Domestic Poverty

Not long ago, I spent an afternoon smoking a cigarette with a convicted drug dealer and thief. Well, I wasn’t smoking the cigarette, but I was there nonetheless, enjoying the second-hand smoke and conversation. Well, enjoying the conversation and avoiding the second-hand smoke.

Our choice of setting? The no-smoking area of a hospital courtyard, large ‘Fresh Air Area’ signs over our heads.

Welcome to our Speaking Up for a Faithful Budget series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox and to view previous posts in the series. Next week we’ll be hearing about abortion. 

You don’t need big buildings, budgets, or clever programs to impact your city.

You do, however, need a new scorecard and upgraded approach to ministry.

A New Scorecard and an Upgraded Approach

For generations, churches have measured attendance and budgets as indicators of success. Why? Because we have a strong bias toward self-preservation. Let’s be honest, the purpose of our congregation is often centered on the members.

Do you find working for justice overwhelming? Same. It’s overwhelming because there is no-one-size-fits-all formula that lays out best next steps. It’s overwhelming because it taps into a lot of emotion. It’s overwhelming because there is so much need for justice that we often don’t even know where to start. Pursuing justice can feel overwhelming because our world moves so quickly, but justice comes slowly.

It just so happens that as Congress considers dismantling Medicaid as we know it – as well as an end to the law that requires health insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions – I am preparing to explore the theme of “Good News for the Poor” with my seminary ethics class. One of the things I do with my students is to walk through the New Testament to show them just how continuously and emphatically Christ and the apostles call Christians to take responsibility for the poor.

In 1 Peter 2:9-10, and in Matthew 5:14-16, and in Philippians 2:14-15, we are told that, having received mercy, having been given the role of light (in a world that so desperately needs it), and having God at work within us—we are to see ourselves as royalty. But how should being royalty make us act?

When we meet someone for the first time, we often identify ourselves by our name and where we come from. Over the years I have reflected on this simple yet profound question: “Where is home?” This is a challenging question for me since I have experienced a very transitional childhood and adult life where I have moved to many different places and lived in communities with many different people.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” Isaiah 61:1-2

We’ve made it through an election cycle, one that has stoked old divisions and fears, and caused uncertainty for Americans and Canadians alike. As we move forward, it is worth remembering that much of the real work of citizenship—in whatever country you call home, and (more importantly) in God’s here-and-coming kingdom—begins at our tables.

I have been reflecting a lot lately about the holy connections between food, faith, and justice. In my daily life, I work part-time as a cook in a French neighbourhood cafe and part-time as a community connections coordinator at my church, where I build relationships with church members and neighbours through our weekly community dinner, neighborhood events and celebrations. In both of my jobs, I use food to feed, nourish and connect people in my workplace, church, and community.