Sounds like a joke, but it's not. It's an actual scene, in fact, from the first-ever Montana “faith summit,” held one year ago in Billings.
A second summit is in the works, this time scheduled for Kalispell. Like the original, this one was organized by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and also like the original, its goal is to connect religious leaders with financial leaders with charity leaders.
At last year's Billings meeting, Baucus opened the day in the Book of James, saying “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Action is compassion, is a shared confrontation of the challenges Montana's society faces. Addiction and crime and poverty. Homelessness and hunger and unemployment. Child care and transportation and education.
Those topics, Baucus said, often get considerable attention in city centers, and from national foundations, but rural America is too often overlooked.
Putting the focus on the hinterlands meant putting the clergy and the banker and the fellow from the Ford Foundation all on the same stage together, in front of more than 300 nonprofit and religious organizations, for a discussion about how they could help one another.
It was, by all accounts, a success, so much so that Baucus has organized this second annual Montana Community Faith Impact Summit, Oct. 8 and 9 at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.
It is, the senator said, a venue for leaders - whether those leaders be motivated by religion, the common good, social responsibility or a personal vision for positive change.
“I'm confident that we are going to come away with some real tangible results for improving Big Sky country,” Baucus said.
Barry Black, chaplain to the U.S. Senate, returns this fall as keynote speaker.
“Last year, Chaplain Black was phenomenal,” Baucus said, “and I'm sure his words of encouragement and motivation will be just as good this year.”
The meat of the meeting, however, is the focus on getting the monied charities and foundations together with the community and religious leaders who can make a difference on the ground.
In addition to grant-writing seminars, the free summit plays host so several panel discussions, including talks about foster care and adoption, drug-use prevention, personal finances, mental health, community giving, hunger, disaster response, community outreach, environmental stewardship, housing and homelessness.
The idea, the senator said, is to meet, to connect, to network and then to collaborate on solving problems and meeting shared community needs.
To attend, drop an RSVP to rsvp@baucus.senate.gov, or call (800) 332-6106.
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