every single day?” She went on to clarify, “The problem is that we have been treating our earth for decades, and even centuries, as if it were flat and infinite. We are using up the earth’s resources 70% faster than they can regenerate.”
Hayhoe broke this down even further, and crystalized the fact that the planet will be orbiting the sun long after we are gone. “This is quite literally about saving us,” she offered. She encouraged all listening to act, and to hold politicians accountable. Hayhoe concluded, “We have been given a spirit of power to act, of love and of care for others…so if this is what we have, what are we waiting for?” She then took some questions from those gathered.
Burwell award winner announced
The Dollie Burwell Prophetic Action Award was then introduced. Burwell herself joined in the celebration. This year’s winner is the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut.
Offering hope
The Summit then featured a panel discussion entitled “Climate Justice in a Toxic World.” Three grassroots leaders in the struggle against environmental racism in the Dallas-Fort Worth area spoke: Dr. Marsha Jackson from Southern Sector Rising, Caleb Roberts from Downwinders at Risk, and Emmanual Davis from Justice for Joppa. Hosted by Michael Slatterly, a member of the First Congregational Church of Fort Worth, he introduced each of the panelists and allowed them to share their stories, then took questions from the audience. The panel discussed ways they have fought to bring environmental change to their communities, and how each has made a difference while working with their local politicians and city councils, offering hope to others.
Berndt announced that the speaker for the monthly webinar on May 14 will be Charles Lee, the lead author of a landmark UCC report on toxic waste and race in the United States. “A Relentless Struggle for Justice” will take place at 1 p.m. Eastern, and you can register here.
Berndt then thanked the United Church Funds and Cornerstone Fund for being sponsors, as well as the hosts there in Texas.
You can view the entire Summit here:
https://youtu.be/47s_U8UzcKI?si=2TD9U7g6q9Sqizrg
New HQ and Workforce Development Center Amplifies Impact of Nonprofit, With Help From the Cornerstone Fund
"There are people who are cold, who don’t have a furnace, and ABCD can provide resources for them,” says Darlene Knott. “There are people who don’t have transportation to go to their doctors or their jobs and ABCD is able to get them there, to give them some independence. ABCD does so much for the community, and it’s so rewarding to see that impact and to be part of helping people.”
Reducing poverty, fostering self-reliance, and empowering communities in Stark County, OH, to achieve self-sufficiency has been the mission of ABCD since its establishment in 1973. The Community Development Corporation based in Canton accomplishes this by providing affordable housing, transportation, and training in construction and energy conservation to area residents. Will Dent, ABCD’s founder and CEO, says Knott exemplifies what the organization’s work is all about.
“Darlene started in one of our training programs right out of high school,” Dent explains. “She got early exposure to finance and business, and we hired her in our accounting department. This is one of the prizes of ABCD’s work. Over the past 40 some years, she has learned and worked her way up. Now she’s our chief financial officer and getting ready to test for her CPA.”
Thanks to a recent development project, ABCD is poised to further strengthen the community by helping more Stark County residents like Knott achieve their goals in the years ahead. The organization’s new facilities – which include a 14,480-square-foot former bank branch renovated to serve as ABCD’s headquarters and a newly built 23,000-square-foot facility to house the organization’s fleet of vehicles and workforce development programming – are helping to revitalize Canton’s Crystal Park neighborhood, make ABCD’s services more accessible, and position the nonprofit for an additional phase of development on a nearby property that will create high-quality housing for seniors.
By renovating the former bank branch to serve as its headquarters – named the Will Dent Center for Community & Economic Development in recognition of Dent’s 50-plus years of leadership of ABCD – the organization upgraded its administrative facilities and created high-quality offices for other local mission-driven organizations not yet ready for facilities of their own. Current tenants include the Stark County Black Nurses Association, the Canton Community KidSummit Against Drugs, and WATOES, which provides a variety oF services to support local families.
