Make Poverty History
**Listen to an interview with Bishop Hanson on RFP-USA's podcast.**
By The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Sometimes I pause. Three seconds pass. A little girl has died because she didn’t have enough to eat. Three more seconds pass. A father infected with AIDS has died because he could not afford life saving medicine. Three more seconds pass. A little boy has died from malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. Three more seconds pass. A mother has died giving birth because she had no access to proper medical treatment. The seconds pass quickly. People are dying because they lack the basic resources of life to survive. I can’t help but pause to consider the inequality and injustice.
I pause to consider the great opportunity. We are the first generation in the history of the world with knowledge, resources, and capacity to end extreme poverty. What will history say about our success or failure in building the moral and political will to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, an holistic framework to save the lives of more than eight million people who die because of extreme poverty each year?
I pause to hope. The world is organizing itself under the banner of “Make Poverty History” in order to build the political will to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. I am proud that the church I serve, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has established a unique partnership with the U.S. expression of this movement called ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. ONE by ONE, Lutherans are joining the growing movement of 2.5 million Americans committed to making poverty history.
Have you paused to consider your power? You have a role to play in Making Poverty History. Join the ONE Campaign. Build a relationship with your legislator. Find out how your community of faith is engaged in the effort to end extreme poverty and the emergency of AIDS. Tell a friend about the Millennium Development Goals.
Let us pause together. Consider the opportunity. Hope. Act on our power. Make Poverty History.
By The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)Sometimes I pause. Three seconds pass. A little girl has died because she didn’t have enough to eat. Three more seconds pass. A father infected with AIDS has died because he could not afford life saving medicine. Three more seconds pass. A little boy has died from malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. Three more seconds pass. A mother has died giving birth because she had no access to proper medical treatment. The seconds pass quickly. People are dying because they lack the basic resources of life to survive. I can’t help but pause to consider the inequality and injustice.
I pause to consider the great opportunity. We are the first generation in the history of the world with knowledge, resources, and capacity to end extreme poverty. What will history say about our success or failure in building the moral and political will to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, an holistic framework to save the lives of more than eight million people who die because of extreme poverty each year?
I pause to hope. The world is organizing itself under the banner of “Make Poverty History” in order to build the political will to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. I am proud that the church I serve, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has established a unique partnership with the U.S. expression of this movement called ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. ONE by ONE, Lutherans are joining the growing movement of 2.5 million Americans committed to making poverty history.
Have you paused to consider your power? You have a role to play in Making Poverty History. Join the ONE Campaign. Build a relationship with your legislator. Find out how your community of faith is engaged in the effort to end extreme poverty and the emergency of AIDS. Tell a friend about the Millennium Development Goals.
Let us pause together. Consider the opportunity. Hope. Act on our power. Make Poverty History.
Labels: evangelical lutheran church in america, Millenium Development Goals, ONE campaign, poverty
posted by Rori @ 9:55 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:18 AM,
Meagan said…
Hi! I work with the ONE Campaign and I just came across your blog, and I wanted to say thanks for the great post regarding ONE. I also wanted to see if it might be possible for ONE to add your blog to our list of supporters? We're currently in the process of updating and restructuring our blog page,in an effort to build up the poverty/AIDS blogoshpere, and we would love to add yours to our list. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have, at: meagan@data.org. Thanks again for your support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Meagan McManus
The ONE Campaign
meagan@data.org
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