photo by steed media service

The predatory proclivity of many unconscionable subprime lenders would rival the most vicious beasts prowling on the Serengeti. But instead of subprime recipients behaving like hapless prey in sub-Saharan Africa, resigning to being ripped to financial pieces, Rev. John Weaver has outlined specific strategies to individually and collectively vanquish the national mortgage debacle and other community maladies.

Weaver and 150 pastors have created the Collective Banking Group, which represents over 250,000 congregants. The churches have pooled their resources to leverage their economic clout to eke out more return for their financial might. “Basically we need to come up with a collective effort for change,” Weaver says of the CBG which operates in the area of Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia.

“So what we’ve done is really leverage our economic strength to say to the financial institutions in our area that ‘you cannot take us for granted.’ What we want to is partner with those institutions to get preferred benefits and services for members of our churches,” he says.

Weaver says ministry is something beyond just preaching and praying only. It is also activism and enlightenment. “We need to be focusing on liberation and economic empowerment. We need to make sure that we are engaging in serious efforts of empowering our people,” he said at the Wall Street Project Economic Summit in New York.

“If [borrowers] have issues regarding their loans or single loans, they can call the office ... and know of the banks that are working with us, [so they can] work with them to make sure that they are getting the proper type of terms,” says Weaver. - terry shropshire

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