Posted on 11/30/2012 7:31:43 AM PST by from occupied ga
When Monti Price arrived for work at the Hope Center in Woodstock Wednesday morning, she was struck by what she did not see.
“I noticed a big empty space in our parking lot where our trailer used to be,” she said.
Inside that trailer, five brand new cribs intended for needy mothers like Angela, who earned them by attending parenting classes. Angela arrived at the ministry for pregnant women and new mothers on Thursday afternoon, hoping to pick up the crib for her three-month old son, David.
“Just to find out this,” she said, shaking her head in sad surprise, “I’m really disappointed.”
Without the crib, she said, her young son will do what he has done since birth.
“David will sleep with me for now, in the same bed. And it’s not even safe for the baby,” she added, saying there is just no way she can afford a crib on her own.
Hope Center executives say, since word of the theft started spreading, the community has rushed in with offers of support. There have been enough donations to cover the purchase of new cribs, but not enough yet to buy a new trailer. The trailer, which was also donated, had been used to deliver the cribs and baby seats, also given to those who earn them by taking parenting classes and who might not otherwise be able to afford them.
Woodstock Police continue their investigation into the theft. And Angela had a message for the thief:
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” she admonished, “and ask for forgiveness from God.”
At least she didn’t abort the child! Maybe adoption would be a better option but at least with the support of the organization she didn’t abort, as I’m fairly sure she was pressured to do.
There are several Christian pregnancy centers here in South Jersey that do much the same as described in the article: clients receive training to be better parents and DONATED items are “earned” for their diligence in participating. Such support enables a child to be born, rather than aborted.
I’d ask you to remember that from a human viewpoint, Jesus was an unplanned pregnancy also.
The HOPE Center does not accept government donations and is totally supported by churches, businesses and individuals
Earn While You Learn (EWYL) - A one-on-one educational program between client and mentor that complements our Childbirth Preparation classes. Clients earn “Mommy Money and Daddy Dollars” to spend in the Baby & More Thrift Store.
As opposed to earning dollars by working at a job? Do they have to pass a test or can they just sit there?
What do you mean something for nothing?? It says right there in the article she took the required parenting classes that the charity offers. She made a deal with that charity and she EARNED that crib.
Sometimes conservatives can be so judgmental and it just comes off as mean. We're not helping our cause any. THis poor kid has probably never had a break in her life, and if she grew up in the welfare system, she may never even have seen anybody she loves actually earn something. And when she goes and tries to make her life a little better for her child and all she gets is scorn.
Old and Tired's wife
How do you suggest that people be made to be (more) responsible for their actions?
Do you really believe that people won't continue to make bad choices?
The world remains imperfect. The poor will always be with us.
/johnny
I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of cribs on Craigs list in the next week or so.
/johnny
Talk about unintentional irony....
REAL EASY! Re-enstate the work requirement for government assistance for a starter. Make it MORE DIFFICULT, not less difficult to get on the welfare roles. When you do this you force people to be more fiscally responsible. Without fail every food stamper and now EBT card user I've had the misfortune to get behind in the grocery store makes two piles. first the groceries, and then the beer/wine etc. and (usually) dog food. They pay for the groceries, get cash and then use the cash to pay for the beer and dog food. And let's not mention the grocery choices. These usually fallinto two categories: The expensive prepackaged entrees that require minimal work to prepare, or alternatively expensive cuts of meat.
Do you really believe that people won't continue to make bad choices?
Of course not, but if there are more consequences, then they will make FEWER bad choices.
Do YOU really believe that finacially rewarding irresponsible behavior will lead to less irresponsible behavior?
You need to get busy with a dictionary.
Mary was a homeless teenage mother.
But the article was about a voluntary charity. Not government.
/johnny
It's not something for nothing. It's a crib in exchange for doing something, in this case . She entered into an agreement with the Hope Center (a contract of sorts), where she agreed to take a class and, in exchange the Hope Center agreed to provide her with a crib. The Hope Center owned the cribs, and if they wanted to give them to people in exchange for the class, that's their decision to make. You may view taking the class as "doing nothing," but that's not your call.
