Hello FPC Family –

               Thursday slipped right by, and I must confess that this week I have been deeply focused on my sermon writing on the subject of Forgiveness. What a powerful and important topic! I am looking forward to continuing to explore this, and to wrestling with my own issues around sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

               Also on my mind this week is the future of support for the most vulnerable among us. I anticipate that not very far into the future will be the direction that if people care about helping the poor, the immigrant, the widowed and orphaned, that they can organize and do it themselves. It is of the highest irony that those leading our government now are willing to accept unqualified wealthy individuals who continue to enrich themselves and put their own plans into place without any research, data, or convincing arguments of how it will benefit all of the people as a whole, while abandoning those in our country who need them the most.

               It is also ironic that in order to put more money in the pockets of corporations and wealthy individuals, they are willing to cut the relatively smaller pockets of money that serve the most vulnerable and give them some support towards (but not all the way to) a decent quality of life. I believe the maxim that a society is only as good as its support for the least among them.

               It brings me back to a time when churches were the social safety net. It required a lot of funds, a lot of work, and a lot of energy, and yet it was our call. It has been the work of the Christian church since we were organized after Christ’s ascension. In Acts 6, the apostles choose deacons to take care of daily meal provisions for the poor, and in Galatians 2:10, care for the poor is referred to as a standard that “The Way,” as the early Christian movement was called, must uphold no matter where they go to carry the gospel.

               Through the centuries, care for the poor, the sick, the widowed and orphaned, the foreigner, has all continued. Christians built hospitals, orphanages, senior care facilities, schools, and universities. They sought to give everyone access to basic needs. In New York City today, there is still a Presbyterian hospital – and there are Christian organizations across the world. It’s a witness to the long-standing efforts of our denomination and all Christians to care for those in need.

               The efforts of all of these organizations soon also extended to employment, housing, and more. The churches and monasteries earned enough to buy land in some parts of the world, which was turned over to tenant farmers so they could make a living. Hospitals, schools, and universities trained students in trades and professions. We used to have a system that was very helpful, but it didn’t last in this country, and has faded in many places around the world.

               Before I go on, I need to note that the system was not infallible. Some monasteries used the money they earned to enrich themselves and live in luxury instead of serving those less fortunate. Some churches did the same, others discriminated, so that that the system became uneven and unequal in lots of ways. In our country, things started to change when President Franklin Roosevelt enacted Social Security as a safety net. The government took on more and more of the care of the poor and needy, both because the church let them and because the government tried to eliminate the discrimination and self-enrichment that we had allowed into the system.

               Today I think we as the church need to get back to thinking more and more about our role in the community, as leaders and partners. We don’t need to do all of the work, and indeed I would argue we are not strong enough to do any of this on our own. Yet we can take steps – to volunteer in lots of places, to get to know what resources are out there and where the gaps are, and to decide as a congregation where we’re going to put our efforts in a coordinated and helpful way. We can help to bring people together to create long-lasting broad solutions to the problems we face. We can realize and proclaim that as long as anyone is without a home or sufficient pay or equal access to care, it’s everyone’s problem and opportunity to help to solve.

               As you come to the conclusion of another chaotic week, with yet more instances of people becoming complacent and complicit in unethical and immoral decision-making, remember that your actions and decisions matter. Pope Francis spoke out this week on these matters, many denominations of Christians as well as other religions are rising up. We need to do the same, and it starts right around us. Find a way to get involved to make things better, and be smart about what you do with your money. We’re going to need God’s wisdom and direction more than ever right now.

 

In service to Christ,

Pastor Kimberly