“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4)
Last week, I had the privilege of praying at the start of the Monday session of the Arizona House of Representatives. Here was my prayer: “Lord God, I come before you today and pray for Your wisdom and guidance for these members of the Arizona House of Representatives. May the decisions they make on behalf of the people of Arizona reflect your justice and righteousness. In praying for these Representatives, I echo the words of Psalm 72 as King David of ancient Israel prayed for his own son, Solomon, to be a godly leader: ‘Endow these [leaders] with your justice, O God… May they defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy... May they deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. May they take pity on the weak and the needy and save them from death.’ And, I also pray from the prophetic word of Isaiah 58… ‘If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.’ … I pray all of this in the name that is above every name, Amen.” Afterwards, Representative Edward Ableser gave each of his colleagues a page of justice scriptures I had brought.
This week on Wednesday, the Arizona House and Senate sent the Governor a budget with deep cuts to education, healthcare, and human services. In my e-mail and blog entry at the end of May, I discussed my concerns about these proposed cuts and their negative impact on children, the poor, and the vulnerable. (See also the challenging commentary by Laurie Roberts in the Arizona Republic from June 26 at http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/56351; we who are pro-life must take her challenge seriously, to protect the lives of children both unborn and born, and to be concerned for the well being of their families.) Governor Brewer is using her line-item veto on this budget and calling the Legislature back into a special session. We must continue in our prayers for these leaders during this critical time.
Of course, our prayers should be for “all those in authority” – our President and Congressional Leaders, our Governor and Legislative Leaders, for Administrators who must carry out legislative mandates, and for Judges at every level of government who will judge the constitutionality of these mandates. Whether or not we see immediate and tangible results, we are called to prayer. (Remember the context of Paul’s exhortation to his disciple Timothy to pray for “kings and all those in authority” – the supreme king or Caesar of the Roman Empire was the truly wicked tyrant Nero, so we have no biblical reasons not to pray for our leaders, whether or not we agree with or support their positions.)
Now, besides prayer, we are also called to prepare -- we must prepare for even greater needs for food, clothing, shelter, and other care for “the least of these” (please read all of Matthew 25:31-46). In weeks to come, I will be sharing great examples of how the Christian community is responding and serving, even as we make “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving … for everyone.”
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
State of Woe
Woe: Interjection used to express grief, regret, or distress (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)
The prophet Isaiah preached these words to the rulers of his state nearly 2,800 years ago. They are a compelling warning today to the governmental leaders of Arizona as they respond to the state’s budget crisis. For their response has implications that are not only political and economic, but also spiritual and moral. How we educate our young and care for our most vulnerable cannot be valued simply in financial terms. Indeed, we as a people are valued by how we respond to these most essential responsibilities.
State funding for K-12 public education in Arizona was 49th lowest in the nation, ahead of only Utah -- before the latest massive funding cuts. Legislative leaders have proposed $800 million in further reductions to this already underfunded system. Layoffs of teachers, nurses, social workers, and other critical personnel will only weaken our schools, hurt our children and youth, and make Arizona less desirable for residents and businesses alike.
The same concern holds true for higher education in Arizona, which directly impacts the future of our young people, the vibrancy of our intellectual and cultural life, and the competitiveness of our economy. Our public universities have been funded at half the level of support of peer state universities, and are facing additional cutbacks. Research is a critical component to the mission of our universities, complementing teaching, bringing in outside funding, and supporting high-technology companies in our state.
The plight of people struggling with unemployment, homelessness, illness, abuse, and disability was difficult enough without their losing the most basic assistance, as is threatened with the current legislative budget cuts proposed for health and human services:
The state’s failure to adequately fund medical care for the working poor and unemployed will only shift costs onto doctors and hospitals, who will in turn shift these costs to the rest of us, making healthcare even more unaffordable and inaccessible. The consequences of failing to adequately fund mental health care are even more troubling. The State of Arizona continues to fall far short in funding comprehensive treatment for all people with serious mental illness as required by the Arnold vs. Sarn lawsuit settlement – from two decades ago.
Homeless shelters around the state are closing or scaling back at the same time that homelessness is increasing dramatically, with new populations of families and elderly who have just lost their housing. For example, the overflow shelter at 12th Avenue and Madison in Phoenix, just blocks from the state capitol, is an old warehouse full of 300 men sleeping head to toe each night. State budget cuts threatened to close it. Where would these men go otherwise? To the grounds of the capitol itself?
Domestic violence shelters will be operating at 50% of capacity due to loss of staffing. That’s right, the beds are available, but women and children will be on the streets -- or continue to be beaten and mistreated at the hands of their abusers. Eleven domestic shelters statewide may close – shelters which served 9,000 women and children last year.
