Scripture shows us that Jesus aligned with the least, the last. He held the privileged to account for how they treated the poor. James reflected this Jesus ethic when he warned profiteers how God hears how they do harm. “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.”(James 5:4). "From Jeremiah's 'Woe to him... who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages,' to Timothy's admonition that the rich 'are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous,' to the Prophet Muhammad's 'When you hire, compensate the workers and treat them fairly,' our holy writings are rich in guidance for behavior toward workers."

As he entered public life, Jesus chose in his debut message to recall the Torah’s jubilee ethic of fair distribution of wealth. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release of the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”(Luke 4:18-19) Who are the oppressed in today’s workplace? Who are the working poor who deserve good news? Who are the ones enriched by the work of others, the blind ones who need recovery of sight to see the damage done by allegiance to greed over dignity for the working man? Standing on scripture, Christian denominations as a whole have joined with the call of unionists for justice.

Policy statements on organized labor provides excerpts from several Christian denominations’ proclamations in support of workers’ rights to form labor unions and bargain collectively with management. These positions remain constant. A flyer called “What Faith Groups Say About the Right to Organize” gives current labor statements from a range of religious faiths and denominations.

Excerpts below exemplify the position of many church bodies.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) "Free collective bargaining has proved its values in our free society whenever the parties engaged in collective bargaining have acted in good faith to reach equitable and moral solutions of problems dealing with wages and working conditions. We do not support the opinion voiced in some quarrels that strikes should be made illegal. To declare strikes illegal would be to deprive workers of their right to collective action and, even more seriously, would place in the hands of government the power to force workers to remain on the job." (Discipline of the CME Church, 1982)

Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) "[The ELCA] commits itself to advocacy with corporations, businesses, congregations, and church-related institutions to protect the rights of workers, support the collective bargaining process, and protect the right to strike." (Resolution of the ELCA Church-wide Assembly, 1991)

National Council of Churches (Representing 33 million Protestants) Whereas, the churches, in the statement of 'The Social Ideals' have stood for 'The right of employees and employers alike to organize for collective bargaining'. Resolved: that the National Council record its conviction that not only has labor a right to organize, but also that it is socially desirable that is do so because of the need for collective action in the maintenance of standards of living.

Baptist Churches We recognize the right of labor to organize and to engage in collective bargaining to the end that labor may have a fair and living wage, such as will provide and culture.@ (SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION.)We reaffirm the right of labor to organize into unions or to affiliate with national labor bodies. @ (NORTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION.)

Catholic Church In the first place, employers and workmen may themselves effect much in the matter which we treat-(saving the workers from being ground down with excessive labor). The most important of all are workmen's associations...but it is greatly desired that they should multiply and become more effective. (LEO XIII).What is to be thought of the action of those Catholic industrialists who even to this day have shown themselves hostile to a labor movement that we ourselves recommended. @ (PIUS XI.) Labor can have no effective voice as long as it is unorganized. To protect its rights it must be free to bargain collectively through its own chosen representatives.

Church of the Brethren Laborers are always to be regarded as persons and never as a commodity. Industry was made for man, and not man for industry. Employees as well as employers have the right to organize themselves into a union for wage negotiations and collective bargaining @ (BRETHREN SERVICE COMMISSION, CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN.)

Congregational Christian Churches We stand for the replacement of the autocratic organization of industry by one of collective effort of organized workers and organized employers.

The Disciples of Christ Resolved by the International Convention of the Disciples of Christ: That It is our conviction that workers should have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist in forming labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in such activities as are within the limits of Constitutional rights for the purpose of bargaining with employers and other mutual aid protection.

Evangelical and Reformed Church In order that the Christian principles of respect for personality, establishment of brotherhood, and obedience in the revealed will of God may find more adequate expression in the economic order, we commit our selves to work for the recognition of the right of employers and workers to organize for collective bargaining, as a step toward the democratic control of industry for the good of society.

Jewish Synagogue The same rights of organization which rest with employers rest also with those whom they employ. Modern life has permitted wealth to consolidate itself through organization into corporations. Workers have the same inalienable right to organize according to their own plan for their common good and to bargain collectively with their employers through such honorable manes as they may choose @ (CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN RABBIS.)We believe that the denial of the right of workers to organize and to form group associations so that they may treat as economic equals with their employers is tantamount to a curtailment of human freedom. For that reason, we favor the unionization of all who labor.

Methodist Church We stand for the right of employees and employers alike to organize for collective bargaining and social action; protection of both in the exercise of their right; the obligation of both to work for the public good.@ (THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST CHURCH.) Collective bargaining, in its mature phase, is democracy applied to industrial relations. It is representative government and reasoned compromise taking the place of authoritarian rule by force in the economic sphere. In its highest form it is the Christian ideal of brotherhood translated into the machinery of daily life @ (GENERAL BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF THE METHODIST CHURCH.)

Presbyterian Church Labor unions Have been instrumental in achieving a higher standard of living and in improving working conditions. They have helped to obtain safety and health measures against occupational risk; to achieve a larger degree of protection against child labor; to relieve the disabled, the sick, the unemployed; and to gain a more equitable share in the value of what they produce @ (BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, U.S.A.)The right of labor to organize and to bargain collectively with employers is clearly an inalienable right in a democracy, and has so been recognized by our government @ (SYNOD OF TENNESSEE, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF U.S.)

ROMAN CATHOLIC Among the basic rights of the human person must be counted the right of freely founding labor unions. These unions should be truly able to represent the workers and to contribute to the proper arrangement of economic life. Another such right is that of taking part freely in the activity of these unions without fear of reprisal." — Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Second Vatican Council, 1965

The Protestant Episcopal Church We recognize the right of labor to organize and to engage in collective bargaining to the end that labor may have a fair and living wage, such as will provide not only for the necessities of life, but for recreation, pleasure, and culture.

Lutheran Church We are convinced that the organization of labor is essential to the well being of the working people. It is based upon a sense of the inestimable value of the individual man @ Lutheran Church In America. It is the right of every man to organize with his fellow workers for collective bargaining through representatives of his own free choice. It is the duty of both management and labor to accept and support conciliations and arbitration in industrial disputes.

American Baptist "We reaffirm our position that workers have the right to organize by a free and democratic vote of the workers involved. This right of organization carries the responsibility of union leadership to protect the rights of workers, to guarantee each member an equal voice in the operation of its organization, and to produce just output labors for income received." — American Baptist Churches Resolution, 1981

Christian Reform Church of American "Church membership and membership in a labor union are compatible as long as the union does not warrant or champion sin in its regular activities. Church members should discontinue membership in any unions whose common practices are clearly in conflict with the principles of the Word of God. Christian conscience cannot condone membership in a union if it continues in sinful practices in spite of protests against them."

Episcopal Church "We reaffirm the right and desirability of workers in the United States to organize and form unions. ...We decry the growing wage of anti-unionism mounting in the nation today which asks people to forget the struggles that led to this form of negotiation as a just way to settle differences." — Urban Bishops Coalition of the Episcopal Church, 1982

ISLAM "When you hire, compensate the workers and treat them fairly." — Prophet Mohammed. The Holy Qur'an

JUDAISM "Jewish leaders, along with our Catholic and Protestant counterparts, have always supported the labor movement and the rights of employees to form unions for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining and attaining fairness in the workplace." — Preamble to Workplace Fairness Resolution, Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1993

Seventh-Day Adventist A Seventh-Day Adventist cannot either join or support a labor union because: 1) His allegiance to Christ forbids it. 2) The Scriptures do not permit it. 3) The Law of God rejects it. 4) The Spirit of Prophecy counsels against it. 5) The law of service does not harmonize with it. 6) It is contrary to baptismal vows. 7) The Seventh- Day Adventist Church clearly exhorts otherwise." — Seventh-Day Adventists and Labor Unions by W. Melvin Adams

Similar statements that urge members to learn more about labor unions and support workers’ rights to organize and bargain with management. Most of these denominations have educational materials to help members of congregations understand how scripture calls us to support dignity for all working people. The National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice serves as a clearinghouse for information, resources, and liturgical materials that help religious communities become more knowledgeable about worker concerns and to engage in pro-labor action.

