I invite you all to read the ecumenical report recently entitled a Church of the Poor. http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/poorchurch/report/download. It challenges us to rethink the nature of the church and to truly follow in the role model of Jesus by real action. One quote from the report
A church for the poor? Not just a food bank for the poor, a debt advice project for the poor, a campaigning organisation for the poor, a financial literacy session, a cooking group, a gardening club for the poor… A church for the poor, where the holy of holies is rent open, where middleclass norms don’t prevail and exclude, where middle-class anxieties aren’t the driving force and the criteria for making decisions. A church where all are welcomed and embraced. A church for the poor would be challenging, disturbing, in a society that prefers to keep the poor at arm’s length, if not out of sight and out of mind.
Is that your desire?
A prayer from the report
Lord, in a world where the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer, we know that your kingdom is not being fulfilled. Renew us, inspire us, and teach us how to live out our calling. We will seek out those laid low by greed and capitalism, and we will lift them before you. We will fill the hungry with good things and help those with money and resources to use them for the good of all.
Is that your prayer?
Peter Ede
