Relief for charities?
o7The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last month that
it would reimburse religious groups that have supported relief and
recovery efforts in hurricane-ravaged areas of the South. The move
has sparked controversy on both sides. Civil libertarian groups have
said it would be a violation of the separation between church and
state. Some religious groups have said taking government money would
make the church beholden to the state. Should the government
reimburse religious groups for their relief efforts? Should religious
groups accept the money?f7
It cheapens charity by asking to be refunded for it. A gift is no
longer a gift if someone else pays for it.
Most of these congregations, like the individuals who have given,
gave out of a sense of charity and desire to help. As Christ
followers, our very being is to be defined by acts of charity. To
separate charity from a congregation would be like taking Christ out
of the church; the same is true for the individual. We exist to help.
We give regularly to our congregations to be prepared for situations
where we can help, send someone to help. We don’t need or depend on
the government, but on the reality of Christ working in our lives to
accomplish this.
At the same time, I believe that faith groups and the government
can work effectively together without interfering in each others
business. In fact, with congregations in nearly every community, the
church has a greater distribution and commun- ication system than the
government does or can have. We can connect with people and
communities more effectively and quickly than the government. Though
the church does not need the government, the government would be
unwise to walk away from utilizing such an effective network in times
of crisis.
With congregations facing the replacement and repair of
facilities, due to extended use caused by the underwhelming FEMA
response, I think it is appropriate for the government to offer to
help them recover their loses. This is true particularly where the
government approached the congregation for help.
This offer for help should be limited to the losses suffered and
not cover ministries already provided by the congregations. Groups
like the Salvation Army stepped in where FEMA could not respond
effectively and housed more than 76,000 people.
Yes, they are supported by donations, but it will take time to
recover enough to be ready to respond when another need arises. Had
the government been prepared, it could have responded and taken care
of those 76,000 people. They were not, but praise God someone was.
Again, it would be foolish for the government to walk away from
such an effective resource. But don’t look for us to be knocking on
their door for funding.
SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR RIC OLSEN
Harbor Trinity
Costa Mesa
The government should do its job in taking care of disaster
relief. I believe most Americans feel this is the proper use of our
tax dollars. We expect our neighbors who have suffered from disasters
to receive the best help a prosperous and responsible society can
give them. The private sector, religious organizations, volunteers
and donations all play an important role in helping, but basic social
services must be guaranteed by national and local government as a
matter of policy.
Hurricanes should not cause us to make radical changes in how
disaster relief is funded. Instead they should cause us to consider
how consistently ineffective our elected leadership has been in
responding to emergencies and how our tax funds are being
misdirected.
FEMA should direct funds to agencies and groups that are not
religious. The religious groups should provide the services they wish
and fund them in their usual manner.
Churches, temples and other religious organizations provide many
benefits to society, and for that reason they are given tax-exempt
status. Donors who contribute to them also receive income tax
benefits for their charitable contributions. Yet religious
organizations are free to provide their services with no government
interference since they do not receive direct public funding. This
balance of church and state has served us well.
As a member of the American Assn. of Pastoral Counselors, I was
invited to volunteer to be part of a team of mental health workers
who will be deployed in two-week terms of duty over the next several
months to provide support services. The federal funds for this
program are directed to a nonreligious agency, which will oversee the
psychologists, social workers and pastoral counselors.
There are many ways for FEMA to accomplish its goals. There are
many ways for religious organizations to offer their services and
fund their work. Direct government funding of religious organizations
is a step in the wrong direction.
REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT
Zen Center of Orange County
Costa Mesa
If religious groups reach out to the afflicted, motivated by the
teaching of “love your neighbor as yourself,” their voluntary act of
loving kindness would be compromised by recompense.
If the help contemplated by congregations looks to be onerous and
a violation of budgetary constraints, each enjoys the opportunity to
evaluate what it can and cannot do and accomplish.
