All churches (and all religions) should stand in solidarity with Pope Francis' proclamation against the "cult of money."

I'm leading a service in two weeks.  I have alreaddy made plans to base my message on concern for the poor.  Jesus certainly put his concern for the poor in words and actions. 

To put my money where my mouth is, and to do my bit, I volunteer every Wednesday morning at my church's food voucher program.  Usually my role is hostess.  I welcome people, invite them to have a coffee, offer them a banana and/or a muffin (or whatever people from the congregation have donated - once it was pancakes and bacon), and sit and visit with them while they wait their turn to meet with volunteers who give out the vouchers that can be redeemed for food at a nearby store. 

We usually have a social worker(s) on hand to answer questions about health or housing concerns.  Sometimes some student nurses attend, take blood pressure and test for sugar for those who want these services. 

I really enjoy chatting with these people.  Sometimes I read a story or throw around a ball with pre-school children who may accompany them.  I hear about job losses.  High rents for substandard housing.  Trouble with boy friends or teenage children.  And health problems.  Over half seem to have serious health problems.  Their teeth are so bad we don't give out apples.  They have diabetes.  They have job-related injuries.  And some are barely literate.  It's heart-breaking. 

But I also learn of those whose kids are doing well in school.  Who are up-grading their education.  One woman recently told me that she's enrolled in a course in geriatics "because people are getting older and there will always be a need".  I laughingly told her that in ten years she might be wiping my bum.   Another young man, recovering from an injury is volunteering in hopes that it will lead into a job. 

I realize that this is bandaid.  I also consider very carefully where I will place my vote.

Maybe it's just me- but I find calling people "the poor", in today's context, to be demeaning. I try to not do it. Here, I do it because I read it and get used to it- but in my day to day life I try to use more respectful words. When I worked in non-profit social services I would not call people "the poor". That seems to be a Christian thing. One that bugs me. Call me too PC(politically correct that is)if you wish but poverty can happen to anyone- so calling people the poor, today, creates this sort of classism. Would you address a group of people as "the poor" to their faces? An individual- would you say "you're one of the poor"? If not, i figure it's not the best choice of words. "The poor" can be great people, smart people, interesting people- someones brother, sister, son, daughter, friend. It could be someone here. Not objects to be pitied. They are people to be empathised with, and who have gifts to share even if it's not money. I agree we need to help people who need food and shelter- and we also need to create ways for them to have a meaningful, sustainable, livelihoods and dignity. I do however get that "the poor" are Christian words used in a Christian context here and that help towards people who might be defined by those words is needed.

I agree with the pope's sentiment though. I guess that's what counts. It's just that having been one of "the poor" myself- people in that circumstance feel defined by those words when they hear them and not by the vital aspects of who they are.

Kimmio - I haave heard this criticism before.  What word or phrasee would you suggest we use when refering to people who, for one reason or another, or for a multiple of reasons, are unable to provide for themselves in today's economy?

You remind us that they can be great people, smart people, interesting people, brother, sister, son, daughter, friend.  Definitely.  Having been on the edge myself, sometimes wondering where my next meal was coming from or how long four people (myself, my husband, and two small children) could continue to live in two rooms, I identify with these people.  Among the people who come to our program are a member of our church choir, several others from the congregation, an artist, and my cousin's son.  The one thing they have in common is their poverty and their need for a helping hand. 

They also need us to change our way of thinking about the economy, and what justice, compassion and humility really mean.

I guess I would name the reason rather than lump them together in "the poor" category. "People experiencincing severe financial hardship, housing crisis, disability, unemployment"- etc. maybe it's all of the above. Often is. People living on low income is another common phrase that labels the problem not the person.

I agree Kimmo

You could also add, people hurting due to  war, and racism- colonialism, and other types of oppression.

 . People are poor for a reason, they do not need taking care off.  They do not need liberals to pray for them(more than everybody else) or to take decisions for them.  They need liberals and other people to get off their backs and to stop  hurting them, now.  Those who have already done so, should focus on getting their neighbours to do the same. They should speak out and take other actions against war, abuse in institutions (which has hit the news this week re the elderly in nursing homes.)  and by institutions, like gvts. churches, and corporations. Those that do so already , need to continue and to understand that it makes a difference. 

