A woman has been calling churches (including those ‘mega’ churches in America who have annual income of hundreds of millions of dollars) posing as a mother who’s baby has not eaten since the night before.
She rang about 26 churches they all said no, then she rang one mosque and they immediately said yes. Later, a Buddhist temple and two churches who are predominantly black said yes. It’s been sending shockwaves through the Christian community in America!
Here are some vids:
Here’s the mosque video she did (at first there was no answer and they called her back after seeing her missed call)
He asked her where she lived and what formula she needed, immediately!
Here’s a video of why she’s doing what she’s doing:
It’s good they’ve been shown up, I am not a church goer but do think they should practice what they preach. They’re as greedy and non caring as most organisations these days.
I’ve often felt that there’s a place for Christianity to be preached within Christian Churches.
There’s a lot of preaching and bellybutton gazing, and a misplaced sense of self righteousness, IMHO. Sure, there are a lot of people who have the right frame of mind/ethics, but, as with way too many institutions, there’s too much isolationism.
She was not really in need and it was a lie. The church should not help those that are not in need or liars. If she was attending a church she most likely would have gotten support.
Reports across the Internet can’t even get the story right. 17 churches contacted. 28 Churches contacted and 29 churches contacted??? She was lying, two of the three news sources are lying.
a woman calling churches to test their willingness to help with baby food, with mixed results. Some churches turned her away or redirected her to food pantries, while others were immediately willing to help, and a few even expressed shock at her situation. Many churches partner with local food banks or use designated funds to help community members in need. She wasn’t even near the example she gave and didn’t even call the largest meg churches.
I try to live by the saying " If we were all the same what a boring world it would be " as being bit off myself , doing my own thing I realize this but neck and face tattoos just throw me off .
The differences in charity between secular and religious people are dramatic. Religious people are 25 percentage points more likely than secularists to donate money (91percent to 66 percent) and 23 points more likely to volunteer time (67 percent to 44percent).
Then when broken down by major religious affiliations. 92 percent of Protestants give charitably, 91 percent of Catholics, 91 percent of Jews, and 89 percent from other religions.
In my county alone there is/are:
An ecumenical organization that helps in emergencies to assist low income families with food, utility payment, rent, emergency shelter, and assistance with ongoing support.
At least a dozen combined ecumenical food pantries open during different days of the week - but also opened for private emergencies.
Dozens of “Blessing Boxes” outside of churches, libraries, busy street corners, etc. Here’s an example:
*Calling 2-1-1 for support, which is a free a 24/7, free, and confidential service that can connect anyone in need to local food pantries, hot meal programs, and other emergency support services. That service was initiated by a number of local churches and secular United Way years ago, and churches are at the front line of providing emergency food and basic need services.
Here’s a map of local 24 hour resources - green are blessing boxes, and red are ecumenical food pantries, all of which can be accessed in emergencies:
You raise a very good issue - that churches often are the centre of charitable works. Churches also provide many with comfort and spiritual uplift which is their non-monetary benefit. The narrative, as you call it, is not that churches are all bad.
I would challenge the donation percentages you’ve shared for other countries. I am not doubting the numbers reflect US giving. I am just saying that the numbers will be different in different countries. In my own experience, secular people are as likely and in cases more likely to donate. Although I suspect the causes they donate to might be different.
In some countries charitable giving is quite low. This is not lack of generosity or a higher number of secular people. This is because there is a strong believe that care for people who need help is the role of the state. Help after an emergency, support for low income families (at all times, not just after an emergency) and social care for all are conducted by the state. The idea that such things would be left to charities, churches and good will of individuals is dismissed as too haphazard, too prone to failings, too vulnerable to preferential treatment of a favoured few. Seriously, the idea of the state not being held responsible for such things is scoffed at as being the situation in non-developed countries.
I don’t think anyone would disagree that on macro and micro scales, funding will look different.
One thing is for sure; if you are a young mother in need of immediate emergency care from the government in the U.S. on any level; it doesn’t exist. It’s only through the donations and kindness of citizens that people receive any immediate assistance for sustenance and basic needs.
That is the difference between Democrats which I am and Republicans
Republicans say government is inefficient , does not work and do not do a thing when in office to fix anything add which we will again disagree under Republicans things get worse .
I use the VA by choice I LOVE it , I left the private medical world as did not find it good at all here .
Now if you want to say since you have family who also use the VA that it varies in efficiency from city . state to city / state I agree
I don’t think Republican would argue that government doesn’t work, but they definitely argue it’s inefficient. The military, for example, is inarguably a good use of tax dollars - and it works. What they would say is that there should be more oversight of how those tax dollars are spent.
I am very pleased you have had such positive experiences with the VA . It’s well-deserved. Unfortunately, yes, it has historically been a sorely underfunded operation and improvements haven’t reached all areas of the country. As you know, the VA has been more disappointing for my family members out westand a friend, who believes his loss of sight was due to continuous delays in appointments and surgery. We (parents, in-laws, us) are very satisfied with Tricare, which has given us much more choice in hospitals and providers.
Editing to wish you a happy Veterans’ Day tomorrow, NCS !
I am sorry to hear this , as you know living in Florida Miami is poorly run . I call it an extension of Latin America so I was taken back how well the VA here is to the point that most Vets I know by choice use it but someone bought to my attention that the VA here has ALOT of " out of towners " be it interns , etc thus made sense and not to harp on Miamians but let’s be honest about this place .
In fact tomorrow I am on a float at 10 am but before going to check all the lug nuts to make sure they are all on correctly and that is how I feel about Miami .
Editing to wish you a happy Veterans’ Day tomorrow, NCS !
Thank you this is my first parade as not getting any younger and since Mayors assistant contacted me I said yes .
Edit , My neighbor said it might be a hit and who knows but if so he did say he would take care of my fish , finches until one of my daughters flies in from California and takes over .
Thanks for your very balanced reply. And a good challenge. I could not find such numbers as I suspect that they are not tracked (possibly because fewer record giving in tax returns). I did find this for the UK which is interesting.
“British Muslims are the most generous group in the UK, giving more than four times as much money to charity each year than the average Brit, according to new research. Consultancy Blue State reported that British Muslims gave £708 each on average over 12 months, compared to £165 for the wider UK population.”
That, to me, would be a definition of a failed government system. A good example of why taxes are levied and why government’s spend on social care would be this example. And therefore, regardless of the woman’s route to such dire circumstances, it should be the role of government services to step in and help the woman out of her difficulties. Certainly it is admirable that volunteers step in to help but relying solely on volunteer help is not the sign of a civilized, modern country.
This seems not dissimilar to the current debate about funding emergency accident care of undocumented and uninsured people. The current administration are arguing the funding should stop - which has caused the current shut down. It is amazing to me that this issue ends up being debated - of course emergency care for an accident should be funded for anyone. The alternative is leaving people bleeding and dying in the street. How any human being could entertain the idea of stopping such funding is beyond me.
They’re as greedy and non caring as most organisations these days.
. It’s well-deserved. Unfortunately, yes, it has historically been a sorely underfunded operation and improvements haven’t reached all areas of the country. As you know, the VA has been more disappointing for my family members out westand a friend, who believes his loss of sight was due to continuous delays in appointments and surgery. We (parents, in-laws, us) are very satisfied with Tricare, which has given us much more choice in hospitals and providers.
!