Jesus, Bombs, and Ice Cream: Re-Imagining the World Post-9/11 [cross-post]

PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN PORTAL

Jesus, Bombs, and Ice Cream: Re-Imagining the World Post-9/11

In a country that is going bankrupt as it continues to spend $250,000 a minute on war, it's clear that it is time to re-imagine things.

By Shane Claiborne, August 18, 201

I was in Baghdad in March 2003, where I lived as a Christian and as a peacemaker during the "shock-and-awe" bombing. I spent time with families, volunteered in hospitals, and learned to sing "Amazing Grace" . . . in Arabic.

There is one image of the time in Baghdad that will never leave me. As the bombs fell from the sky and smoke filled the air, one of the doctors in the hospital held a little girl whose body was riddled with missile fragments. He threw his hands in the air and said, "This violence is for a world that has lost its imagination." Then he looked square into my eyes, with tears pouring from his, and said, "Has your country lost its imagination?"

That doctor's words have stayed with me.

In a country that is going bankrupt as it continues to spend 250,000 a minute on war, it is clear that it is time to re-imagine things. That doctor's words have inspired a little something.

On the eve of the 10^th anniversary of September 11, Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, and I are teaming up. And we have rallied a bunch of other artists and storytellers to create a 90-minute variety show and multimedia presentation raising questions of violence and militarism . . . and sharing stories of reconciliation and grace.

We've been calling it "Jesus, Bombs, and Ice Cream."  

A victim of 9/11 will share about why she has insisted that more violence will not cure the epidemic of hatred in the world.

A veteran from Iraq will speak about the collision he felt as a Christian trying to follow the nonviolent-enemy-love of Jesus on the cross . . . while carrying a gun.

A welder will tie an AK-47 in a knot, while a muralist paints something beautiful on stage.

We're going to do a Skype call with Afghan youth working for peace, and hear their dreams for a world free of war and bombs and other ugly things.

We've got the world's best juggler Josh Horton doing an original anti-violence routine . . . and we've got some of the finest musicians rocking out some old freedom songs.

Ben and I are sort of like the ringmasters of the circus. He'll do this spectacular demonstration with Oreos, with each one representing 10 billion dollars of federal spending so we can see how the money stacks up with all these budget talks. I'll share about Jesus, and that grace that dulls even the sharpest sword.

We hope you can make it.

Oh, and word on the street is—ice cream will be served.

But even if you can't make it to Philly on September 10 for our little party, find some way to do something that doesn't compute with the patterns of violence. It's time to re-imagine the world.

Find a way to interrupt injustice and to build the kind of world we are proud to pass on to our kids—a world with fewer bombs and more ice cream.

I hope to go back to Iraq in a year or two, find that doctor again, and tell him: "We have not lost our imagination."

Watch Ben Cohen's invitation:

Shane Claiborne is the co-founder of The Simple Way, and is a bestselling author, prominent Christian activist, sought-after speaker and recovering sinner.

Looking to the Future on the 15th Anniversary of Welfare Reform [cross-post]

Looking to the Future on the 15th Anniversary of Welfare Reform

Establishing a Goal to End Poverty

President Clinton prepares to sign legislation in the Rose Garden of the White House Thursday, Aug. 22, 1996, overhauling America's welfare system.

SOURCE: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

By Joy Moses | August 22, 2011

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August 22 marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the welfare reform bill, making this a good time to reflect on the future of what is now known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program. One would expect that during this unprecedented time of high unemployment and hardship that TANF—one of the biggest programs serving people in poverty—would be of interest to Congress.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, the tragic state of the political debate has kept certain topics off the table and has generally limited Congress’s ability to solve any of the major problems our nation is currently facing. Meanwhile, TANF is overdue for reauthorization. Necessary hearings and debates have yet to occur, and the program is now poised for another inevitable extension without full consideration.

There has to be a better way forward. In the coming months Congress should seriously work toward defining the next era of the program. And what makes the most sense is a shift to a singular mission of ending poverty.

This shift in emphasis is a logical next step for TANF. Before the program was reformed, welfare’s primary aim was income support. Not enough attention was paid to successfully supporting families’ participation in the world of work. Welfare reform encouraged work and produced positive results for many families, but it left some serious loose ends with many mothers entering the ranks of the working poor or being poor because they totally fell of the grid.

