Living without so others can live

“Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.”

When Bono sings those words in the song “Crumbs from your table” it speaks louder than the volume of any U2 concert.

How fortunate so many of us are to be born into communities that are largely stable, peaceful and prosperous. How unfortunate for so many to be born into communities that are dangerous, strife-torn and characterised by hopeless poverty.

Can we really just explain it away in terms of luck?

As the global movement to overcome extreme poverty continues to gain momentum, can we ask ourselves if perhaps God is behind it?

Could this worldwide development actually be God calling God’s Creation to be about God’s purposes?

At West Epping Uniting Church this idea has taken root among the people and signs of life are springing forth.

One member of the congregation, Gavin White, was inspired to do something locally.

His idea?

Simple, really. Most of us buy bread regularly, so why not make an arrangement with a local baker to buy bread at a wholesale price and sell it among the congregation after worship each Sunday?

Monies raised at the “Daily Bread Weekly Bakery” are going to support the vital work done by Pearl Wymarra in the Mt Druitt area. Pearl is the Development and Outreach Officer of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).

Another member, Jonathan Arthur, gave a sermon entitled “What would Jesus drive?”, based on the discussion initiated by the Evangelical Environmental Network and Creation Care Magazine because of their belief that transportation is a moral issue.

The response to the call to love our neighbour as ourselves is that Jesus would want people to drive the most fuel efficient, least polluting vehicle that truly meets their needs.

Though the causes of extreme poverty are many and complicated, we can acknowledge we are all responsible for both our complicity in the systems that perpetuate extreme poverty and our choices we make in response to this global catastrophe.

Overcoming poverty has to be more than just a political conversation; it has to also be a theological conversation.

It is about who we are and who we are called to be in the light of who we understand God to be.

If we were to assert that poverty exists because of our brokenness as individuals and communities, then we can have faith that overcoming poverty is possible through the reconciling and resurrecting power of God in Christ.

For Sarah White it was while nursing her newborn son that God’s vision of a world without poverty really took hold.

Lent Event was born that night.

Conscious of how much that we buy that we really can live without, Lent Event invites participants to spend less, rather than give more.

As we clear away clutter from our lives, the real gift of the Lenten disciplines is revealed: a deepening of our journey with Christ.

What began four years ago was supposed to be a pilot program with four or five other Uniting Churches joining with West Epping.

Instead, Lent Event 2004 began with 27 congregations and a Uniting Church school. This year 497 congregations across five synods joined in on “Lent for Life”, a theme coined by a Lent Event participant from Mudgee.

“We can’t take credit for the growth of Lent Event,” says Sarah. “From the outset, this was God’s doing and we’ve discovered what can happen when you open yourselves to what God is doing. If we are willing to be changed, God will use us to help change the world.”

The Rev. Rick Dacey, West Epping’s Team Leader, says, “If we are honest, we have to admit that we can’t imagine what it would be like to live without access to basic education or medical care.

“We can’t imagine what it would be like not to have decent clothing or shelter, or to have never had access to clean, safe water to drink or nourishing food to eat.

“But for millions of people, that’s the only life they have ever known. They have never experienced living with life’s basic necessities. They can’t imagine living with what we can’t imagine living without.”

Even the Youth Group has been getting in on the act. Their leader, Melanie Crawford, came up with the idea of One Weekend Without.

“I asked the group, ‘What could we each go without for one weekend … if it could make the world of difference to someone else’s life?’ and they immediately started volunteering to give up junk food, listening to their iPods, using their phones and computers (which included MySpace and MSN) as well as television.

“Some even gave up furniture for the weekend, and they all sought sponsorship from family and friends.”

That inaugural One Weekend Without was held last September, beginning with a lock-in at the church for the first 24 hours.

“The group watched the film 7 Days about Uniting Church Volunteer in Mission Fiona Dixon-Thompson and filled the rest of the time with prayer, activities, games and very little sleep.

“The second 24 hours was spent ‘going without’ at home and culminated at a Celebration Service back at the church on the Sunday evening.

“Together the group raised over $1,000 towards the Orphans and Vulnerable Children project led by Fiona in Mwandi. By supporting a project of a partner church, the United Church of Zambia, youth group members felt able to make a distinct contribution to overcoming the effects of poverty.”

Matt Bullen, 17, gave up food and TV: “It was hard! I realise that people live without much more than that and I’m spoiled even without TV. Yet I knew in raising the money that we did we could prove that even the smallest of things can make the biggest differences. One Weekend Without made a big difference to the way I think now.”

In the Uniting Church’s Basis of Union we acknowledge that “the Church is able to live and endure through the changes of history only because its Lord comes, addresses, and deals with people in and through the news of his completed work.”

At West Epping we are discovering Jesus coming to us and all the church inviting us to participate in the mission of God. We are convinced that God is at work in the world through the movement to overcome extreme poverty and our task is to get on board.

“It’s hard for us to imagine a world where all people, even the poorest of the poor, have access to basic education and medical care, decent clothing and shelter, safe water to drink and nourishing food to eat. Yet the good news is God has already imagined it!” says Rick.

“God’s imagination is becoming reality this very day through the Uniting Church Overseas Aid projects in PNG, South India, West Timor, Zambia and Sudan. God’s imagination is becoming reality this very day throughout the people of the Uniting Church. Lives and communities are being transformed.”

And who’d not want to be involved in that?

Kent Crawford is grateful to serve alongside the people of West Epping Uniting Church