alabama possible from the alabama poverty project

Upcoming Seminar in Birmingham Aims to Help Faith Communities Battle Poverty

Brett Buckner

The Anniston Star

January 24, 2009

Nowhere is immune.

It’s the painful reality that lurks around every corner, on every street and in every city around the globe. It’s in the hollow eyes of those standing in line at the neighborhood soup kitchen. It’s in the silence shared between strangers huddling together for warmth in abandoned buildings. It’s in the loneliness of the sick and the elderly who sit in hospital beds waiting for a friendly knock at the door.

And it’s in the disappointment of children on Christmas morning, wondering why Santa Claus forgot where they lived.

Poverty — in its many immeasurable manifestations — is the universal plague of society and is as constant and unwavering as the armies of people who fight it every day. But perhaps more than any other unified group, it is the responsibility of the faith community, Christian brothers and sisters, to answer that biblical mandate laid out by Jesus Christ who preached the good news to the poor and told parables that encouraged generosity toward them.

“…When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:13).

But buried in the trenches, staring into those pleading eyes, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in need. Regaining perspective and shar- ing ideas to stem the tide of poverty is the subject of an upcoming free symposium by the New Baptist Covenant Regional Meeting.

Sponsored by the Alabama Poverty Project and the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Jan. 31 meeting in Birmingham’s Civil Rights District will feature 13 education programs presented by some of the state’s most respected scholars, advocates and religious leaders.

Among them will be Malcolm Marler, longtime chaplain at University of Alabama at Birmingham’s 1917 HIV clinic, who will lead a presentation titled “Being the Hands and Feet of Christ: Ministry to the Terminally Ill Who Struggle with Poverty. The idea, Marler says, is to invite discussion.

“We’re not coming with all the answers … not even close,” he says. “Because some of the best ideas come when people just get together and talk.”

And that’s how such programs are successful — by uniting people with like-minded goals allowing them the opportunity to hear from each other.

“We in the faith community can make a difference, especially by working together,” Marler says. “Rather than one person and one congregation, we can come together to turn hard jobs into small jobs. And by working together, we meet new people who might pray differently or go to church longer, but we’re all part of the same community.

“The more we get to know one another across that artificial divide, the more we’ll see that we’re all part of the human family.”

Martha Vandervoort, executive director for Calhoun County’s Interfaith Ministries, plans to be among the more than 1,200 people organizers estimate will attend next Saturday’s symposium. She is particularly interested in the program titled “How God’s People Work Economic Justice,” lead by Steven Black, director of University of Alabama’s Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility.

“It’s the sharing of ideas and experience,” Vandervoort says, “that’s where change comes from and that’s what I’m looking forward to hearing.”

Vandervoort will likely arrive with some ideas of her own, ideas born out of re- cent successes. During Interfaith’s annual Christmas Clearinghouse volunteers met down at the Salvation Army where they individually and personally screened more than 1,000 families. And in those exchanges, perceptions of what it means to be poor were changed during the 15-20 minute conversations. In the process, Vandervoort says the program, which aims assistance to families and individuals in need during the holiday season, raised more money than ever in its history.

“If we’re really going to be ministering to the poor, we must know them,” Vandervoort says. “Interfaith is about more than just going between the faiths. It’s about going between those who have and those who do not … bridging that gap.”

There is no shortage of local people in need of help.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 18,000 people in Calhoun County living below the poverty line, which is roughly 17 percent of the entire population.

“I don’t think we’ll ever completely eliminate poverty,” Vandervoort says. “Like Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be among you.’ And we can’t help everybody. But to make people more aware and to get them involved, that is our entire mission.”

But awareness doesn’t necessarily end at the specific city, county or even nation- al borders. Poverty is a global problem, and it’s important that people of faith be able to see beyond their own issues, says Elaine VanCleave, who has been a member of the worldwide advocacy group Bread for the World for 12 years.

“Just coming to this conference shows a commitment,” says VanCleave, who will present an advocacy program addressing world hunger. “For most Christians, it’s clear that neighbors are no longer the guy across the street or even across town. It’s the people who are suffering around the world.”

“As we become a global community, our neighbors are not that far away.”

–Morning session begins at 9 a.m., followed by special interest sessions beginning at 1 p.m.

–Saturday, Jan. 31.

–Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th St. North.

–Admission is free, but pre-registration is suggested.

–For more information, visit www.se.newbaptistcovenant.org

Brett Buckner is features and entertainment writer for The Anniston Star.