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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
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October 2004 |
Poverty figures should galvanize United Methodists, leaders say
By Steve Smith
Census figures showing more Americans living in poverty and going without health insurance should push United Methodists to rededicate themselves to addressing two critical issues in this election year, according to denomination leaders.
Two bishops are calling on congregations to reach out to poor people living in their areas and to pressure local, state and federal lawmakers to enact anti-poverty programs and provide health insurance to all people.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Aug. 26 that 1 million more people were living in poverty and another 1 million without health insurance in 2003 than during the previous year. Both figures rose for the third straight year, census officials said.
In early November, the bishops are expected to consider the findings and where to take their children and poverty initiative during the next few years when they gather at St. Simons Island, Ga., for their semiannual conference.
"What we saw in the 1990s is some lessening of those in poverty, but there were signs on the horizon that the manner in which the statistics were being created was suspect because those people engaged in food pantries and clothing banks were reporting steady increases in the numbers of clients coming to see them," said retired Bishop Donald Ott of Pewaukee, Wis., the initiative's coordinator."
There seems to be, in the last four or five years, an unwillingness on the part of state and national governments to address the fundamental issues keeping people from necessities of life.
According to the new census figures, more than 35.9 million Americans - or one in eight people - lived in poverty last year. In addition, 45 million, or 15.6 percent of the population, went without health insurance.
Bishop Ann Sherer, chairwoman of the initiative's task force, conceded that eradicating poverty and providing health insurance to everybody requires more than quick fixes.
"This is an ongoing concern that cannot be settled in one or two quadrennia," said Sherer, who also leads the church's Nebraska Area.
There are deep needs that must be addressed because there is preferential treatment of the poor throughout the biblical story. We, as the church, must learn what that means in the 21st century.
"In addition to building relationships with the poor and advocating in the legislatures, we, as a church, need to provide our own safety net so we can continue to do the clothing closets and food pantries."
Last year, United Methodist bishops published their third paper on the children and poverty initiative, "The Beloved Community."
They also produced a study guide for congregations, Community with Children and the Poor, released through Cokesbury, a unit of the United Methodist Publishing House.
Smith is a freelance writer and former associate editor for The United Methodist Reporter newspaper in Dallas.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008