An update from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, an independent research project
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The public policy research arm of the State University of New York.

New! In the Shadow of Financial Doom, Congress Mulls Service Programs

As Congress labored over the past week to craft a financial recovery plan to rescue the nation’s failing
economy, it also worked – although not always successfully – on a collection of bills that religious
organizations say are essential to help pay for human service programs that are becoming more critical
in the wake of the economic crisis. One bill falling victim to House and Senate disagreement Monday was
a measure to encourage donations to religious and other charitable organizations by extending tax
exemptions, some now set to expire Dec. 31. A return by House members on Oct. 2 may mean they
could take up consideration of tax extensions later in the week before adjournment. Congress also acted
on a $630 billion omnibus spending bill to keep the government running during fiscal year 2009, which
begins Oct. 1.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Washington Correspondent Anne Farris.

Faith Groups Respond to Financial Crisis

As all eyes turn toward efforts to address the country’s looming financial crisis, faith-based organizations
are hard at work serving the hardest hit in their communities. As the Roundtable has previously reported,
faith-based groups have taken on a variety of roles -- some familiar, some new -- since residents began to
feel the impact of the crisis that began with the mortgage industry. They have been providing financial
counseling and resources to help families struggling to meet their mortgage payments to stay in their homes,
or to lessen the impact of a foreclosure. They are providing temporary cash assistance for food or utility bills,
so people can use other funds to pay their mortgages. They are advocating for relief from government. Some
have become primary lenders for new affordable housing projects. Others are purchasing properties at bargain
prices, with the hopes of providing homes for low-income residents in the future.

Click here for a previous Roundtable report on this topic.

New! Bush White House to Host Final Faith-Based Conference

Call it the end of an era, or at least of an administration: The Bush White House this week will host its
 last outreach conference for faith-based and community nonprofits looking to partner with government
to provide social services. The 40th and final conference of the White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives, held in partnership with Texas’ OneStar Foundation, is scheduled for Friday,
Oct. 3, in Dallas. As one of the most visible efforts of the Bush Administration’s endeavor to encourage
small, grassroots charities to provide services with public support, the conferences have drawn attention
to the Initiative and been the focus of some attention themselves – both wanted and unwanted. The
gatherings have been hailed by small nonprofits – particularly faith-based nonprofits – and by state and
local officials promoting their own partnerships with such charities as invaluable sources of information
and inspiration. They have simultaneously been derided by church-state separationists, disillusioned
believers and other critics as a political tactic to garner votes, especially among the evangelical Christians
that some of those opponents say the conferences illegally favor.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondents Claire Hughes and Anne Farris.

Click here for a map of conference sites since 2002.

Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

City Recruits Churches for Anti-Crime Effort --
Seen As Useful Source of Intelligence About Gangs, Violent Criminals In Neighborhoods
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8871

Dover-Foxcroft Cupboard Seeks Permanent Home
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8872

Breakfast Mission Says Its Pantries Are Empty
The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8873

Pastor Uses Big-Tent Approach To Help The Needy --
A Rockwood Health Clinic That Gresham's Gary Tribbett Started Has Provided Free Care To 1,000
The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8874

UMC in Thomson to Help Parolees Back Into Mainstream of Life
McDuffieMirror.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8876

'Genuine Emergency’ For Charities, Agencies
The Jewish Week

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8877

Group Helps Bring Venison to The Hungry; Charity Raises Money To Pay Cost Of Processing
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8878

Volunteers Gather To Build Habitat House
The Cullman Times (Alabama)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8879

Black Health Coalition Is Planning Ahead For Emergencies
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8880

Storm-Wrecked Haiti Looks To a Web of Tar Heel Friends
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8881

Low-Cost Clinic Coming To Athens:
Disciples Clinic Of Athens To Open In Athens In 2009 With Help From Several Community Members
Athens Daily Review (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8882

Area Congregations Participate In Habitat for Humanity's Building on Faith
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8883

Churches Using Faith-Based Film to 'Fireproof' Marriages
The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8884

Working to Overcome Challenge to Change; Faith-Based Program Fights Addiction
Odessa American (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8885

Community Health Center Opens Doors; Founding Doctors Have Vision of Community Development
The Times-Tribune (Corbin, Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8886

Flood Survey Team May Call In Reinforcements: Early Results Find More Qualify Than First Estimated
The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8887

Church Helps Felons Get 'Off the Wrong Side of the Law'
National Public Radio (NPR)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8888

'Greed Overshadowing Promises to Poor,' Says Evangelicals
Christianity Today

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8889

Perspectives on America’s Economic Crisis
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8890

Fate of Winter Shelters Rests With Safety Issue
Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8891

Fighting Poverty with Faith
civilrights.org

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8892

Don't Overlook the Poor In Wall Street Bailout, Clerics Say
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8893

Faith Based Disaster Preparedness
KHQA.com (Illinois)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8894

Lynchburg Treatment Center Effort Under Way
The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Virginia)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8895

State Suspends Charity Program; Effort to Aid Women, Minorities Facing Audit
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8896

Grant to Fund Shelter For Homeless Veterans --
The Christian Worship Center Plans a 26-Unit Facility Near 16th and Nicholas Streets In Omaha
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8897

Religious, Business Groups Urge Federal Immigration Reform
The Denver Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8898

Democrats Frame Economy as 'Values' Issue
Associated Press Online

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8899

Grant to Help Build Facility for Homeless Vets
BillingsGazette.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8900

Under Ban, 6 Troopers Resign As Chaplains; Chief Orders Nondenominational Prayers
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8901

Jeffersonville Township Trustee Offering Aid to Storm Victims
The Evening News and The Tribune (Jeffersonville, Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8902

Project Will Expand Services to Needy
Buffalo News (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8903

County Approves Hires for New Program at Prison
The York Dispatch (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8904

Ohio Christian Children's Home Child Care Agency Plans Improvements, Changes
Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8905

U.S. Department Of Labor Grants $2 Million to Newark, N.J.,
To Build On Successes Under President's Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative
Healthcare Finance, Tax & Law Weekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8906

Faith-Based Group That Helps the Homeless Seeks To Enlarge
Kitsap Sun (Washington)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8907

Helping the Homeless; New Shelter in Omaha For Veterans Will Provide Needed Care
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8875