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Hard working middle-class folks like us (and like most Lutherans) don’t really like to hear about issues of rampant poverty and a social system that adds to the problems. But perhaps we need to listen for a bit.
We need to know that 25 years ago, the minimum wage would ensure that a family of 3 could stay above the poverty level. Today it requires a minimum wage of $6.80 for that family to reach the poverty level. And 25% of people living in poverty make less than $9.00/hr.
We need to know that one in eight American children has no health insurance, but that for 14 cents a day from every American we could insure all the 9.2 children who now are without health coverage. (Do the math: That’s only $51/year)
We need to know that working families with children are the fastest growing group of households with “worst-case housing needs.”
We need to know that in order to afford fair-market rent for a 2 bedroom rental in many areas of the nation, a minimum wage worker would have to work 119 hours a week. That’s more than 17 hours a day, seven days a week.
And we need begin to do something about what we need to know.
A group of 20 concerned individuals (mostly Lutheran) gathered for a 3-day weekend on August 24-26 in the WV- W MD Synod to learn about what we don’t know and what we don’t like to hear. Just Neighbors is an awareness training event designed to wake us up to the growing issues of poverty in America. The weekend was filled with facts and figures, fellowship, and a startling awareness of issues that we can really do something about.
As a congregation and as a community in Appalachia we can
Join mentoring programs
Work to sign up community children for CHIPs
Support ELCA World Hunger efforts
Build community networks to provide support for families in need
Provide community awareness of these issues and encourage others to listen and to learn
Together we can make a difference. The West Virginia - Western Maryland Synod is taking steps in the direction of addressing hunger and poverty issues in our region of Appalachia.
These people are our neighbors…. And we can be Just Neighbors with them.
The “Just Neighbors” program was brought to the West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod through the efforts of the Committee for Church in Society with financial help from Community Lutheran Partners, Inc.
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