Years ago, when pastor Mack McCarter returned to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, he found a city racially divided and mired in violence. He started a deceptively simple but powerful faith-based community rebuilding program that has since changed his hometown, and many others, for the better. Crime is down and graduation rates and home ownership are up. A new book, How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood (Orbis Books, 2022), shares the story and philosophy of McCarter’s work conducted through his organization, Community Renewal International. Called “the premier community renewal building model in the nation,” CRI is an intentional movement to build friendship and connectedness among neighbors as a way to combat racial tensions, socioeconomic divides, fear, loneliness, and isolation. The program has spread to cities across the U.S. and Africa. How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood is written by McCarter and Boston College alumnus and Associate Professor of the Practice of Philosophy Tim Muldoon. It offers a replicable and tested road map for renewing communities, according to the authors. Muldoon is an award-winning writer who has authored or co-authored 10 books and edited two others. He teaches in the University’s Perspectives on Western Culture program. Learn more about Community Renewal International from this 2020 CBS News video.