Those who are too hurt too take of themselves need healing, and they are better qualified to judge what that involves than do others.    Those who are responsible or who benefit from their oppression, need to  take responsibility for their actions, or the actions of their communities, and pay reparations,(ie sexual abuse victims, need counseling and for those that abused them, or enabled the abuse to admit that what happen did happen, as oppose to denying it. The pope and others need to understand that allowing abuse to continue, results in poverty, further abuse of other kind by others,  ill health and death for many sexual abuse survivors.

Same goes for victim of war and other acts of oppression. The world needs those responsible to take responsibility, repent and at the minimum to stop hurting others, if not apologies and to pay reparations.

I agree, Alex. I also wanted to add, from my experience- it's often been someone who is experiencing hardship themselves- who understands it- who have been more eager to offer whatever help they can to others. That's been my experience. But then you hear, "what more can we do to help the poor?" coming from wealthy people who haven't walked a mile in their shoes. The best help is probably to get as close to understanding the problem as one can, to walk with those experiencing the hardship- rather than throwing money at a problem. So I think the pope's on the right track- but those old fashioned words ("the poor") still common in church language aren't adequate for describing our modern day problems. We need to move from, charity and pity to empathy and empowerment- by transforming the systems that oppress-and I think the pope understands that but the language he's using hasn't caught up. Until it does, people won't understand the nature of the problems enough to seek better solutions and there will continue to be this "us and them" mentality, instead of "we". Another thing is it's really important to not only include people affected in their own desicions- but to ensure it. Too often the haves think they know what's best for the have nots and that reinforces the power imbalance.

I guess another way to say that, is that you need to form relationships with others based on the principles of equality and respect.

From my experience it is also often those most involved with others in a relationship of respect who often see the greatest need. 

Their response can be different based on their abilities and opportunities. Sometimes its just about listening and being a witness, sometimes it working or serving others, sometimes it giving time or money to organisations that are working for change or justice, and for some who live among the oppressors, it is in working to identify those who can be awaken, and to learn how to do so.

I have a case study that I cam accross today. I am not sure what the correct response is. Perhaps there is nothing I can do, but perhaps there are people who can him, and have what he needs and wants.

Disabled man starts online campaign to find wheelchair accessible housing

 28-year-old disabled man has until the end of July to find a new place to live in or around Vancouver – trouble is he can’t find a place in his price range that is wheelchair accessible.

Aaron Busch has been living in New Westminster since December. He started out paying his landlord $720 a month for rent, laundry facilities and three meals a day as his suite does not have a kitchen or laundry. Shortly after, that increased slightly and his meals were decreased to two a day. It was in late March that Busch sent a formal lease agreement to his landlord and that is when he received an eviction notice in return. It appears his landlord wants to have the basement suite for some of his relatives.

Kimio: I am ambivalent, I guess. But the expression "the poor" puts all of the circumstances of poverty together and, in that one somewhat ugly word, makes very clear the scale of the outrage imposed by greed, denial and middle class comfort zones. For me, "the poor" is an accusation, not a patronising or obscuring buzz word.

To read it that way is, I feel, an attempt to avoid the acusation:

What unites "the poor" is the moral dereliction of middle class self-concern, not the innumerable circumstances that isolate and disempower "the poor". To be "poor" is so often also to be "alone"… that sense of being "alone" is a very effective form of disempowerment. "The Poor" should be a political movement.

To read it that way is an attempt to avoid the accusation by those not being labelled that way. For "the poor" themselves" it just feels like being called "less than". Then, it also gets into the whole Elizabethan workhouse "deserving poor" and undeserving poor issue which is a falacy in today's world whereby many people aren't necessarily wealthy because of hard work necessarily- but because of disproportionate opportunity, nepotism, and cut throat competitiveness, and plain old luck. If you're lacking one of those you may end up "poor", and yet poverty itself is hard work.

