Epiphany - ONE Sabbath

This morning, during our Epiphany celebration, we sang the words of the psalmist (Psalm 72):

For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress,
and the oppressed who has no helper.

He shall have pity on the lowly and poor;
he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

These words echo the vision articulated by the prophets in Isaiah of a world where the poor are treated with justice and all people have access to the abundance of our world. We have read from Isaiah every week since the beginning of Advent. It would be hard for us to take ourselves seriously as a faith community if we didn't take the vision of Isaiah and the psalmist seriously.

The Feast of the Epiphany gives us opportunity to consider the ways in which God makes God's self known to the people of our world. We believe that we are the Body of Christ - Christ's representatives in this world. We have the awesome privilege and responsibility of partnering with God to bring about this vision of a world where all people are treated well. That's where the ONE Sabbath fits into our celebration of Epiphany. ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, is a grassroots organization of individuals who have made a commitment to do something about global extreme poverty (defined as living on less than the equivalent of $1.00 per day). To date, 2,421,838 Americans (including a number of us from Emmanuel) have signed the ONE declaration:

"WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.

WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs - education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget.

WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all."

I invite you to click on the link above and to sign the declaration.

The Episcopal Church has formed a partnership with ONE called ONE Episcopalian. "ONE Episcopalian ™ is a grassroots partnership between The Episcopal Church and the ONE Campaign to rally Episcopalians – ONE by ONE – to the cause of ending extreme poverty in our world and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)." As part of its awareness and education efforts, ONE Episcopalian has created the opportunity for congregations to become a ONE Congregation. We spend a great deal of time thinking, praying, and working towards the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals, the first of which is "to halve the number of people living on less than one dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger."

Another effort that we featured this morning is (Product) Red. The (Red) Manifesto reads (click on it to enlarge):

So far, corporations selling (Product) Red items have donated $50 million to the Global Fund, which is dedicated to funding HIV?AIDS programs in Africa.

ONE, (Product) Red, and the Episcopal Church are only a couple of the many organizations that are working to alleviate the extreme poverty and hunger that affects approximately one billion people in our world. While the work seems daunting, it is also very exciting. We live in a world where we can make a tremendous difference in the lives of millions of people. Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany, we give thanks that God continues to make God's self known and that God calls us to bring about the vision of a world of justice, equity, and peace. I am very proud to be part of a church that is active and passionate about its support of these efforts.

Fr. Greg