About a year and a half ago, [Nina} McCarthy took out another, different kind of loan. She went to her pastor, Rodney Hunter, at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Richmond. Hunter helped her borrow $700 so she could make a dent in paying off her mounting credit card debt, then about $8,000.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it worked: McCarthy\u2019s church offered funds as collateral so she could qualify for a loan through the Virginia United Methodist Credit Union. McCarthy agreed to repay the loan at an annualized interest rate of about 6 percent \u201d\u201c meaning monthly payments of $25 for about 2 1\/2 years, drawn right out of her bank account.<\/p>\n
McCarthy is one month behind on the church loan, but she\u2019s confident she\u2019ll catch up this month. \u201cI\u2019m real grateful for it,\u201d\u009d she said.<\/p>\n
The program is called the Jubilee Assistance Fund. In 7 1\/2 years, it has helped parishioners of the United Methodist Church secure 14 loans \u201d\u201c from $500 to $8,800 \u201d\u201c according to Carol Mathis, chief executive of the credit union.<\/p>\n