A kind word for religionists

just when you thought this thread couldn't get any weirder

dys comes along and makes nice

did you shoot any perps?

yes

I know od a couple child protection workers here, darn hard work it can be.

I think this is wonderful, dys. I can only imagine how difficult this kind of work must have been.

But, I have to ask, does this mean you are converting? (That's a joke! Just a joke! )

I once worked in the "charity industry," for a national organization which i will not name.

I worked in a family shelter, and, as Dys describes, we leaned heavily on outside organizations. In fact, the organization, a self-proclaimed christian, nationally-based charitable services organization, made sure it spent as little of its own money as possible, and found as much of the cost of the family shelter as possible elsewhere. After all, the Director and the local board members made their reputation with the national organization based on how much they could send in.

One local shelter had a dicey reputation, but it housed more street people, and handed out more food and clothing than any other organization in town. That was Faith Mission, and it was the child and the life's work of an evangelical who had made himself modestly wealthy and retired to put all his time in the shelter. He prayed right hot and heavy over the lost sheep who came into his fold, and was content that they ignored him. He stressed, quite in contradiction to orthodox evangelical doctrine, the value of works over faith, and had scant time for the psalm singers who came by from time to time and got their fix of smelly street people while congratulating themselves on a few minutes spent among the publicans and sinners.

The local Baptist churches delivered a more or less hot meal (on rather stingy lines) to the Open Shelter each evening, and the tepid hotel pans of bland and overcooked food cooled further while the preacher of whichever church had the duty prayed over the sinners--obliged to endure the spiritual blessing in order to secure what benefit could be found in the comestible blessing. Apart from that, the Baptist churches in the city took in turns to provide a hot lunch and a hot dinner each day on their own premises--once again, after the beneficiaries had been duly prayed over, although one assumes they got a little better fare, a little more to eat and a hotter meal than what was delivered to the Open Shelter. Just about the wealthiest of the local black Baptist churches delivered food packages to our Family Shelter each day for distribution to the families. They were a trial to deal with, and make a great deal of the nobility of their charity--but that was something we as staff endured, and from which our clients were insulated.

At the Catholic Church on Grubb Street, the local priest, with an entirely volunteer staff, and relying entirely upon charitable donations and the Ohio Food Bank provided a hot lunch to about 4000-5000 people six days a week, some street people, but many simply the urban poor and the elderly. No questions were asked, security was maintained by street gang members who were searched before taking up their positions to assure they carried no weapons, and no praying was done or required.

Far and away, the most effective and involved organizations were Catholic Social Services and Lutheran Social Services. The former provided direct grants to our clients on our recommendations, and provided housing and work referrals, as well as a host of client services involved in securing benefits for the clients from local and state agencies. Catholic Social Services also ran a battered women's shelter for mothers with children under 12, with first rate security and a full battery of client services--i frequently referred those who called our office to Catholic or Lutheran Social Services, because i knew the donations would go directly to clients, rather than being sold as the national charity industry organizations were wont to do. Lutheran Social Services provided clothing, furniture and household furnishings to referred clients, and on recommendation, sponsored families on a congregational basis (i.e., the congregation of one of the local Lutheran Churches would sponsor a family to find them housing and employment).

Far and away, the Catholic and Lutheran Social Services were the best, and there was never a hint of religious participation required from either, and never once were clients ever questioned as to their religious affiliation.

I had respect for those two organizations, for the goofy old evangelical at Faith Mission, and for the aging, quiet priest on Grubb Street. The rest of 'em weren't worth the powder to blow 'em all to Hell, which is where i suspect the most of 'em belonged.

Set:

Your post really challenged me. It has made me examine myself -- my motives, my acts of "charity" and compassion, and (worst of all) my selfishness and pride. If you have anything else where this came from, please share it. It gives me one more way to examine what I say I believe and allow the concept of love to change my actual actions for the good. So thanks.

Well, i'd say if you really want to help folks, you've got to go out, find out what they need (which is not necessarily what they want), and see to it that they get it with as little interference in their personal lives as you are able to accomplish. My experience of nationally-based charity organizations is that they will take your donations, sell them, them pay out most of their money to staff, fund-raisers (a class of professional vampires) and advertising agencies, while delivering no more to the needy than they have to shell out. But then, my experience has made me cynical . . .

Whatever you were to decide to do, if it is genuinely a charitable good work, it's not about you nor your religious creed, it's about the genuine needs of the recipient, and how to meet them in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. Leave the pray at home or in the church, and you'll begin to approach true humility.

I take it as an article of faith that the provocation, above, was more than adequate.

thanks Set!

I give to the Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver BC Canada, as it appears the proceeds go rather directly towards food etc. for the homeless downtown. There is still the inevitable concern however, that through their help, they will moderate rational thought to the benefit of religion, but everything has it's price, and perhaps it is the lesser of two evils, in this situation.

Nods to dys and set, not that you need them, and to others who act from the same understanding.

I had a tweak of missionariness in my youth, did consider entering the Maryknoll nuns to be a doctor, and so on. All at the same time I was afraid of spiders. Still am.

I suppose I am still reacting to that. I am among - well, I think I am, in self observation, but might be dead wrong - among the lesser here in efforts to try to convince anyone of anything, much less religion.

Charity that is real, sans condescension, self agrandizement... self promotion to accrue heaven vouchers...
well, that is plain old love. And let it be.

Thanks, Set, for giving us practical advice. Your input is definitely appreciated.

Setanta,

Indeed wise advice. Thank you so much for posting that.

Dys and Set....thank you for sharing your words.

You guys got me doing some serious introspection and........Thank you both.

Leave the pray at home or in the church, and you'll begin to approach true humility.

Jesus even says to do this.

The people who are doing the praying over others....may in fact be in greater need of prayer than the one's being prayed over.

Dare I say it.....WOW!

And we have a winner. Good job, kid - help yourself to a prize from the top shelf.

Interesting thread. And for those needing a scriptural reference please note Matthew 6: 1-4. "Take good care not to practice YOUR righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise YOU will have no reward with YOUR Father who is in the heavens. 2 Hence when you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to YOU, They are having their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you."