Poverty Ministries
ELCA Poverty Ministries is a multi-faceted approach to the scandal of poverty in a wealthy nation. This work is grounded in God's unflagging commitment to people who are poor and oppressed, articulated by the prophets and embodied in the life of Jesus. The ELCA has expressed its commitment to those in poverty in its Constitution (4.01.c.), the social statement "Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All" and in implementing the strategic directions.
4.01.c -- Serve in response to God’s love to meet human needs, caring for the sick and the aged, advocating dignity and justice for all people, working for peace and reconciliation among the nations, and standing with the poor and powerless and committing itself to their needs.
A social statement on economic life…we commit ourselves as a church and urge members to:
- address creatively and courageously the complex causes of poverty;
- provide opportunities for dialogue, learning, and strategizing among people of different economic situations and from different regions who are harmed by global economic changes;
- give more to relieve conditions of poverty, and invest more in initiatives to reduce poverty
In the course of implementing each of these strategic directions, the churchwide organization must and will:
…confront the scandalous realities of racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, age, gender, familial, sexual, physical, personal, and class barriers that often manifest themselves in exclusion, poverty, hunger, and violence;
Poverty Ministries seeks to respond to domestic poverty by standing in solidarity with, being committed to, and accompanying people who are experiencing poverty and powerlessness.
Poverty Ministries in the Church in Society program unit offers: