The Elimination of Poverty

One of the four focus areas of the United Methodist church is working towards the elimination of poverty in our world. We are encouraged to be doing this both locally and globally. It can be a challenge, sometimes , for us to find ways of eliminating poverty globally. One of the ways that Jeanette and I are trying to do this is through volunteer work at Ten Thousand Villages. We are fortunate to have their warehouse located just 10 mins from our house. Until she gets a job, Jeanette is volunteering twice a week, I am just doing it on Fridays, my day off from my church job. We do simple tasks like check that the tags are right, change out tags, or like just the other day, we were adding a "for decoration only. not a toy. keep out of reach of children" to a product from Africa. The beauty of Ten Thousand Villages is that the crafters are paid a fair wage for their product and with out this outlet, they would have very little income at all. What we do seems kind of trivial and insignificant - but its a part of the whole process. If they had to pay someone to do what we were doing, their profits would be less.

It's also important to be in ministry with the poor locally. In the past we have worked at food banks, and in a ministry that sought to help people out of poverty by establishing positive relationships. Here at Hopeland UMC there is a clothing bank ministry that we want to help out with. Right now, my little task, is to bring in the clothing that is dropped off at our door, and take it to the back room where it is sorted. Its just a little thing - but already I have found myself tempted to grumble about doing it. At those times I need to remind myself that each little part of the process adds to the whole.

I want to encourage you , beloved reader, to find a way to serve where you are. Even if it is in just a little way, it can make a difference when added to the things that others are doing. Blessings!