From my viewpoint there isn't any difference between "Angela" and then thieves
If you think there's no difference, you're missing the operative word, theives. Again, you may not view it as a fair deal, but the Hope Center willingly agreed to give these people cribs in exchange for taking a class. By virtue of that agreement, "Angela" and the others had a right to take the cribs (just like you or I have a right to take something that is offered to us, say as a gift). The Hope Center did NOT agree to give the cribs to the people who stole them, and so those people had no right to take them.
OK....for the 1st one MISTAKE....let her have the crib. But as a condition, she gets the Neil Boortz treatment.....Stand her on her head and fill her with norplant
sanctimonious - adjective /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs//-ˈmoʊ-/ adj - acting as if morally better than others
Your entire initial post conveyed a sense of moral superiority over others (specifically, "Angela"). Then, when you got called out on your BS, you started calling others sanctimonious.
Chances are she is an unwed mother as opposed to a married woman or a widow, so for argument's sake I will assume that is the case.
Assuming that is true, she should be rebuked and corrected for her sexual immorality, but should also be treated with Christian kindness, if she takes responsibility for her sin and its consequences.
She didn't seem to have a particularly obnoxious attitude of entitlement, like so many people do. She simply said she was disappointed and said that the thieves should be ashamed of themselves and repent before God. I don't see anything wrong with either of those statements.
I think where our society in general, and most Christian churches, including “conservative, Bible believing” ones are going wrong is treating the sexual immorality that causes these out of wedlock births as being “OK”. It is not OK at all, but a very, serious sin.
I once read a book by a very, good, guest preacher at a church I used to attend and he wrote “God is in the business of forgiving sin, not excusing it.”
IMHO, one of the fundamental problems with our churches and our nation is that we misrepresent God as an excuser of sins of the unrepentant, rather than a forgiver of sins, of the truly repentant.
This goes for so many other sins as well, not just sexual immorality. Lying and unbiblical divorces come to mind.
AND that's good. However, I'm not talking about the source, but the recipient. Speaking generally here, not specifically about "Angela", relying on charity or the government, either one or both, rather than being able to support yourself is almost always the result of multiple bad life choices - drop out of school followed by out of wedlock children spend what money you have on entertainment rather than necessities, etc.
One poster stated correctly "The poor you will always have with you." The problem is that in the last four years the number of people on the dole (and presumable relying on private charity as well) has reached unprecedented numbers. We're defining poverty up and adding those simply unwilling to work to the mix. Why? Because it's entirely too easy to get on. there are 47,000,000 people on EBT support in the USA today. Most of them are capable of working, as was shown by the huge drop in welfare recipient numbers when the republicans forced the Clinton administration to add a work requirement to welfare.
Look at the last election - the takers outvoted the makers. Do you think that anyone who was receiving means tested assistance voted Republican? This country is going the wrong way.
Not at all. You're seeing this through the filter of what you want to see not what is.
You bet.
I was raised in foster care, my bio mother was a hooker, and my bio dad was a disgraced cop in jail for attempted murder....one almost victim was me (and I still have the scars to prove it).
My foster parents were good people but sorry parents (hence the reason God said NO to reproduction).
I graduated high school with honors. Went to nursing school. Got married pre-sexual activity. Raised two babies post wedding. Worked my way up the corporate food chain. Attended college. Held a public office. And when the two kids were in college, adopted two more from Asia. And the last house we bought, we paid cash.
I received no sympathy, no handouts, and I offered no excuses.
My circumstanes at times were dire, homeless always flirted around the edges.
I took nothing that I didn’t earn.
If I can do this, so can others.
Agreed, I may have come across a bit harsh. But those relying on charity are really expecting something for nothing. Thieves expect something for nothing so in reality although there is a distinction, both feel entitled to something that they have not earned in the traditional sense. The widespread sense of entitlement in the population is one of the major problems bringing this country to its knees.
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