Because of staff layoffs, Child Protective Services is no longer able to follow up on all reports of abuse or neglect. How many children will die because warnings were missed? This is an unconscionable, but inevitable, result of budget cuts. Further, elimination of in-home services to at-risk families at $4,000 per year per family will lead to many more children being placed in institutionalized foster care at $18,000 annually per child.
Similarly, Adult Protective Services cannot follow up on all reports of abuse or neglect of elderly and disabled adults. And, for thousands of seniors, loss of independent living support and in-home care at $900 per month will result in many entering nursing facilities at five times the cost.
Scores of programs which focus on proactive, preventive intervention will simply cease -- and so we will pay for cures by the pound rather than prevention by the ounce. So, among other dysfunctions in Arizona, expect the prison population to continue to rise at a cost to you and me of $27,000 per prisoner per year. And, when we release these prisoners with $50 in their pocket and no job or place to live – expect to see them right back into the system.
How to avoid these woes? Protecting Arizona’s Families Coalition (www.pafcoalition.org) and the Arizona Budget Coalition (www.arizonabudgetcoalition.org) have outlined ways in which the budget crisis can be solved in the near term without the extreme cutbacks illustrated above. So, too, have university economists of the Fiscal Alternative Choices Team (FACT) in their report to Arizona legislative leaders (see http://www.arizonaguardian.com/az/images/stories/documents/fact.pdf).
Longer term, we need to thoroughly reform our tax system, which is full of loopholes for special interests and which over relies on regressive sales taxes. We can make smarter changes to state programs, adopt better practices, and collaboratively engage in partnerships among government, business, education, faith, philanthropic, nonprofit, and other community organizations to better serve those in need in Arizona. Otherwise, we will live in a state of woe.
Woe to political leaders who are indifferent to the vulnerable among us.
Woe to the rich and powerful who abuse and neglect the poor and weak.
Woe to all of us if we fail to help one another.
Woe: Interjection used to express grief, regret, or distress (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)
The prophet Isaiah preached these words to the rulers of his state nearly 2,800 years ago. They are a compelling warning today to the governmental leaders of Arizona as they respond to the state’s budget crisis. For their response has implications that are not only political and economic, but also spiritual and moral. How we educate our young and care for our most vulnerable cannot be valued simply in financial terms. Indeed, we as a people are valued by how we respond to these most essential responsibilities.
State funding for K-12 public education in Arizona was 49th lowest in the nation, ahead of only Utah -- before the latest massive funding cuts. Legislative leaders have proposed $800 million in further reductions to this already underfunded system. Layoffs of teachers, nurses, social workers, and other critical personnel will only weaken our schools, hurt our children and youth, and make Arizona less desirable for residents and businesses alike.
The same concern holds true for higher education in Arizona, which directly impacts the future of our young people, the vibrancy of our intellectual and cultural life, and the competitiveness of our economy. Our public universities have been funded at half the level of support of peer state universities, and are facing additional cutbacks. Research is a critical component to the mission of our universities, complementing teaching, bringing in outside funding, and supporting high-technology companies in our state.
The plight of people struggling with unemployment, homelessness, illness, abuse, and disability was difficult enough without their losing the most basic assistance, as is threatened with the current legislative budget cuts proposed for health and human services:
The state’s failure to adequately fund medical care for the working poor and unemployed will only shift costs onto doctors and hospitals, who will in turn shift these costs to the rest of us, making healthcare even more unaffordable and inaccessible. The consequences of failing to adequately fund mental health care are even more troubling. The State of Arizona continues to fall far short in funding comprehensive treatment for all people with serious mental illness as required by the Arnold vs. Sarn lawsuit settlement – from two decades ago.
Homeless shelters around the state are closing or scaling back at the same time that homelessness is increasing dramatically, with new populations of families and elderly who have just lost their housing. For example, the overflow shelter at 12th Avenue and Madison in Phoenix, just blocks from the state capitol, is an old warehouse full of 300 men sleeping head to toe each night. State budget cuts threatened to close it. Where would these men go otherwise? To the grounds of the capitol itself?
Domestic violence shelters will be operating at 50% of capacity due to loss of staffing. That’s right, the beds are available, but women and children will be on the streets -- or continue to be beaten and mistreated at the hands of their abusers. Eleven domestic shelters statewide may close – shelters which served 9,000 women and children last year.
Because of staff layoffs, Child Protective Services is no longer able to follow up on all reports of abuse or neglect. How many children will die because warnings were missed? This is an unconscionable, but inevitable, result of budget cuts. Further, elimination of in-home services to at-risk families at $4,000 per year per family will lead to many more children being placed in institutionalized foster care at $18,000 annually per child.
