Here is an interview that David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World did with Spotlight on Poverty on the current budget and its effect on poor people here and abroad. To watch the interview click here.
This is an important issue; the proposed budget cuts are targeting those who are most vulnerable.
Hungry People Overseas Hit Hardest by Proposed Cuts
May 2011
The most alarming provisions of H.R. 1, the House spending bill discussed in this issue’s front-page story, affect some of the poorest people in the world. These provisions would make drastic cuts to international humanitarian and development assistance programs, such as emergency food aid, health (including HIV treatment), child survival, clean water, and sustainable agriculture.
Food aid and the McGovern-Dole program, which provides school lunches to children from poor families, would face the largest cuts: 46 percent. Hundreds of millions of dollars would be stripped from each of several other accounts, including Development Assistance, PEPFAR, Global Health and Child Survival, and the Millennium Challenge Account.
via Hungry People Overseas Hit Hardest by Proposed Cuts – Bread for the World: Have Faith. End Hunger..
See also this pdf file from Bread for the World: The US Budget: Myths and Realities.
Dr. Robert Linthicum has just made available for downloading the complete three year cycle of his “The Gospel of Shalom: A Justice Reading of the Lectionary Scripture” This is based on his 48 years of study of how the Scripture deals with the issues of social justice. Reading along for the past year has changed my theology and given me a much better understanding of the problems in my community and the Church’s role in responding to those problem. Evangelicals please don’t be afraid this is a thoroughly solid evangelical work.That expresses both aspects of loving God and loving your neighbor.
The work is available in PDF downloads based on the lectionary year.
This summer he plans to release Truly Strategic Scriptures Avoided by the Lectionary, which I am looking forward to.
Anyone who wants a solid theology perspective on social justice issues should check out his website.
As I was visiting hospitals and health huts in Senegal, I was also receiving e-mailed updates on House GOP budget cuts. The Global Fund, down 40 percent. Child survival programs, which include anti-malaria efforts, down 10 percent. AIDS relief, down 8 percent. Development assistance, down 30 percent.These reductions were intended to be symbolic, but what do they symbolize? Fiscal responsibility? Hardly. No one can reasonably claim that the budget crisis exists because America spends too much on bed nets and AIDS drugs. … Claiming courage or credit for irrelevant cuts in foreign assistance is a net subtraction from public seriousness on the deficit. So, do these cuts symbolize the Republican rejection of fuzzy-headed liberalism? Actually, the main initiatives on malaria and AIDS were created under Republican leadership.
Study quantifies efforts of nonprofits
Groups’ efforts combat hunger and poverty
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
By Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In 2005, domestic violence victims found that Pennsylvania was not following the law exempting them from welfare work requirements due to trauma or other effects of abuse.
Enter Just Harvest, which promotes economic justice through public policy and services that combat hunger and poverty. The organization stepped in to ensure that welfare caseworkers were trained to offer correct, consistent benefits and information.
In 2007, the monthly allowance that covered medicine, toiletries and other necessities was only $60 for people with mental illness living in state-sanctioned homes. The Consumer Health Coalition, which works to overcome barriers to quality, affordable health care, joined a campaign to raise the allowance. The efforts succeeded, and the allowance is now $85.
Every dollar spent on behalf of the disadvantaged by these and other nonprofit advocacy groups brought a return of $122 in benefits to local communities. Advocacy also meant clean water in rural communities, support for the ill and education for students with cognitive disabilities.
This preview is available at the website below until the end of February 2011.
At the River I Stand chronicles the tumultuous events that unfolded over two fateful months in 1968. It began as a local strike by African American sanitation workers for human dignity and a living wage . The story eventually captured national attention and drew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, along with the assassin who would kill him. The results marked a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and the national struggle for racial and economic justice.
For years, Christians have divided themselves over the most effective means of transforming our world: verbal proclamation of the gospel – witnessing – or social action. In truth, the two cannot be separated. Without both, there is simply no Good News. And one thing ties them both together: prayer to a God of temporal justice and eternal salvation.
via Prayer Is Social Action – Articles – God’s Word – Urbana.org.
The liberal-fundamentalist debate still rages in urban America. Likewise, the working class still suffers from the same instability that plagued them a century ago. As fewer and fewer working class employees are needed by industries because of mechanization and recession, economic struggles will increase for these families. Seminary-trained pastors look to the suburban populations of the America to build and fill the churches of the 1990s and (among many other urban populations) the working class neighborhood is largely ignored.
As conservative seminaries debate what constitutes evangelism – soul-winning or social reform – decades worth of urban souls are lost due to suburban wealth, indecision, and complacency. As urban problems snowball, it is imperative that Christians decide that evangelism does indeed constitute both soul-winning and social reform. This will ultimately require agonizing self-sacrifice on the part of wealthy middle class Christians. Evangelists and evangelicals must agree that these two aspects of evangelism are not mutually exclusive.
