Blessed are You who are Poor (April 9, 2017)

In Washington, in state capitols, and in boardrooms around the country there is war raging against the poor. This war is justified, in part, by a myth that if you are rich it is because you are clever and hardworking, and if you are poor you are just not working hard enough. This year a draft Statement of Conscience on Escalating Inequalities appears before the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. It’s a rich document, full of important ideas, but today I want to focus on this one sentence “Another myth is that that the poor have only themselves to blame, which discounts systemic racism, the sources of inherited wealth, exploitation of low wage earners, and other factors.”[i]

I want to start here, because our Unitarian Universalist theology is fundamentally at odds with this myth. The very first of our principles is the “inherent worth and dignity of every person.” This is the modern way of thinking about the very old Universalist ideal of “love without exception”. And that idea arose as an alternative to the popular Calvinist notion that actually god’s love is only for a select few. Some were God’s chosen, or “elect” and the other folks were… not. Well, I am noticing that old Calvinist idea creeping out of the churches and into our legislatures and social -institutions. I encourage you to listen to the news next time with this in mind- listening for the idea that some of us are worthy and others are unworthy.

Consider how this subtle theological point impacts social policy. If I am rich, or middle class it is because I am chosen, because I am worthy, and if you are living in poverty because you are not chosen, because you are unworthy, then I am absolved of any responsibility to help you survive. In fact, if it’s your fault you are poor because of something you did or didn’t do, then maybe we should add some punitive obstacles so you learn your lesson, and straighten up and fly right. I think the drug testing for welfare recipients is a perfect example of this.

“Saying it is ‘unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction,’ Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation requiring adults applying for welfare assistance to undergo drug screening…
The aid recipients would be responsible for the cost of the screening, which they would recoup in their assistance if they qualify.”[ii]

When the law went into effect in 2011, during the four months the state tested for drug use, only 2.6% of applicants tested positive. It’s important to notice that in the whole state of Florida the illegal drug use rate is 8%, “meaning far fewer people on services are using drugs than their better-off counterparts. The drug testing cost taxpayers more money than it saved, and was ruled unconstitutional [in 2014]”.[iii]

When we separate myth from fact, we find that people on public assistance tested positive at a LOWER rate than in the population as a whole. Notice this myth playing out here in policy in 2 ways, first the assumption that people requesting public assistance were more likely to use drugs, and second the creation of punitive obstacles that we don’t impose on other folks receiving money from the government, like, for example, State governors or State senators.

But I’m a Universalist. I believe that the rich, the middle class, the poor are all chosen, are all worthy. And every one of us certain inalienable rights. I believe everyone has a right to food to eat, clean water to drink, and a safe place to sleep at night. Every person. That includes people living in poverty. That includes people struggling with drug addiction.

“But” I hear so often “what about my cousin who manages her money badly, and wastes money on soda and her smart phone and comes up short for her rent?” Yes, even her. Even people who are bad at money management have basic human rights.

“But” they say “what about that guy who shows up late for work and doesn’t have a good work ethic?” Yes, even him. People with poor work ethics have human rights.

Moreover, I know rich people who use drugs, rich people who manage their money badly (there are some famous rich people in the news right now who have declared bankruptcy multiple times.) I also know rich people who are lazy. All of us have gifts and all of us have faults. UUs are not charged with dividing people into groups of “worthy” and “unworthy.” When we talk about the inherent worth and dignity of every person, that word inherent means it is intrinsic to our nature. We don’t have to earn our worth, we don’t have to earn our dignity. We don’t have to earn basic human rights.

Let’s go back to that myth “that the poor have only themselves to blame, which discounts systemic racism, the sources of inherited wealth, exploitation of low wage earners, and other factors.”[iv] The math is not hard- we know for a fact that there is enough food on this planet to feed each and every person, but caring for each and every person is not the goal of economic system- the goal is to see who wins the game by having the most money. We know that there is a gap between the minimum wage and a living wage (A living wage is the amount it really takes in any community to live). The national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour here in the southern tier it is $9.70[v] , but in Tioga County a living wage for a single adult is $10.30[vi]. And if you’ve got just 1 child who you are parenting alone, a living wage is $24.08 per hour. That means no matter how virtuous you are, no matter how frugal you are, how hard working, there is always going to be a gap between what you make and what you need to live. You are always going to have to choose between the heating bill and the rent, groceries and a visit to the doctor.