The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions. This is a specific application of the more general right to associate. . . No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity itself. The Church firmly oppose organized efforts, such as those regrettably now seen in this country, to break existing unions and prevent workers from organizing.

Modern unions grew up from the struggle of the workers - workers in general but especially the industrial workers - to protect their just rights vis-a-vis the entrepreneurs and the owners of the means of production. The experience of history teaches that organizations of this type are an indispensable element of social life, especially in modern industrialized societies.

In order to achieve social justice there is a need for ever new movements of solidarity of the workers and with the workers. This solidarity must be present whenever it is called for by the social degrading of the subject of work, by exploitation of the workers, and by the growing areas of poverty. The church is firmly committed to this cause for she considers it her mission, her service, a proof of her fidelity to Christ, so that she can truly be the "church of the poor." And the poor appear under various forms as a result of the violation of the dignity of human work: either because the opportunities for human work are limited, or because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and her or her family.

Migrant agricultural workers today are particularly in need of the protection, including the right to organize and bargain collectively. U.S. labor law reform is needed to meet these problems as well as to provide more timely and effective remedies for unfair labor practices. For much of America's history, labor unions have enjoyed support from religious leaders and their followers. But those ties are showing signs of unraveling, as unions embrace the radical Left and oppose the priorities of church leaders. Every major faith tradition embraced by working families includes in its teachings the call for fair treatment of working people.

