Today we’d like to introduce you to Breana Van Velzen.
Breana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 1969, four congregations in downtown Durham, NC, organized the Center City Church Council to address together needs for transportation and visitation for the elderly, and soon also started programs for children and youth. We incorporated in 1972 and, during the next six years, membership grew to 12 congregations. In 1976, the group’s name changed to Durham Congregations In Action, and its membership continued to grow over the years to include dozens of congregations of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others cooperating together in service. Over the years, DCIA has grown to 59 member congregations spanning seven religions across Durham and Orange counties. We continue to work to bring people together, whether that is through shared meals and conversation or providing food to under-resourced families, conducting our HomeShare Durham program to provide housing, managing emergency funds for Durham County, incubating non-profits and projects, or peace-building and conflict work such as training our congregations in Know Your Rights and de-escalation. We seek to work together to provide community-supporting-community solutions to needs in our county with the combined efforts of our congregations, advocate alongside our neighbors on matters of justice, and build trusting, strong relationships across societal divides. We aim to hold the table where people can convene to work through what needs to be done or discussed, and we have done so for 54 years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Durham is inspiring in many ways–as a county and city, we do not say “we can’t do that; there’s no way”. Rather, we say “how can we get this done? If not now, when?” That culture is what inspired DCIA’s existence, and it is what keeps us going through conflict. In the 1990s, we focused quite a bit on racial reconciliation work and racial justice work, but that does not mean that our organization never made mistakes. In the early 2000s, we focused on education and youth mentoring. Right now, we are focused on conflict transformation and peace-cultivating, food security, ending violence, and housing. We often struggle with competing needs, lack of funding, and sometimes congregations with opposing beliefs or approaches to issues we all face. We convene our congregations, listen, educate when appropriate, and provide programs in partnership with them and community organizations that address the areas of struggle. Currently, we are working with three universities, several non-profits, our member congregations, and local governments to mitigate harmful impacts of recent policy changes, incoming laws, the dissolution of federal departments, and lay-offs locally. Our food pantry partners do not have enough funding to feed people, and our need for unity is stronger than ever.
We’ve been impressed with Durham Congregations in Action, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
https://dcia.org/our-work/
Durham Congregations In Action (DCIA) organizes communities of diverse faiths to work for racial justice, social equity, and human dignity. We lead inter-faith learning and cooperation to overcome poverty, racism and violence. Our affirmation as an organization is what unites so many different congregations, belief systems, and people to work together.
We are set apart because we are a multi-faith organization that takes action. That action could be out in the streets feeding people, it could be helping with an emergency power outage, it could be advocating for SNAP benefits or affordable housing, it could be education like sharing a documentary or leading a history-based pilgrimage around the county, and much more. We are known for our unity. In fact, Oct.30-Nov.2, we are hosting a national conference on justice and peace in honor of W.D. Mohammed.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Currently, we are listening to the BLK South podccast, Majestad Prieta podcast, reading Emergent Strategy, The Book of Joy, My Grandmother’s Hands, This Here Flesh, Caste, and Evicted. These are not only educational around issues our organization works on, but they are also led by hope, community, and compassion.
Our congregations love to share food and music with one another. We believe those unite all of us, and all of us can learn and grow in relationship through those humanizing acts.
Breana’s personal favorite soundtrack right now is KPop Demon Hunters, and the book they’re reading is From War to the Rule of Law by Joris Voorhoeve for inspiration at work. Joy Harjo’s “Calling the Spirit Back” keeps Breana going: https://poets.org/poem/calling-spirit-back-wandering-earth-its-human-feet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dcia.org
- Instagram: @durhamnaction
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/DurhamCongregationsInAction
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6210793/admin/dashboard/
