I wrote and shared the following at the annual “Walk of the Cross” on April 22, 2011 in Beaverton, Oregon – John M. Kingery
“Tell the rich in this present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth, but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our use. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and will to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.” 1 Timothy 6:17 – 19
From the cross Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
I was recently unemployed for 13-months, or more accurately, my family was unemployed. My wife’s social security disability check was really our only income and that went for the mortgage. Eventually, we did receive food assistance and that helped. How many others in our congregations and community have or are still experiencing the same strain?
I became depressed, confused and angry and my body felt the effects of accumulated stress. Going to the Capital Center, I saw the same faces and their anxiety. The mantra was ‘give us your 30 second elevator speech, tells what you are looking for and network, network’! That group has nearly doubled its membership to over 1100 individuals.
I now work for an organization assisting homeless youth and the poor in downtown Portland. One of my co-workers remarked recently, “I don’t need much, just enough to live.” To me the ‘enough’ is a just wage, benefits and time to spend with family and friends to be what God intended us to be – human beings.
At times, I believe our society suffers from CPS.
- C stands for the corporate, commercial and consuming society we have perfected. We still yearn for community.
- P stands for our idolatry of process and profit. We forget we are to put people first.
- S stands for the stock market we watch. It should stand for the solidarity we have with all.
Forgive us for separating ethics, morals and justice from our business dealings. Forgive us for trying to serve God and mammon. May we live more simply that the rest of the world may simply live. Give us a vision of the Kingdom of God where every one will sit under one’s own vine and under one’s own fig tree. (Micah 4:4)
We concluded with the following prayers.
We pray that the value and dignity of work is recognized and the rights of all workers are respected everywhere.
O God, hear our prayer.
We pray for the approximately 19,372 Washington County unemployed residents and their families. Of which 8,000 will lose their unemployment benefits on or before June 2011 and still be unemployed. May they soon find adequate employment.
O God, hear our prayer.
We commit ourselves to use our economic resources to reflect your values of justice.
O Lord, we want to walk in your ways.