July 2nd – anyone remember it?

That was the date of the Live 8 concerts around the world that challenged the world to Make Poverty History.  The following week saw marches and campaigns and rallies in Edinburgh as the G8 flew in. It all seems such a long time ago…

Since then we have had two terrorist attacks on London, the first anniversary of the Beslan tragedy and the devastating impact of a couple of hurricanes in the US. We’ve all watched aghast at the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the Southern US. The damage done was more than just physical – that fateful storm also blew open the deep divide in American society and the impoverished underclass that seems to exist within the world’s wealthiest and most powerful economic force. A force not able to stop the wind, or provide a poor person with the buss fare to get out of town.

Behind the scenes, the new American Ambassador to the UN has also ripped up much of what made up the Millennium Development Goals. The goals have drawn support for over 200 nations around the world. Ironically, these eight objectives, which are aimed at halving world poverty by 2015, have been heavily criticised by the wind of American foreign policy.  Even a small commitment like committing 0.7% of national income to relief and development has criticised as ‘unrealistic’ by the Bush administration.

Around the world, the poor are still poor, the hungry are still hungry and the destitute are still destitute. So should we just give up? Should the church keep quiet about injustice and get on with the ‘real’ business of preaching and filling our buildings?

You’ll not be surprised to read that I think we should not give up! The church of Christ has a biblical responsibility to live and proclaim the Gospel. If your local congregation is not engaged in overcoming poverty and injustice then it is not reflecting the biblical call to be God’s people.  However, let me take that thought just a little further.

After the Tsunami, the UK, including the Christians in the UK, gave hundreds of millions of pounds to help. Hurricane Katrina will also illicit a deep response from many Christians. The MPH campaign did the same thing. We mustn’t forget those commitments.

Remember our commitments to those overseas
The commitments to give, to pray, to support are as important now as they were then. The urgency is not abated by the passing of time. The need is as great now as it was then. The responsibility does not diminish because the clock ticks – in fact the responsibility to care and help and do something increases as the days go by. We must honour the commitments we make. As the UN is forced to consider ditching its commitments, we as the church must not ditch ours. If we believe something we believe it. If we commit to something, we should do it.
There is an even deeper challenge here. It is one thing to see poverty etched on the faces of poor Americans in New Orleans and to wonder why the black community is the underclass in the Big Easy. It is quite another to wonder why black people in our community are still on the edge of our communities. It is interesting that we engage in mission by giving, working, serving, helping and going when that mission is in Banda Aceh or Ethiopia or India, but we often ignore the poverty, exclusion and hopelessness in our own communities. How come we can weep as we watch the news of tragedy abroad, but drive past tragedy at home to get to the meeting in the church building?

It’s important for us to remember that we have a responsibility to serve the poor and the excluded – both at home and abroad. God is not swayed by geography. He has no favourites. Even though we might be more broken by the pain in 200,000 people made homeless in New Orleans, He has the capacity to care as deeply about each of them as He does about the homeless people in our street, our town and our community.

Remember our own communities
As well as doing something about what we see in other parts of the world, here’s what I think we should remember about ‘home’.

On average, 10000 people live within walking distance of a UK church building. Of those 10,000:

•1200 people living alone, of whom 580 will be of pensionable age
•1500 people who talk to their neighbours less than once a week
•50 people who have been divorced in the last year
•375 people who are single parents
•18 teenage girls who are pregnant
•150 women who have contemplated or had an abortion recently
•250 people who are unemployed
••1700 people living in a low income household
•1100 people living with mental illness
•100 people who were bereaved in the last year
•2700 people with no car
•60 people who live in residential care
•1280 people caring for a sick, elderly or disabled friend of relative
•2800 people who have been victims of crime
•40 people who are homeless or living in temporary accommodation
•15 people who are asylum seekers

Remember this question: What is the Good News to them?

Remember God’s grace to us
By definition, a Christian community must take seriously the commands and the calling of Christ. It is sobering to realise that the devastated area of the US is also strongly associated with the ‘Bible Belt’. I am sure that many, many churches and Christians, have opened their doors to the poor and the excluded that have flown from Mississippi. Indeed, many news reports have told stories of Christians showing their care and compassion by sharing their homes and their resources with those affected.  They are to be admired for their actions. Let’s not wait until a disaster hits before we make a difference though. Let’s remember now that we have an obligation to the poor and the excluded. Perhaps we can learn from the parable of Jesus in Luke 14. We can go into the communities where we live and invite people to the banquet of God’s grace and care! Not force them to believe, but show them the compassion of God. We are the only hands that God will use in some situations. We are the voice He chooses to speak through in some communities. We have been privileged to experience His grace. We must remember to share it.

Remember - the poor, we will always have with us.

© All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author except for the fact that excerpts of up to 250 words may be reproduced without prior permission from the author, where the excerpt does not amount to more than 25% of the final document and provided that a copy of the final publication is sent to the address below bearing the following citation:

‘Excerpt from an article written by Rev Malcolm Duncan, Leader of Faithworks, for Christian Herald, September 2005.’

Rev Malcolm Duncan
Leader of Faithworks
1 Kennington Road
London SE1 7QP