"The poor" are the powerless, abused, disenfranchised, weak, discriminated, handicapped and violated people in society, people who lack the basic necessities or means for survival. Lack of money is not necessarily indicative of that status. I was a self-supportive farmer for much of my life, and my cash income was below the official poverty line, but I was never "poor."

The poor are created or necessitated by the rich. The more rich people we have, and the richer they are, the more poor people we'll have. If we want to get rid of excessive poverty, we'll have to get rid of excessive wealth.

"To all appearances, the Catholic Church's new Pope Francis is a humble man with simple tastes. Which begs the question, how will he manage the Vatican's considerable wealth?

By Douglas HERBERT , reporting from the Vatican City (text)

 

He carries his own luggage, clatters along Rome's cobbled streets in an ordinary Volkswagen, and whips out his wallet to settle hotel bills.

So it's perhaps natural to wonder how Pope Francis, an ecclesiastical everyman known for his self-effacement and lifelong aversion to opulence of any kind, will react when he relieves himself for the first time and discovers the Vatican's Golden Toilet Flush?

It was a discovery which, according to one account, horrified Pope John Paul I, who wrote: "...this morning, I flushed my toilet with a solid gold lever edged with diamonds and at this very moment, bishops and cardinals are using a bathroom on the second floor of the Papal palace with trappings, I am told, (that) would draw more than fifty million dollars at auction."

Trillion-dollar nest egg

Few who followed this week's papal conclave and the glittery "Habemus Papam" ceremony that followed the belching white smoke, could fail to note the contrast between the resplendence of the ecclesiastical show - and the economic hardship on display elsewhere in Italy and across much of Europe.

When all its global properties - stretching from St. Peter's Basilica to Brazil to Old Bond Street - are added up, the Vatican's nest egg, experts say, amounts to trillions of dollars."

More papal lip-service. What a joke.

I was wondering the same thing-not sure if there is a golden lever on his toilet- that might be more of a rumour- but how will the Pope handle the wealth of the Vatican? How long until the Cardinals and church politicians are going to shut him up?
Is he going to look into Vatican bank?

But back to the UCC- I am glad, Seeler that you church has created the opportunity to meet and mingle with the disadvantaged.
We have to question ourselves, if it is the "feel good" charity tat we are providing or if it is a relationship we are offering with mutual respect and by recognizing the other as a person.

Speaking of my congregation, we are far from that. We live in a rural town of under 5000. Poverty keeps itself hidden and who doesn't want to see or deal with it, can avoid it.
The other Sunday, a guy stood outside the church asking form money (this never happened before, ever).
People were quiet uncomfortable going into church.
The "incident" was brought to the "outreach committee" for discussion of "how to handle it".
The outreach committee suggested and the Council agreed/ decided that this is not appropriate to do and people will be asked to come back Monday to Friday when the office is open when they could get money from the "benevolent fund".
In case of an immediate need for counselling, the minister is to handle this.
Ironically, the Sunday of this "incident"- the minister preached on "God's love for all people".
There is a huge fear of "the Other".
When I pointed out how wrong this was, people continued to refer to the minister,"who has the experience to deal with this most appropriate."
On the other side, Outreach and Young families were the main goals that came out of our newly amalgamated congregations visioning. We are good at talking the talk- but too scared to walk it.

And I have to admit that the needs out there will take a village to tackle them. And without a backup in communion and faith, we cannot succeed. Delegating to the minister seems to be the favourite solution for our folks. No committee meets without a minister present.

I can no longer work officially with the United Church. I have failed to sit at my computer for a series of compulsory workshops on race and boundaries. This has not prevented me from continueing to serve, by the Grace of God, the poor in the place where I live.

With about one dozen women, I help to prepare and serve a warm, nutritious meal to persons living at the very edge of solvency. These include mums, dads and kids. There are sex trade workers, drug users and drunks. Each of these persons has a name, a story, and a future.

What do I accomplish, by the Grace of God?

Today a middle aged woman, who has become part of our serving team, after dining at our table for the last seven months, spoke of her experience. She talked of the good energy coming from the serving team. In this she pointed me out, saying that I made a substantial difference. How? She said I treated every single person coming in to sit down as a unique and valued human being.