This myth is not based on math or statistics, has its roots in a particular theology. That old Calvinist idea has given way to a new idea called the “Prosperity gospel”. This is a new theology which came to American in the 1950s. According to David W. Jones, Professor of Christian Ethics, “Simply put, this ‘prosperity gospel’ teaches that God wants believers to be physically healthy, materially wealthy, and personally happy… Teachers of the prosperity gospel encourage their followers to pray for and even demand material flourishing from God.”[vii] “Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity.”[viii] Suddenly everything makes sense to me. If you view the world through this lens it’s clear who has the most faith in god, the most favor- it’s the wealthy people. And who does not have enough faith in God? The poor. This theology is affecting social and economic policy for all of us, especially those most vulnerable. And since so many of our policy makers use their Christian Faith as a credential for public office, let’s dust off our bibles and take a hard look at this.

First, I want to tell you that many Christian preachers, even conservative preachers, agree that the prosperity gospel is a heresy. They caution that it makes wealth into a false idol. They caution that it treats God like a vending machine or ATM. Let’s look at what the bible does say. First of all, let’s look at who has God’s favor in the bible. Consider Moses; after following God’s instructions and leading the people out of Egypt Moses becomes, with the people, a wandering refugee. He is homeless for 40 years.

Or let’s look at Jesus, who was born into probably a middle class family (carpentry is a skilled trade) but renounces his privilege to live as a mendicant, a teacher traveling from place to place staying at the homes of supporters and students and eating at their tables. Consider his birth in a stable. If God showed his favor to those who pleased him by providing wealth and ease, shouldn’t Mary have had the penthouse suite it the inn? But in case there was any doubt, Jesus’s teachings are very clear about this: “Looking at his disciples, [Jesus] said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” — Luke 6:20-21 These examples, and many others, show us that economic status is not a sign of God’s favor.

The bible is also very clear about our obligation to help people living in poverty. I found literally 12 pages of quotes supporting this, throughout both Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Here’s one from Deuteronomy:

If anyone is poor among your … do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need - Deuteronomy 15:7-8

And here is one from the New Testament in the letters of John the evangelist

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Even though it’s not always visible to those of us with full refrigerators, according to a 2014 study 21% of children struggle with “food insecurity” here in Tioga county. [ix] It’s interesting that if you look at a list of food banks in this county every one of those places is faith based. Catholic charities, Open Door Mission. From the far right to the far left, the different faith traditions agree that people of faith have a duty to help our brothers and sisters in need.

At the same time, I think liberals and conservatives agree, that food pantries are just a Band-Aid on the problem. Surely everyone would rather have their own income so they could walk into any grocery store when they realize they are out of milk, instead of waiting for the 3rd Wednesday between 10-11 am when the food pantry is open. So we are called to help create a more just system where all people can meet their basic human needs and live lives of dignity and purpose. The book of proverbs has some clear statements of this:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy — Proverbs 31

And the prophets speak, quite passionately about this:

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people. — Isaiah 10

In America today, this means not only standing up to protect programs like meals on wheels, but it also means continuing to fight for a minimum wage that is a living wage. It means searching out the roots of our economic inequalities like systemic racism. And we do make a difference- our hard work to raise the minimum wage worked in the state of new York did help change the law; in 2013 it was only $7.25[x] but today we are up to $9.70, and are on a path to $15 per hour by the end of 2021.[xi]

In our proposed statement of conscience, this is where we placed our emphasis - building a just system for everyone. Whereas many faiths focus on feeding the hungry, we encourage UUs to go to the root of the problem and work there. We argue that social justice is more important than social service. But it occurs to me that both are critically important. Yes, we must work to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, but we have been fighting that battle for years – where are folks trying to support a family at a minimum wage job going to live while that battle continues? What is our responsibility to folks at the losing end of economic inequity right now? Our safety net has holes, and people are falling through it right now, today. From this perspective, UU stance on poverty feels a bit lopsided. I don’t see anything in the statement that calls us as simply as Jesus did: “I was hungry and you gave me food.”

