By Andrew Curran & For Alamance Narrative Team
A lifelong resident of North Carolina, Kurt Ward is working tirelessly to create a more collaborative community in Alamance County. He is the lead pastor at Northside Fellowship Church in Burlington and an active volunteer with For Alamance, a partnership between community members, Impact Alamance and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation that aims to inspire community members to work together despite their differences to build a better Alamance.
As one of the leaders of the initiative’s Faith Team, Kurt found a passion for bringing people together in the community when he noticed the divisions that exist in Alamance County. He said the biggest challenge he faces in this work is breaking people’s tendency to focus on what separates us from each other rather than focusing on what unites us all.
He believes this division in the community stems from wide differences among race, ethnicity, language, geographic location and socioeconomic status that are present across Alamance. With this in mind, Kurt and the Faith Team have focused their efforts on creating opportunities for folks to gather together regardless of their differences. “One of the things we do here on the Faith Team,” he says, “is bringing people together to learn from one another and, in turn, crushing stereotypes throughout our community.”
One such event the team organized on March 23 was “Love for Alamance: a Day of Service.” Community members were able to use their skills to make improvements in the community through five different service projects across the county. There were paint projects at Eastlawn Elementary and Northside Fellowship Church; a clean-up at Robinson Park in collaboration with the City of Burlington and Habitat for Humanity; and food and clothing distribution projects with the CityGate Dream Center.
Through community conversations, the Faith Team found that many folks do not connect with congregations and groups that are different from their own. Kurt believes the local community “is the most segregated on Sunday mornings.” The intention of this project was to encourage members of numerous congregations to attend different projects to create new connections and relationships outside of their typical circles. People in attendance were affiliated with St. Mark’s Church, Beyond Measure Ministries, the City of Burlington, Northside Fellowship Church, the CityGate Dream Center, Impact Alamance, the Burlington Police Department and other organizations.
The event was a great success with more than 100 volunteers participating and showing their love for Alamance. “The event got people working together that wouldn’t ever meet each other,” said Kurt.
By attending the “Love For Alamance” event, members of the community showed others that Alamance County residents genuinely care about one another. The event was the Faith Team’s first action step towards creating a better community. The next “Love for Alamance” event will be held on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024. For more information contact Kurt Ward, kurt@mynorthsidefamily.org.
About For Alamance
For Alamance is a partnership between Alamance County community members, Impact Alamance and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Their aim is to inspire community members to work together despite their differences to build a better Alamance. The initiative comprises five action teams: the Arts & Culture Team, Bridging Team, Faith Team, Narrative Team and Youth Wellness Team. The teams have been gathering public knowledge through community conversations since early 2023. Now, they are beginning to take action to create an Alamance that is rooted in the aspirations of its community members.
Get Involved
If you’re interested in learning more about the Faith Team, please contact Kurt Ward at kurt@mynorthsidefamily.org. If you’re interested in learning more about the For Alamance Initiative, please contact Jewel Tillman at jewel.tillman@conehealth.com. Click here to learn more about the Love For Alamance event.
