Tag: Poverty

Inasmuch
Senior Warden Tom Keyse and I spent a couple of hours today with The Rev'd Lynne Butler, CEO and Executive Director of Metro Caring, Denver's leading frontline hunger prevention organization. I was heartened by everything I saw. This is the kind of place that offers real hope to our neighbors in need.

Just a few of the programs I learned about are:
- Healthful Foods Access
- Nutrition and Gardening Education
- Seeds for Success Job Training
- Self Sufficiency Counseling
- Financial Literacy Education
- Identification Document Assistance
- Metro Caring Market
- Legislative Action
- Benefits Enrollment Assistance
Saint John’s Cathedral has members who serve on the board or volunteer in one or more programs. I saw some of those members who were exercising faithful stewardship of their time by sitting with guests of Metro Caring, engaging in conversation, listening, and demonstrating genuine care. It was as if I were witnessing a living tableau of the scene described in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Mt. 25:31-36)

During lunch after our tour, Lynne told us that one out of four children in this state faces hunger. She also told me that a person enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in Colorado receives $126 per month in food stamps. That’s far less than I would have imagined. She then told me about a challenge that was given to Denver religious leaders in June. Each of us is asked to personally contribute $126 to Metro Caring and then to ask 126 more people to contribute the same amount. If even one of us did that, it would raise $16,000. The funds raised in this campaign will be used by Metro Caring to fight hunger in the following ways:
- Reduce local food waste to ensure all have enough
- End food deserts by going mobile
- End hunger at its root through Seeds for Success, Metro Caring’s signature employment training program for food-industry jobs.
In several ways, it is an awkward time to be doing this because of the start up of fall stewardship campaigns among my friends around the country. However, inasmuch as I am so impressed with the good work being done through Metro Caring, I’m going to make my contribution. If you are moved to do likewise with a gift over and above what you plan to give to your faith community, please do so. This is a personal suggestion and not a Cathedral campaign. Contributions can be made online or by mailing a check to:

Metro Caring
P.O. Box 300459
Denver, CO 80203

Everything I saw today convinces me that Metro Caring will exercise faithful stewardship over our gifts, hope will be restored, and lives will be transformed.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
Saint John's Cathedral
Denver, Colorado
August 9, 2016
An Epiphany From a Grasshopper

Gay and I are visiting at the cabin of friends on Ohio Creek near Gunnison, Colorado. Across the creek are golden aspens, the snowcapped West Elk Mountains, and endless blue skies.

On our afternoon walk today, I saw and heard some grasshoppers that brought back a memory from my childhood and brought on an epiphany.

My parents owned a sizeable parcel of property between Winter Park and Granby, Colorado during the 1950’s. I was fortunate to be able to spend most of six summers there as a boy. My dad built three ponds on one creek that flowed through the property and stocked them with rainbow and brook trout. On the backside of the property, there was another creek where the beavers had built dams, saving my dad the trouble.

Dad used to take me fishing in both of those places and we caught a lot of trout. He tried to teach me to fish with a fly rod but I got the line tangled in bushes and overhanging branches so often that it just wasn’t worth the trouble. So, we used bait such as salmon eggs, worms, and grasshoppers. The salmon eggs came in jars, which we bought at the sporting goods store in Granby. The worms and grasshoppers had to be harvested and I quickly learned how to do that. I was really good at it. My dad complimented me on my advanced skills and often suggested that I should go and employ those skills so that we would have ample bait on our next fishing expedition. I was proud of my abilities when it came to catching worms and grasshoppers and I understood that my role was significant.

Today, when I encountered those grasshoppers on our walk and recalled my days as a semi-professional bait harvester, it dawned on me that dad recognized an opportunity and seized it. Sending me for worms and grasshoppers with the promise of catching some trout with them was a very clever way to keep me occupied while he took care of more important business. It took me all these years to catch on!