This is not at all to boast or proclaim my own worth in the sight of God. It is to recognize the those we call "the poor" notice the difference between the provision of material goods and the offering of dignity and respect. It stands in sharp contrast to the diffidence and disdain they experience as a consequence of their poverty; in our churches as much as outside them.

As for speaking out. I do so in season and out, at every available opportunity and by all available means. Mostly this goes under the radar. Once in a while it breaks out into the public forum. For example:

"B.C Conference's statement concerning Faithful Public Witness is spelled out as a witness that is "grounded in the scriptural and theological basis of public witness and action." This statement also speaks of advocacy initiatives in the area of provincial politics and of a willingness to be prophetic.

While George would not represent himself in the Britannia demonstration as acting on behalf of B.C. Conference, he does see his actions there as a faithful response to his calling to a ministry in behalf of the poor and marginalized of our society in these present times. George has a carefully thought-out theological rational for his actions and is willing to accept the consequences for them."  (Rev. Susan Lindenberger, president of BC Conference at the time)

Thanks for sharing your experience seeler! I remember the context and appreciate the sense of community you describe. Something that proclaims Grace in and through service.

Well at least the Pope is mving in the right direction.(relative to the last two)  Gotta give him some credit for refusing to live in the Papal Palace and living in a communal residence. It is also expected that he will be be closing the Vatican Bank.

One problem or blind spot that he does have is in regard to the effects of sexual abuse on people.   When he was an Archbishop he was well known for meeting with everyone who asked to meet with him, (very good) except for two groups of people. Those sexually abused by Priests, and the Parents of children abused by Priests. He refused repeated request to meet with individual victims, and as well when mothers wanted to meet with him regarding the sexual abuse of their children he again would refuse.

Regarding the situation in your church I see similarities with the recent story I posted above as well as what happens in other churches.  In downtown Ottawa we have one church (Anglican)  that allows LGBT members and it regularly has people looking for help show up during churches services (they house a clothing and food bank during the week) and they have someone designated to usher them outside. It happens so often that sometimes I imagine a person who just wants to participate in services is mistaken for those looking for help.

We tend to "contract out" caring. It's the ministers job, or other staff. This weakens the possibility of forming relationships.  I see it often at my church, being social awkward at times, I tend to approach new people at coffee who are alone. Often they have problems beyond my ability to help. Even just listening is beyond my ability, as too many times, I have listen to horrible stories, which I than carry with me, unable to share with others because other members are unable to unwilling to listen for various times, and those that are willing and able are too busy. (because everyone goes to them with other problems, committees etc)

We can stop hurting others, and we can address the structural problems, and the lack of awareness, but in the meantime, we still have people requesting help (whether it is money, or just someone to listen.

Each case is different, but the  practice of "contracting out" caring to ministers, staff and committee members,(in Ottawa we contract much of our work to Presberty which runs a food bank and drop in centre in another church, which has actually walled off the section of the building providing help, and it has a seprate entrance so church membrs and the "poor" will not see each other.  This impairs the ability of other members to help. And even if it addresses sort term needs, it takes away at times the need to form relationships with others. In cities and towns also,  being a place for short term help, and can as well divert from the needs of members as well.( to worship, reflect, and examine their own lives.

I do not believe it is beyond our ability in church to address everyone's needs, and in fact by helping others and forming relationship everyone is helped. While alot can be done by just doing what is needed, we need to work together, and that is about balance, awareness and education,

Not to diminish the issue of Vatican wealth… but do you peasants know the scale of corporate wealth?

Like Walmart… worth $208 billion? With annual revenues of $470 billion.

Not too far behind Shell and Exxon.

Toyota is worth more that $230 billion.

IBM is worth 16 Vaticans. Facebook is worth 10 the Vaticans.

 —  the Vatican's wealth has been reckoned at $10-15 billion..

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,833509,00.html#ixzz2U1uTz6cG

Nah… the scale of Mamon has become insane and we are its playthings. Give me the Vatican any day.

The mighty have become far too mighty and greedy, using us in their global casino game of monetarism, making ever more money with ever more money. To keep these ever-increasing pools of money hard, the people and the natural environment have to be exploited.

