Historic Concord Baptist Church Supports Intergenerational Initiatives:
On Sunday, January 20, 2013, in celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the historic Concord Baptist Church of Christ presented grants to The Brooklyn Music School and Brooklyn Savvy, Brooklyn-based organizations working in music and media to bridge generations.
Designed to support creative interactions between youth and seniors, Reach Out and Connect: Music and Dance Series, an initiative of The Brooklyn Music School, will debut at the Farragut Houses in 2013. This intergenerational programming will afford youth and seniors the opportunity to interact through music and the arts. Brooklyn Savvy, is a NYC Life TV show (Channel 25) that confronts negative stereotypes and images of different races, ethnicities and cultures through dialogue among multi-cultural women (and men) while training young adults in TV production.
Grants were disbursed during morning worship at Concord on King Sunday. As part of a sermon series focusing on debt, Senior Pastor Gary V. Simpson delivered a message entitled ‘The Vicious Cycle of Debt’ (Genesis 47:13-26), stressing the need for people – communities – to be debt-free and self-sustaining. In it he explained: “The cycle of debt can never lead to fulfillment or goal achievement. By being good stewards over what God has entrusted us with, we will ultimately be able to sustain ourselves and grow communities. This was the goal set forth for “We are honored to be able to tangibly affect organizations doing cutting edge work in our community,” says Concord ChristFund Board of Governors Chair, Lisa A. Bing. “By providing financial resources to groups targeting the support of intergenerational work, the ChristFund continues a legacy of inspired giving by our congregation. Each year the ChristFund endeavors to draw attention to issues that impact the growth and success of our communities; this year bridging the gap between our generations resonated as initiatives in need of support. We honor our elders and our youth by funding programs that encourage the passing on of our heritage through meaningful interactions.” Bing is a third generation Concord member and principle of Bing Consulting Group, Inc. For more information: www.concordcares.org