Rooted in the Common Good

With colorful paper butterflies hanging from the ceiling of the Howard Conn Theater at Plymouth Congregational Church, five of sixteen Senior Clergy of the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness delved into the similarity of the Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Unitarian traditions in working for the common good.

The discussion ranged from where the core of working for the common good comes from in each tradition to the importance of being involved in policy work to the separation of church and state.

We Rev. Justin Schroeder shared how in the Unitarian Universalist tradition, “We are not whole until there is wholeness around us.” People of faith have the responsibility and mandate to ensure and work until there is wholeness and justice – the common good.

By serving our neighbor in their basic needs is one step in working toward wholeness, but Father Bauer says, “Fulfilling basic needs is not enough.”  Direct Service of feeding, clothing, and providing basic necessities is a core part of caring for our neighbor, but to dig deeper is a requirement of living out faith. “We are called to go beyond, to dig deeper; to transform the idea of serving,” said Makram El-Amin of Masjid An-Nur. Serving our neighbor with basic necessities is not enough, but ensuring a just system where all people can benefit. Housing is a key piece to keeping people stable and ending homelessness in our community will have an impact on the whole region.

But what about the separation of church and state?  Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, from Temple Israel, gave a helpful distinction: “We can say anything about issues, but not about candidates. The moment we are silenced and abdicate the responsibility of speaking out, we (the faith communities) become irrelevant.” This is our role to speak truth in the midst of social injustices, to be the public will for our policy makers and elected officials. It is the will of the public that will end homelessness. And we are called to be at the center of it, calling for the common good of the community.

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Panhandling: A Community Response Part 2

Miss our panhandling forum? You can now watch video of the whole forum and hear what members of our community have to say about what will end panhandling.  Read a full story about the forum here.

There are a number of ways you can donate your time and talents, donate financially and give your voice to the work being done to end homelessness.  Click here to find out how you can get involved.

 

Become a part of our network today to end homelessness in our community!

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The Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness (DCEH) is an interfaith collaboration of 16 downtown Minneapolis churches, synagogues and mosques working together to end homelessness and poverty. DCEH focuses on shifting from an immediate needs approach to long term solutions through a combination of education, advocacy and action. Through learning and volunteer opportunities for congregants, community partnerships, and development of effective strategies and programs, the DCEH is committed to impacting the community around us to decrease homelessness.