As important as charitable attempts to address symptoms of poverty are, charity is not enough.
Scripture tells us that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and throughout the Bible we are reminded to act justly and to care for those on the margins (Isaiah 58:5-10, Mark 10:21). The United Church of Canada believes that as we lead lives of compassion and justice, “the poor must have priority… over the wants of the rich.” (“The Church and the Economic Crisis (1984)” see 1c.)
Globally, more than one billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 a day. In Canada 4.9 million live in poverty (low-income measure) – with greater rates among people who are Indigenous, racialized, recent immigrants, impacted by disabilities or living in a female-led lone-parent family.
Charitable attempts address symptoms of poverty with soup kitchens, food banks, etc. As important as this work is – charity is not enough. A metaphor commonly used to explain the difference between charity and justice is that charity is helping people who are drowning in the river (certainly needed), while justice is going upstream to see how they’re ending up in the river and working to stop it from happening. Our work falls short of justice when we don’t work to eliminate the structural causes of poverty, or if we lack real connection with those who have lived experience.
The United Church works to address issues of poverty through a wide variety of initiatives at the local and regional level. We also work in partnership with organizations in Canada and around the world.
United Church resources:
- Bread not Stones: a United Church Women's project; a resource on child poverty [PDF] in Canada with tools to enable communities of faith to work with government leaders toward eradicating child poverty
- Poverty in Canada webinar series:
- Part I: Four Voices – stories from people with lived experience of poverty.
- Part II: A Focus on Charity and Justice , March 14, 2016 – a look at what anti-poverty work looks like from both a focus on charity and a focus on justice.
Our Canadian and Global Partners:
- Canada Without Poverty: fights poverty using a human rights approach
- Citizens for Public Justice: a faith-based organization addressing poverty
- Dignity for All Campaign: for a poverty-free Canada.
- ACT Alliance: advocacy, development, and humanitarian relief by over 130 churches working together
- ASTHA Sansthan: works to empower the impoverished in India
How might you, or your faith community, deepen your involvement in poverty eradication?
- Sign up for the Dignity For All Campaign
- Use Bread Not Stones [PDF] in Canada 4.9 million live in poverty for advocacy with your MPs
- Share your ideas…