Rural Faith Communities

Mar 20, 2018

First in Future: Rural Economic Development Center Board Chair Grant Godwin (Season 2 Premier)

Summary: First in Future begins it’s second season today. Want to know how rural North Carolina’s doing these days? Well, here’s a statistic to think about: Last year, half the… 

Mar 13, 2018

Faith Leaders Attend 2018 kidoNomiCs Forum

Mary Jane Wilson-Parsons leads a congregation of retirees, but experts keep calling to learn about her church’s summer reading camp—for kids. “My congregation realizes you can’t sit at the beach… 

Mar 13, 2018

First in Future: Transylvania County Commissioner Page Lemel

Summary: Next month the Institute for Emerging Issues will be launching KidsReadyNC, a four-county Tier 1 and Tier 2 focus on early childhood education.This initiative is an 18-month effort to help selected… 

Feb 6, 2018

First in Future: Carolina Journal Editor John Hood

Summary: If you’re looking for someone to give you a thorough political summary on the political history of North Carolina and where the Old North State stands in relation to its… 

Dec 20, 2017

Thriving Rural Communities: Holiday Gifts for Underprivileged Children

Just a stone’s throw from the Faison Piggly Wiggly, there’s a man on a mission—his name’s Jabe Largen and he’s pastor of the Faison United Methodist Church in Faison, a… 

Nov 30, 2017

Rooted and Ready: Claiming North Carolina’s Rural Future

The Rural Center hosted their annual Rural Assembly on November 16-17, 2017 in Raleigh, NC. As someone who works with rural faith leaders, I was excited to attend and hear… 

Apr 14, 2017

Thriving Rural Communities: On the Beach and Out in the Community

Rev. Gina Miller of Avon's St. John United Methodist Church launched a "tiny food pantry" for the community, and it's a valuable resource for those in need. 

Feb 16, 2017

Thriving Rural Communities: Perspectives on Early Childhood Investments from the Faith Community

This past week, 35 rural faith leaders joined over 300 North Carolina government, business and nonprofit leaders at IEI’s 2017 Emerging Issues Focus Forum, kidonomics: The Economics of Early Childhood…