With its new job training facility, which includes garage space for up to 30 vehicles, ABCD will be better able to connect Stark County residents with jobs and other resources needed to thrive. The organization currently provides more than 100 rides daily for seniors and individuals with disabilities; residents with no other way to get to work; and individuals connected to the organization through contracts with local schools, colleges, day care centers, and churches.
“Transportation is one of our most visible services,” says Dent. “We currently operate 14 vehicles and they are going 24/7. We have people who need to start dialysis at 3 or 4 in the morning or who have a specialist they need to see on the other side of the state. They might not have any other way to get there, so we take them. We have also recently gotten more into workforce transportation. We’re giving a lot of people an opportunity to get back to work.”
To facilitate its $9.3 million development project, ABCD secured funding from the Ohio Finance Fund and the City of Canton through a Community Development Block Grant, used its own equity, and leveraged a $2.8 million loan from IFF and a lending partner, the Cornerstone Fund. The Crystal Park project is a significant step for ABCD as it continues to expand its capacity and impact, and Dent says IFF’s partnership has been instrumental in bringing the organization’s vision to fruition.
“I knew about IFF but hadn’t worked with them. There was a nonprofit in town – a halfway house, Community Restoration Centers of Stark County (CRC) – that had been trying to get financing for years. All the banks had turned them down,” he says. “I put them in touch with IFF. With IFF financing they moved to a new location and transformed it into a really nice facility only about six blocks from here.” CRC broke ground on the renovation of the 75-bed facility in November 2017 and opened for clients in October 2018.
“So, we’ve had a great relationship with IFF for some time,” continues Dent. “When we started this project, IFF was the first one we approached about financing. And then IFF helped connect us with the Cornerstone Fund and other partners who have been instrumental in helping us revitalize this neighborhood.”
Having moved into its new facilities in Crystal Park last year, ABCD is now focused on the next phase of the project — the construction of a mixed-use facility expected to begin this fall. The Stephen A. Perry Lofts, named to honor a former Canton resident who was CEO of the nearby Pro Football Hall of Fame, will include 24 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments. The development will meet a pressing need in Canton for additional housing options for older adults, and the ground floor of the facility will feature retail and office space that will provide ABCD with additional revenue to support its programs. Still in the planning stages, ABCD is also considering housing a museum dedicated to the O’Jays, an iconic R&B group formed at a Canton high school only a few miles away. Once the housing project is completed, the entire complex will be known as O’Jay’s Plaza.
Housing has always been at the crux of ABCD’s work and this new project will build on the organization’s extensive history ensuring that more Stark County residents have access to quality, affordable homes.
“The key to our whole existence has been helping people and changing lives,” says Dent. “We’ve built three senior living facilities and more than 400 single-family houses. When you see people who have gone through our programs to become a first-time homeowner, you can see the change in them. It builds them up, builds their confidence, and that doesn’t just position them for success. It transcends the individual and becomes about how collectively they can join in building up and supporting their community.”
Suzanne Hamilton
Suzanne Hamilton is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate at ERIEBANK in Cleveland, Ohio. She specializes in lending, underwriting, modeling, and analyzing commercial real estate projects and ventures.
Rev. Dr. Rochelle Stackhouse
Rochelle Stackhouse is the Senior Director of Programs at Partners for Sacred Places. Prior to coming to Partners, she served for 40 years as a pastor in the United Church of Christ, having received her MDiv. from Princeton Seminary. She has a PhD in Practical Theology from Drew University and has taught at several seminaries, most recently Yale and Lexington.
Randal Langdon
Randal Langdon the managing partner and founder of RL Partners 1. He’s an Executive Leader in the Financial Industry with more than 30 years of sales, financial, and operational experience in directing financial advisory businesses, turnaround situations, implementing large-scale financial technology innovations and managing multi-million-dollar portfolios for organizations such as: RLPartners, CapGemini Consulting, Raymond James, and Merrill Lynch.
He led the reorganizational effort to increase efficiency and productivity for one of the major financial institutions in the country. He also reorganized, optimized and technology-enabled the HR, corporate communications, treasury, CFO, general counsel, corporate services, marketing for the office of the chairman activities of a major Wall Street firm.
