Read it all in the Tribune

It’s time for churches to “throw open their big oak doors” and get back into the communities.

Just over a year ago, Michael Bird became the Anglican bishop of Niagara and one of his first acts was to voice his support for action on social justice matters in a letter directed to Minister Deb Matthews, then chair of the cabinet committee responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

And since then, the bishop has issued a challenge to the Anglicans in the Diocese of Niagara to lead the fight against poverty, violence and injustice.

Over the last year, the diocese has taken a few breaks from its Quixotic tilting against poverty and injustice in order to take ANiC parishes to court to obtain possession of the buildings that were built, paid for and maintained by the parishes. Justice does not start at home for the diocese.

“I think it’s important because it’s what we have to be … over time and history the church has moved away from advocacy,” said Archdeacon Michael Patterson, executive officer of the diocese.

It’s part of the Christian values to advocate for those who cannot, to be a voice for the voiceless, for people struggling through life, he said.

In Niagara, there is a high rate of unemployment and the standard of living is below average. The cathedral of the Anglican diocese, said Patterson, is “located in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the entire country, in downtown Hamilton.”

It is instructive to look at how much money the diocese is investing in the poor that surround its cathedral. Some examples from 2008:

Bishop’s salary: $105,260
Personal Transition and Severance (Lay-offs): $660,178
Executive Officer (Michael Patterson): $88,422
Legal fees to prosecute ANiC parishes (not mentioned in the budget): ~ $270,000
Cathedral cleaning: $190,228
…. and so on.

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Among some of the initiatives being pursued by the Anglican church is hosting a Community Justice Camp with the theme Live the Change You Want to See, to be held May 9 to 14 in 2010 that will be held at a McMaster University residence. The campers will also spend time in communities for more hands on experiences.

The camp will provide the churches and their young representatives with tools that will allow them to go back to their communities and create change.

“It’s a very significant part of the overall strategy,” said Patterson. “If there is going to be transformation … they need to acquire the skills and tools to make that happen.”

The camp will be 50% local participants and 50% from other communities across Canada and may include representatives of international partners. Half of the participants will be between the ages of 18 to 30, a target age group.

The Anglican church, said Patterson, has one of the strongest youth participation in the country, even though there is an aging demographic of church goers. There could always be more youth involved, he said, however these camp attendees will have the opportunity to discover how “faith can have a role in their lives and respond to the needs of the community.”

The justice camp, is not a conference, said Colleen Sym, justice camp co-chair and volunteer co-ordinator for the social justice committee for the diocese.

“There’s a policy of no talking heads,” said Sym. Campers will get to either learn from people involved in initiatives to fight poverty or talk to people who have or are living in poverty. It’s much more hands on.

It will be a time for people to share ideas, wisdom, network and challenge themselves to find solutions.

Campers will also be divided into smaller focus groups to look at topics such as affordable housing, food security, and inclusion of the gay and lesbian community, she said.

What does the inclusion of the gay and lesbian community have to do with poverty reduction?

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“They will have to do their own homework and research … to see how best to meet the needs of people in the communities in which they reside,” said Patterson. “We really do want outcomes.”

Perhaps the diocese should consider leading by example – Live the Change You Want to See. How about using the money that you were going to spend on suing ANiC parishes in 2009 on building free housing for the poor instead, Archdeacon?