Black Churches Take Aim at the Economy

The Rev. Dennis Dillon would like to see every black church in Brooklyn involved in some kind of economic development program - and, he says, that definitely includes the hundreds of small, under-the-radar congregations in every poor neighborhood.

"Even the little churches can take on a project," he said this week. "God's Battalion of Prayer, a [Pentecostal] church in Flatbush, runs a bakery. Another church makes greeting cards. The opportunities are all over out there."

It is this thinking that inspired Dillon, the publisher of a free weekly newspaper, The New York Christian Times, to organize a day-long workshop Monday that he hopes will lead to more economic cooperation between the business and religious communities.

The Black Church Means Business Conference will begin with breakfast at the New York Marriott in downtown Brooklyn and continue with seminars all day. Dillon will wrap up the event with a dinner speech.

More here.