Eradicating Systemic Poverty is the third component of being a PC(USA) Matthew 25 Church, as well as our mission and ministry theme this month. As we enter into Advent and the holiday season—and people are still unemployed and struggling financially as a result of COVID-19—more than ever, we are aware of and concerned for our members, neighbors, and friends who are experiencing systemic poverty and financial instability.
As Christians, we are called to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith may come alive and we may wake up to new possibilities. To do so, it is imperative that we understand the causes and effects of systemic poverty, and engage in activities that mitigate and—in time—will eradicate it.
Systemic poverty is the economic exploitation of people who are poor through laws, policies, practices, and systems that perpetuate impoverished status. These factors all but guarantee that people who are living in poverty will stay that way. Did you know that one-in-six children in the U.S. lives in poverty? Did you know that poverty is one of the greatest threats to the healthy development of children and that the long-lasting, negative consequences include: inadequate quantity and quality of food, exposure to violence, underfunded and inadequate schools, lack of early childhood education, frequent housing instability, exposure to pollution and other health risks? And did you know that living in poverty results in a lack of access to the social goods that are essential for education, as well as deficits in other measures of dignity, freedom, and participation in communal life?
ELPC has walked with the most vulnerable members of our community and are known to be a justice-seeking congregation—and we have remained so during this pandemic. To that end, we will provide gift cards to our financially vulnerable members and neighbors to assist with Thanksgiving and Christmas, even as we continue to provide rent, utility, clothing, and other assistance. And as we become aware, we will encourage you to write our government officials to call them to task and reiterate our collective responsibility to care for the financial stability and health of our vulnerable brothers and sisters.
Contact Pastor Patrice at PatriceFS@coh.net for details on our Holiday Assistance Ministries. For more information on the debilitating, long-term, negative effects of systemic poverty, visit PresbyterianMission.org/ministries/matthew-25.