Compassion, Peace, and Justice and the Faithful Budget Conversation

I attended the Compassion, Peace, and Justice Day last Friday, March 23, at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. It was sponsored by the Office of Public Witness, the advocacy office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Washington, DC. The purpose of the event was to bring together Presbyterians on the eve of Ecumenical Advocacy Days, which Bread for the World cosponsored, to explore issues of particular importance to Presbyterians. I attended a workshop on food security/food sovereignty and one introducing a paper called, “World of Hurt, Word of Life: Communion in the Work of Economic Reconstruction,” which is being presented to the 2012 General Assembly by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.

The paper explores the issues and causes of the global economic crisis and proposes a response by the church that is grounded in our theological tradition. There was one particular section of the presentation that struck me as I was sitting and listening. And this section noted values in our culture that exacerbate the crisis and offers responses, alternatives values that come from our Christian faith that we can lift up in our advocacy for the circle of protection. So I thought I’d share them here.

We are an ownership society.

                                We are a stewardship society!

We are a society of individuals.

                                We are a covenant community!

Inequality happens.

                                We value the common good!

Consumerism abounds.

                                Sustainability is responsible!

The market is infallible.

                                God is sovereign!

Government is fallible.

                                Government is a gift from God!

Nancy Neal is associate for deonomination women's organizational relations at Bread for the World.