When I worked in Palo Alto, California, folks came to our church every week asking for material help. The head of the non-profit who helped un-housed people in our community gave me her card suggesting I give her a call whenever I needed help. So when a man came in saying he had been evicted from his home and was having trouble putting together the funds to sign a lease at a new place, I called her. I told her that he said he had tried every social service agency he could think of. I was shocked when she replied with a sigh “what he’s telling you is probably true. There really is no help for folks in that area.” There was not enough money in the Minister’s discretionary fund to meet his need, nor in my pocket. I believe he went away empty handed from that meeting, both of us feeling powerless.

One of the sources of our UU tradition are “Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves” and the Judeo Christian scriptures are clear- we are called to remember the poor, not to look away. Are we looking away by climbing up into our heads and analyzing the problem, instead of opening our hearts in compassion to the hardship all around us? Does it feel better to critique the 1% than to confront the depth of real need in the world?

As Jesus said “the poor will always be with us.” As a faith that affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person, each of us is called to stay present with that difficult reality, and to offer a helping hand whenever we are able. And we are called to help in 2 ways- the first is to “to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them” (Isaiah 58:7)” That’s why this fellowship ring the bell at Minier's grocery every Christmas season to raise funds for the Big Flats Food Pantry. That’s why you are part of the group of churches that comprise Second Place East, Inc., which manages a shop for those who have been homeless, and are now moving into new housing. Second, we are called to work for change in our system of escalating inequalities. This involves having your congressperson on speed dial, and buying fair trade goods. Our statement of conscience has dozens of other suggestions for things we can do to fight for justice as individuals, as congregations and in our legislative ministries Interfaith Impact NY.

We are all responsible for people living in poverty, and for the unjust system that permits poverty to exist. When we encounter the myth that “the poor have only themselves to blame” we remember that Jesus called the poor blessed, and that we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.


Note- after preaching the sermon, members of the congregation offered 2 pieces very astute feedback. First, when we use traditional biblical language referring to people living in poverty as  "the poor" it objectifies "them", making it seem like economic status is the most important defining characteristic of a human person. It also ignores the fluidity of individuals whose economic situation changes over the course of a lifetime.
Second, by using language in this way it makes invisible the fact that folks listening to the sermon or reading it right now are living in poverty. We are poor, we are rich, we are middle class. 
Thanks for raising these important issues. The way we use language is powerful.

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[i] From <http://www.uua.org/economic/escalatinginequality/escalating-inequality>

 [ii] http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/welfare.asp

[iii] http://time.com/3117361/welfare-recipients-drug-testing/

[iv] From <http://www.uua.org/economic/escalatinginequality/escalating-inequality>

 [v] http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017-ny-min-wage-poster/increase/prweb14001525.htm

[vi] http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36107

[vii] From <https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/5-errors-of-the-prosperity-gospel>

 [viii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology

[ix] https://www.foodbankst.org/usr/FBSTTIoga_2014stats.pdf

[x] https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/new-york-minimum-wage-will-increase-annually-starting-december-31-2013

[xi] http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017-ny-min-wage-poster/increase/prweb14001525.htm

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-and-15-minimum-wage-new-york-state-workers.html

Honorable Harvest (March 26, 2017)

I’d never heard of ramps before I moved to Ithaca. They are a kind of wild leek that often grows by the side of the road, or under a tree in the woods in our part of the world. But over these past 10 years ramps have become so popular, you see recipes for them in Huffpost[i] and the New York Times. I imagine this is part of our “field to table” ethic that has become increasingly popular; we love the idea of foraged food, vegetables that grow wild in the forest. The problem is that ramps are becoming extinct. We are literally loving them out of existence. The wild plants grow very slowly, taking up to four years to flower and reproduce. Americans are used to being able to buy pretty much any fruit or vegetable we want any day of the year. We are shocked when we find an empty place in the grocery store where strawberries or apples or grapefruits usually are - even if the produce person assures us they are expecting a shipment tomorrow. It is trendy, now, to crave locally sourced seasonal foods, and this has its roots in our desire for a new, more sustainable food ethic, but unfortunately we are taking our supermarket habits out into our local ecosystems which follow other rules.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, who wrote today’s readings, is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation. She writes:

