Notes from the Director

June 2011

“Let justice roll down like waters.”

-   Amos 5:24

Last evening I had the privilege of attending a listening session for the Montana Organizing Project. According to their pamphlet, “this organization will actively work for social, economic and racial justice, promoting the dignity and empowerment of people with low and middle-incomes whose voices have not been heard in their communities.” The meeting was definitely a call for action on behalf of the poor. The faith community was well represented at the meeting. According to one pastor I know, if you took out all references to helping the poor in the Bible, “You wouldn’t have much Bible left.” Single issues like abortion and homosexuality are major topics for religious groups, yet these are barely mentioned in the Bible.  Whatever happened to the war on poverty?

When I look at our guests at Family Promise of Gallatin Valley (all of whom live in poverty), each one has a different story. One mom was in a serious car crash and is struggling with its aftermath. Another mom was a teenage mother and is still trying to land on her feet. One couple came from a multi-generational history of poverty and neglect. Another mom is dealing with the demands of special needs children and the effects on her employment situation. All could use more education, more positive family support, more opportunities to succeed.

But the issue is more complex than that. Poverty is not simply an individual problem: “fix the individual, fix the problem”. Certainly that is part of what needs to happen, but it is not the whole picture. Why is it that a child of affluent parents is six times more likely to have an undergraduate degree than a child of poor parents? Why are the odds three to one that a pregnant girl is poor? According to Rabbi Heschel, “Some are guilty, but all are responsible.” Poverty is as much a communal failure, as an individual failure.

That’s why we all need to work together for economic justice. People who work need to be paid a living wage and have access to health coverage. Housing needs to be decent and affordable. Educational opportunity should be for everyone, not just those who can afford it. Only by helping individuals and fighting for systemic change, can justice become a reality for those who are poor.  

Perhaps the next step is to educate the public about poverty and spur them on to greater service and advocacy for our neighbors in need. The national Family Promise office has a 9 week course called “Just Neighbors” that does just that. Let’s work together and “let justice roll down like waters.”

Gloria Edwards

Executive Director