The Poverty Initiative at Union led daily chapel on Wednesday, September 12. The group grounds their commitment to economic justice in the message of the Gospel.
In this chapel, two members of the Poverty Initiative reflect on texts from Matthew. The prayers of the day are based on the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. At the invitation, "Blessed are the poor...", the congregation adds the names of those who are poor, sick, mourning, and persecuted for righteousness sake. The service ends with an altar call that is a twist on one sometimes practiced in churches that preach a "prosperity gospel." Instead of bringing dollars to the altar to be blessed with more money, the congregation on this day brings forth statistics of economic injustice as a sign of their commitment to be alt(e)red by the demands of the gospel. We go out singing the justice song, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round."
We invite you to watch the video and make a comment.
Video by Kyle Carnes and Patricia Santiago
Editing by Rich Montone
Photo by Patricia Santiago
3 comments:
My thanks to the Poverty Initiative for their helpful teaching, and to Patricia and Kyle for their great images!
An incredible blog!! A powerful message and such a fabulous way of proclaiming it. I liked the candles on the table--poverty statistics on all of the chairs so people can bring them forward for the offering. This is revolutionary! And what a resource for churches. Thank God for such creativity in proclaiming the Gospel. Jo Tolley, UTS Alumna
What a message! Would have loved to have been there. With these teaching the furture looks bright.
Granny C.M.
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