The Serve Council works to deepen mutually enriching relationships with partners in ministry and to justly disperse funds shared by church members and designated by Session. To faithfully fulfill its purpose, Serve practices the biblical principles of solidarity, justice, and stewardship.
The Serve Council humbly works to carry out Jesus’ mission in our world. Being strengthened by the worship, prayers, and teachings within our congregation, we seek to reach out beyond our church walls. Serve members are committed to the long-term work of dismantling white supremacy by striving to more equitably share power, resources and access with directly impacted people through authentic, mutual relationships.
We seek opportunities to partner with those in our local communities to more effectively do God’s work in our world, prayerfully seeking to be good stewards of God’s resources: time, money, volunteers and ideas, with human connections and relationships providing the framework of service.
Covenant Partners are organizations led by Black- and Brown-bodied persons whose mission is to support historically marginalized communities. GCPC shares in their work through financial support, publicity in church communication channels, and rent-free meeting space in the church.
Center for Participatory Change: Multiracial leadership whose vision is collective liberation, la liberación del pueblo. CPC creates spaces for learning, healing and relationship building, for example, its Black Love group that supports resiliency and mental well-being.
www.cpcwnc.org
Colaborativa La Milpa: Based in Asheville’s Emma community, Colaborativa La Milpa is a collaboration of grassroots organizations dedicated to mutual aid, community defense, and the uplift of Latinx cultures. Member organizations share infrastructure (fundraising, planning, evaluation, strategies) and foster cooperation so that everyone can have greater impact and sustainability. Member organizations: 1) Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción (CIMA). Latinx immigrant rights & protection; resource & referrals to address needs like housing, wage theft, financial needs, food insecurity, etc. 2) Raíces Emma–Erwin. Children’s after-school and summer programs for strengthening their cultural identity through music, dance, and cultures of Latin America. 3) Mä hñäkihu: Indigenous Language Preservation Project. Cultivate knowledge of this language and culture of Hidalgo, Mexico and share with the community, 4) PODER Emma. Community-led development; cooperative development through technical assistance, accompaniment, and lending for the development and sustainability of resident-owned mobile home parks, community-based real estate investment cooperatives, and worker-owned businesses (bookkeeping, language translation and interpreting, property management, pre-school).
https://colaborativalamilpa.org/
CoThinkk: CoThinkk is dedicated to social change philanthropy by investing our time, talent and treasure to accelerate positive changes in communities of color in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Community. Collaboration. Commitment.
www.cothinkk.org
Faith 4 Justice: Black-led gathering of area faith leaders, both ordained and lay, to address white supremacy in our respective institutions and in ourselves. Convenes a monthly community of praxis for continued learning, relationship building, mutual accountability and deepening of our faith. Provokes justice by galvanizing faith communities to collectively advocate for racial equity and justice while engaging in trauma-informed, systemically focused actions directed by Black leaders. To learn more or participate in the F4J monthly process, see https://faith4justiceasheville.org/learn-more/.
https://www.faith4justiceasheville.org
JMPROTV: JMPRO TV is a grassroots media that organizes and campaigns on pressing issues affecting our Latinx community in Western North Carolina – sharing opportunities and news in Spanish and two indigenous Guatemalan languages- to raise awareness and increasing civic engagement.
www.jmpro.tv
The Racial Justice Coalition (RJC) is a broad-based alliance of individuals and organizations committed to addressing systemic racism and state-sanctioned violence against Black people and those most impacted by poverty, criminalization, and mass incarceration. Through grassroots-led organizing and community collaborations, the RJC seeks to achieve and sustain deep equity by building power to those historically underrepresented, dismantling policies and institutions that uphold racism, and reimagining a community where justice exists for all people.
https://www.rjcavl.org/
SOS: What They Don’t Teach You: Empowerment, partnering with Life Connections to support incarcerated folks and their families.
WNC Workers’ Center: Led by and in relationship with immigrant workers in the hotel, restaurant, food processing, and construction industries. Because immigrant workers in Western North Carolina face common workplace challenges such as wage theft, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and sexual aggression, WNC Workers’ Center seeks to empower and achieve justice for all through 1) base-building work rooted in local worker leadership circles, 2) a structured model of popular education around issues of worker justice, gender, and community leadership, and 3) advocacy and action work to promote systemic change, grounded in worker and civil rights, through direct actions planned and led by worker communities.
www.wncworkerscenter.org
YTL Training Programs: Black-led organization that works with children and their families to overcome current disparities in education to help them thrive in the inequitable school systems.
www.ytltraining.org
Ministry Partners are organizations that GCPC is in relationship with. They are supported through publicity in church communication channels and rent-free meeting space in the church.
