Dear John,

One of the highlights of our We are Gamaliel: Passport to Power Virtual Fundraiser on February 27 will be the opportunity to honor Rev. David Bigsby, one of Gamaliel’s long-time religious leaders, and to announce the development fund that will acknowledge his commitment to developing effective religious leaders long after his retirement.

For more than three decades, Gamaliel has successfully trained men and women to build deep relationships with their wider communities. Hundreds of religious leaders have gone through Gamaliel’s training and attested to its power and efficacy. Many of them have come to recognize that the attitudes, arts, disciplines, and spirituality of community organizing are key in making their congregations and the wider faith community relevant.

At a time in our nation’s history that is characterized by disruption, uncertainty, and profound division, religious institutions like those that make up the base of our Network have an opportunity to reimagine themselves: To ask the hard questions of what it means to be a community of faith in this time and place; to act with courage; and respond to the needs of millions of people crying out for purpose, for hope, for connection, and for the power to transform their communities.

Rev. David Bigsby is one of those religious leaders, a courageous pastor who has served in a variety of capacities across the Gamaliel Network for more than two decades. As President of Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, President of Gamaliel of Illinois and Iowa, Chair of the Gamaliel Council of Presidents, and Member of the Gamaliel Board of Directors (just to name a few positions he has held), Rev. Bigsby has advanced the need to develop religious leaders in the attitudes, arts, disciplines, and spirituality of community organizing. As he approaches retirement, it is in his honor that we establish the Rev. David Bigsby Religious Leaders’ Development Fund.

Our goal for “seeding” this fund is $5000 by the close of our virtual fundraiser on February 27. This is an important opportunity for you to honor the work of Rev. Bigsby and to invest in the training and development of our religious leaders now and in the future—religious leaders who will guide the transformation of our communities into the Beloved Community.

Please register for We Are Gamaliel here, and invest here. 

Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. John C. Welch
Chair, Gamaliel Board of Directors

Ms. Ana Garcia-Ashley
Executive Director, Gamaliel

Gamaliel Network
5401 S Cornell Ave.
Suite 301
Chicago, IL 60608
United States

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