This Presentation examines the past, present, and future role of the Black Church as participant and catalyst for human development, economic empowerment and community revitalization in African American communities. The presentation will 1) explore the historical foundation of the Church's economic development mission; 2) examine current economic and social conditions that motivate the Church's involvement in local economic development; 3) describe a conceptual framework
within which to categorize and develop faith-based economic development endeavors; 4) investigate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Church involvement in community development; 5) highlight successful models of Church-initiated development.
"Economic cooperation among Negroes must begin with the Church group." W. E. B. Du Bois 1907 The black church is the single most important institution in the black community. Beginning in the late eighteenth century and continuing to the present, it has been the oldest and most independent African American organization. Its importance is so great that some scholars say that the black church is the black community, with each having no identity apart from the other. Even if some would deny this claim, no informed person can deny the centrality of the black church in the black community. Therefore black liberation is, at least in part, dependent upon the attitude and role that the church assumes in relation to it. James Cone “For My People” "The impact of the Black church on the spiritual, social, economic, educational and political interests that structure life in America - including the mainline White churches themselves - can scarcely be overlooked in any realistic appraisal of our common religious experience," writes C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, whose book, The Black Church in the African American Experience, examines the historic growth, development and influence of the Black church. “With rare exceptions, the black church's pastoral vision does not speak to the experience of intense alienation of the colonized in the urban metropolitan centers in the country.” Reverend Alan L. Joplin, Conference on Black Theology, Davenport, Iowa 2000 Introduction
Economics, by definition, is “the art of managing a household.” It comes from the same root as “ecumenical,” and connotes “God’s plan or system for the government of the world,” and “a special divine dispensation suited to the needs of a nation or period.” Economics, then, should be a suitable, even a central concern of the Christian church. In the Bible, Jesus talks continually about money and the proper allocation of resources. We find examples both of socialism and capitalism all through the scriptures (for example, Luke 15:11 [parable of the prodigal son] and Luke 16:1 [parable of the unjust steward]). For Christians, economics should be shaped by an equitable way to create and share resources in community. The early Jews tried to correct economic imbalances through the Jubilee year, the fiftieth year, which called for hereditary properties to be restored to their original owners, for slaves to be emancipated, and for the rights of the poor to harvest the fields (Leviticus 25; Exodus 21:2-11). It may not be farfetched to regard the riots as a negative expression of Jubilee.
The Black Church is the principal social structure in Black communities across the nation. It’s a nerve center for many people, and a bastion of hope for many more. It has only begun to touch the surface of its potential to serve the interests of its people by leading a resurgent economic development of Black communities. The Black Church is a multi-million dollar operation.
The Black Church
Most churchgoers are not interested in arguments about the existence of God or the nature of God. They are interested in what God has done and can do to help with their particular concerns and problems. African Americans expect the preacher to reassure them of God’s power, not to question or doubt it. They expect the pastor to help them cope with joblessness, poverty and discrimination by transforming their despair into hope. The Black church needs to provide the content and method for changing the social, economic and political obstacles for blacks. The black church needs a practical theology that can help liberate it from social, political and economic oppression. The black church has a moral obligation to free its people from the despair and powerlessness that grip their bodies and souls. What are some of the issues in the Black church that keeps us powerless.
Miseducation, poor self-esteem and the failure of black Christians to understand and appreciate their own history and culture in black churches. This is evident not only in the absence of black icons but also in the rejection by many black church goers.
Sexism against black women should also be addressed. Women in black churches outnumber men by more than four to one; yet in positions of authority and responsibility the ratio is reversed. Though women are gradually entering ministry, many men and women still resist and fear that development. The black church must deal with the double bondage of black women in church and society. The black church must eliminate exclusionist language, attitudes or practices, however benign or unintended, in order to benefit fully from the talents of women.
Improving the economic conditions of African American will also hasten their freedom. Too many blacks survive from paycheck to paycheck while simultaneously trying to keep up with the Joneses. Most black churches are independent and financially solvent. But the individuals who constitute the church and community are often plagued by poverty and hampered by discrimination, underemployment and racism. Economically secure blacks within the church have a moral obligation to use their success to enhance the wider black community.
Every black churchgoer, especially the economically secure, should understand that tithing or some larger form of proportionate giving significantly affects the liberation of African American. A tithing church will be able to influence public policy issues such as housing for the poor and equal-employment opportunities. It would not have to spend time and energy raising money to meet the ordinary demands of ministry and mission. It can actually do ministry by using its financial resources to develop ways to stem the tide of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce and family violence.
Black churches need to pool their financial resources by withdrawing funds from institutions that do not address the development needs of the black community. In our society, money talks. African Americans should assume control of their hard-earned money and invest it in financial institutions that will challenge traditional models of risk management. Thus they will begin the process of nurturing our neglected communities back to health. The fiscal integrity of the black church and community depend on biblical ethical principles such as working together, loving one another and caring for the poor. In order for the black community to become a viable place for external investment, blacks will first have to invest in themselves. The church must invest in black youth and in the black community before society will invest in the black community.
Black congregation should assess the needs of its constituents within a certain radius of the church. This will enable the pastor and staff better to understand their ministry context and to address specific community needs. For example, some neighbors need to learn how to read, while others may need better access to medical care. Still others may simply need to know that there are people nearby who care about their families and are willing to offer a helping hand.
Practicing Christianity has for African-Americans meant turning the other cheek, walking in humility, and enduring cruel and debasing treatment. During three centuries of slavery, African Americans learned how to sublimate their anger; they increased their chances for survival by tolerating the oppressors. This constitutes real faith in the promise of God i.e., faith as action. Blacks still sing, "There is a Bright Side Somewhere" and "Climbing Up the Rough Side of the Mountain," and all understand and identify with these words of suffering and hope, jubilation and reflection. Black should use the language of the masses to make plain the feelings, hopes, dreams, experiences and practices of African Americans. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for socially and economically successful black Christians to ignore a call to remember there history. This lack of solidarity with the masses obscures the struggle for freedom and unnecessarily dichotomizes the black church and community. An African American approach to theology has little practical value apart from the black church because liberation cannot be achieved without the church. James Cone, in his very compassionate book “For My People”, says that "black liberation is, in part, dependent upon the attitude and role that the church assumes in relation to it." Although black preachers and theologians may disagree on the relation of black theology to the church, the time for antagonism between preachers and theologians has passed. It is now time for unity and action -- time to practice what we teach and preach.
Church “Political” Leadership
If the current political and structural economic trends persist (and there is little reason to assume they will not), we are looking at a future blood bath of violence that will make our present nightmare look pleasant. This crisis poses moral and political questions for a generation of new black church leadership. Perhaps the most important question is, how does the black community directly challenge and mobilize its established leadership, its premier sovereign institution-the black church?
Some things are fairly clear and rarely said publicly, and now must be stated with complete candor. Much of established black church leadership in the United States stands before the world tainted with the blood of millions of black women and children whose pain and suffering have been ignored (one acknowledges the exceptions). In many cities it is easier for a homeless black teen-age girl to find sanctuary in a crack house or a bar on a Friday night than it is for her to find refuge behind the locked doors of many established black churches. Few political developments so empirically demonstrated the depth of the moral and intellectual crisis of the nation's black political and religious leadership. Such a development was predictable for at least five reasons.
the ascendance of black America's premier crypto-fascist was largely a function of the political collapse of the liberal-to-center ideological consensus of the established black leadership infrastructure. This infrastructure includes black elected officials as well as the managerial and protest factions of the church-based declining civil rights industry.
a strategically and politically incoherent "pragmatic-integrationist" intelligentsia, with no sustained pedagogical relationship to our most alienated black social classes in the inner city, contributed to this growing leadership vacuum. They have produced few powerful new ideas in the areas of politics or policy, and no organizing programs.
the leadership of the black churches-of, which there are at least 65,000 nationally, serving an estimated 23 million, blacks-are in a state of political and spiritual crisis. They too are disconnected from growing numbers of our youth in general and young urban black males in particular. They exhibit little awareness of how they might collectively reverse the deepening spiritual and cultural decay of our inner-city neighborhoods. Fewer still comprehend the historical roots or the empirical dimensions of the nihilism now engulfing a generation of young people drowning in their own blood. They are, for the most part, simply conducting business as usual.
With rare exceptions, the black church's pastoral vision does not speak to the experience of intense alienation of the colonized in the urban metropolitan centers in the country. Its images, symbols, and metaphors do not emanate from a dispassionate understanding of the cold political logic of market society.
Well-known macroeconomic and structural forces have radically transformed our inner-city neighborhoods, marginalizing increasing numbers of young, black males. Many of these factors were of course driven by the escalating Republican policy wars against the poor over the last 15 years.
Leadership vacuums produce leadership opportunities.
It is here, in the areas of social policy planning and advocacy, that a unique and historic opportunity exists for a new generation of black church leadership to establish a more vital presence in the larger national church policy debates currently raging. There is an interesting irony here. For the last 15 years of the Republican counter-revolution, the domestic policy wars have been directed against the urban black poor. The logic is very simple, with the persistent poverty of the black and brown serving a variety of crucial ideological functions.
Conservative policy elites (Republican or Democratic) perceive, correctly, that poor blacks are a politically disposable population. In fact, the suffering, nihilism, and decay associated with the tragic circumstances of the urban poor can-and, in the view of conservatives, should-be exploited to ensure continued political dominance. Congregational Leadership
Within the community, congregations are often the primary, if not only, local institution with a grassroots constituency. As such they "bring to the table" legitimacy within the community, they have been part of its past, usually associated as a stabilizing factor. The futures of church and neighborhood are intrinsically related to each other. Church leaders have long known to be true, that the likelihood that congregations are growing is correlated with the growth of its community.
