Episcopal Press and News
Charities Have Mission to Provoke Conscience of Society, Says UEC Speaker
Episcopal News Service. April 29, 1991 [91105]
Michael Barwell, Director of Communication for the Diocese of Southern Ohio
A professor of social work told more than 60 leaders of Episcopal Church-related charities from across the nation that the American people must undergo a radical conversion in their understanding of poor people, if we want our culture to be caring and compassionate.
"We view ourselves as a loving people, whose values and principles are positive and humane. Yet we are a 'reluctant' welfare state that denies aid and service to many who need aid and service the very most," charged Dr. Norman Wyers, professor of social work at Portland State University. "Why does America not care?"
Wyers remarks were delivered at the opening session of "Creating Caring Communities," a joint meeting of United Episcopal Charities (UEC) and the Children's Advocacy Committee of the Episcopal Church, in Portland, Oregon, April 18-20.
UEC is a national volunteer organization of a variety of social ministries in the Episcopal Church, ranging from single agencies providing human services to diocesan-wide programs that shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, or operate hospitals.
Wyers -- who has been professor of social work at Portland State for 17 years and was honored as the social worker of the year in Oregon last year -- provided a carefully honed summary of how American society views those who are less fortunate.
"The dominant goals of American society are material success and prosperity," Wyers said. "They are achieved through competition and profiteering and luck. For every 'winner' in the economic realm, by default there must be at least one 'loser.' In fact, there are many more losers than winners."
Society and its institutions -- including the church -- have largely failed in their efforts to make the needy less dependent and have been unable to replace need with dignity, according to Wyers. Unfortunately, he added, most welfare programs reinforce the winners-losers model, both to the givers and receivers.
Wyers told participants that little has changed in society's attitude toward social welfare programs since the Elizabethan Poor Laws of the late 16th century. He cited a study completed in 1887 that concluded that two-thirds of all charity applicants were denied relief "because they were deemed lazy or unworthy.... It is amazing how little our perceptions have changed," Wyers said.
After citing a host of statistics -- which included data showing that nearly eight million children live in poverty, and that poverty is disproportionately higher among minorities -- Wyers concluded, "We have not become a caring society...because of racism, our complicated governmental structures, and the absence of a political party to represent the interests of those who are poor or disenfranchised.
"To solve the problems associated with benign neglect, we need to reform society to eradicate racism, to make government more responsive and efficient, and guarantee that those persons who are disenfranchised are granted more political power."
Translating Wyers's remarks into practical terms, the UEC participants spent two days engaged in a variety of workshops designed to hone their skills and improve their effectiveness.
Sessions included practical workshops for organizations on fund-raising techniques, accessing private foundation dollars, recruiting and retaining volunteers, and setting up an Episcopal Charities organization in a diocese; consciousness-raising discussions; and presentations about specific ministries such as jobs for fathers, case management of homeless families into transitional housing, community-based prevention for youth at risk, and independent living for youth at risk.
Several participants recognized the limitation of Wyers's vision, but admitted that the issues he raised need to be asked whenever the church engages in social work.
"Wyers is a distinguished secular humanist, holding up models for responding to human need, and challenging the Christian community to re-evaluate what they are doing and why they are doing it," said the Rev. Canon George Monroe, director of Chicago's Episcopal Charities and Community Services. "Now we need to ask ourselves, What can the Christian community do that is humanistic in its substance, but Christian in its character?"
The Rev. Woody Bartlett, director of Atlanta's Episcopal Charities Foundation, agreed, warning, "Until we get to a deeper faith understanding, there is nothing that separates us from the secular agencies. For the church to be the church, it needs to do this in a deeper theological context."
Carol Mae Olson of Minnesota's Episcopal Community Services, added, "Most times, society creates its own worst problems. What are we going to do about it? She insisted that the church must be an advocate for the people it seeks to serve.
Formation of Episcopal Charities or Episcopal Community Services organizations is a growing trend in the Episcopal Church as dioceses, parish programs, and ecumenical agencies with church affiliation struggle to meet growing needs and restricted diocesan budgets. Currently, about 40 dioceses have established charity agencies, and others are investigating forming umbrella agencies in the next few years.