Finally, as American industries migrate to the Third World to recreate the conditions they imposed on urban America a century ago, Christian evangelicals must not repeat the mistakes of the past. If we fail to heed the lessons that American urban industrialization has left of us, our millions of dollars and hours of overseas missionary work will be in vain. Our evangelization efforts might leave behind a number of churches and believers but we will also leave behind the exploited and confused victims of a capitalistic society, numb and properly inoculated against the gospel of Christ.
News today that Karl Malden died at the age of 97 (I liked him best in “The Streets of San Francisco,” where he played the gruff-but- unflappable cop to Michael Douglas’s hotheaded rookie#, reminded me of his seminal role as Fr. Pete Barry, the priest in the film “On the Waterfront.” The person upon whom that character was based was the Jesuit priest John Corridan. Fordham University professor James Fisher is hard at work on a book on the life and work of this astonishing man. Below is a short piece by Fisher that was published in Company in 2003. #I’ll link to the original piece “Waterfront Priest” here, but reprint most of it below, with a tip of the hat to Company, the magazine for Jesuits and their friends, since the original site has some photos missing.) Also, here’s another piece about the man in The Irish Echo. Finally, believe it or not, Mr. Malden died on the 25th anniversary of Fr. Corridan’s death, July 1, 1984.
“Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up. Takin’ Joey Doyle’s life to stop him from testifying is a crucifixion. And dropping a sling on Kayo Dugan because he was ready to spill his guts tomorrow – that’s a crucifixion. And every time the mob puts the crusher on a good man – tries to stop him from doing his duty as a citizen – it’s a crucifixion. And anybody who sits around and lets it happen – keeps silent about something he knows has happened – shares the guilt of it just as much as the Roman soldier who pierced the flesh of Our Lord to see if He was dead.”“Boys, this is my church! And if you don’t think Christ is down here on the waterfront, you’ve got another guess coming!”“Every morning when the hiring boss blows his whistle, Jesus stands alongside you in the shape-up. He sees why some of you get picked and some of you get passed over. He sees the family men worrying about getting the rent and getting food in the house for the wife and the kids. He sees you selling your souls to the mob for a day’s pay.”“And what does Christ think of the easy-money boys who do none of the work and take all of the gravy? And how does he feel about the fellows who wear hundred-and-fifty dollar suits and diamond rings, on your union dues and your kickback money? And how does He, who spoke up without fear against every evil, feel about your silence?”“You want to know what’s wrong with our waterfront? It’s the love of a lousy buck. It’s making the love of the lousy buck – the cushy job – more important than the love of man! It’s forgettin’ that every fellow down here is your brother in Christ! But remember, Christ is always with you – Christ is in the shape up. He’s in the hatch. He’s in the union hall. He’s kneeling right here beside Dugan. And He’s saying with all of you, if you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me! And what they did to Joey, and what they did to Dugan, they’re doing to you. And you. You. ALL OF YOU. And only you, only you with God’s help, have the power to knock ‘em off for good. Okay, Kayo? Amen.”
While food boxes definitely have their place in the modern Christian tradition of giving, I can’t help but think an attitude of food sharing would be more beneficial. It would mean knowing our neighbors well enough that “the poor” is not a mere concept—and the “hungry and thirsty” aren’t an abstraction, they’re real people. Developing relationships and networking with organizations to empower families to never be hungry, regardless of the holiday season, is more in line with the teachings of Jesus than delivering one goody-filled box.
The president of World Vision explains why poverty is getting worse—and how this generation can stop it.
Our world is increasingly divided between rich and poor. When I was born, the richest countries were 35 times as wealthy as the poorest. Half a century later, it stood at 75 to 1. The divide more than doubled on the watch of my generation—the one that vowed to end war and save the planet.
He calls them The Lost Generation.
They are Pittsburgh’s black men, ages 18 to 30, school dropouts with criminal records, fathers of children they can’t support. Typically, they follow a track to nowhere, lacking skills and hope for change.
“These kids may physically be alive, but they aren’t living,” said Richard Carrington, 51, of Beltzhoover, who dedicates his life to their rescue from a lifestyle dictated by guns and drugs. “They have so few examples of how to hope, how to dream, how to want more for yourself.”
Carrington for 14 years has run Voices Against Violence, which offers mentoring, conflict mediation and summer camps for teens, primarily from Carrick and Brashear high schools. He grew up nearby in Beltzhoover.
via Voices against Violence rebuilds lives with new program – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper, who is black and spent much of his street career as a narcotics investigator, said arresting black men and confiscating illegal weapons is not a long-term solution.
“In order to turn off this faucet of death and break this cycle, we need to connect our young people with God,” Harper said. “Without faith, there is no hope, and without hope, there are no dreams. And all of that means no future for these young men, who don’t believe they will live to see 21.
