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As a "Synod at a Table with the Hungry," a discussion panel of three men deeply vested in poverty in Minnesota took questions from attendees of the assembly. Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod and coauthor of the guide, "Ending Poverty: A 20/20 Vision," pointed out that care for the poor has changed from being a wedge issue in politics to being a bridge issue. The advocacy of many is working to bring poverty to the forefront of political issues today. Rev. Mark Peters from the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota reminded listeners that breathing in is like receiving God’s grace and breathing out is should be our Christian action. As Christians we should not only be responsible but respond-able and that charity to the needy is a first aide response. “Policy makers don’t lead so much as they follow the public will,” said Mark Peterson, president of Lutheran Social Services in Minnesota. In addition to the advocacy work of LSS, he encouraged everyone to become individual advocates of the needy and make contact with legislators concerning the affect of policies on those in poverty. Speakers from the floor sought ideas on how to bring people to be willing sources of charity, how to avoid becoming overwhelmed with guilt when seeking to work with the needy and how to provide support for high school age children who may fall through the cracks. One speaker who admitted to benefiting from a food shelf herself pointed out that we must all move away from the idea of poverty being “us versus them” to poverty being an “us” issue. At the close of the discussion Rev. Peters advised listeners to start their own advocacy for the needy by first putting themselves in connection with someone who is needy. |
