{"id":3287,"date":"2015-11-22T13:09:23","date_gmt":"2015-11-22T19:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=3287"},"modified":"2015-11-22T16:20:44","modified_gmt":"2015-11-22T22:20:44","slug":"modernizing-the-works-of-mercy-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/11\/modernizing-the-works-of-mercy-list.html","title":{"rendered":"Modernizing the “works of mercy” list?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here\u2019s the website for The Cradle Fund<\/a>, an organization which provides direct aid to refugees from Syria and Iraq, to which we donated last Christmas, and likely will again.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s an article<\/a>\u00a0about a Toronto couple that used the money they otherwise would have spent on a lavish wedding, on providing for a refugee family resettling to their area instead. \u00a0But, mind you, this was Canada. \u00a0In the United States, the notion of \u201csponsoring\u201d a refugee family \u2014 as was the case when a church would provide for the needs of a family from among the \u201cboat people\u201d \u2014 doesn\u2019t appear to exist any longer; it\u2019s been replaced by contractors using government funds to establish a refugee, or refugee family, getting them connected to welfare programs, then, after a couple months, moving on to the next person, and the next allotment of government funds. \u00a0Indeed, a google search for \u201csponsor a refugee family\u201d turns up primarily Canadian hits, though there is a link to a site about helping refugees in Chicago<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 but, even there, having looked through this a bit, it doesn\u2019t look like what we think of as \u201csponsorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, here\u2019s an article<\/a>\u00a0in the National Review, that says that<\/p>\n

The Refugee Act of 1980 transformed refugee resettlement from a largely charitable endeavor into a huge government-grant program carried out by organizations that are classified as non-profits but should be more accurately described as government contractors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Relatedly, it\u2019s Giving Tree time at a parish near you. \u00a0Parishes likely run their Giving Trees differently, but, around here, some years ago, they changed the process from one of buying specified gifts for the family, via cards that listed ages, sizes, and likes, to a request that Giving Tree givers buy gift cards or just write checks, to be used to give the heads of the family the opportunity to buy gifts for the children. \u00a0And there\u2019s a certain logic to this, but it does diminish the feel-goodness of it all. \u00a0If it\u2019s now a matter of writing a check, and not shopping and wrapping gifts, why not write a check to any number of worthy causes?<\/p>\n

The reality is, we all want to be able to do something to help the needy. \u00a0The corporal works of mercy<\/a> prescribe for us an agenda:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    To feed the hungry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    To give drink to the thirsty.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    To clothe the naked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    To shelter the homeless<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    To visit the sick.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    To visit the imprisoned<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    To bury the dead.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    But how do you make sense of this in the year 2015, in middle-class suburban America? \u00a0We can\u2019t host refugee families in our homes. \u00a0That\u2019s not how the system works. \u00a0And even if it did, those for whom there some hope of repatriation are better off in the local region.<\/p>\n

    Look at this list:<\/p>\n

    Feed the hungry? \u00a0Transformed, for the most part, into \u201cdonate to a food pantry\u201d \u2014 and yet, food pantries are probably better off with a cash donation they can use to buy the stock they need most, from retailers who sell it at volume discounts. \u00a0(I suppose extreme couponers could probably buy it cheaper, or maybe if we buy loss-leaders.)<\/p>\n

    Give drink to the thirsty? \u00a0Yes, people seize upon this in projects to build wells in Africa \u2014 wells which, without funds for maintenance, fall quickly into disrepair. \u00a0And remember the article about the project to build wells operated by \u201chamster-wheel\u201d playground equipment by kids simply playing? \u00a0It required too much effort for the kids to think of it as \u201cfun\u201d and it quickly became an inefficient way for women in the village to pump their water.<\/p>\n

    Clothe the naked? \u00a0People donate to the Salvation Army and get upset when the donations aren\u2019t given directly to the needy, but that\u2019s not their mission. \u00a0And, worse, donations make their way to Africa, destroying local textile industries. \u00a0Or, you get projects like Little Dresses for Africa<\/a>, which I\u2019m skeptical of, though I was never able to find out enough about whether they did more harm than good.<\/p>\n

    Shelter the homeless? \u00a0In your own home? \u00a0Really?<\/p>\n

    Visit the sick? \u00a0Let\u2019s presume that \u201cvisit\u201d means more than \u201ckeep them company\u201d and has to do with providing medical care for them \u2014 but in 2015 America this doesn\u2019t exist as something individual volunteers do.<\/p>\n

    Visit the imprisoned? \u00a0Well, that\u2019s worthy \u2013 though I don\u2019t know how much prisoners care for strangers visiting them. \u00a0Maybe there exist tutoring programs or the like.<\/p>\n

    And bury the dead. \u00a0Who among us picks up a shovel? \u00a0Of course you can\u2019t; the best you can do is contribute to a fund that provides burial for the indigent.<\/p>\n

    All of these have been transformed, in the year 2015 in America, not completely but nearly so, into a big #8: \u00a0\u201cI was needy and you wrote a check to a charity\u201d or, depending on your politics, \u201cvoted for politicians who will implement required programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

    And we want to be able to do more \u2014 Little Dresses for Africa speaks to the desire to do something more direct than write a check. \u00a0I heard from a fellow parishioner at a church group that her job gives her the opportunity to choose to take extra hours, and she is able to think of these extra hours as dedicated to charity, and, in that way, do something more than just \u201cwrite a check.\u201d<\/p>\n

    So, too, is the case with our debates and discussion about refugees. \u00a0Bringing them into the United States, even a small, even symbolic number, meets our desire to do something personal and hands-on, even if it\u2019s no more than imagining that, once our government funds these refugees, we could be that friendly face at the grocery store \u2014 without regard for whether that\u2019s the most practical way to render aid.<\/p>\n

    UPDATE: \u00a0I\u2019m being misunderstood, so let me rephrase by means of an example:<\/p>\n

    I work part-time. \u00a0Should I choose to, I could increase my work hours and pay proportionately. \u00a0Let\u2019s say that, when the kids are older, I want to increase the good that I do. \u00a0Is it better for me to use the time I have available, freed up because I no longer need to supervise homework and piano and cook for 5, to hand-sew pillowcase dresses<\/strong>, or to work the additional hours, earn more money, and use that money to buy twice as many, or to donate it<\/strong> to an in-country group which purchases clothing which is respectful of local traditions?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Here\u2019s the website for The Cradle Fund, an organization which provides direct aid to refugees from Syria and Iraq, to which we donated last Christmas, and likely will again. And here\u2019s an article\u00a0about a Toronto couple that used the money they otherwise would have spent on a lavish wedding, on providing for a refugee family […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nModernizing the "works of mercy" list?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's the website for The Cradle Fund, an organization which provides direct aid to refugees from Syria and Iraq, to which we donated last Christmas, and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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