congregations have an institutional stake in quality of life and indeed, viability of the neighborhoods and communities in which they reside.
Congregations are further attractive to community organizations because of their ongoing work of producing social capital. Central to their institutional purpose is the building of consensus through the reinforcement of values and worldview.
Congregations are the only institutions in communities in which volunteers participate for the purpose of individual and collective systems of meaning-making.
congregations can be in their interpretation of transformation, there is necessarily an ethos of transcendence, connecting members to that which is outside of themselves. Members therefore participate regularly in affirming that they are part of a larger purpose and reality.
congregations of all faiths reinforce the value of public participation and service. In message and program, most congregations encourage some form of engagement with the public.
An important element of social capital which religious communities also bring to community organizing is the experience of democratic participation which is present in all but the most autocratic congregations. Even those people who are among the politically disenfranchised in the broader culture can organize power bases within the smallest congregations and bring enormous passion to conflicts within their churches. Those who are without voice in the body politic find voice in the micro-democracies inherent in many congregations. It is critical in community organizing to mobilize those for whom the memory of democratic participation is not extinguished. This can be done in the following ways:
shared leadership as opposed to clerical leadership
coalitional (rather than parochial) parameter of focus, issues are citywide
grassroots empowerment (rather than accessing power)
power structures are challenged and change is sought (rather than accommodation)
Conclusion “theological reflection must be related to the practical imperatives of social policy formation and execution”
The Church in the Urban Crisis is trumpeted as the land of equal opportunity. It leads the poor person to react in one of two ways: “Something is wrong with me”; or “Somebody is doing this to me deliberately.” The systematic stripping of the poor’s inability to compete begins at birth with an inadequate health care system, and continues with a poor educational system based on property taxes. This results in a lack of preparedness for good jobs and is accentuated by race and cultural discrimination. The churches in the city responded to the crisis in some predictable ways and in some unprecedented ways. Providing relief for victims of cataclysms has historically been the church’s role. The church’s relation to the poor has been tied up with the church’s identity over the years. The churches, however, appear now to have added another issue to their responsibilities to the poor: economic development. Some would consider this a transgression into the political realm and inappropriate for religious organizations, but churches are becoming more aware that economics is a fit subject of the church’s mission. After all, to be poor is largely an economic condition. Among the root causes of injustice and materialistic greed, is the widespread lack of economic opportunity that has led to a growing disparity between the rich and the poor. We are in a new millennium, new and creative visions are being called forth from the black church. In addition to policy advocacy, black church leadership must advance a new vision for the resurrection of black civil society. They must sponsor the establishment of accountable community-based economic development projects, including land trusts, cooperatives, community development corporations and finance institutions, and micro-enterprise projects, that go beyond "market and state" visions of revenue generation.
The black church must now seize the time
What does a radically reformed vision mean programmatically? First, theological preparation of black church leadership must include a thorough understanding of the impact of public policy on the daily lives of their communities. They need to understand the necessity of careful study and advocacy to impact social policy outcomes. A new generation of black church leadership must develop strategic alliances to advocate more effectively for policies that benefit the black poor. Black denominationally affiliated theological centers must integrate into their curriculum every aspect of the policy process-from policy formation to implementation. This is mandatory if the black church is to avoid intellectual and political obsolescence in the 21st century.
Black Staticitic
Each day:
• 1,118 black teen-agers are victims of violent crime, • 1,451 black children are arrested, and • 907 teen-age girls get pregnant.
A generation of black males is drowning in their own blood in the prison camps we euphemistically call "inner cities." And things are likely to get much worse.
Some 40 years after the beginning of the civil rights movement, younger black Americans are growing up unqualified for gainful employment even as slaves. The result is a state of civil war, with children in violent revolt against the failed secular and religious leadership of the black community.
Consider the dimensions of this failure.
• a black boy has a 1-in-3,700 chance of getting a Ph.D. in mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences; • a 1-in-766 chance of becoming a lawyer; • a 1-in-395 chance of becoming a physician; • a 1-in-195 chance of becoming a teacher.
But his chances are
• 1-in-2 of never attending college, even if he graduates from high school; • 1-in-9 of using cocaine; • 1-in-12 of having gonorrhea; and • 1-in-20 of being imprisoned while in his 20s. Only the details are different for his sister.
According to James A. Fox, Dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, from 1990 to 1993 (the last year for which detailed national data are available) the overall rate of murder in the United States remained virtually unchanged. For this same period, the rate of killing at the hands of adults, ages 23 and over, actually declined 10 percent; however, for young adults, ages 18-24, the rate rose 14 percent, and for teen-agers it jumped a terrifying 26 percent.
Currently there are 39 million children in this country under the age of 10-more young children than we've had for decades. Millions of them live in poverty. Most do not have full-time parental supervision at home to shape their development and behavior. And these children will not remain young and impressionable for long. By the year 2005, the number of teens ages 14-17 will increase by 14 percent, with an even larger increase among black teens (17 percent) and among brown teens (30 percent).
If homicide among teen-agers continues to increase at the rate at which it has for the past 10 years, a huge increase in this cohort will create an unprecedented epidemic in violent crime.This Presentation examines the past, present, and future role of the Black Church as participant and catalyst for human development, economic empowerment and community revitalization in African American communities. The presentation will 1) explore the historical foundation of the Church's economic development mission; 2) examine current economic and social conditions that motivate the Church's involvement in local economic development; 3) describe a conceptual framework
within which to categorize and develop faith-based economic development endeavors; 4) investigate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Church involvement in community development; 5) highlight successful models of Church-initiated development.
"Economic cooperation among Negroes must begin with the Church group." W. E. B. Du Bois 1907 The black church is the single most important institution in the black community. Beginning in the late eighteenth century and continuing to the present, it has been the oldest and most independent African American organization. Its importance is so great that some scholars say that the black church is the black community, with each having no identity apart from the other. Even if some would deny this claim, no informed person can deny the centrality of the black church in the black community. Therefore black liberation is, at least in part, dependent upon the attitude and role that the church assumes in relation to it. James Cone “For My People” "The impact of the Black church on the spiritual, social, economic, educational and political interests that structure life in America - including the mainline White churches themselves - can scarcely be overlooked in any realistic appraisal of our common religious experience," writes C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, whose book, The Black Church in the African American Experience, examines the historic growth, development and influence of the Black church. “With rare exceptions, the black church's pastoral vision does not speak to the experience of intense alienation of the colonized in the urban metropolitan centers in the country.” Reverend Alan L. Joplin, Conference on Black Theology, Davenport, Iowa 2000 Introduction
Economics, by definition, is “the art of managing a household.” It comes from the same root as “ecumenical,” and connotes “God’s plan or system for the government of the world,” and “a special divine dispensation suited to the needs of a nation or period.” Economics, then, should be a suitable, even a central concern of the Christian church. In the Bible, Jesus talks continually about money and the proper allocation of resources. We find examples both of socialism and capitalism all through the scriptures (for example, Luke 15:11 [parable of the prodigal son] and Luke 16:1 [parable of the unjust steward]). For Christians, economics should be shaped by an equitable way to create and share resources in community. The early Jews tried to correct economic imbalances through the Jubilee year, the fiftieth year, which called for hereditary properties to be restored to their original owners, for slaves to be emancipated, and for the rights of the poor to harvest the fields (Leviticus 25; Exodus 21:2-11). It may not be farfetched to regard the riots as a negative expression of Jubilee.
The Black Church is the principal social structure in Black communities across the nation. It’s a nerve center for many people, and a bastion of hope for many more. It has only begun to touch the surface of its potential to serve the interests of its people by leading a resurgent economic development of Black communities. The Black Church is a multi-million dollar operation.
The Black Church
Most churchgoers are not interested in arguments about the existence of God or the nature of God. They are interested in what God has done and can do to help with their particular concerns and problems. African Americans expect the preacher to reassure them of God’s power, not to question or doubt it. They expect the pastor to help them cope with joblessness, poverty and discrimination by transforming their despair into hope. The Black church needs to provide the content and method for changing the social, economic and political obstacles for blacks. The black church needs a practical theology that can help liberate it from social, political and economic oppression. The black church has a moral obligation to free its people from the despair and powerlessness that grip their bodies and souls. What are some of the issues in the Black church that keeps us powerless.
Miseducation, poor self-esteem and the failure of black Christians to understand and appreciate their own history and culture in black churches. This is evident not only in the absence of black icons but also in the rejection by many black church goers.
Sexism against black women should also be addressed. Women in black churches outnumber men by more than four to one; yet in positions of authority and responsibility the ratio is reversed. Though women are gradually entering ministry, many men and women still resist and fear that development. The black church must deal with the double bondage of black women in church and society. The black church must eliminate exclusionist language, attitudes or practices, however benign or unintended, in order to benefit fully from the talents of women.
Improving the economic conditions of African American will also hasten their freedom. Too many blacks survive from paycheck to paycheck while simultaneously trying to keep up with the Joneses. Most black churches are independent and financially solvent. But the individuals who constitute the church and community are often plagued by poverty and hampered by discrimination, underemployment and racism. Economically secure blacks within the church have a moral obligation to use their success to enhance the wider black community.
Every black churchgoer, especially the economically secure, should understand that tithing or some larger form of proportionate giving significantly affects the liberation of African American. A tithing church will be able to influence public policy issues such as housing for the poor and equal-employment opportunities. It would not have to spend time and energy raising money to meet the ordinary demands of ministry and mission. It can actually do ministry by using its financial resources to develop ways to stem the tide of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce and family violence.
Black churches need to pool their financial resources by withdrawing funds from institutions that do not address the development needs of the black community. In our society, money talks. African Americans should assume control of their hard-earned money and invest it in financial institutions that will challenge traditional models of risk management. Thus they will begin the process of nurturing our neglected communities back to health. The fiscal integrity of the black church and community depend on biblical ethical principles such as working together, loving one another and caring for the poor. In order for the black community to become a viable place for external investment, blacks will first have to invest in themselves. The church must invest in black youth and in the black community before society will invest in the black community.