Asheville City Schools Foundation: Implements bold strategies, funds big ideas and engages the community to increase excellence with equity for all children in our schools.
www.acsf.org
Asheville Poverty Initiative: Fosters relationships among people of all economic means, thereby building community through the Poverty Scholars Program and 12 Baskets Café.
www.ashevillepovertyinitiative.org
Asheville Youth Mission: Plans and leads day, weekend and week-long mission immersion experiences with middle-school and high-school youth.
https://www.youthmissionco.org/asheville-youth-mission.html
BeLoved Asheville: Community-led organization addressing issues of housing, justice, oppression, economic disparities. Connecting people from diverse backgrounds to use their voices, skills and unique gifts to transform their lives and communities.
www.belovedasheville.com
Bountiful Cities: The Asheville Buncombe Community Garden Network facilitates resource sharing (increasing community capacity, a tool library, seed saving and volunteers) and garden education.
www.bountifulcities.org
Carolina Resource Center for Eating Disorders: Provides education, resources, and support to individuals, families, and professionals concerned with disordered eating and recovery from eating disorders. www.crcfored.com
Creation Care Alliance of WNC: Interfaith network which strives to be a voice for God’s creation and neighbors harmed by environmental injustices, and to bring practical and hopeful solutions through inspiration, education, service and advocacy.
www.creationcarealliance.org
Food Connection: Collects surplus food from Asheville, Black Mountain & Swannanoa restaurants, caterers and institutions and delivers the food to those who will enjoy it in order to reduce food waste and ease the pain of immediate hunger.
https://food-connection.org/
Habitat for Humanity: Works with volunteers, community members and families to build and repair homes. Habitat envisions a world where everyone has a decent place to live because strong and stable homes help build strong and stable communities.
www.ashevillehabitat.org
Hands & Feet: Year-long progressive, ecumenical Christian service program for young adults to pursue their passions, serve others, live in intentional community and explore faith.
www.handsandfeetavl.org
Haywood Street Congregation: A transformative open community of Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, creating opportunities to serve and be served so that each person is empowered to claim their identity as a child of God.
http://haywoodstreet.org/
Healing Art Missions: Supports the people of Haiti in the areas of health, nutrition, education, housing and social justice.
www.healingartmissions.org
Heart of Horse Sense: Provides free therapeutic horsemanship, including equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning, for veterans, their families, and at-risk youth.
www.heartofhorsesense.org
Homeward Bound A-Hope Day Center: A welcoming, safe place where approximately 2,500 individuals experiencing homelessness come each year to receive basic needs services and to engage in the local referral and assessment system in order to end their homelessness with housing.
https://homewardboundwnc.org/
Hood Huggers: Black-led organization that builds greater communication, connection and wealth in systemically marginalized neighborhoods in the Affrilachian region through the arts, environment, and social enterprise.
www.hoodhuggers.com
Johnson C. Smith Seminary: The only historically Black theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary provides innovative theological education and ministerial formation opportunities for ordained and non-ordained persons to advance communities of faith, justice, and compassion.
www.smithseminary.org
Pisgah Legal Services: Pursues justice by providing legal assistance and advocacy to help low-income people in Western North Carolina meet their basic needs and improve their lives.
www.pisgahlegal.org
Read to Succeed Asheville: Works with public schools to narrow the achievement gap between middle-class students and those from low-income/low-literacy homes.
www.r2sasheville.org
Residents’ Council of Asheville Housing Authority: Black-led council for public housing residents. Collaborating with Southside Kitchen to feed 300-500 seniors and public housing residents with disabilities each week. Council partners with Southside Kitchen/community to provide food and relief to elderly, residents with disabilities and public housing residents.
haca.org
Serve to LEAD: Unites young people from different social and cultural backgrounds around a common vision to serve their local and global community to reduce poverty: spiritually, socially, and materially.
http://goservetolead.org/
Steady Collective: Dedicated to promoting the wellness of people who use drugs through empowerment and respectful collaboration. Its goal is to improve overall community health by reducing the rate of drug overdose and the spread of infectious disease with education, advocacy and direct services.
www.thesteadycollective.org
Working Wheels: Repairs and recycles donated cars, transforming them into working wheels for working families.
workingwheelswnc.org