A group of leaders of the largest coalition of Reformed churches says that the growing gap between rich and poor is a new form of slavery. They are calling upon members to question and challenge globalization that increase the gap. The Geneva-headquartered World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) groups 75 million Reformed Christians from 214 churches in 107 countries. The Rev. Setri Nyomi, Presbyterian theologian from Ghana, explained that the Accra Confession meant that churches and Christians needed to question whether their lifestyle and actions contributed to or hindered overcoming poverty.
From the United Church of Christ website:
Leaders of the world’s biggest grouping of Reformed churches, which includes the UCC, have compared the effects of economic globalization to the transatlantic slave trade, and said that Christians need to combat this modern form of “enslavement.”
“As a matter of the integrity of our faith, we must say, ‘No’ to slavery in all of its forms,” said the president of the UCC-supported World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick. He was speaking at an October 18-28 meeting in Trinidad of Reformed leaders from around the world.
“While we acknowledge this year the 200th anniversary of the passing of the transatlantic slave trade act by the British Parliament, we are painfully aware that slavery is still with us,” said Kirkpatrick in his October 20 presidential report to WARC’s main governing body, its executive committee.
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Farm Bill Reform is being debated in the US Senate this week. For more information on how this bill can impact world and domestic poverty go to Episcopal Public Policy Network