Faith-Based

The Food Pantry is one of the most established ministries at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. Concerned by issues of hunger and poverty in the Uphams Corner neighborhood of Dorchester, St. Mary’s Food Pantry was established in 1991 to help address the needs of those struggling to put food on their tables. Today the food pantry is staffed solely by volunteers and feeds approximately 300 low-income families (875 individuals) from Dorchester, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain each month.

St. Mary’s food pantry is a member agency of the Greater Boston Food Bank and receives most of its food from this source. In addition, the pantry relies on Partner churches, community groups and individuals to help keep its shelves stocked.

Masjid al Quran is an Islamic mosque. Formerly a Nation of Islam Mosque (the old Muhammad's Mosque No. 11), the Masjid al Quran has been a center of worship for "mainstream" (Sunni) Islam since the 1970s. A brief history of the Mosque may be found here. The mosque has been active in interfaith efforts. A 2007 Boston Globe article states: "[Current Imam] Mahdee has sought a more visible role for Masjid Al Quran in Boston's public life, taking part in interfaith lectures and attending Israeli Independence Day celebrations at the Israeli consulate long before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made such outreach imperative for Muslims. Mahdee says the mosque can do more, but he also believes that other faith communities could do more to reciprocate Masjid Al Quran's efforts. Mahdee would also like to see the mosque's younger congregants -- those in their teens, 20s, and 30s -- become more involved in the mosque."

GBIO was founded by a group of 45 clergy and community leaders who began meeting in January of 1996. What motivated this founding group to begin building GBIO was a common desire to transcend the historic divisions in Boston that existed between neighborhoods, particularly around race and class issues. These founders were motivated to build a new organization which could help build relationships across these divides and provide a new vehicle for different constituencies to act together on common interests in ways which would be powerful and effective. This founding group raised seed money from ten different religious denominations and the first staff organizer was hired in August 1997. In November of 1998, GBIO held its founding assembly attended by some 4000 people from across Greater Boston. This watershed event in Boston's recent history was the largest and most diverse mass meeting held in Boston during the past 25 years.

Anti-Usury Campaign

It is time to re-instate usury laws by capping interest rates at 10%. Why 10%? Because 10% is enough.

Ten percent is enough to allow credit to flow to all worthy borrowers. It is enough to allow bankers their fair share of profit. It is enough to protect families from permanent indebtedness. And it is enough to divert our economy away from the speculative gambling that has caused our present economic crisis, and back towards productive wealth creation in the industries of the future: green manufacturing, sustainable energy, and others that the American entrepreneurial spirit has yet to imagine.

Health Care

The fight for quality, affordable health care for all continues.

In 2005, over a half a million people were uninsured in the state of Massachusetts, many of whom were members of GBIO institutions. Through listening to these members, their stories became our stories and motivated us to become active in the fight for affordable health care for all. The passage of Massachusetts 2006 Health Reform Law was a landmark victory for GBIO and the residents of the Commonwealth of MA. More than 430,000 residents have acquired health insurance as a result of the passage of this reform, and Massachusetts rate of uninsured has dropped from seven percent to three percent, the lowest in the nation!

School Organizing Campaign

The Jubilee House is a 23-room mansion located in Dorchester's Codman Square, at the heart of Boston's most diverse community. Jubilee House is designed as an intentional living community, fostering Christian growth and personal transformation through everyday involvement in the urban environment. What We Do: The Salvation Army Jubilee House is a community based ministry on various levels. It is a church with Sunday worship services and Bible studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Its position within the Salvation Army also involves it in many seasonal assistance and outreach programs: i.e. Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets, a wide variety of summer enrichment programs for children and teens. More recently we have been involved in serving the evacuees of the Katrina disaster. Why Jubilee House? The name “Jubilee House” is derived from the Biblical concept…the Year of Jubilee. This festival was prescribed by God in the book of Leviticus. Celebrated every fifty years, it was to be a year of rejoicing when every debt was cancelled, every slave set free, every prison opened and every lost heritage restored. Our credo quoted from the prophet Isaiah ( in Isaiah 61:1-4) speaks of one to come who would bring about a more universal Jubilee. It is our mission to let those of our community know that there is hope, joy, victory, freedom, and deliverance in Jesus Christ, our Jubilee!