Similarly, Adult Protective Services cannot follow up on all reports of abuse or neglect of elderly and disabled adults. And, for thousands of seniors, loss of independent living support and in-home care at $900 per month will result in many entering nursing facilities at five times the cost.
Scores of programs which focus on proactive, preventive intervention will simply cease -- and so we will pay for cures by the pound rather than prevention by the ounce. So, among other dysfunctions in Arizona, expect the prison population to continue to rise at a cost to you and me of $27,000 per prisoner per year. And, when we release these prisoners with $50 in their pocket and no job or place to live – expect to see them right back into the system.
How to avoid these woes? Protecting Arizona’s Families Coalition (www.pafcoalition.org) and the Arizona Budget Coalition (www.arizonabudgetcoalition.org) have outlined ways in which the budget crisis can be solved in the near term without the extreme cutbacks illustrated above. So, too, have university economists of the Fiscal Alternative Choices Team (FACT) in their report to Arizona legislative leaders (see http://www.arizonaguardian.com/az/images/stories/documents/fact.pdf).
Longer term, we need to thoroughly reform our tax system, which is full of loopholes for special interests and which over relies on regressive sales taxes. We can make smarter changes to state programs, adopt better practices, and collaboratively engage in partnerships among government, business, education, faith, philanthropic, nonprofit, and other community organizations to better serve those in need in Arizona. Otherwise, we will live in a state of woe.
Woe to political leaders who are indifferent to the vulnerable among us.
Woe to the rich and powerful who abuse and neglect the poor and weak.
Woe to all of us if we fail to help one another.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Silence of the Shepherds
“Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9
Over the past several months, state funding for education, healthcare and human services in Arizona has been cut back sharply, with even more severe cuts proposed for next year’s budget. School nurses, social workers, and classroom teachers are losing their jobs. Homeless and domestic violence shelters are closing or scaling back. Child Protective Services no longer has the staff to follow up on every report of child abuse or neglect. Assistance for the poor and the vulnerable has been slashed, putting at risk thousands of people already living on the margins. Key legislative leaders are seeking to destroy the Department of Economic Security, the state's safety net.
In the midst of this crisis, I’ve been struck by the silence. The silence of leaders of the faith community. The silence of the shepherds. Of course, there are some who are not silent. A few spoke out at a Valley Interfaith Project meeting two weeks ago at Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe. A few others spoke at a rally last week at the state capitol on behalf of foster care children and families in Arizona. Many more faith leaders should have been at these and similar gatherings to “defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Where are they? Who will preach the cause of justice and righteousness not only in the pulpit, but also in the public square?
I have been convicted by my own silence. To date, I have said little. I expect to pay a price for speaking out now. How high, I do not know. But, there are moral and spiritual issues at stake as governmental leaders deliberate the fate of the poor and vulnerable in Arizona. In my church’s prayer room last month, the Lord spoke to me from Jeremiah: “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them” (Jeremiah 1:17). So I will stand up and speak out. I respect and honor those who have done so before me. And I welcome others to join us in common cause to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute.”
Over the past several months, state funding for education, healthcare and human services in Arizona has been cut back sharply, with even more severe cuts proposed for next year’s budget. School nurses, social workers, and classroom teachers are losing their jobs. Homeless and domestic violence shelters are closing or scaling back. Child Protective Services no longer has the staff to follow up on every report of child abuse or neglect. Assistance for the poor and the vulnerable has been slashed, putting at risk thousands of people already living on the margins. Key legislative leaders are seeking to destroy the Department of Economic Security, the state's safety net.
In the midst of this crisis, I’ve been struck by the silence. The silence of leaders of the faith community. The silence of the shepherds. Of course, there are some who are not silent. A few spoke out at a Valley Interfaith Project meeting two weeks ago at Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe. A few others spoke at a rally last week at the state capitol on behalf of foster care children and families in Arizona. Many more faith leaders should have been at these and similar gatherings to “defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Where are they? Who will preach the cause of justice and righteousness not only in the pulpit, but also in the public square?
I have been convicted by my own silence. To date, I have said little. I expect to pay a price for speaking out now. How high, I do not know. But, there are moral and spiritual issues at stake as governmental leaders deliberate the fate of the poor and vulnerable in Arizona. In my church’s prayer room last month, the Lord spoke to me from Jeremiah: “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them” (Jeremiah 1:17). So I will stand up and speak out. I respect and honor those who have done so before me. And I welcome others to join us in common cause to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute.”
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