“And every time one of these homicides happens, two families are ruined because one young man goes to the grave and one goes to the prison. We’re basically standing by as a society and watching black men exterminate themselves.”
via Black communities face ‘epidemic’ of violent murders – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Below is one of the most important passages in his article. The Christian approach to dealing with poverty is neither the liberal approach nor the conservative approach. Please forgive the long quote but this is a very important subject, which I feel in general the Church does not get. Please read the rest of his article at the link below.
A Balance of Analysis: Justice and Mercy
It is one thing to want to help the poor. It is another thing to go about it wisely. It is extremely easy to become involved in the life of a poor family and make things worse rather than better. One of the main reasons this happens so often is because of the two unbiblical political ideologies and reductionisms that reign in our culture today. Conservatives, in general, see poverty as caused by personal irresponsibility. Liberals, in general, see poverty as caused by unjust social systems; poor individuals have no ability to escape them.
The Bible moves back and forth in calling ministry to the poor sometimes “justice” and sometimes “service” (diakonia) or mercy. Perhaps the most famous biblical appeal to help the poor is the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which this aid is called “mercy” #Luke 10:37#. But elsewhere, sharing food, shelter, and other basic resources with those who have fewer of them #Isa 58:6–10; cf. Lev 19:13, Jer 22:13# is called “doing justice.” To fail to share is considered not simply a failure to be compassionate, but also a failure to be fair.
I think that the reason for this usage of both the terms “justice” and “mercy” is that the biblical explanation of the causes of poverty is much more complex than our current ideologies.34 The wisdom literature provides a remarkably balanced and nuanced view of the “root causes” of poverty. In Proverbs we see the familiar statements to the effect that “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” #Prov 14:23#. And yet we are also told, “A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away” #Prov 13:23#. Both personal and social, systemic factors can lead to poverty.
Actually, the Bible reveals at least three causal factors for poverty.
Injustice and oppression: This refers to any unjust social condition or treatment that keeps a person in poverty #Ps 82:1–8; Prov 14:31; Exod 22:21–27#. The main Hebrew word for “the poor” in the Old Testament means “the wrongfully oppressed.” Examples of oppression in the Bible include social systems weighted in favor of the powerful #Lev 19:15#, high-interest loans #Exod 22:25–27#, and unjustly low wages #Eph 6:8–9; Jas 5:4#.
Circumstantial calamity: This refers to any natural disaster or circumstance that brings or keeps a person in poverty. The Scripture is filled with examples such as famines #Gen 47#, disabling injury, floods, and fires.
Personal failure: Poverty can also be caused by one’s own personal sins and failures, such as indolence #Prov 6:6–7# and other problems with self-discipline #Prov 23:21#.
These three factors are intertwined. They do not usually produce separate “categories” of poverty #except in acute situations…
Sweet Honey in the Rock: Are We A Nation
These gift catalogs are a great idea.
Fantastic article
“Of the donor dollars promised for 2010, Haiti has so far received a mere 38 percent, or $732.5 million, excluding debt relief. Nine months after the disaster, not a cent of the U.S. donation for Haiti’s reconstruction has been disbursed; it’s tied up in appropriations. Imagine trying to re-engineer a devastated country when your budget is at the mercy of political whims in foreign lands.”
Read the rest then email your congressman and senators to get the aid out of appropriations.
via 5 Lessons From Haiti’s Disaster – By Paul Farmer | Foreign Policy.
‘Twas the month before Christmas,
and all through the town.Everyone is stirring
Running all around!“Sales and ads” are dancing in their heads,
While millions of people don’t even have beds.“HDTV’s, Netbooks and more,
“I MUST get up early and go to the store!”“Give gifts to help others”….oh maybe I might,
But not those in Haiti. Oh no, not tonight!Health and clean water, for all —–a right?
Not with my money! (Could I be that tight?)“I just HAVE to have, that 54-inch screen”,
While people go hungry; oh how obscene!“I put in the kettle; oh yes I do;
Care more about others?… now that is “new!”Buy for “me”…..
Isn’t that key!?!People dying in other countries, why should I care?
“As you do unto others….” (oh would I dare?)
(Matthew 25:40)Lord you see everything; may this New Year;
I care more about others, and help!, —-not fear.
To help:World Vision Gifts
poem written by Linda G. McMannis
11/26/10
-/10
From Real Clear Politics
We all know the end of the story as it’s now being written with an overpriced rescue of the banks. When it comes time for health care reform, education funding, infrastructure rebuilding, and (heaven forbid) help for the world’s poor and dying people, there will be no fiscal space. Budgets will be tight. Spending that helps make rich guys richer while leaving the poor to die of hunger and disease seems to be par for the course in our Wall-Street-besotted public policy.
Last week I stood in a village in Africa where the mines had closed and people had nothing to eat. Pleading eyes looked into mine. Those are the eyes that I still see when I read Nocera’s flippant acceptance of shoveling taxpayer funds to the undeserving rich.
Jeffrey D. Sachs
World Vision Latest News ONE Poverty UNlocked
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