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THANK YOU. PANHANDLERS
It has been a beautiful four years in
Athens. After our exodus from Ohio eight years
ago. Jen and I have never felt more at home
than we have here. We have been blessed
with amazing neighbors and community; we
have eaten so many delicious foods raised by
local farmers and prepared by visionary chefs;
and we have been enlightened through music
and art (and food—it always comes back to
food!). This has been a truly special time for
us, as Jen taught in the Clarke County School
District and I served at the First Christian
Church of Athens, downtown, then Bogart
Christian Church. So. when I was asked to
share a word in Flagpole, the very first mes-
age that I thought to share with Athens was
Thank you for your warm hospitality." The
econd message that I would like to share
, a word of thanks to the men and women I
ave come to know on the streets downtown
.ho regularly ask for any spare change or for
a meal.
That is correct. I would like to say "thank
you" to the panhandlers. And while this
may seen like a set-up to a tirade worthy of
the ABH comment page. I am sincere in my
gratitude.
Thank you to the men and women who
have the courage to stand up (or sit down)
in front of a community and to ask for help,
because they remind us that life in our city
of Athens is not always about dinners, bars,
shows and art. There is another side to the
“unleashed life" found in Athens, and that is
poverty.
Now, some of you may be recalling the
last experience you had with a panhandler
downtown; you may be cringing as you relive
that moment in your head when you looked
down the street and realized that there was
someone up ahead who was going to ask you
for money; you may be cringing as you recall
the dreaded decision to either engage him or
her, or to ignore him or
her and continue walk
ing on by; you may be
cringing as you recall
the persistent individual;
you may be cringing as
you recall your decision
to move on and perhaps deposit a quarter in
the "homeless meter."
That cringing is good. Because at least it
conveys some level of humanity and empathy.
And that humanity and ability to relate to
others in our struggles will be essential if we
are actually to address the problem of poverty
in our community.
Actually, poverty is more than a “problem."
A "problem" is when you have a leak in your
kitchen plumbing. Poverty is far worse than
that; poverty is a human tragedy due to indi
vidual and collective decisions. Poverty is a
scar not only on our community, but on our
souls. Poverty is. dare I say, a sin—a result of
our actions and/or inaction.
And, Athens, we are living in sin. Now,
many of us—the two-thirds of us who live
above the poverty line—can escape the reali
ties of living in a community that is soaked in
generational poverty by avoiding downtown,
looking the other way, or justifying the situ
ation by chalking it up to personal choice
rather than admitting any participation in an
economic system that values profit over peo
ple (and over land, water, air and animals).
But, the individuals who hold out their
hand, look you in the eye and ask for change
are the saints in this situation who proclaim
to us the depths of the issue of poverty and
who. thankfully, will not let us forget the
humanity of our impoverished reality.
To address that reality, we will need to
be intentional about caring for our children.
Athens must be intentional about caring for
our elderly. Athens must
be intentional about
where our money goes—
do we value the product/
service with the lowest
price or the product/
service that comes from
someone receiving a living wage? Athens must
be intentional about creating more and more
affordable housing. Churches must be inten
tional about justice rather than just charity.
We must alt be intentional about resolving the
injustice of poverty in our community.
So many people are already committed, and
we see this in organizations like Interfaith
Hospitality Network, Athens Homeless Shelter,
A Bigger Vision, Habitat for Humanity,
Community Connection. Our Daily Bread,
Athens Nurses Clinic, The Ark, etc.—but so far,
it has not been enough. It has not been nearly
enough. Until the ethos of Athens changes to
value the fullness of iife over the fullness of
bank accounts, it will not be enough.
To do justice in Athens—to bring our
brothers and sisters out of the pain of
poverty—we must be intentional about our
actions and our desires. We must not only be
able to connect the dots between our eco
nomic decisions and their societal outcomes,
but we must be willing to change our individ
ual and collective behaviors to begin to bring
about a more equal and dignified community.
If you're struggling to become more pas
sionate and intentional about doing justice,
just take a walk downtown. Find a brother or
sister who is asking for a little help, and see
if you can sit down with them over a meal
and get to know them. By the end of dinner,
I think that you might thank them. Thank
him for reminding you of what matters most
in life; thank her for reminding you that your
wholeness is dependent on hers, too; thank
her for reminding you that the presence of
justice is an ongoing struggle that requires
much from us all, and rewards us all with
grace and beauty.
To all of you in Athens, thank you for
blessing us with such love and beauty in our
lives. To all of you who seek to work for jus
tice in our community and our world, thank
you for your work; may you find worth in your
efforts each and every day.
To ail of you who have extended your hand
at one time or another and asked a stranger
for help, thank you for not shying away, but
drawing our attention to the harsh realities of
poverty. I hope that the people of Athens will
have the courage and will to always respond
in compassion, grace and justice.
Peace,
Chris McCreight
An unabridged version of this Comment appears at
wwwflagpole.com.
There is another side to the
“unleashed life” found in
Athens, and that is poverty.
»
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