Crisis Recovery and the Church: A Time for Change
During World War I, in the middle of the storm in London author and theologian CS Lewis writes:
“The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it.”
The battle we are facing with COVID-19 has brought intense light to some things about our human situation that we can no longer ignore. It might be time for some changes.
As education has been halted and then drastically altered it has started to expose some of the reasons for learning gaps. It has exposed systems of dependency and shocking disparities in how they are managed. Food insecurity in our country has been made the responsibility of the public school. In just one week in March over 100,000 kids across New Mexico who qualify received free lunches.
WE HAVE ALL BEEN MADE PAINFULLY AWARE THAT EVERY CHILD’S ABILITY TO LEARN IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE CHILD’S HOME ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES.
When schools reopen we can continue to test kids on a frequent schedule, we can change standards and grade teachers, but until we start finding meaningful ways to support families it is clear that we may not see much change. The learning gap is created by how well-resourced the family is, even more than the talent the teacher possesses or the quality of the curriculum. Without a stable home environment and access to resources low-income students will always be behind. Without solutions that bring hope to families, they will stay in cycles of generational poverty.
“If we truly want to improve schools and create opportunities for children we must come to realize that the school reflects the community.”
If we truly want to improve schools and create opportunities for children we must come to realize that the school reflects the community. Failing schools reflect… failure of the community. If we want to effect change, we have to start in the neighborhood, with families.
CRISIS RECOVERY
THE FIRST PHASE OF EFFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS MITIGATION, THE NEXT IS PREPAREDNESS AND THEN RECOVERY.
Currently Shine is working a mitigation plan. Though the doors of both churches and schools are closed, Shine has been working around the clock with our partners to meet crisis needs identified by APS. Several churches have banded together to provide weekend food for families at many of our partnered schools. It has been a blessing to see churches working together to meet the food needs of students and families. Over 1,000 food bags are distributed by Shine volunteers across Albuquerque every Friday. Many churches contribute financially to this effort, many house storage and safe packing sites at their churches. We are grateful for donations from individuals and Nusenda’s Community Foundation to help us meet the need that has been presented to us. As needs are identified by APS we are calling on our partner churches to rise to the challenge and love our school communities well.
As we carry out our mitigation plan we are working on preparation for recovery. How will we be prepared with what will be needed for recovery? How will we contribute to the sustained flourishing of our neighborhoods and families? As the church, we can no longer sit in our buildings and wait for broken families to come to us with their needs. I wonder if this might be a blessing? We needed to be forced into a new way. We must quickly learn to go where the brokenness is, to build relationships, to ask questions. We must learn what it means to be rooted in place. We are going to need to narrow down our focus to neighborhoods.
“We must learn what it means to be rooted in place. We are going to need to narrow down our focus to neighborhoods.”
Churches who have already been rooted in neighboring and in place have an advantage right now. They are able to keep a pulse of the needs in their neighborhood and their community. The rest of us are left grasping at straws. We are generous and loving and want to serve those in need but honestly, how do we know what they need if we don’t know them? We could be putting our resources into what we THINK people need and we may be completely missing the boat. People need the church, they need the hope that we have and can share. But we can be handicapped in our response to those outside of our congregations by our lack of relationships. For effective recovery we will need to have a grounded awareness of priority needs and sustainable strategies that bring families needed security.
WHERE WE’LL BE SUCCESSFUL IN FULLY REACHING FAMILIES IS WHERE WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS.
Let us take this time to look at where we are. Let us not go back to doing things the way we always have. This is a time to redefine how the church will reach the poor, the lost, and the lonely. We can no longer ignore the need to prioritize relationships over programs. We can no longer ignore that we would be much more effective in our ministries to the poor if our people were committed to building friendships with those in need around us.
It does not appear that we will wake up one day in May and this will all just magically be over. We have to be prepared to make the adjustments now to walk with people over the next year. Shine wants to be a resource for churches seeking to reach those in need in their neighborhoods. We have encouraged our partners to start by creating a map of the neighborhood that feeds their partnered school. We need you to focus in on those families. We are creating some very practical steps to help you assess needs and assets, build relationships with families, and create plans of impact.
WHAT DID JESUS DO? HE PUT ON FLESH AND MOVED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I suppose it would have been easier to just create an online service or start a Facebook live. (I’m joking of course) He sought out the hurt, disenfranchised, downtrodden, sick, and afflicted by being close. And then he became their friend. Virtual sermons are nice and have value, and I truly appreciate all of the work that churches across our city have put into staying connected. It’s been beautiful to watch. I so greatly appreciate how they are loving each other by keeping a distance and keeping everyone safe. That has been the most loving action during mitigation. But as we prepare for recovery, we remember that the life of Jesus shows us the importance of being a good neighbor and the value of true friendship with those in the margins who we seek to serve and love.
“…as we prepare for recovery, we remember that the life of Jesus shows us the importance of being a good neighbor and the value of true friendship with those in the margins who we seek to serve and love.”
It is definitely a challenge to be close now, but as this crisis moves to the next phase, we want to help you be prepared to reach families in need in the neighborhood God has called you to serve. The world as we know it has changed. For the next season we are going to need to point out the things we can no longer ignore and have the courage to make needed adjustments.
What will the next season bring for the church? Here’s my hope, we will get to know families in our communities well and be strategic in the restorative work that God has called us to in our neighborhoods. We will pray for wisdom and above all else humility and an ear to listen. We will commit to working shoulder to shoulder with families experiencing poverty to recover their livelihood and to flourish. And we will inject hope and light into the dark places.
