Spotlight on Foothills Congregational Church, 2020 Hometown Hero
We are delighted to honor Foothills Congregational Church (FCC) as one of our 2020 Hometown Heroes. FCC shares many core values with Community Services Agency – both organizations strive to create a friendly, caring, and supportive community that helps those in need. A goal held sacred by the church is for congregants to truly live out their faith.
Pastor Chris Breedlove, who joined Foothills in 2018 after serving congregations in Texas, Indiana, and California, sums up the church’s culture as being “inclusive, progressive and engaged.” He was drawn to the congregation because of the Bay Area’s culture of innovation and the church’s tradition of helping the community. Breedlove says,“We have a saying, ‘Don’t put a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking – there is more work to be done.’” His clerical collar sports an embroidered comma as a reminder to keep moving forward.
FCC is deeply dedicated to community service. Their Justices Issues Study Group helps members become more informed and act on issues of injustice in the community: a recent forum spotlighted homelessness and affordable housing. Each year, they organize a service and justice trip to help those in need.
Over the past several years, the Foothills congregation has helped raise and provide funds for the purchase of books and educational materials for the Ikhulili Primary School in Eregi, Kenya — the birthplace of a church member. More recently, they have funded the laying of pipe to provide potable water to the village.
In 2018, they held their first Saturday of Service, attended by 90 church members of all ages. Following breakfast and a benediction in the Parish Hall, members volunteered at multiple community sites, including Collective Roots, Deer Hollow Farm, Pandemonium and Haven House.
When the pandemic hit, the congregation leadership went into overdrive. Their primary concern was protecting the most vulnerable community members; therefore, they released funds to nonprofits such as CSA early on to enable critical work to continue and grow with the need. Worship services moved to Zoom and congregants began regularly checking in on fellow church members via phone calls so that no one fell through the cracks.
CSA is so grateful for the support we have received from FCC over the years and for the good work they are doing in the community. Not only have they been generous with financial support, but they have also pitched in with volunteers, organizing food drives, attending CSA’s Empty Bowls and Hometown Heroes events and more.
“FCC has been an amazing partner in helping those in need in our community,” says CSA Executive Director Tom Myers. “Members of this congregation continue to inspire me with their passion for service and how they live out their faith through their actions.”
For more information about the 2020 Hometown Heroes event, please click here.