21 percent of working single mother households today live below the poverty line of $17,285 for single parent families with two children. Nearly half make do with incomes that fall below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, suggesting that these households are struggling to get by. And there is an additional group who are poor, not working, and not on TANF due to significant barriers such as limited education, physical or mental illness, substance abuse problems, and full-time caretaker responsibilities for sick children or other family members. The number of women in this group has grown from 1 in 8 low-income single mothers at the time of welfare reform to 1 in 5.

In short, TANF did not solve the problem of poverty—nor did it expressly seek to do so. A new mission to reduce poverty should continue to encompass a focus on work along with temporary income assistance for those who need it, but there should be some reshaping of those efforts and growing service access for those not tied to the income assistance part of the program along with some other additions.

Some potential items include:

Establishing a national poverty reduction goal. The Half in Ten Campaign has urged the creation of a national poverty reduction goal. This should be accompanied by regular measurements of progress towards achieving that goal.

Better connecting families to jobs. HHS should establish a permanent interagency effort bringing together government programs such as weatherization, child care, and parks and recreation that could provide job opportunities to low-income people. The effort should address crucial concerns related to connecting the TANF population and other low-income people to these jobs, training, and wages. At the federal and state levels, HHS programs should also have a place at the table of any job creation strategy efforts.

Improving what we already do. Few people have been able to rely on the TANF as a safety net during the current economic crisis. Reforms, including reversing course on the program’s legislatively mandated funding freeze, must ensure that the program is more responsive during emergencies. TANF-erected barriers such as mandatory work requirements that don’t allow for sufficient education and training opportunities needed to access living wage employment must be altered. Work supports such as child care should reach more families and experience continued quality improvements. And efforts to spur innovation must continue despite funding challenges.

Strengthening families. Welfare’s history has largely been defined by an emphasis on women and children. This approach did not pay enough attention to fathers and other family members who play a role in reducing child poverty. Efforts have better targeted fathers in recent years, but whole family service models should become more common.

Supporting high quality social workers. Although most people in poverty just need a hand up, others could benefit from quality services from professionals such as social workers and mental health professionals. These individuals may be attached to a variety of systems including TANF, child welfare, and K-12 education. A centralized national-level effort should encourage professionals to serve low-income populations, expand and appropriately target access to their services, and support their professional development and cultural competency.

Establishing a sustainable knowledge base. A useful addition would be an office within HHS that researches poverty (including causes and differences across populations) and the effectiveness of antipoverty strategies.

Effectively accounting for those who can’t work. We must ensure the well-being of those who are temporarily or permanently unable to work. Much of this will involve ensuring access to existing services like Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which is income assistance for those with disabilities, but it may also involve new services.

It’s difficult to address the poverty reduction issue—or any issue for that matter—without answering the question of the day: How do we pay for it? The answer includes simple common sense approaches. First, we can make smarter use of existing resources, making programs run more efficiently and effectively coordinating services. Second, we can prioritize some items for immediate targeted investments, reversing the current mandate for flat funding of the program, and begin careful long-term planning for future investments.

The Center for American Progress argues that the nation can invest $70 billion more a year on crucial national priorities ranging from education to infrastructure and including poverty reduction. This will, however, require raising revenues, but simply allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans to expire would produce $69 billionmore a year.

This balancing of priorities will sit squarely within the hands of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. If they make the right decisions, there could be some stepping stones toward creating a next-generation program that specifically aims to end poverty, multiplying the number of workers who can effectively contribute to our tax base and efforts to reinvigorate American competitiveness.

Joy Moses is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Poverty and Prosperity program at American Progress.

To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:

Print: Anna Soellner (economic policy)
202.478.5322 or asoellner@americanprogress.org

Print: Anne Shoup (education policy)
202.481.7146 or ashoup@americanprogress.org

Print: Christina DiPasquale (foreign policy and security, energy)
202.481.8181 or cdipasquale@americanprogress.org

Print: Raúl Arce-Contreras (ethnic media, immigration)
202.478.5318 or rarcecontreras@americanprogress.org

Radio: Anne Shoup
202.481.7146 or ashoup@americanprogress.org

TV: Andrea Purse
202.741.6250 or apurse@americanprogress.org

Small Ohio UCC church dreams big for Mission:1
Written by Jeff Woodard
August 22, 2011

Daryl Dunn, Kathy Channell and Bob McLain of Bethany UCC in Lebanon, Ohio, unload boxes of donations for the Lebanon Community Center Food Pantry.

