The Rev. Faith Fowler graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Albion College in 1981. She currently serves as a trustee of the College.

A Detroit impact-maker at the individual and community levels for nearly 30 years, particularly in the fight against poverty, the Rev. Faith Fowler, ’81, will deliver the Commencement address to Albion College’s Class of 2015 on Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. from the steps of Kresge Gymnasium on the College Quadrangle.

Since 1994, Fowler has served as senior pastor of Cass Community United Methodist Church and executive director of Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a nonprofit agency that responds to Detroiters in need with programs offering food, health care, housing, and employment.   Her efforts have been recognized on many occasions over the years, including by The Detroit News, which included her among its 2003 Michiganians of the Year, and by the Detroit Free Press as one of its inaugural Michigan Green Leaders in 2010.   The Free Press’ Mitch Albom wrote about Fowler’s work in a September 2014 column.

CCSS, formed in 2002, has grown exponentially under Fowler’s leadership. The Food Program prepares and serves a million meals annually. The Activity Center for Adults with Developmental Disabilities accommodates 125 participants five days a week.   In addition to a Warming Center and a Rotating Shelter, CCSS provides transitional housing and permanent supportive housing for 325 homeless men, women, and children. In response to the financial crisis, the agency began offering employment in 2007, resulting in 85 permanent Green Industries jobs linked to sustainability.   She has written about her work in a recently published memoir, This Far by Faith: Twenty Years at Cass Community.   Fowler, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Albion, received her master of divinity degree from the Boston University School of Theology and her master of public administration degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She received Albion’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 and is a current trustee of the College.

Last Updated on February 2, 2024