The founder of Community Renewal International (CRI) and scholar Tim Muldoon describe a movement that can revolutionize the way cities address social division, crime, and despair.
MARYKNOLL, N.Y. — When G.S. “Mack” McCarter returned to his hometown of Shreveport, LA, after many years as a pastor in Texas, he found a racially divided city wracked by violence and dysfunction. So, he and some friends decided they would begin knocking on doors to systematically build a network of caring that would remake the city.
Twenty-five years later, the movement McCarter started in his chosen neighborhood in Shreveport has become Community Renewal International (CRI). In How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood, co-written with Tim Muldoon, McCarter tells the story of CRI becoming a beacon of renewal which others are replicating in cities and towns across the US and Africa. Here, today, Black and white, Republican and Democrat, men and women—all who have become part of the “We Care Team,” now over 50,000 strong, have begun remaking their communities and repairing the fabric of society.
The late Millard Fuller, co-founder of Habitat for Humanity, once described CRI as “the premier community renewal building model in the nation,” and his wife and co-founder Linda Fuller writes, “Mack McCarter shares the courageous steps he took to fuse love and caring into relationships, using the best elements of society to improve neighborhoods, cities and our futures.”
How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood shows exactly how others can join in this effort to remake our society, and why, for the sake of our shared future, they must.
S. “Mack” McCarter is Founder and Coordinator of Community Renewal International (CRI). He has been honored on behalf of CRI as National Citizen of the Year from the National Conference on Citizenship, Social Entrepreneur of the Year from The Manhattan Institute, Louisiana Public Citizen of the Year from the National Association of Social Workers, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year from Texas Christian University, Distinguished Minister of the Year from Brite Divinity School, and Doctor of Letters (Honorary) by Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary. Mack also received the 2019-2020 Lumen Christi Award from Catholic Extension. Mack holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion from Texas Christian University, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Brite Divinity School.
Tim Muldoon is a professor, scholar, and author or co-author of ten books, and editor of two others. He has been honored by the Catholic Press Association on multiple occasions, and was the 2017 recipient of the “Hearts on Fire” Spiritual Writing Award from the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, CA. Tim holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Theology from Boston College; a Master of Theological Studies degree from Emory University; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University. He teaches in the Perspectives on Western Culture program at Boston College.
How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood
ISBN 978-1-62698-500-1paperback 162pp. $20.00 Pub Date: November 3, 2022
Founded in 1970, Orbis Books publishes works that enlighten the mind, nourish the spirit and challenge the conscience. Orbis seeks to explore the global dimensions of Christian faith and mission, to invite dialogue with diverse cultures and religious traditions, and to serve the cause of reconciliation and peace.
###
Contact:
Bernadettte Price
Orbis Books
914 570 4135
[email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.