Still 11 weeks away from the kickoff of Mission:1, little Bethany UCC has sky-high hopes for the national church’s campaign against hunger.

The 67-member church in Lebanon, Ohio, with a huge heart has been practicing the tenets of Mission:1 for decades, says the Rev. Barb Hobe.

On Aug. 28, Hobe and friends plan to take their own Mission:1 promotion to the air.

“We’re inviting 111 people to form the number ‘1’ as a donated plane does fly-bys and takes photos,” says Hobe, who has kept her congregation on track for four years. “That's what Ron Mehl of Nexus UCC and I are organizing for our Southern Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA).”

Hobe and Mehl are prepared should fewer than 111 people show up. “We’ll have brown grocery bags of food for fillers,” says Hobe. “People can take a bag, hold it over their head or place it on the ground next to them as part of the formation of the ‘1’. "

“We’ll encourage people who don’t have the same opportunity as Bethany does to take a bag, fill it with non-perishables and give it to their local food pantry,” says Hobe.

The Mission:1 campaign centers on the UCC’s motto, “That they may all be 1,” Nov. 1-11, 2011 (11-1-11—11-11-11). During those 11 days, the UCC’s goal is to collect more than 1 million food and household items for local food banks and collect $111,111 in online donations for hunger-related causes. At the same time, it will encourage its 5,300 congregations to advocate for hunger-related causes worldwide via 11,111 letters to Congress.

According to SONKA records, Hobe says Bethany is one of the top three per-capita giving churches in the Association. For years, Bethany members have donated non-perishables to the Lebanon Community Center's Food Pantry.

“Once a month, heavy boxes of donations from local companies are unloaded, while other people fill boxes and bags with food, health and cleaning items, and paper products to give to people who qualify for services,” Hobe explains.

Half of the proceeds from a rented cell-phone tower (on land owned by the church) are given to the Food Pantry each year; the other half goes to the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which Bethany has worked with for more than 10 years.

In July, Bethany helped sponsor IHN's main fund-raiser. “When the church was invited to sponsor a back-to-school special for IHN children, $700 was given out of pocket for seven children to receive haircuts, new shoes, new outfits, backpacks and supplies to start school,” she says.

At Christmas, Bethany members donate non-perishables for baskets given to people who are referred from Lebanon Community Services. “The perishables are purchased from our Christmas Basket Fund,” says Hobe. “Last year 20 families were given several days' worth of food, complete with homemade cookies and a greeting card made by a member.”

Funding for the Christmas baskets comes from budgeting and the receipt of half of the proceeds from a Christmas raffle hosted by a local restaurant, Country Kitchen.  “For the past three years, Country Kitchen has held this raffle, and last year's check was almost $500,” says Hobe.

Hobe praised Walter Murray, the owner of Country Kitchen, for his constant compassion and open door.

“Whenever someone in need stops by the church and asks for food, I take them to Country Kitchen,” she says. “Walt donates half the price of the meals, and Bethany provides the other half, plus tip. The wholesome, homemade food is eaten after I have put up to $40 of gasoline into the person's car or truck.”

In addition, Bethany has risen to the challenge the past few years as a “5 for 5 Church,” which supports Our Church’s Wider Mission through its church budget as well as through OCWM's four special mission offerings received annually – One Great Hour of Sharing, Neighbors in Need, Strengthen the Church and the Christmas Fund.

Hobe feels strongly that Bethany embodies the spirit of Mission:1 and is a prime example of a past UCC branding campaign: “To believe is to care. To care is to do.”

“That’s what I see a lot of Mission:1 being,” she says. “We get out there and we do, because that’s what Jesus tells us to do. We’re just kind of doing Matthew 25.

“We worship an extravagant God who has poured an extravagant Spirit of generosity into our hearts. May it touch hearts to know that we are listening and responding to our still-speaking God all the time – and particularly with Mission:1.”