Pastoral Ministry
Parish Ministry
...serving our brothers and sisters in faith in the environment where most people come to experience church.
[Top-right] 1985-Brendan Buckley; [left] Philip Fabiano an early participant of the EBC and community organizer in support of the Nehemiah Plan; John Gallagher offered continued support as pastor [1984-1990]
Humble Beginnings
Peter Kaseta, O.F.M. Cap
The Nehemiah concept was formally announced by Brooklyn’s Bishop Francis Mugavero and the Eas Churches at a press conference in June, 1982. Named for the biblical prophet who oversaw the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, the plan is to build on the vast acres of vacant land in eastern Brooklyn and offer the homes to buyers with incomes between $20,000 and $40,000.
The Provincial Chapter of 1984, in response to proposals from the Capuchin fraternity at Saint Michael Parish, one of the 47 members of East Brooklyn Churches, directed the newly elected Definitory to make an interest-free loan of $250,000 through the Bishop of Brooklyn to the Nehemiah Trust Plan.
With the help of this and other financial assistance, a revolving pool of funds has been established. This pool, along with the cooperation and funding of City and State agencies, has enabled construction to begin. Read more…
T H E N E H E M I A H H O U S I N G P R O J E C T
Bricks, Mortar, Hearts and Minds In East Brooklyn, Low-Income Housing Is No Longer a Dream
Don Wycliff
In east Brooklyn, a coalition of churches is doing what many experts felt couldn’t be done—building affordable housing for low and moderate-income families. The Nehemiah project has already produced 300 new row houses in Brownsville at an average cost of $51,000 and sold them to families with incomes averaging less than $25,000. Another 300 are under construction; plans call for 5,000 in Brownsville and East New York.
Can such success be duplicated? Representative Charles Schumer thinks so. He wants a $150 million Federal program to assist similar projects across the nation. For budgetary reasons, Congressional approval this year seems unlikely. But the nation could do far worse than to invest $150 million in the idea. Read more…
Old Fashioned Bulwark in a Tide of Foreclosures
Michael Powell
To walk the streets of Brownsville and East New York, Brooklyn, is to see neighborhoods ravaged by foreclosure, homes boarded up and marshals’ notices taped to doors. Yet in the midst of this pain sit several swaths of well-tended homes, about 3,000 in all, each with a driveway and statuary and garden. Not one of their owners has lost a home. Read more…