Suzanna Caballero
Suzanna Caballero is a Business Banking Group Manager in the Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area.
She’s worked UFCU, Texas Capital Bank, Financial Services, Vantage Bank Texas, Texas Certified Development Company, Inc., Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Cattlemen’s State Bank, and Interfirst Bank. Suzanna attended Texas McCombs School of Business with a degree in Management.
Janese Murray
Janese Murray is a member of New Covenant Community United Church of Christ, where she is married to the Pastor, Reverend Dr. Brian Murray. She was on the Board of the Central Atlantic Conference from 2013 – 2021 and served as the board chair from 2019 – 2021. As the board chair, Janese led the effort to update the conference mission, vision, values, and bylaws. She was also chair of the Leadership and Governance committee. Janese currently serves on the United Church of Christ Board and is on the Audit and Governance Committees.
Janese Murray is the founder and president of Inclusion Impact Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in assisting clients with developing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that aligns with organizational goals and objectives. Janese has extensive experience in consulting and can also deliver engaging presentations as a keynote speaker, workshop leader, or small group discussion facilitator. Her workshops are interactive and encourage participants to share their perspectives and have constructive dialogue with each other.
Before starting her practice, Janese had over 20 years of corporate experience in leading and implementing diversity and inclusion strategies. She worked for the Exelon Corporation where she served as the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion. She led a team in partnering with business leaders, HR teams, and employee resource groups to increase the diversity of the workforce and create an inclusive and equitable environment. In addition to her experience in diversity and inclusion, she held various roles in employee relations, talent management and training and development.
Janese lives in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of Morgan State University. She and Brian have two daughters, Rachel and Alexis. Rachel and her husband, Nick, have blessed them with two grandchildren, Rosemary and Christopher.
Cornerstone Fund Helps Break Ground on New Housing Center
Jubilee Housing and King Emmanuel Baptist Church
In March, Cornerstone Fund President and CEO Maria Coyne attended the ground-breaking of the Jubilee Housing’s King Emmanuel Baptist (KEB) Project in Washington, DC. The Cornerstone Fund is thrilled to be one of the lenders, which is a redevelopment of a historic Black church, King Emmanuel Baptist, into 18 units of housing for justice involved individuals (people returning home from incarceration).
“Taking this historic church property and transforming it into something in service to the community really brings our mission to life,” said Coyne at the event. “We are so grateful to be a part of this effort, we are excited about the impact on the community and really appreciate all the parties involved.”
Jubilee Housing leadership feels the same way about working with the Cornerstone Fund.
“From the moment we met with Cornerstone, we recognized a shared sense of mission, values, and a deep commitment to preserving community,” said Jim Knight, President and CEO of Jubilee Housing.
“We were genuinely excited to get to know them and learn more about the important work they’re doing. When one of our original lenders withdrew from the KEB project, Maria and her team stepped in without hesitation—finding a way forward and ultimately serving as the lender for both the construction and permanent phases. That’s what Cornerstone does: they help finance the development of churches, and they do it with compassion, sincerity, and reliability—which I deeply admire. I’m grateful to know Cornerstone and honored to call them a partner in bringing KEB to life.”
The KEB project is adjacent to another Jubilee Housing development, Ontario Place, that is also intended to house justice involved people as well as provide housing for residents with low incomes. Ontario Place will have solar panels and include an aquaponics farm that will produce food for residents and to sale.
According to Jubilee Housing, “Ontario Place will be DC’s first aquaponics farm tied to affordable housing and workforce development. The farm is expected to produce approximately 13,000 crops per month, with a portion of the fresh produce used in the KEB community kitchen, which will serve Jubilee residents.”
Jubilee has been working in the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods for over 50 years, with a current portfolio comprising 13 housing projects serving 1,000 plus people. The organization is steadily growing and has several projects in stages from predevelopment to construction.
Photos and artist rendering images courtesy of Jubilee Housing.