Even though my task was pretty menial, it was certainly purposeful, a fact I never let go unrecognized after a fishing trip when we sat down to feast on our catch. We couldn’t have caught those trout without my bait. I still think those fish preferred my worms and grasshoppers to salmon eggs and fake flies. My contribution to the enterprise was extremely useful, though not very glamorous. The success of our fishing trips was the result of a joint effort. A little boy's bait helped a grown man catch fish and a family enjoy a delicious meal.

Each of us has a contribution to make to the rest of us. Some contributions are more glamorous and others go almost unnoticed. There are people who do the dirty work that others of us won't do because we are too well educated and too culturally advanced. Sadly, many people who perform vital tasks upon which we depend are rewarded with low wages, lack of adequate healthcare, and poor educational opportunities. Are there people like that who are involved in your way of life? Who digs your worms and catches your grasshoppers so you can haul in a big catch?

The Old and New Testaments are filled with admonitions that those who enjoy prestige and have more should not disrespect those who perform menial tasks and have little. Central to the message of the Bible is the truth that our lives and labors are interdependent in God's view of reality. God expects us to be mindful of how much we need each other and to continually look for ways to respect the dignity of every human being.

Daylight is fading now as I reflect on the epiphany of yesterday’s experiences brought to mind by today’s grasshoppers. This evening prayer seems a fitting close to these reflections at the end of this day.

O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live: Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep, and grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other’s toil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (from The Book of Common Prayer)

Blessings,

October 7, 2014
A Wonderful Example of World Scouting’s Messengers of Peace Initiative

Dan Ownby, who represents the Boy Scouts of America on the World Scout Committee shared this wonderful story and I wanted to pass it along. Click HERE to read Dan's story of Messengers of Peace in Nicaragua. Please pass it along as a reminder that youth can make a positive difference in our world.

To learn more about Scouting's Messengers of Peace initiative, click HERE.

January 16, 2014
Too Much Stuff

I write this on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who reminds us of our uniquely human capacities and responsibilities as stewards of creation.

Last evening, our congregation and Ashland's First Christian Church hosted a service of Blessing of the Pets, using the Collect of the Day for St. Francis from the Book of Common Prayer:

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace gladly to renounce the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We were reminded of our relationship with the other living creatures with whom we share this planet and, in particular, those for whom we are protectors.

Today, as I celebrated the Holy Eucharist, I shared with the congregation how literally Francis and his companions took Jesus instructions to his disciples when he sent them out on their mission:

"As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food" (Matthew 10:7-10).

We were reminded of our relationship with our possessions.

This second reminder from the life and witness of St. Francis comes to me at a time when Gay and I are preparing for a move to a new place of ministry. This happens every year or two for interim clergy. Each time it happens and we start packing for the move, we realize that we have accumulated too much stuff.

There was a time (1996) when all of our worldly possessions would fit in a 900 square foot apartment and one 10 x 10 x 10 foot storage unit. Then, we bought a 3200 square foot house in Galveston that had a full attic and an above ground "basement" in which to accumulate things. Even though we have reduced our inventory with each successive move, we find that we still have too much stuff.

This point was driven home when we contacted movers! I won't go into the details, but the costs for a full-service move took my breath away. I cannot imagine spending so much money to move our stuff 360 miles. There are better ways to use those funds. It appears that we have worked out a reasonable and affordable solution, but for a few moments this week, I almost wished I had taken a vow of poverty like Francis and his Friars.

Perhaps we already have enough people living in poverty and those of us who are in a position to earn may be able to help them when they find it impossible to help themselves. So, for now, I won't take that vow. But I will be more mindful of how my stuff can get in the way of life and my relationship with God, my neighbors, and my own spiritual being.

Thank you, Francis, for doing what most of us cannot bring ourselves to do and for giving us an example of a life that is not weighed down by possessions to the extent that we cannot see beyond them to all that is eternal.

Here is a beautiful hymn, composed by Sebastian Temple and based upon a prayer attributed to St. Francis.

Blessings in abundance to you,

October 4, 2012