ST. LOUIS (ELCA) One in five children in the United States live in poverty, Paul Simon, former U.S. senator, Ill., told 4,000 participants of the Fourth Triennial Convention of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA} July 9. Simon challenged listeners to act for justice on behalf of children. He referred to the Bible story of the "good Samaritan," who helped a stranger in need, instead of avoiding involvement.
The convention is meeting here July 8-11 at the America's Center. The organization's three-year theme, "Live God's Justice," is unveiled at the convention amid Bible study, keynote addresses, workshops, business sessions and elections.
Although the United States is a great economic and military power, it is "the industrial nation that, by far, has the highest percentage of its children living in poverty," said Simon.
Children living in poverty may grow into adults who end up in prison, because 80 percent of crimes are associated with poverty, said Simon. The United States has 618 per 100,000 people in prison, more than any other country, he said.
In Illinois in the past 20 years, there has been a 180 percent increase in the amount of money spent on education and an 800 percent increase in the amount spent on prisons, said Simon.
"Maybe if we spent more money on education we wouldn't have to spend so much money on prisons," he said.
Simon said it's important to pay attention to other places in the world. More than two-thirds of the world's population drink unsafe water and 9,500 children die each day from drinking polluted water, he said. That is "630 times" the number of children lost in the school shootings in Littleton, Colo., and "we hardly pay attention. We walk by on the other side," said Simon.
Simon told the women of his trip to African refugee camp near Mozambique. He said he remembered a ten-year-old boy with a badly infected eye that was not being treated and a camp director who said, "We can only take care of emergencies."
Simon said he wondered how the future of that boy ties in with the future of his own grandchildren.
"I know instinctively that it does. Humanity is not divisible," he said. Simon explained that all people are connected, what happens to one person can affect everyone.
Simon called on churches to live out their faith through actions. "I'm not opposed to ushers, I'm not opposed to choirs, I'm not opposed to benches that are dust free," he said. However, "there ought to be more substance than that as we live out our faith."
"We have to reach out," he said. Churches must ask, "What are we doing to reach out to people in need? Humanity is not divisible. We have to live justice. We have to strive to do better and I am pleased that you are," said Simon.
Simon served 10 years on the U.S. House of Representatives and 12 years in the U.S. Senate. He played a major role in drafting and implementing legislation on issues that affect children. Simon teaches political science and journalism at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has written 17 books on various topics, including his autobiography.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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