This past January, Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, along with the most expansive participating number of organizations and volunteers to date, conducted Central Florida's annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. The PIT Count, an actual physical count of homeless individuals, serves as an annual gauge to capture the number of persons or families in a community who meet the federal definition of homeless, as defined by the U.S.
One year ago, 49 people were killed at Pulse nightclub and Orlando was left reeling. A year later, Orlando Sentinel Snapshot talks with those impacted by the massacre: Since losing her son Christopher "Drew" Leinonen in the Pulse shooting, Christine Leinonen has been fighting to ensure what happened to her son never happens to anyone else.
ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) Our natural tendency after a horrific event is to rush too quickly into blame and explanation. After the Pulse nightclub shooting here in Orlando, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, which targeted the LGBTQ community and left 50 people dead including the shooter, I was probably not alone in asking, "Who did this and why?"
Charles Pitts, a retired Lake Mary executive, was attending service athis Longwood church late last year when his pastor launched a recruiting mission for foot soldiers in the battle against homelessness. "I knew immediately I wanted to join," said Pitts, 72, who has lived at both ends of the rags to riches spectrum.
(RNS) The most important new book on evangelicals in many years has been released just in time for Easter. Frances FitzGerald's massive new tome is called "The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America." Everyone who cares about religion in America must read it.
Co-held by CCC and Christian Leadership Exchange (CLE), the China-US Church Ministries Symposium kicks off in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A, on February 13, 2017. - China Christian Daily, CCD
"If we’re not able to be interrupted for someone who needs us then we probably need to take another look at how much we love Jesus." - Dr. Joel C. Hunter
He had done it before, after Tucson, Aurora, Fort Hood and Sandy Hook: taken on the mantle of the pastor-in-chief before a crowd of mourners for lives taken too soon by a man with a gun.
Dr. Joel C. Hunter is the Pastor of Community Benefit at Action Church, a multi-site congregation based in Winter Park and his one-minute daily devotionals can be heard worldwide on Z88 radio. He is the Chairman of the Central Florida Pledge campaign; a call to action for residents of Central Florida who are tired of hateful discourse and want to create a safe and inclusive community for all. The pledge asks residents to commit to treating all people with kindness and respect, especially those with whom they disagree. To learn more: https://www.centralfloridapledge.com/
He is a nationally and internationally known advocate for the poor, the marginalized, and those dealing with disabilities. He served a three-year term as the Chairman of Central Florida’s Commission on Homelessness. And, after 32 years as the senior pastor of Longwood, Florida’s Northland Church’s congregation of 20,000, he spent five years leading a non-profit in networking with churches and local charities to locate available resources and benefit the struggling in our community. Orlando Magazine highlighted his efforts naming him as the #1 most powerful voice for philanthropy and community engagement. And listed him among “Orlando’s 50 Most Powerful” six years in a row.
Approaching today’s challenges in a biblical and balanced manner, Dr. Hunter is neither partisan nor politically oriented, but often relates to public officials in a pastoral role; he served as a spiritual advisor to President Obama during his eight years in office.
Dr. Hunter has served in leadership roles of the World Evangelical Alliance, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, and the National Association of Evangelicals, serving more than 40 denominations and thousands of churches.
Married for 53 years to his wife, Becky, he is the father of three sons, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of two.
