Ekklesia Inner City Ministries: Updates - Andy Coats

 

 

 

 

" In December, 1995 the U.N. General Assembly proclaimed the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997 - 2006). They declared the theme for the decade as a whole to be: Eradicating poverty is an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind" 1

Canada was a participant in the above U.N. declaration to participate in the Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, as well as signatory to several international laws including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which for the first time enshrined the right to housing for the poor and disenfranchised homeless citizens of the world. These declarations are not meant to be just for the benefit of the struggling two-thirds world, but by Canada's participation are to be implemented and acted upon in Canadian law and policy. As we are approaching the end of the decade and the year 2006 I thought it would be appropriate to comment on our effort. As we can all plainly see, poverty has not been eradicated, even here in the GTA. What can we do as Canadians to participate? More importantly, as Christians, what has the church done? How can Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project417 contribute to the eradication of poverty and homelessness? As I have said before - Real change, not just small change.

What has the church done?

There have been rays of hope. Out-of-the-Cold, a faith community initiative, began in Toronto and has been adopted by many cities. The Salvation Army and World Vision remain inspiring examples of Christian organizations promoting social justice and making a real difference. On the government front there is a Canadian federal minister responsible for homelessness with a large fund for affordable housing of over a hundred million dollars. But this fund is mired in red tape and has many strings attached. Much of the fund sits untouched after several years! There are more emergency shelters but less affordable housing, more social programs but less funding. Actually the current Canadian model reflects our prevailing material worldview - it is all about budgets, funding, minimum wages, welfare benefit cuts, or workfare income. It is important to steward our tax dollars but not be fooled that throwing money at poverty will cure all of our ills. For example consider the German delegation's submission to U.N. Habitat:

"The German poverty alleviation strategy is based on a definition of poverty which does not just include material poverty. The ideas of participation and self-help are two of the guiding principles of poverty alleviation. Participation means that poor sections of the population share and take part in the decision-making processes that affect them at all levels. The German model provides that "besides income, other - nonmaterial - aspects are included in the definition of poverty. Welfare benefits and the other public benefit systems cannot compensate for every disadvantage suffered by individuals or households; nor is that their function."2

Similarily, Project417 programs stress inclusiveness in our strategy of people oriented development, which states: Our definition of development is - People in community engaging in a spiritual, social, physical, economic and political process of positive transformation towards a sustainable future. This development emphasizes the process of development and its essential focus on personal and institutional capacity. It also rejects the notion of experts, asserting instead that no one is outside of the process and that each person has something to contribute as well as something to learn. People oriented development seeks the active involvement of all stakeholders in every stage of the process. It affirms the
worth and contribution of every community member.
3

Each person has something to contribute

Our vision is to create a community which is accessible to all who are in need. One of our core values is that people have priority over money, structures, systems and other institutions. Often with many efforts of the church community, the legalistic objective is behavior modification. Consider the following:

"...Discussions on the issues of homelessness fail to separate the issue of homelessness from the identity of homeless people [like] the discussion of a disease. Homeless people, their lives, habits and behaviours become the major focus. It is within these people that homelessness is 'diagnosed' and acted upon. Successful strategies are seen to be those that result in changes in their lives, personalities and behaviour. That is what Cooper (1995) calls the "pathology of homelessness". He claims that despite its noble intentions, a pathological view of homelessness disempowers homeless people and limits the parameters of the debate by stripping people of their unique identity and replacing it with a negative stigma" 4

In their groundbreaking work, Urban Ministry , Manuel Ortiz and the late Harvie M. Conn, both of Westminster Theological Seminary, tell us that one of the greatest challenges to the church in the postmodern era is polarization - social justice vs. mission, evangelism vs. development. The bible tells us the two poles can not be separated (Is.58:10, Matt.5:16) and yet many churches (especially suburban congregations) have abandoned advocacy and social justice in favor of a self-serving approach to evangelism, proselytization and physical church expansion.

Matthew 5:16...your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.

Urban theologian Robert Linthicum says, "There are three distinctly different responses that any church or mission organization can make to its city. The response the church chooses to make decides whether that church will play a significant role in the poor's empowerment, will provide social services out of its largess or will simply ignore the needy around it" 5

It has always been Project417's approach to partake in the great comission by building bridges of trust through relational, "no strings attached" outreach. I was recently convicted by a passage in Urban Ministry,

"Although it has often been overstated, we must again repeat that ministry to the poor must begin with ministry among the poor...The most difficult step for many missionaries to take is to rearrange our lives. Jesus rearranged his life for us, and it is imperative that we rearrange our lives for the people he died for". 6

Since joining Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project417 in 2004, I have commuted to outreach in Toronto and Brampton. I realize now that method leaves a huge hole in any community development efforts by not being a full-time resident of the community. I need to be engaged in cooperative efforts with the street people and other marginalized residents on a daily
basis. This spring I will relocate to the inner city of Toronto to continue my work with Project417, to partake in what the bible has always taught is the ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind. - by Andy Coats - Winter 2005

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:7-9 NIV


Sources:

1. United Nations, General Assembly, 1996

2. Submission to the 5th. session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, by the government of Germany, April 1997

3. Rev. J. Elkerton, 2003, Vision Statement - Project417, Ekklesia Inner City Ministries

4. Cooper - Jarques, 1995, Shadow People: The Reality of Homelessness in the 90s, Sydney, Australia, Sydney City Mission.

5. Linthicum, 1991, Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City's Rag, Tag and Bobtail', Monrovia, CA. MARC

6 . Conn - Ortiz, 2001, Urban Ministry, The Kingdom, The City & the People of God, Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press


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