“Collectively the indigenous canon of principles and practices that govern the exchange of life for life is known as the Honorable Harvest. They are rules of sorts that govern our taking, shape our relationships with the natural world, and rein in our tendency to consume—that the world might be as rich for the seventh generation as it is for our own. [Braiding Sweetgrass p. 180]

Regardless of how we voted in the presidential election, I think everyone agrees that we are living at an important crossroads. The choices we make in the present always impact the future, but things are changing so quickly in our world that this moment we are living in right now appears to be a particularly critical time. I believe that each of us is called to work to steer this change in a positive direction, and I believe that there are at least as many ways to lend a hand as there are people. I was lucky to have the chance to study with Buddhist teacher and activist, Joanna Macy. She is one of the folks thinking about how to create a cultural shift that would take us in a sustainable direction. She describes 3 different approaches to guiding this change.[ii]

The first is “Actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings.” This includes the things we usually think of as activism – calling your senator, picking up a sign and heading to a protest. This is the kind of work our state wide UU legislative advocacy groups do, like, Interfaith Impact here in NY state.
 Like efforts to ban fracking in NY state, or to prevent the storage of Liquid Natural Gas under Lake Seneca. Macy calls these “holding actions” actions that say “this far and no farther.” If we wanted to make sure ramps would be here in the twin tiers each spring for our children and grandchildren, this kind of approach might involve working with county officials to create some kind of law against picking amps on public land until the population could return to normal. Or creating limits like we have for hunting and fishing.

To make such activism truly meaningful, and not just a gesture of political showmanship, we would have to understand something about ramps. We would have to learn how they grow, how quickly they can recover when harvested, and what conditions they need to thrive. Therefore the second path of the Great Turning is “Analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives.” Sometimes we are so busy arguing about our legal territory, we don’t really know which actions are going to lead to substantive change. I bet we can all think of an example of a piece of legislation that helped politicians with their poll numbers, but didn’t really fix the problem it was designed to solve. To make our actions truly effective, we need to study, and observe, and listen. We need to experiment with new ways of doing things, and see what works.

Project Grow is one of the ways we do that in the Athens UU congregation. While there is a strong history of family farms in the region, the younger generations have lost the knowledge and wisdom their parents and grandparents learned through years of experience about how to grow food here. Project Grow is trying to find ways to help all of us understand that food doesn’t come from a store, it comes from the earth, from seeds planted and tended. To this end we have built community gardens where anyone can come and plant and tend and then take home part of the harvest of fresh food. Project Grow is also a teaching program helping kids learn how to cook their own fresh foods, through the Mad Kitchen, helping teens get job skills by tending our gardens in the Summer YTI program and an exciting new hydroponic program coming to the Waverly High School Green House.

One of the core values of Project Grow is[iii]:

“Responsible land use includes agricultural practices that protect and nourish nutrient-rich soil, beneficial insects, local wildlife, and local flora and fauna within our valley watershed.”

So we use Permaculture techniques like Berm and Swale and the 3 sisters to embody our values in our gardens. And after a season of harvesting the abundant fruits from our gardens, we take time to put the “beds to bed” making sure we give back to the soil so that it can have something to give us when the earth wakes up in the spring.

Our values shape the work we do, so beneath our work on holding actions, and our analysis, must be a distillation of our own values, making sure those values will save humanity and the whole biosphere for 7 generations. So the third and final path is working toward a Shift in Consciousness. We must make sure that the way we think about the world is a way that will lead us in a positive direction.