Black congregation should assess the needs of its constituents within a certain radius of the church. This will enable the pastor and staff better to understand their ministry context and to address specific community needs. For example, some neighbors need to learn how to read, while others may need better access to medical care. Still others may simply need to know that there are people nearby who care about their families and are willing to offer a helping hand.
Practicing Christianity has for African-Americans meant turning the other cheek, walking in humility, and enduring cruel and debasing treatment. During three centuries of slavery, African Americans learned how to sublimate their anger; they increased their chances for survival by tolerating the oppressors. This constitutes real faith in the promise of God i.e., faith as action. Blacks still sing, "There is a Bright Side Somewhere" and "Climbing Up the Rough Side of the Mountain," and all understand and identify with these words of suffering and hope, jubilation and reflection. Black should use the language of the masses to make plain the feelings, hopes, dreams, experiences and practices of African Americans. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for socially and economically successful black Christians to ignore a call to remember there history. This lack of solidarity with the masses obscures the struggle for freedom and unnecessarily dichotomizes the black church and community. An African American approach to theology has little practical value apart from the black church because liberation cannot be achieved without the church. James Cone, in his very compassionate book “For My People”, says that "black liberation is, in part, dependent upon the attitude and role that the church assumes in relation to it." Although black preachers and theologians may disagree on the relation of black theology to the church, the time for antagonism between preachers and theologians has passed. It is now time for unity and action -- time to practice what we teach and preach.
Church “Political” Leadership
If the current political and structural economic trends persist (and there is little reason to assume they will not), we are looking at a future blood bath of violence that will make our present nightmare look pleasant. This crisis poses moral and political questions for a generation of new black church leadership. Perhaps the most important question is, how does the black community directly challenge and mobilize its established leadership, its premier sovereign institution-the black church?
Some things are fairly clear and rarely said publicly, and now must be stated with complete candor. Much of established black church leadership in the United States stands before the world tainted with the blood of millions of black women and children whose pain and suffering have been ignored (one acknowledges the exceptions). In many cities it is easier for a homeless black teen-age girl to find sanctuary in a crack house or a bar on a Friday night than it is for her to find refuge behind the locked doors of many established black churches. Few political developments so empirically demonstrated the depth of the moral and intellectual crisis of the nation's black political and religious leadership. Such a development was predictable for at least five reasons.
the ascendance of black America's premier crypto-fascist was largely a function of the political collapse of the liberal-to-center ideological consensus of the established black leadership infrastructure. This infrastructure includes black elected officials as well as the managerial and protest factions of the church-based declining civil rights industry.
a strategically and politically incoherent "pragmatic-integrationist" intelligentsia, with no sustained pedagogical relationship to our most alienated black social classes in the inner city, contributed to this growing leadership vacuum. They have produced few powerful new ideas in the areas of politics or policy, and no organizing programs.
the leadership of the black churches-of, which there are at least 65,000 nationally, serving an estimated 23 million, blacks-are in a state of political and spiritual crisis. They too are disconnected from growing numbers of our youth in general and young urban black males in particular. They exhibit little awareness of how they might collectively reverse the deepening spiritual and cultural decay of our inner-city neighborhoods. Fewer still comprehend the historical roots or the empirical dimensions of the nihilism now engulfing a generation of young people drowning in their own blood. They are, for the most part, simply conducting business as usual.
With rare exceptions, the black church's pastoral vision does not speak to the experience of intense alienation of the colonized in the urban metropolitan centers in the country. Its images, symbols, and metaphors do not emanate from a dispassionate understanding of the cold political logic of market society.
Well-known macroeconomic and structural forces have radically transformed our inner-city neighborhoods, marginalizing increasing numbers of young, black males. Many of these factors were of course driven by the escalating Republican policy wars against the poor over the last 15 years.
Leadership vacuums produce leadership opportunities.
It is here, in the areas of social policy planning and advocacy, that a unique and historic opportunity exists for a new generation of black church leadership to establish a more vital presence in the larger national church policy debates currently raging. There is an interesting irony here. For the last 15 years of the Republican counter-revolution, the domestic policy wars have been directed against the urban black poor. The logic is very simple, with the persistent poverty of the black and brown serving a variety of crucial ideological functions.
Conservative policy elites (Republican or Democratic) perceive, correctly, that poor blacks are a politically disposable population. In fact, the suffering, nihilism, and decay associated with the tragic circumstances of the urban poor can-and, in the view of conservatives, should-be exploited to ensure continued political dominance. Congregational Leadership
Within the community, congregations are often the primary, if not only, local institution with a grassroots constituency. As such they "bring to the table" legitimacy within the community, they have been part of its past, usually associated as a stabilizing factor. The futures of church and neighborhood are intrinsically related to each other. Church leaders have long known to be true, that the likelihood that congregations are growing is correlated with the growth of its community.
congregations have an institutional stake in quality of life and indeed, viability of the neighborhoods and communities in which they reside.
Congregations are further attractive to community organizations because of their ongoing work of producing social capital. Central to their institutional purpose is the building of consensus through the reinforcement of values and worldview.
Congregations are the only institutions in communities in which volunteers participate for the purpose of individual and collective systems of meaning-making.
congregations can be in their interpretation of transformation, there is necessarily an ethos of transcendence, connecting members to that which is outside of themselves. Members therefore participate regularly in affirming that they are part of a larger purpose and reality.
congregations of all faiths reinforce the value of public participation and service. In message and program, most congregations encourage some form of engagement with the public.
An important element of social capital which religious communities also bring to community organizing is the experience of democratic participation which is present in all but the most autocratic congregations. Even those people who are among the politically disenfranchised in the broader culture can organize power bases within the smallest congregations and bring enormous passion to conflicts within their churches. Those who are without voice in the body politic find voice in the micro-democracies inherent in many congregations. It is critical in community organizing to mobilize those for whom the memory of democratic participation is not extinguished. This can be done in the following ways:
shared leadership as opposed to clerical leadership
coalitional (rather than parochial) parameter of focus, issues are citywide
grassroots empowerment (rather than accessing power)
power structures are challenged and change is sought (rather than accommodation)
Conclusion “theological reflection must be related to the practical imperatives of social policy formation and execution”
The Church in the Urban Crisis is trumpeted as the land of equal opportunity. It leads the poor person to react in one of two ways: “Something is wrong with me”; or “Somebody is doing this to me deliberately.” The systematic stripping of the poor’s inability to compete begins at birth with an inadequate health care system, and continues with a poor educational system based on property taxes. This results in a lack of preparedness for good jobs and is accentuated by race and cultural discrimination. The churches in the city responded to the crisis in some predictable ways and in some unprecedented ways. Providing relief for victims of cataclysms has historically been the church’s role. The church’s relation to the poor has been tied up with the church’s identity over the years. The churches, however, appear now to have added another issue to their responsibilities to the poor: economic development. Some would consider this a transgression into the political realm and inappropriate for religious organizations, but churches are becoming more aware that economics is a fit subject of the church’s mission. After all, to be poor is largely an economic condition. Among the root causes of injustice and materialistic greed, is the widespread lack of economic opportunity that has led to a growing disparity between the rich and the poor. We are in a new millennium, new and creative visions are being called forth from the black church. In addition to policy advocacy, black church leadership must advance a new vision for the resurrection of black civil society. They must sponsor the establishment of accountable community-based economic development projects, including land trusts, cooperatives, community development corporations and finance institutions, and micro-enterprise projects, that go beyond "market and state" visions of revenue generation.
The black church must now seize the time
What does a radically reformed vision mean programmatically? First, theological preparation of black church leadership must include a thorough understanding of the impact of public policy on the daily lives of their communities. They need to understand the necessity of careful study and advocacy to impact social policy outcomes. A new generation of black church leadership must develop strategic alliances to advocate more effectively for policies that benefit the black poor. Black denominationally affiliated theological centers must integrate into their curriculum every aspect of the policy process-from policy formation to implementation. This is mandatory if the black church is to avoid intellectual and political obsolescence in the 21st century.
Black Staticitic
Each day:
• 1,118 black teen-agers are victims of violent crime, • 1,451 black children are arrested, and • 907 teen-age girls get pregnant.
A generation of black males is drowning in their own blood in the prison camps we euphemistically call "inner cities." And things are likely to get much worse.
Some 40 years after the beginning of the civil rights movement, younger black Americans are growing up unqualified for gainful employment even as slaves. The result is a state of civil war, with children in violent revolt against the failed secular and religious leadership of the black community.
Consider the dimensions of this failure.
• a black boy has a 1-in-3,700 chance of getting a Ph.D. in mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences; • a 1-in-766 chance of becoming a lawyer; • a 1-in-395 chance of becoming a physician; • a 1-in-195 chance of becoming a teacher.
But his chances are
• 1-in-2 of never attending college, even if he graduates from high school; • 1-in-9 of using cocaine; • 1-in-12 of having gonorrhea; and • 1-in-20 of being imprisoned while in his 20s. Only the details are different for his sister.
According to James A. Fox, Dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, from 1990 to 1993 (the last year for which detailed national data are available) the overall rate of murder in the United States remained virtually unchanged. For this same period, the rate of killing at the hands of adults, ages 23 and over, actually declined 10 percent; however, for young adults, ages 18-24, the rate rose 14 percent, and for teen-agers it jumped a terrifying 26 percent.
Currently there are 39 million children in this country under the age of 10-more young children than we've had for decades. Millions of them live in poverty. Most do not have full-time parental supervision at home to shape their development and behavior. And these children will not remain young and impressionable for long. By the year 2005, the number of teens ages 14-17 will increase by 14 percent, with an even larger increase among black teens (17 percent) and among brown teens (30 percent).
If homicide among teen-agers continues to increase at the rate at which it has for the past 10 years, a huge increase in this cohort will create an unprecedented epidemic in violent crime.

