THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 2, 1997 TAG: 9612310013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 37 lines
Cal Thomas' Dec. 20 column took churches to task for ``rejecting one of their fundamental mandates and opportunities,'' ministering to the poor. I believe also that any church that refuses aid to the needy is neglecting very basic Christian principle. However, unlike Mr. Thomas, I've yet to run across a church that in some way has refused to aid the needy.
I am the pastor of a Lutheran congregation that is quite active in providing food assistance for our community. We have an active partnership arrangement with the Chesapeake Department of Social Services. This arrangement works extremely well because it is a partnership between the church and local government.
Yet there are other instances where government actually restricts the church from fulfilling its mission to the needy. Norfolk City Council denied the request of the Salvation Army to transform a motel into a shelter for homeless families. Rather than dealing with local residents' fears, the city denies the opportunity for someone else to minister to its neediest citizens. Now who is neglecting the poor?
First English Lutheran Church of Richmond is being sued by its neighbors because it provides a hot meal to poor people on Sunday afternoons. The city government is taking the side of people who are afraid of things they do not want to understand or be responsible for. Who is neglecting the poor?
Presently, congregations are doing what they can. Mr. Thomas says, however, that the ``response to poverty must be personal, not institutional.'' I agree. However, most individuals respond to poverty by working within the systems of governmental and charitable institutions. Only when the great institutions of church and state work cooperatively can a real difference be made in ministering to the needy.
WILLIAM W. BOLDIN, pastor
Grace Lutheran Church
Chesapeake, Dec. 20, 1996