Since the decision to offer relief is freely undertaken, because
it is simply the right thing to do, being “paid back” by the
government undermines the ideal of “disinterested” service. That is,
generosity should be prompted by emulation of God and not proffered
in the hope or confidence of reward. Churches and synagogues should
not view the money expended as lost and which, therefore, need to be
recouped. Rather, such expenditures are the means to distribute God’s
treasure.
The Torah features one commandment repeated 36 times for emphasis:
“You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the Land of
Egypt.” In the New Testament (1 Peter 4:8-9), Peter told the
believers, “And above all things have fervent charity among
yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use
hospitality one to another without grudging.”
In neither Hebrew Scripture nor the New Testament is there an
asterisk that qualifies the love and charity, saying, “But be sure to
be paid back!” If there was ever a time to demonstrate faith in
action, to offer sacrificial gifts to fellow human beings, it is in
this hour of disaster.
No institution is obliged to jeopardize its existence or pauperize
itself for the sake of others. But if it chooses to distribute its
funds, its members must know that true philanthropy springs from the
right motivation.
The word “charity” is drawn from “caritas,” love.
The Hebrew for “charity” is “tzedek,” justice.
Love and justice are the impulses that alone commend the gift and
confer on our largess a real value. If our generosity is owed to
anything other than these two inspirations, we miss God’s point.
Neither love nor justice should be offered with strings attached.
What is the reward of the good deed?
The good deed itself.
RABBI MARK S. MILLER
Temple Bat Yahm
Newport Beach
Hooray for FEMA risking what they have never done before and
finally doing right.
Hooray for the American Red Cross and Republican legislators who
lobbied FEMA to do so.
Hooray, above all, for religious charities that rushed in to
provide emergency services much more rapidly, efficiently and
effectively than our government.
Yet, if my understanding is correct, what FEMA will do is
considerably more limited than what FEMA will not do. Two important
questions are: First, are religious organizations eligible for FEMA
repayments only if they operated emergency shelters, food
distribution centers or medical facilities “at the request of state
or local governments” in the three states that have declared
emergencies? And, secondly, is it true that no government funds,
including FEMA’s, are to be devoted to reconstruction of facilities
that were destroyed by the recent hurricanes and which were owned by
religious institutions?
I think yes is the appropriate answer to both questions. And in
the case of the first, it’s the least our government should do, since
the religious organizations were serving “at the request of state or
local governments” and in their place.
If yes is the answer to both questions above, then pragmatic
theology and ethical principles, such as the greatest good for the
greatest number, provide helpful guidance for religious groups. They
should accept our government’s money and immediately use it toward
the substantial recovery work remaining, giving special attention to
doing what government is not, including rebuilding holy spaces for
worship.
(THE VERY REV’D CANON) PETER D. HAYNES
Saint Michael & All Angels
Episcopal Church
Corona del Mar
I don’t think the federal government should reimburse religious
groups for something they already do as part of their mission and
purpose and to which their congregations already contribute.
I do, however, think that there could be grants made to religious
and other nonprofit groups to specifically create programs to help in
the rebuilding process. Organizations could gather together --
similar to the Rebuild America program -- joining volunteers from
many different groups to work on the repair and improvement of
facilities that help those most in need.
Grant money could be provided to purchase supplies while churches
and other groups provide volunteer labor. Grant money could also be
provided to recruit special volunteers from faith based groups to
mentor, educate, counsel and assist those individuals who have lost
their networks of friends and family.
More than the loss of buildings is the fabric of communities torn
apart. Faith based groups are uniquely positioned to provide the love
and encouragement that keep a human being optimistic and moving
forward in rebuilding their lives.
The only danger would be those groups who would use this
opportunity to convert people or withhold assistance if the people in
need were not from their group. I’m sure, though, most of my peers
would be unconditional in their willingness to assist.
SENIOR PASTOR JAMES TURRELL
Center for Spiritual Discovery
Costa Mesa
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