A news report I'd like to read:
The clergy of Hawaii's Council of Churches agree to a shelter-food project for their local community members before trying to help those in other countries.
To quote a council spokesperson:
It doesn't speak well of our teachings, our ministries, if we have community members who are homeless and hungry, if we can't/don't take care of our own? It doesn't make sense for us to proselytize internationally, touting the benefits of our faiths, if such beliefs don't generate effective compassion for our own. Sending money and care packages to others when some of our neighbors aren't doing well reveals that our priorities have gone astray. Our reasons for our proselytizing aid programs are so solidly entrenched that we've shut down any possibility of communication with non-church members about this subject—a non Christian walks away from such a discussion invalidated.
The reasons we give for our international aid programs, for not taking care of our own community members first, are inconsistent with accepted medical triage priorities.
For example:
Flight stewards advise to affix your own oxygen mask before your child's. The premise is that you can't help your child if you're dead; if truth be told our priorities have been about enrolling others in our beliefs rather than taking care of our own communities first.
Over the years we have set it up for our state and local governments to spend tax money for community services our churches could be providing, instead we proselytize, sending money to others in other countries. In other words, because we don't use our leadership-communication skills to handle our local poverty issues we force the government to hand out food stamps and rent subsidies to our very own community members. Worse, a significant percentage of the funds (tithings) for our international charities and missionary endeavors are donated by local residents who themselves
receive welfare. In a covert money-laundering way we clergy con (as in convince) church members to give us money that was given to them for their own food and rent; it could be said that the gov't is paying for a portion of clergy salaries and church projects.
At best we should decline tithings from church members who are receiving welfare of any kind.
We clergy are now having meetings to set a goal
* to ensure that no community member needs food or shelter; a true measure of the effectiveness of our faiths will be when we can say we have met such a goal. Given the inefficient use of our structures (our buildings are used about 100 hours of a 168 hour week) some clergy are suggesting that all churches serve meals and provide shelter every evening.
More to come: Feel free to contribute your thoughts to this Potential Rumor.
Comprehensive Report on Homeless: 2013 Utah: There are about
500-600 homeless people each night in Utah, the home of the Mormon faith, the church that collects millions and millions (about 10% of each member's income) to finance their aid and missionary programs in other countries. Virtually none of Utah's homeless are Mormons, in other words, Mormons do know how to care for their "own."
* Goal: No reports of homeless people for 30-days in a row.
Last edited 9/25/23[/size]