concept statements for the development of an urban parish in the City of Saint Louis

Alan L. Joplin,
"Let us begin to build new communities of justice and peace."

Opening statement

Parish Social Ministry begins with baptism and the call each of us receives to actively participate with the Church in bringing about the kingdom of God. The Gospel confers on each Christian the vocation to love God and neighbor in ways that bear fruit in the life of society. That vocation consists above all in a change of heart; a conversion expressed in praise of God, and in concrete deeds of justice and service.

We have been created to share in the divine life through a destiny that goes far beyond our human capabilities and before which we must in all humility stand in awe. We marvel at the wonders God has done for us, how God has raised up the poor and the lowly and promised great things for them in the Kingdom. God now asks of us sacrifices and reflection on our reverence for human dignity - in ourselves and in others - and on our service and discipleship, so that the divine goal for the human family and this earth can be fulfilled.

Communion with God, sharing God's life, involves a mutual bonding with all on this globe. Jesus taught us to love God and one another and that the concept of neighbor is without limit. We know that we are called to be members of a new covenant of love. We have to move from our devotion to independence, through an understanding of interdependence, to a commitment to human solidarity.

That challenge must find its realization in the kind of community we build among us. Love implies concern for all - especially the poor - and a continued search for those social and economic structures that permit everyone to share in a community that is a part of a redeemed creation (Rom 8:21-23).
Every believer is called to serve “the least of these,” “to hunger and thirst for justice,” to be a “peacemaker.” [Mt 25:31-46; 5:1-10] Christians are called by God to protect human life, to promote human dignity, to defend the poor and to seek the common good. This social mission of the Church belongs to all of us. It is an essential part of what it is to be a believer.

Being a believer means that one lives a certain way - walking with the Lord, doing justice, loving kindness, living peaceably among all people. Christian discipleship means practicing what Jesus preached. Discipleship is found in a relationship with Christ and a commitment to his mission of “bringing good news to the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind and setting the downtrodden free.” [Lk 4:18] (1, 2)

The urban parish, as a constitutive part of its mission, provides an organized outlet for the community to respond to that baptismal call. The urban parish dimensions of social ministry not as an added burden, but as a part of what keeps a parish alive and makes it truly Christian. Effective social ministry helps the parish not only do more, but be more--more of a reflection of the gospel, more of a worshipping and evangelizing people, more of a faithful community. It is an essential part of parish life.
This is not a new message, but it takes on new urgency in light of the increasing clarity and strength of Christian social teaching and the signs of declining respect for human life and human dignity in society. We preach a gospel of justice and peace in a rapidly changing world and troubled nation. Our faith is tested by the violence, injustice, and moral confusion that surround us. In this relatively affluent nation, a fourth of our children under six grow up in poverty. Each year in our nation, 40,000 children die from hunger and its consequences around the world. In our streets and neighborhoods, violence destroys the hopes, dreams, and lives of too many children. In our local communities, too many cannot find decent work, housing, health care, or education. In our families, parents struggle to raise children with dignity, hope, and basic values.
Our faith stands in marked contrast to these grim realities. At a time of rampant individualism, we stand for family and community. At a time of intense consumerism, we insist it is not what we have, but how we treat one another that counts. In an age that does not value permanence or hard work in relationships, we believe marriage is forever and children are a blessing, not a burden. At a time of growing isolation, we remind our nation of its responsibility to the broader world, to pursue peace, to welcome immigrants, to protect the lives of hurting children and refugees. At a time when the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, we insist the moral test of our society is how we treat and care for the weakest among us.
In these challenging days, we believe that the Christian community needs to be more than ever a source of clear moral vision and effective action. We are called to be the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” in the words of the Scriptures (Mt 5:13-16). In urban neighborhoods, in suburban communities, and in rural areas, parishes serve as anchors of hope and communities of caring, help families meet their own needs and reach out to others, and serve as centers of community life and networks of assistance. To these ends, Urban Parish Social Ministry should:
The mission of the Urban Parish Social Ministry is to assist parishioners, through the parish community, in understanding and acting on Christian social teaching. This is achieved by providing formation and education in Christian social teaching (allowing those involved to be confident, and ensure, that action arises from Chrisian faith and values) and by identifying, supporting, and training leaders who will organize people and activities around four specific, complementary ministries:
· Direct Service, where parishioners are given opportunities to provide a compassionate, yet empowering, response to the immediate needs of individuals and families;
· Community Organizing and Community Development, where parishioners are given opportunities to put into practice our passionately-held Christian belief in the rights and responsibilities of persons - especially powerless individuals, families, and communities - to fully participate in decisions that affect the quality of everyday life;
· Legislative Advocacy, where parishioners are given opportunities to engage in efforts to create or change state and federal legislation to reflect just and compassionate social policy impacting people in need; and
· Global Solidarity, where parishioners are given opportunities to participate in social justice and peace efforts, such as environmental stewardship projects and world hunger or development programs, that address the needs of our world and/or of our more distant neighbors.

URBAN PARISH MINISTRIES

We rejoice that our eternal God finds us worthy to call us to the service of ensuring that all share in the Gospel promise to salvation (Mark 1:14-15), and liberation (Matthew 25:31-46).

The theology of Paul in I Corinthians (12:4-11), speaking specifically of the giftedness of individuals and of the Spirit working for the common good, is also applicable to the broader and local parishes. Therefore, we affirm that parishes must work in solidarity through communication and consensus. The Spirit of God will be better heard in this atmosphere of solidarity; and the prophetic voice, whether emanating from within or from without the local parish will have its influence.

