elca presiding bishop Speaks to Antipoverty Activists

WASHINGTON (ELCA) - The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spoke to more than 1,200 faith-based and antipoverty activists here at the Mobilization to End Poverty event, April 26-29. He called on participants to "hold each other accountable" for the work they are doing to end poverty. The event was held to engage participants in making antipoverty work a political priority. Hanson was one of six speakers at the "Church Leaders Roundtable -- Uniting and Mobilizing the Church in the Fight Against Poverty" plenary session at the event. Other organizations represented on the panel were the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Convoy of Hope, Reformed Church in America, Micah Challenge and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The Rev. Brian D. McLaren, author and speaker, moderated. During the plenary panelists were asked a series of questions regarding obstacles to overcoming poverty, pastors' reluctance to engage in advocacy, congregational members' accountability and ways to continue the work to end poverty back home. Hanson said if he were serving in a parish he would have adults engage in a "community mutual accountability and discernment" hour. "We would hold each other accountable to publicly live out the mandate of serving the poor or spreading the justice of peace," he said. "We would confess it didn't go as well as God intended," Hanson said. "Then we would become a community of moral discernment, not splitting conservatives and liberals, but engaging the Word in the world as this community of faith in this context." Participants also visited members of Congress and advocated for cutting domestic poverty in half in 10 years. The Rev. Matthew Lenahan, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Akron, Pa., explained that the mobilization was an "equipping" event. "We are called to initially go back and ask that one question, 'What is God calling me to do and be now as a result of this mobilization?'" he said. "I have great hope after my day on the (Capitol) Hill that things can actually change when people of faith care enough to step out of their comfortable place and confront systems of injustice with a word of Scripture and a word of hope." Hosted by Sojourners, a progressive Christian network, the Mobilization to End Poverty was supported by 23 denominations, religious societies and groups. The ELCA was a financial sponsor of the event. --- The Mobilization to End Poverty blog is at http://blog.sojo.net/ on the Web. Information about the Mobilization to End Poverty is at http://www.sojo.net/mobilization on the Web.

For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog

There is a serious problem that exists, not with poverty, but how people who are not poor misunderstand poverty.

To explain, as an example, I knew a young man who was homeless, lived in camps or “squats”, abandoned buildings, and would spare change for a little food and drink, and some marijuana to smoke. And he was fairly comfortable in doing this, though he was intelligent, and hard working when he wanted to be.

Well, a young police officer became fascinated with him, and decided to “redeem” or “reform” him. The officer just knew that with some “help”, the young man could live in an apartment, hold a steady job, become a “useful member of society”, and live a “respectable” life, just like the young police officer did.

And the young police officer was incapable of understanding the simple fact that the homeless man didn’t *want* to live his life like the police officer. He didn’t *want* to live in an apartment, hold a steady job, etc. Zero interest in living like that. Finally the homeless man had to approach a senior police officer to take the young officer to one side and explain to him some facts of life.

Truthfully, there are a large number of people who live in poverty out of choice. But for them, this does not mean to live in filth or deprivation, starvation or disease. Because these are not the same things as just being poor.

So when people talk about “ending poverty”, if they actually understand poverty, they are not really talking about money, but other things. If their idea is to make all poor people middle class, then they are fools.

But if they are talking about the poor having clean water to drink, an acceptable level of sanitation, as much self-determination as most of us like, and some degree of security from crime and violence, these things are not unreasonable.

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