Kimmerer notes that in indigenous cultures, what the earth offers us, whether that be wild strawberries, ramps or sweet grass, are considered gifts. And a gift implies gratitude and reciprocity. When we buy leeks at the grocery story, we feel the transaction has ended, once we have exchanged our money for our consumer product, but a gift “establishes a feeling bond between 2 people”[ p. 26]. When we forage ramps from a woodland park , or from the side of the road, do we understand this as a gift that establishes a bond between us and the ramps? Between us and the land? As we harvest those delicious ramps, and begin to imagine the meal we will make with them, do we also imagine what we will give back in return?

Kimmerer asks “How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again? I know we cannot all become hunter-gatherers, as the living world could not bear our weight, but even in a market economy, can we behave ‘as if’ the living world were a gift?” [p. 31] If we were truly able to make this shift of consciousness, to see ramps as a gift instead of a product, it would have ripples that would affect our actions every day. This is where we come in as a people of faith. Could we UUs help one another and the larger community shift our consciousness, so that we see every ramp, every apple, even the oil we pump into our cars as a gift? What would it mean to receive both fruits and fuel oil in gratitude and reciprocity to the earth?

I would argue that every action we take grows from our vision and values; every action has its roots in the consciousness we cultivate. If we spend time deepening our consciousness to really understand our place in the interdependent web of life, of which we are all a part, we increase the odds that our research actions and our holding actions will bear the fruits we really need, rather than reflexively protect the way things are now.

This Summer, at General Assembly, the UU world will have its first chance to vote on whether to change our first principle from “the inherent worth and dignity of every person”, to “the worth and dignity of every being”. This proposed change of wording represents an evolving of our shared consciousness.

Says Macy: “The realizations we make in the third dimension of the Great Turning save us from succumbing to either panic or paralysis. They help us resist the temptation to stick our heads in the sand, or to turn on each other, for scapegoats on whom to vent our fear and rage.” The panic and fear we have watched sweep over our country during this last presidential election cycle shows us, that there is much work to be done here. It feels to me like we are a culture whose values have come loose of their moorings. As people of faith, we must take the time to know deeply our values, and to reflect them, and to show them in all the circles in which we move, whether on Facebook or in the garden.

Macy is clear that all 3 ways of working for positive change, are important. There are an infinite number of “battles” we could fight right now. Or, to use less militaristic language, there are many seeds we could plant. Some of us will feel called to those holding actions - whether you feel called to protest the LPG storage facility that jeopardizes our fresh water and farmland around Seneca Lake, or to visit your state legislators on this year’s Advocacy day in Albany on May 1. Some of us will be called to analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives. For example, talking with your neighbors about the life cycle of ramps, teaching them as Russ Cohen, wild foods advocate, recommends, to “[pluck] leaves off of the tender plants and leaving the bulbs intact so that they can reproduce for future years.” Or you could participate in a citizen science project testing local streams for contaminants so we know what impact our human industries are having. Or perhaps you want to start with that important conscious-shifting work of re-visioning our human place in the great web of being, taking the time to weave a shared vision of our path into the future.

This year as the first green shoots of spring break free of the frozen ground, let us wonder together, what we can do to make sure that even 7 generations into the future, people will also know the gift of a full pantry and a full plate. I challenge us to do something more than just wish that it will be so. This year, as we anticipate the first ramps, the first rhubarb, the first asparagus, let us receive all that abundance as a gift - a gift that implies reciprocity and gratitude, and let us begin to imagine how we can give back in return.



Endnotes
[i] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/24/what-are-ramps_n_7128438.html
[ii] http://www.joannamacy.net/thegreatturning/three-dimensions-of-the-great-turning.html
[iii] Project grow is based on 4 values:

1. Growing a family garden instills familiarity and respect for healthy diets and local food sources.
2. Working together in a garden bonds both family and neighbors through mutual labor and reward.
3. Quality local food sources should be available to community members at reasonable cost regardless of income or social status.
4. Responsible land use includes agricultural practices that protect and nourish nutrient-rich soil, beneficial insects, local wildlife, and local flora and fauna within our valley watershed.