But all of this happens only with our willing participation. High time for a global revolution! A spiritual r/evolution this time, with the aim of establishing a spiritual human culture.

But Mike, the vatican should have a different agenda. I think you used the wrong comparables.

Hi Waterfall:

it's almost inevitable that I did: the Vatican's wealth is hard to read because it is so atypica and the Vatican has always been so secretive about such thingsl. Its "wealth" was accumulated over centuries, most of it with relatively slight capital outlay. And now, there is no way to value the frescos in St Peter's, for example, because they are a part of the fabric of the structure: you can't peel them off and hang them on your wall. So, in a sense they have no value: they are not a "commodity". If anything, their maintenance makes them a bit of a liability. There is, as I understand it, little consistency in the way that various "Catholic" properties around the World are owned or valued.

The British Royal Family is similarly worth billions but, again, much of it is similarly tied up in anachronisms and immovables.

Neither is now "in business" in the conventional modern sense.

Corporate wealth, on the other hand, is dynamic, ductile, potent and strategically employed to control and exploit… it's vigorously competitive and oppressive, and has immense impacts on society and politics… on the way we live, on the options available to us and the distribution of resources, including human necessities. It doesn't even pay lip service to justice, the common good or moral dignity.

I began this thread in the hope of stirring discussion about a recent statement by the new Pope, Francis: an attack on the "cult of money" — because another thread on the topic was immediately derailed from a discussion about greed and steered into a venting of ugly anti-Catholicism. That is happening here too,

I found the Pope's words encouraging and prophetic, and would would love to see some Protestants getting with it — I'm certainly not  "Catholic" and certainly not "ant-Catholic"… I have heard all of the phobic nonsense from both sides of the sectarian divide in Central Scotland. (It led there to assaults an murders and thuggery.) I  foolishly have hoped Canadians would see no need to cling to all of that vicious, unnecessary paranoia.

Stiil:

THIS remains the substance of what I'd love to see some engagement with — it is a NEW direction and the Pope IS an inflential figure in the World (Two days after Pope Francis' call for world finance reform, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with him to discuss financial crises worldwide. She emphasized the need for tightening financial regulation.):

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for global financial reform that respects human dignity, helps the poor, promotes the common good and allows states to regulate markets.

"Money has to serve, not to rule," he said in his strongest remarks yet as pope concerning the world's economic and financial crises.

A major reason behind the increase in social and economic woes worldwide "is in our relationship with money and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society," he told a group of diplomats May 16.

"We have created new idols" where the "golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."

The pope made his remarks during a speech to four new ambassadors to the Vatican presenting their letters of credential. The new ambassadors from Kyrgyzstan, Antigua and Barbados, Luxembourg and Botswana will not be residing in Rome.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told journalists it was the pope's "first forceful speech on the economic and financial crisis," social justice, and the attention needed to the world's poor.

The speech "is in continuity with his previous talks on these subjects" as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina; "but as pope it is his first powerful and explicit speech" touching on such themes in-depth, the spokesman said.

In his 10-minute scripted speech to new ambassadors, the pope highlighted the root causes of today's economic and social troubles, pointing to policies and actions that stem from a "gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption."

"We have begun this culture of disposal," he said, where "human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away."

The wealth of a minority "is increasing exponentially," while the income of the majority "is crumbling," he said.

This economic inequality is caused by "ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to states, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good."

The lack of adequate economic regulation or oversight means "a new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules," he said.

Ethical principles and policies of solidarity are "often considered counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and economy," he said.

"Ethics, like solidarity, is a nuisance" and so they are rejected along with God, he added.

"These financiers, economists and politicians consider God to be unmanageable, even dangerous, because he calls man to his full realization and to independence from any kind of slavery."

Pope Francis called on the world's political and financial leaders to consider the words of St. John Chrysostom: "Not to share one's goods with the poor is to rob them and to deprive them of life. It is not our goods that we possess, but theirs."

The pope said he "loves everyone, rich and poor alike," but that as pope he "has the duty, in Christ's name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to promote them."

