In this weeks featured video on famvin (right hand column) the question is asked “What if you lost everything, how long would it take you to get something to eat, find a place to stay, and a get some work? A Brazilian pastor, Claudio Oliver, offers up a definition of poverty that most likely will surprise you and challenge your thinking about what is most important in ending poverty. Clue – it may not be money.
Other video selections from the same website “The Work of the People” that will challenge deeper reflection. The site specializes in inexpensive video material suitable for worship, group and personal reflection.
This same Claudio Oliver invites us to consider eternal”Friendship Trips” over the traditional “Mission Trips.”
In Jesus Etiquette Michael Frost of Australia suggests the best seats in the house may not be where you think they are.
Michale Frost also offers some thought provoking insights into Jesus becoming the marginalized in “Becoming the poor”
CAUTION: Viewing these videos can be hazardous to the way you view ministry and spirituality.
Tags: Featured, Frost, Oliver, poverty, work of the People
It’s interesting — we so easily forget this aspect of working side by side with brothers and sisters who are poor. Our “cousins,” the Community of Sant’Egidio, have always made this a cornerstone of their model of service. That’s why talking amongst the “Family” is so, so important.
I like the notion of relationship because it keeps us from just having ideas and brings us into hands-in-the-mud reality. The social doctrine of the Church has come to focus this idea in the word “solidarity”: persevering commitment to the common good of each and of all. The challenge in this reflection is to become involved. Experience was key for St. Vincent, both in his own life and in his “method of fostering holiness” (spirituality). The systemic change initiative reminds us to “start small”, listen well and collaborate.