“It Takes a Village”

Join us for a virtual film screening of the movie It Takes A Village and a discussion with Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson, Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan, and Sandra Acosta, moderated by Rev. Dr. Stephen Ray, Jr. 

Produced by the United Church of Christ’s Church Building & Loan Fund, It Takes A Village tells the inspiring story of the creation of the Village at West Jefferson, also known as MOLO Village, which opened in 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. The 30,000-square, $7 million project was the first investment in decades in the long-neglected Russell neighborhood in Louisville’s West End. Built on a former church parking lot, MOLO Village houses social services, businesses, a bank branch, a restaurant, and more.

Hear how the vision of Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson, pastor of St. Peter’s UCC in Louisville, came to be a reality through her work with Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan, Executive Director of the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund, and Sandra Acosta, Principal of the AIM Development Group, a New York-based firm which helps for-profit businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities seeking to conceptualize and implement site specific developments or broader housing, neighborhood and economic development initiatives.

It Takes A Village reveals the important ways in which the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund, which Congregationalists founded 170 years ago, is working with municipalities and urban planners to repurpose and develop church properties to serve urban audiences and advance the mission of the church in the 21st century.

The event is free to all, but registration is required via this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SSiJauwySDKFnp7iXuYpZw.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For more information, please email info@14beacon.org.

SPEAKER BIOS

Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson is the Pastor, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ and President & CEO, of Molo Village CDC, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Rev. Dr. Patrick G. Duggan is Executive Director of the UCC Church Building & Loan Fund and Senior Pastor at the Congregational Church at South Hempstead, New York.

Sandra Acosta is a Principal at AIM Development Group, Corp., a Planning and Real Estate Development Consulting firm, that was the Development Consultant for The Village @ West Jefferson project.

Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray Jr. is the Senior Minister at the historic United Church on the Green, New Haven, CT. Prior to this call he served as the 13th President of Chicago Theological Seminary and a past President of the Society for the Study of Black Religion. Ray had a distinguished career in theological education as holder of two endowed chairs and published broadly in the areas of religion and African-American Studies.