Urban Parish Ministries seeks to develop, implement and support outreach and peace and justice ministries in urban parishes. These ministries will address current issues that affect human lives by using the faith and spirituality of the Christian Gospel and the commitment of the United Methodist Church. It will foster cooperation and mutual ministry between other outreach organizations, nationwide church programs, interdenominational outreach organizations and government agencies.

Guiding Principles for Formulation of a Urban Parish

· Proposals should be sensitive and responsive to cultural and socio-economic diversity.
· Proposals must not reflect a duplication of services.
· Proposals should indicate follow-through and continuity with existing program initiatives.
· Proposals should evidence provision for leadership training and development.

· Proposals should reflect a sharing of resources through collaboration among parishes
· And/or between parishes and other agencies.

· Proposals must be originated by a parish (or a combination of parishes).

Checklist of Common Proposal Pitfalls

· Program is not sufficiently linked to a local parish(es):

i.e. parish leadership not involved in program planning
program not formally endorsed by parish governing body
program does not receive reasonable financial backing from the parish

· Program duplicates rather than compliments services offered by neighboring agencies and/or parishes. Creative possibilities for networking have not been explored or sufficiently worked through.

· Proposal exhibits weak planning and did not involve key implementers in its development.

Parish Structures and Interdependent Relationships
Parishes are vital to the life of the Church and the life of neighborhoods. The continued development of effective parishes amidst times of diminishing resources and new needs calls us to create more responsive and flexible structures as tools in meeting the challenges of The in the urban communities. Spiritually we must become one people united in faith and interdependent on each other.
This interdependence must be supported by structures and relationships that are mutually beneficial and able to utilize the different gifts of people and communities in complementary partnerships. We also need to address the inequities between parishes in the accumulation and use of resources.
Develop and encourage effective models for parish partnerships which recognize the gifts and needs of each community and promote dialogue, understanding and mutual support.
· Include models that can share the staffing, structures and activities of two or more parish communities
· Provide -supported linking service for urban parishes, recognizing the need for support from pastors and lay leaders.
· Encourage people to remember "where I came from" to get them in touch with urban parishes in their roots
· Consider prayer days, discussion groups, social activities, gardening projects, pulpit exchanges, workshops, community outreach, joint pastoral council meetings and the mutual sharing of time, talent and financial resources.
Utilize the Future Parish Staffing Project to support parishes in assessing parish vitality and viability and in creating, discussing and developing new proposals and models for more effective staffing, ministries, structures and facility use.
· Prepare and encourage viable alternatives for more flexible staffing plans which include permanent deacons, pastoral ministers, lay professionals, and shared staffing between two or more parishes.
· Provide a 'third-party facilitator' service for helping parishes to propose, explore and implement new models of staffing and restructuring with other parishes
· Assist parishes in making the best use of their buildings in service to neighborhood needs.
Continue to develop and support evangelization efforts which involve the cooperative efforts of parishes and utilize learning from past experiences.
· Learn from and support the evangelization efforts within the African American and Hispanic an other ethnic communities
· Build upon successful parish efforts which incorporate the following qualities: facilities and opportunities for youth, good liturgy and hospitality, an experience of a welcoming community, effective outreach, involvement in revitalizing the neighborhood, adequate parish support staff and program capability.
Assign pastors and parish administrators who will consistently support models of interparish collaboration that have been established as well as continue to develop new models.
Encourage parishes to consider wider Church needs and not only the assessment of fiscal soundness and local parish needs, at the time when major parish expenditures (related to facilities, staffing and investments) are being planned.
Overview
"The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well.
The pastoral statement on The Urban Parish is a response to the social and moral issues resulting from dramatic movements of people and the suburbanization of our church since World War II. It is based upon the following five principles:
· social justice
· redevelopment
· interdependence
· restructuring, and
· preferential love of the poor.
The vision of Urban Parish is not just a guide to the revitalization of the city nor does it merely add a moral dimension to political, economic, and social decisions that affect city life. Rather it is a redefinition of who we are and what we do. We are not separate people but a faith community grounded in the reality of our times and in our solidarity with the whole human family. The United Methodist Church has a prophetic role in calling for and participating in an extensive collaboration among many different sectors of the wider metropolitan community.
The principles of social justice and preferential love for the poor lead us to action in addressing the injustice and inequity that we find in the lives of people in our society, with particular concern for people who are most vulnerable in our cities. These actions must overcome poverty, racism, crime, apathy, fear and the pervasive influence of violence in our culture.
Our actions will build upon the many good things already being done within our cities. But we also must face the harsh economic reality of the times and seek to reverse powerful trends of out migration, unjust social mores, and diminishing resources. It means personal and institutional conversion as well as tough, pragmatic, personal and institutional choices.
The recommended actions are not a new church plan, Vision or Goals. Rather, they invite us to see new possibilities and challenges in what it means to be a Celebrating, Evangelizing, Teaching, Caring and Participating community.
We are also called to a deeper understanding of stewardship. Good stewardship means using our gifts and resources in such a way that we can be even more responsive, interdependent and mutually supportive.
To succeed in this vision, we will need strong organizational skills put to use in imparting a moral and ethical dimension to political and economic life. It will be necessary to act out Gospel values in the home, neighborhood, workplace and in the political arena.
The vision of The Urban Parish must be a way of life that is the constant thread in our daily activity, the reflective application of Gospel values to the challenges of our time and place in history.

Recommended Actions/Two Key Perspectives
In Implementing These Actions

Family perspective: Family life is foundational to the life of our cities, our society and our Church. If we strengthen and support families - single parent families, multi-generational families and persons living alone, we will renew our cities. We must view the city through the lens of the family in planning activities, assessing their impact upon families and building partnerships with families.
Multicultural perspective: Our church area has a great diversity of cultures. This diversity bring both gifts and challenges. We need to approach implementation activities in ways that build bridges and relationships among our different cultures. If we build a healthy respect and appreciation for the different cultures of our communities, we will renew our cities.

Five Key Principles...the Basis for the Urban Parish
Social Justice
The practice of charity is different from promoting change which will further the cause of social justice. We are called to work to change underlying causes of what has transpired, focusing on policies and practices of federal, state and local government that strongly favor out migration over moving inward or simply staying in one's community.
The point is not to halt out migration, as people must be free to move as they wish, but to balance the role of government in such a way that redevelopment and maintenance of cities and inner suburbs is given as much support as the development of new suburbs. Achievement of the needed change will require unprecedented cooperative action on the part of public officials across the region, in order to influence state and federal government and in order to guide future public investments toward new visions and goals.
Rebuilding must occur in our cities where vacant land presents that opportunity. But we must rebuild in ways that serve to heal the wounds and close the separations that have been opened and aggravated by what has transpired over the past 400 years.

Redevelopment
Government policies which support development of new suburbs while neglecting the redevelopment of older cities have contributed to the problems caused by out migration. In an analogous way, the Church can fall victim to this same strategy by concentrating on the development of newer parishes in the suburbs, while older parishes in the cities are allowed to decline. For government, banks, developers, real estate brokers and others, redevelopment means creating and investing. For the Church, redevelopment means renewing its commitment to the cities and finding ways to provide necessary resources for ministry being done there.

