As Shutdown Strains Incomes, Church Ramps Up to Feed the Hungry

The federal government shutdown furloughed 57 members of the Commonwealth of Faith church, where a third of the 350 attendees are federal workers, including bivocational pastor Torion Bridges and his wife Jasmine. The change could jeopardize financial gifts from a quarter of Commonwealth of Faith’s adult members, Bridges said. “Some people give when they don’t have, but the reality is, some people stop giving,” Bridges said, especially since they don’t know how long the shutdown will last or in some cases, whether their positions will be retained.