Faith and Economic Justice

How does your faith impact the way you understand economic issues? How does your faith community assist those who are impacted by the current recession?

"I really like that UPC helps with the Interfaith Hospitality Network. I volunteered to stay the night recently and could tell how much it helped those there and how grateful they are."

-Catherine Faig, Freshman


"My faith encourages a healthy level of humility (where confidence and ability are not crippled in some sort of sacrifice) which makes it easier to understand the impoverished state of others, fostering a genuine compassion for them in their situation. At the same time, I encounter a dilemma between perceived complexity and simplicity in addressing the matter of how to "best" act on that compassion.

This dilemma involves schools of thought along the lines of "it's not about calculating a theoretical perfect response [to poverty, someone else's], but instead, it's about them. . ." thinking about them, "teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. ." realizing I don't have that kind of time and "I matter, too. . ." deciding to just give out the hand-out but having second thoughts because "How is that actually helping the situation. . . treating the symptom, not working to cure the disease. . ." and coming back full-circle to "it's not about me, it's about them. . ." and right now they are going hungry, unsheltered, perhaps misunderstood. . "

-Patrick Garvin, Senior


"Jesus said, 'whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine [the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, the prisoners], you did for me.' I believe this is a charge to anyone who calls himself a follower of Jesus to take action and go to the aid of the misfortunate. Such misfortunes are even more numerous in our current economic crisis, as should our personal efforts to combat poverty."

-Lauron Fischer, Sophomore