STREET LEVEL CANADA

Check out Street Level, a network of Canadian ministries working on the streets of our cities.

www.streetlevel.ca

STREETLEVEL is a movement of compassionate doers – driven to action by their belief that poverty and homelessness can and must be solved. It is made up of dedicated leaders who, compelled by their Christian faith and through the various Canadian organizations they represent, are working cooperatively to address the systemic, sociological, economic, cultural and spiritual deficits that contribute to poverty and homelessness across the country. This national network is open to anyone who is interested in these issues, regardless of faith or current involvement in matters of justice.

SEEING GOD'S FACE IN SUFFERING

Rev. Douglas Whitelaw, M.A. is the executive director of Ark Aid Mission in London, Ontario. This post is from his paper 'Toward A Theology of Suffering'.

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Suffering comes in many forms – natural and human-made disasters, sickness, broken relationships, the  emotional pain we inflict on those closest to us because of our own brokenness. A curious feature of Western culture is we are often unconscious of our own suffering. We focus on the 'less fortunate' and indeed, poverty is the root of all kinds of evil and requires redress, particularly because the exalted standard of living we enjoy can only occur because we are exploiting others and not paying the full cost of what we enjoy. But the very things we continually thank God for, our peace, liberty and prosperity are the very things that, as we embrace them as absolute goods, shrivel our souls and limit our ability to know God. In the West we do not understand our poverty of relationships, nor do we understand how Christians elsewhere can be happy, or indeed exhibit joy when they have 'nothing.' They in turn see our idolatry and wonder why we settle for so little. Any understanding of suffering must recognize and redress all its forms.

Jean Vanier points out that those who come to truly know the developmentally challenged people he works with, or indeed any marginalized people, move through a process of understanding from fear to acceptance to realizing that in them, we see 'the face of God.' In other words, in serving them, we serve God and thus recognize our own poverty of spirit and therefore are freed to begin our own journey of redemption. So, when God describes to Adam the suffering he will encounter in living as a broken being in a broken world, God also determines to use that very suffering to bring about his redemptive, restorative purpose. This is a function of God's goodness, as Augustine points out: "Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil" (Enchiridion xi).

THE RESPONSIVE CHRISTIAN

Rev. Douglas Whitelaw, M.A. is the executive director of Ark Aid Mission in London, Ontario. This post is from his paper 'Toward A Theology of Suffering'.

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It may be possible to engage in Christian ministry in some contexts and not have to think too much about suffering. But to work with those suffering mental health issues, with the dying, with the incarcerated, with those trapped in poverty and with those for whom the dream of a middle class, Western lifestyle will forever be unattainable, one cannot escape thinking about it. Sometimes we may fall prey to the platitudes, sometimes either the goodness or power of God may be compromised, but working with the very same people that Jesus said he came for – the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed (Lk 4:18-19) calls for response. Often enough, this response is compassion and engagement but this paper is an attempt to work out a more comprehensive theology of human suffering so that we are better able to impart meaning and hope in circumstances which deny either and both.

DIALOGUE WITH YOUR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

The Ontario Election has passed, but not the issues that we need to dialogue with politicians about. Here's a good video that reminds us to keep our most vulnerable citizens on the radar.



Poverty Free Ontario from MetaMedia on Vimeo.

FAITH TO END POVERTY

I was recently commissioned by PAOC to be an Ontario representative on the steering committee of Inter-faith Social Assistance Reform Coalition. Their website is found at http://www.faithtoendpoverty.ca/


The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition was born out of the hope that together a coalition of faith groups could contribute to new public policies based upon greater justice and dignity for citizens of Ontario  marginalized by poverty.

The central message shared by religious communities throughout the world, inspires people of faith to respond to our neighbours in need.

ISARC values

• Human Dignity. The right of all people and their communities to be treated with justice, love, compassion, and respect, and their responsibility to treat others likewise.

• Mutual Responsibility. The obligation of communities to care and share with their people, ensuring that basic needs are met.

• Social Equity. The right of all people to adequate access to basic resources, to full participation in the life and decision-making of their communities.

• Economic Equity. The right of all people and communities to adequate access to the resources necessary for full lives, including access to worthwhile work, fair employment considerations, and our communal responsibilities to use such resources responsibly.

• Fiscal Fairness. The right of all people, communities, and institutions to fair fiscal treatment and the responsibility of all to contribute fairly for the well-being of all.

• Ecological Sustainability. The obligation of communities to practise responsible stewardship of the earth and its environment, so that creation might be preserved for generations to come.