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Showing posts from July, 2009

Churches and Social Justice - Introduction

During worship one recent Sunday, the pastor encouraged the worshipers to take a few moments following the service to step into the fellowship hall and sign a petition on health care reform to be forwarded to representatives and senators in Washington. This request followed some remarks made by the pastor on the inequalities in health care services and access in our state and the growing number of uninsured individuals. In listening to this part of the worship, I noted three things rather quickly that were seemingly at odds with each other. First, there was clearly an expression of interest in the well-being of others, a concern that is not unbiblical or non-Christian by any means. Second, this articulation of critique and concern for a socioeconomic issue of inequality and the accompanying exhortation to affix a signature were political acts that occurred in the context of Christian worship (as opposed to a business meeting or an informal gathering, or even a newsletter). But thi