Interdependence
Many differences exist between ministry to the city and ministry to the suburbs, but a single mission to reveal God's love binds them together. There are gifts present in every church, whether urban or suburban, which can be shared with all the churches. In order to deal effectively with the effects of out migration, we will need to find ways to share these gifts more widely with one another. Parishes which have reached out beyond their boundaries have given witness to the kind of Church we ought to be. The parish which does not in some way extend its work beyond its own parish boundaries fails to be Church in its most complete meaning. In our diocesan commitment to stewardship, we must seek to define stewardship in a way that encompasses the urban and suburban Church, with the gifts and problems unique to each.
Restructuring
In order to more effectively and more efficiently serve the people living in the cities, it will be necessary to restructure the current church parishes in such a way that they will be able to offer proper ministry to their people. We must also work to makes these parishes financially stable and, as much as possible, independent of church subsidy. Restructuring of our city parishes will not diminish in any way the Church's commitment to the city, but will actually increase the effectiveness of the Church's presence there. In considering the ways in which the Church can be restructured in the city, special care must be taken to be sensitive to the cultural diversity of its residents.
Preferential Love for the Poor:
Acknowledging that there are many poor people living in the suburbs, we must still admit that more and more the results of out migration have contributed to the existence of two societies: one poor and living in the older cities, the other more affluent and living in the outer suburbs. The love of Christ compels us to turn our attention to the needs of our poorer sisters and brothers, who have been most hurt by present policies. Following the example of St. Vincent de Paul, the Apostle of Charity, we cannot relax our efforts to assist the poor in their need. We must be especially mindful of women and children, who are often the primary victims of social neglect


The following seven principles of Christian social teaching:

· Life and Dignity of the Human Person
· Call to Family, Community, and Participation
· Rights and Responsibilities
· Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
· Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
· Solidarity
· Care for God’s Creation

Life and Dignity of the Human Person
In a world warped by materialism and declining respect for human life, the Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God. Christian belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of Christian social teaching. People are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

The human person is central, the clearest reflection of God among us.

Each person possesses a basic dignity that comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment.

The test of every human institution or policy is whether it enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation
How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. While our society often exalts individualism, the Christian tradition teaches that human beings grow and achieve fulfillment in community. People have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.

The Church teaches that the role of government and other institutions is to protect human life and human dignity and promote the common good.

· No community is more central than the family; it is the basic cell of society. It is where we learn and act on our values. What happens in the family is the basis of a truly human life.

· We have the right and responsibility to participate in and contribute to the broader communities in society. The state and other institutions of political and economic life, with both their limitations and obligations, are instruments to protect the life, dignity, and rights of the human person.. When basic human needs are not being met by private initiative, then people must work through their government, at appropriate levels, to meet those needs.

· A central test of political, legal, and economic institutions is what they do to people, what they do for people, and how people participate in them.

Rights and Responsibilities
In a world where some speak mostly of “rights” and others mostly of “responsibilities,” the Christian tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency: faith and family, food and shelter, health care and housing, education and employment.

Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. While public debate in our nation is often divided between those who focus on personal responsibility and those who focus on social responsibilities, our tradition insists that both are necessary.

· Flowing from our God-given dignity, each person has basic rights and responsibilities. These include: the rights to freedom of conscience and religious liberty, to raise a family, to immigrate, to live free from discrimination, and to have a share of earthly goods sufficient for oneself and one’s family. People have a fundamental right to life and those things that make life truly human: food, clothing, housing, health care, education, security, social services, and employment.

· Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities - to one another, to our families, and to the larger society - to respect the rights of others and work for the common good.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
In a world characterized by growing prosperity for some and pervasive poverty for others, Christian teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, Christian tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

Scripture teaches that God has a special concern for the poor and vulnerable (Ex 22:20-26). The prophets denounced injustice toward the poor as a lack of fidelity to the God of Israel (Is 1:21-23; Jer 5:28). Jesus, who identified himself with the least of these (Mt 25:40-45), came to preach the good news to the poor and told us, “Give to him who asks of you, do not refuse one who would borrow from you” (Mt 11:5; 5:42). The Church calls on all of us to embrace this preferential love of the poor and vulnerable, to embody it in our lives, and to work to have it shape public policies and priorities.

· Poor and vulnerable people have a special place in Christian social teaching. A basic moral test of a society is how its most vulnerable members are faring.

· Christian tradition calls us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first (Mt 25:31-46).

· We must seek creative ways to expand the emphasis of our nation’s founders on individual rights and freedom by extending democratic ideals to economic life and thus ensure that the basic requirements for life with dignity are accessible to all.

Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
In a marketplace where too often the quarterly bottom line takes precedence over the rights of workers, we believe that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. Work is a way of fulfilling part of our human potential given to us by God. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected—the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to ownership and private property, and to economic initiative. Respecting these rights promotes an economy that protects human life, defends human rights, and advances the well-being of all.

· Work is more than earning a living. It is an expression of our dignity and a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.

· People have a right to decent and productive work, to decent and fair wages, to private property and economic initiative.

· Traditionally, workers have the strong support of the Church in forming and joining unions and worker associations of their choosing in the exercise of their dignity and rights.

· In Christian social teaching, the economy exists to serve people, not the other way around.

Solidarity
Our culture is tempted to turn inward, becoming indifferent and sometimes isolationist in the face of international responsibilities. Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that “loving our neighbor” has global dimensions in an interdependent world. Because of the interdependence among all the members of the human family around the globe, we have a moral responsibility to commit ourselves to the common good at all levels: in local communities, in our nation, in the community of nations. This virtue is described by Pope John Paul II as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 38).

We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.
We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. In a limited world, our responsibilities to one another cross all boundaries.
Solidarity is the contemporary expression of the traditional Catholic image of the Mystical Body of Christ. “Loving our neighbor” has global dimensions in an interdependent world.

Care for God’s Creation
On a planet conflicted over environmental issues, the Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.

The world that God created has been entrusted to us, yet our use of it must be directed by God's plan for creation, not simply by our own benefit. Our stewardship of the earth is a kind of participation in God's act of creating and sustaining the world. In our use of creation, we must be guided by our concern for the welfare of others, both around the world and for generations to come, and by a respect for the intrinsic worth and beauty of all God's creatures.

Called to be co-creators with God and to have “dominion” over the earth, we are called to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
It is a requirement of our faith that we protect creation and each other from the harm that we can bring.
The environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions to it that we simply cannot ignore.

Reflection Questions:

What does it mean to be “co-creators with God,” to be good stewards of God’s creation, especially when it comes to the environment?

By sharing in God’s goodness, sharing in God’s dominion, and having been invited to dwell in community, humanity is inextricably connected to one another, the earth, and God. Give an example of how you see this interdependence in your daily life, or the life of the parish.

In Conclusion

Catholic social teaching is a complex and nuanced tradition with many other important elements. Principles like “subsidiarity” and the “common good” outline the advantages and limitations of markets, the responsibilities and limits of government, and the essential roles of voluntary associations. These and other key principles are outlined in greater detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These principles build on the foundation of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of human life. This central Catholic principle requires that we measure every policy, every institution, and every action by whether it protects human life and enhances human dignity, especially for the poor and vulnerable.

These moral values and others outlined in various papal and Episcopal documents are part of a systematic moral framework and a precious intellectual heritage that we call Catholic social teaching. The Scriptures say, “Without a vision the people perish” (Prv 29:18). As Catholics, we have an inspiring vision in our social teaching. In a world that hungers for a sense of meaning and moral direction, this teaching offers ethical criteria for action. In a society of rapid change and often confused moral values, this teaching offers consistent moral guidance for the future. For Catholics, this social teaching is a central part of our identity. In the words of Pope John Paul II, it is “genuine doctrine” (Centesimus Annus, no. 5).