Today we’d like to introduce you to Reverend Faith Fowler.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have been a pastor in Detroit for 40 years, the last 32 of them at Cass Community United Methodist Church.
The Cass congregation has spearheaded social ministries since the Great Depression when it started a soup kitchen
that has served meals every day since.
Cass established a separate nonprofit in 2002. It offers programs for food, housing, health/mental health, as well as vocational training for no- and low-income people.
The agency serves 700,000 meals a year.
It provides emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing for 450 men, women, and children experiencing homelessness each night. We also have built 33 tiny homes that offer homeownership to low-income people who complete the program.
Cass operates a free medical clinic and a day program for 80 adults with developmental disabilities.
Our nonprofit links jobs with sustainability in a program called Green Industries.
Most of the programs are located on a twelve block, pedestrian campus just off the Lodge freeway south of Davison.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
1) We have learned that poverty is complex and that solutions should address more than one problem.
2) Like so many others, we were especially challenged by Covid. While others sheltered and worked at home, the staff of Cass worked at the shelter where the numbers skyrocketed, supplies were sparse, and the disease spread.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think I am known for being innovative while stubborn social issues, and for speaking plainly to a variety of very different audiences.
I am probably most proud of the fact that while Cass works with poor people, we have simultaneously been redeveloping and re-populating a neighborhood. In addition to building 33 tiny homes, Cass has erected a car wash, repurposed a warehouse and renovated four apartment buildings and a convent. We are currently raising funds to convert a 100-year-old Catholic church into a community center which will include a grocery store.
What were you like growing up?
I was (and still am) an introvert. I was and also am still an avid reader, a consumer of good music, and a lover of theater.
In college, I worked as a photographer. During the three years I was in seminary in Boston, I served with the Catholic Chaplaincy team in Walpole Prison (later renamed Cedar Junction).
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I am happiest when someone overcomes an obstacle and achieves success: graduates from school, achieves sobriety, obtains a job, becomes a homeowner.
Personally, I am giddy when I have “free time” to read for pleasure, hike or bike, travel, or just spend a day with my family or dog.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassDetroit/
- Other: CCUMCAC@AOL.COM
