Creative Germantown Initiative
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” Exodus 14:21 22
This story is a part of our faith heritage as Christians. It inspires us to remember that God is able to do miraculous things when we have the faith to follow God’s call.
In recent years, FPCG has found itself in the midst of its own challenges: We are in the midst of an economic climate that has deepened the needs of our community and threatened many of the ministries we believe we’ve been called by God to develop.
However, just like in Moses’ time, we believe the God of the Exodus has “made a way out of no way” for us to travel beyond these current challenges. The establishment of Creative Germantown Initiative (CGI) is an important step on that journey.
CGI is a new non profit organization which provides an opportunity to join with neighbors who share our belief that bringing quality education, recreation, music and the arts to Germantown improves the quality of life in our community. To that end, CGI has a board of directors which includes people from the neighborhood as well as FPCG members.
CGI is now the institutional home of familiar programs (such as the concert series, Oratorio Choir, Bread and Cup, and the drill and basketball teams), as well as new initiatives such as Freedom School and the Drop In Center. The development of CGI will enable us to apply for grants and seek funding from additional sources while also providing an opportunity for FPCG to receive compensation for its in kind contribution of staff and building usage for the present and future CGI programs housed here.
Like the walls of water on either side of the people of Israel, our journey along this new way has its own anxieties: As a separate entity, CGI will challenge FPCG to learn how to work in a new way with the neighbors who now share the task of planning, implementing, and resourcing these programs. It will take time, talents, and energy to learn how to communicate the vision of CGI to the larger community. However, we hope you, like our fore-parents in faith, will walk this new way with us as we see what new life God has in store for our congregation and community.
Please prayerfully consider the new ways you can participate. Do you know of individuals and/or organizations who might partner with CGI? Would you like to volunteer in one of CGI's programs? Do you have experience in finance, marketing, fundraising, or any of the other skills necessary to launch a new non profit organization? Can you identify new sources of funding for these ministries we recognize as larger than FPCG in their vision and scope?
We invite you to join us on this journey! To learn more about CGI and how you can get involved, please talk to FPCG and CGI board member Brian Harris.
