Sympara

12/09/2025

Sympara is blessed by a gifted and passionate board of directors. We’re saying farewell this month to two members as they complete their terms: Lee Syria, president and CEO of EveryAge; and the Rev. Dr. Lauren Ng, senior program officer at Berkeley School of Theology. This year we welcomed three new board members: the Rev. Jordan Braswell, program officer for LISC Charlotte; Aminah McNulty, a research associate with PORT, a public realm design and planning consultancy; and Daniel Galindo, senior vice president/director of community development and strategy for Woodforest National Bank. If you’re interested in exploring board service or want to suggest a name, please DM us.

11/21/2025

"This collection of essays, shaped by Jim's ministry, is more than a tribute — it is a summons to pastors, scholars, students, and faith leaders to embrace the pastor's role as a community leader, one who works tirelessly for the peace, justice, and shared prosperity of the city." So writes the Honorable Barbara Lee, mayor of City of Oakland - Local Government, in her foreword to Sympara's first book — "For the Love of the People, for the Peace of the City: The Vocation of Pastor in Our Time." The collection of essays honors the ministry of Jim Hopkins, whose birthday is today. (Happy Birthday, Jim!)

Edited by Daniel Pryfogle and Mark Liebenow, the book includes essays on the pastor as faithful companion (Rick Mixon), the pastor's place in unifying a congregation (Donald Ng), the pastor's engagement with the authority of scripture (Christopher Schelin), a pastor's prophetic ministry (Allison Tanner), the pastor's handling of the news of the day (Daniel Pryfogle), the pastor and the arts (Mark Liebenow), being a pastor to other pastors (Dale Edmondson), and the qualities of a good minister (LeAnn Flesher).

Book sales benefit MMBB Financial Services' Good Shepherd Annual Appeal, which provides emergency financial assistance to clergy and programs to promote their well-being.

Purchase the book at https://www.amazon.com/Love-People-Peace-City-Vocation/dp/B0FPSKZFPG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1Q1BGWGNLKKTN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MEUlkp4gZ2RYTgE9Dw5SvpR2N54S5td_JJ-WuQqXJFKubt5h6gNR4ytOYL4VUY34IgQhrDuV_NrdVNFWlIXosx-Ohak1_d-wlcG-5u5I-UCo2yoV46m_F4Xz1WnqmDIY5hmm5vpDOzXKpgTFKM4dnA.bTBGER0Ons4KmVrYcrB0UgCq7VKCcqwpTfKMPsCAwxE&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+vocation+of+pastor+in+our+time&qid=1763747919&sprefix=the+vocation+of+pastor+in+our+time%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1.

The essays collected here not only celebrate the Rev. Dr. H. James Hopkins’ thirty-seven years of ministry at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California, but also describe what is most needed from the pastor in our time. The pastor faces many expectations from within and outside the c....

11/19/2025

Our multiyear partnership with Campbell University to map the assets of Harnett County, NC, is bearing more fruit. A design sprint organized by sociology students earlier this month prompted community leaders to create strategies for more collaborative action.

When assets are made visible and asset holders commit to share their resources with each other, great things can happen!

Check out Sympara's asset-mapping tool at sympara.app. And read about the Campbell-hosted Community Leader Summit here:
https://news.campbell.edu/articles/campbell-students-harnett-leaders-meet-to-shape-countys-future/

10/27/2025

There's still time to join Sympara's cogenerational writing group that starts tomorrow (October 28) at 4 p.m. ET. Across six weekly sessions, the group will explore the theme “Places of Resistance, Renewal and Reimagination." In our histories we have known places that registered a different note in the dominant culture. These are places — locations, sites, addresses — that don’t fit the normal pattern. We have stood our ground in places of protest. We have cultivated places of refuge. We have experienced refreshment in the unlikeliest of spots. Inspired by one setting, we have imagined it blossoming elsewhere.

Our writing group is in its sixth year. We call it Aging for the Common Good. Learn more here: https://www.sympara.org/aging-for-the-common-good. If you're interested in joining us, DM Daniel Pryfogle.

A new world may yet emerge from this challenging time in human history. What role will older adults play in the transformation? Sympara's initiative Aging for the Common Good explores this question through writing groups, research and other activities that leverage the experience of older adults for...

10/26/2025

People showed up yesterday at Dellabrook Presbyterian Church in East Winston. People answered an invitation and gave three hours to work on this question: How might the neighborhood become a thriving community through the redevelopment of the church’s property in collaboration with partners, neighbors, and other community stakeholders? It’s a big question, but we got a foothold. The smiles show the energy of community.

10/23/2025

10/06/2025

“We stay in one place. We get to know it. We get to know what it needs. It feeds our spirituality.” — Sister Lynne Smith, Prioress, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton, Wisconsin

The women of Holy Wisdom Monastery have restored 170 acres of native prairie and oak savanna. “Humans need creation to find ourselves,” one said.

09/28/2025

“See, I am doing a new thing!” We saw it this weekend at Shell Ridge Community Church, a small congregation in Walnut Creek, California, that is discerning its future. Sympara cofounder Daniel Pryfogle led the congregation in an appreciative inquiry that, first, evoked stories of when the church was most faithful in the use of its time, talent and treasure (including property) to serve the community; then, imagined futures that flow from the stories; and finally, identified next steps to experiment in the creative reuse of space.

09/18/2025

Five churches and one nonprofit organization shared visions to build affordable housing on their properties last Saturday at Wake Forest University School of Divinity as The Sacred/Civic Placemaking Project, an eight-month peer learning experience, came to a conclusion. We expect these groups will collectively build at least 300 units of affordable housing. The cohort was the first leg of a multiyear journey, so participants also learned about a "spirituality for the long haul" to sustain the effort. Thank you to Dean Corey Walker and the divinity school for hosting us. Thank you to our development partners who shared their expertise all along the way: True Homes, DHIC, Inc., Prosperity Alliance, and DreamKey Partners. And thank you to our funders who made the journey possible: Wells Fargo, A.J. Fletcher Foundation, Woodforest National Bank, Byron Fellowship, PNC, and The Winston-Salem Foundation. To Alamance Presbyterian Church, Greensboro; Dellabrook Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem; First Baptist Church, Greensboro; Guilford Park Presbyterian Church, Greensboro; Legacy Bridge NC, Winston-Salem; Lincoln Park Holiness Church, Raleigh; and Sweet Holy Spirit Church, Winston-Salem — blessings on your good work!

Learn about future cohorts here: https://www.sympara.org/the-sacred-civic-placemaking-project