Colin Johnson, Archbishop of the Diocese of Toronto decided to try living on the sorts of food found in the typical Toronto food bank both as a spiritual exercise and as a way of understanding better what it was like to live off the sorts of resources available to a family who have no where else to turn.
The headline above isn’t intended as a joke. Given yesterday’s readings, is it possible that the Church is failing in its responsibility to warn rich people–which, in the global calculus would mean most Americans–of the grave danger that their standard of living poses to their souls?
God does not love or judge people based on net worth, income, or skin color. So why do Wake County residential patterns, like the patterns across America, broadly reflect an unchristian homogeneity, the nation’s affluent majority living in one set of neighborhoods, middle income people in another set of neighborhoods, and poor minorities in yet a third set?
The legacy of prior generations’ sins – slavery and segregation – too often manifest itself as socio-economic discrimination, thus perpetuating racial prejudices and exacerbating greed. Children born to poor and lower income parents generally have fewer and lower quality educational opportunities than do children born to affluent parents.
Vicki Black featured this quotation from the late William Stringfellow on the Speaking to the Soul blog yesterday. But it is a question that can’t be examined too often. Are some people poor because others are rich? And if so, what should Christians do abut that?
Holly Heine and the folks at Jericho Road, a neighborhood-based nonprofit homebuilder that provides families with healthy and energy-efficient affordable housing opportunities in Central City, New Orleans needs our help. Just by voting in an online initiative sponsored by Edy’s Fruit Bars, we can help them win a free fruit orchard for their neighborhood.
Later this month Episcopalians and others interested in social service will gather in Newark, New Jersey, for “Called to Serve: The Episcopal Church Responds to Domestic Poverty.
It is painful to watch the transitions taking place here in Michigan, the Mitten State, the once proud home of America’s automotive prowess. The parishioners in our pews are facing challenges they never thought they would confront. A number encounter regular furlough days, or have had salaries reduced, or – worse – have lost their jobs.
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times writer, asks What Could You Live Without? after reading about a family who sold their house, bought a smaller
What would Dr. King have to say about the earthquake in Haiti? Likely, he would have stressed the interconnectedness between people, and the radical call to action on behalf of those who are poor and suffering.