The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

If you are not participating in (or even heard about) The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, you need to find a way to get involved.

As Christians, we are called to serve those who are in need, to reach out to those on the margins of society and to welcome the stranger. And we often do a pretty good job of addressing the immediate needs of the poor, the hungry and homeless.  But as good as making sure that people are housed and fed and clothed is, it is ultimately just a bandage on a gunshot wound. It helps for a bit, but doesn’t address the underlying systems and cycles that keep people in poverty. Working to help people without ever being able to affect any lasting change is what leads to compassion fatigue. Really good and faithful servants wear out and wonder if their efforts are really making any kind of difference. There is a desire to do more, but a lack of the tools needed to really make things happen.

Enter the Poor People’s Campaign. 

The Poor People’s Campaign is a nationwide, ongoing effort rooted in faith communities and starting from the ground up. Many of the spokespeople for the campaign are poor people, people of color, immigrants and others who are struggling. As the leader of the campaign, Rev. William J. Barber, III says: you can’t change the narrative if you don’t change the narrator.

The campaign is in it for the long haul, ready to help people come together across the United States to put an end to the cycles of systemic poverty, racism and injustice. I know, it sounds like a daunting (even impossible) task, but again, these are folks who are playing the long game and inviting you to join them.

There are chapters of the Poor People’s Campaign in most states now. Follow what is happening on Facebook or Twitter. Check out what’s happening in your community. Join in a rally or attend a meeting.  Keep feeding the hungry and housing the homeless and caring for the sick, but go ahead and engage in something that will make lasting change in our communities and our country.

You May Also Like

Christians and Pagans–My Favorite

What Are You Doing for Advent?

A Little Help with the Relatives

A Hard Drinking Tattooed Country Music Christianity