He called for ethical financial reform that would "benefit everyone" and for the world of finance and economics to make people a priority and take into account the importance of ethics and solidarity.

Why shouldn't world leaders "turn to God to draw inspiration," the pope asked.

Looking to God and "his designs" would help create "a new political and economic mindset" that would bring economics and social concerns back together in a healthy and harmonious relationship, he said.
 

The thing is Mike, the vatican's wealth should not be compared with industries that are out to make a profit. The church has a mandate to give, and encourage to give and serve, not take. So who then would truly be the comparitive for that mandate? Protestant churches, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army? For all it's wealth how does it compare to what other church related givers give? To be honest, I really don't know. Are there statistics?

I like what the Pope had to say, I've said it before. I am more cautious due to the fact that this Pope has only been in this position for a few months. Before anyone hitches their wagon to his star it would be prudent to see how he leads and serves God a bit longer. Jumping on the bandwagon too soon may prove harder to get off then it was to get on. Support in one area may mean that we are seen to support other areas also. Ones that are deal breakers. We are a culture of "rock stars" and the new Pope could easily fall under that category for some. The Pope has influence and many would just like to be close to such power. This is the "honeymoon period" IMO. I will wait a bit longer before I decide who he represents. The church or Christ. Is he God or a disciple? I wish someone would ask him.

Waterfall: I stand in awe of your willingness and zeal in taking the time to make a true assesment of the Pope, his "rock star" role and his critique of greed. I've just taken for granted that, given his  43 years as a priest, his reputation — for humility, concern for the poor, and keeness to engage with people of various beliefs, and faiths — was probably based on his true nature. Silly, reckless, credulous me… blind to the wolf in sheep's clothing.

You are clearly gifted with considerable wisdom and insight. Perhaps you could see you waying to applying your gifts to a moral critique of 'The Economy' one day?

I'd still like a discussion about the "cult of money"… Milton Friedman's ideas have, in my experience and limited view resulted in a new dehumanisation of power and a neceessary exclusion of Christian and humanistic values. With monetarism as the guiding light of social and political development that measures only material wealth in the short-term, I see us rapidly approaching a point at which the concidence of so many problematic outcomes (rise of poverty, environmental degradation, militarsm, climate change, energy and water crises, the diminuition of democracy, etc, etc) could well see unmanageable hell break loose.

Hmmmm....................

http://world.time.com/2013/03/13/why-the-first-latin-american-pope-inspi...

And the economy? Maybe I'll start a thread.

I can't imagine why Time Magazine (Time Warner Global Media Group — the World's largest-ever media corporation) wouldn't embrace Pope Francis' statements with more enthusiasm.

Maybe it's all the money they make. Just saying…

When I was a seminary student a few centuries ago, AIDS was a major issue, and, in Halifax, the organization was admanant about working with People with AIDS (PWAIDS).  The people with AIDS did not want their identity limiited to having the disease. The fuss in Alberta this week is about cuts in funding provinciall to PDD, People with Developmental Disabilities.  When we talk about "the poor", we imply that the only thing that is important about them is their experience of poverty..  Language matters -- this has been understood for thousands of years.  When Adam named the animals, he gained a kind of power over them.

Mike,
from what I gathered on the UCC website the UCC has attemted to bring up the topic by talking about "empire".
The term had been around for a while, but it never seemed to have trickled down into the congregations- at least not into my rural congregation. It is actually not a bad comparison between then and now. But reflecting on our part in consumerism is as popular as reflecting on changing our charity work into partnership and advocacy. There is little interest in questionning oneself. Questionning the existing structures has always been the nature of the youth- (except for the few that never grow old)- and there isn't much youth left, and the few often are not being listened to.

I used the Pope's quote about the economy and the poor in my message today  along with readings from Psalm 96  "for the gods of the peoples are idols" and Luke 4 14-19 "... to bring good news to the poor".  Two small churches - rural/cottage country - total combined congregation of about 60. 

I was nervous. 

It was well received.  Comments at the door were mainly "We needed to hear that."  or a similar vain. 

I'll use a modified version in a small church in the city next week.