Churches play crucial role in creating a home to help humanity grow, says archbishop of Canterbury
Episcopal News Service. January 26, 2010 [012610-01]
Lynette Wilson
Using the words of St. Lawrence, a deacon of the Roman Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told those gathered at the Desmond Tutu Center in New York City Jan. 26 that Christians treasure the world's most vulnerable people because they treasure humanity, and they know that God treasures humanity.
And in treasuring the most vulnerable, especially children, Williams said, faith-based groups and churches play a crucial role in helping the human race "imagine itself afresh" and in creating a "home," or the space necessary to help one another grow.
Williams gave the keynote address and joined a panel gathered at the Tutu Center on the campus of the General Theological Seminary to discuss the theme: "Where Does our Treasure Lie? – A rights and faith-based approach to safeguard children from the effects of the global financial and economic crises."
Can we point to the most vulnerable in society, Williams asked, and say, "These are our treasures?"
Humanity is so precious we want to make it grow, he said. "When we approach children we should be concerned not only about protection … but about growth, active involvement that opens the door for them to grow, and therefore, humanity."
The panel was organized by the office of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations and included the Rev. Theodora Brooks, vicar of St. Margaret's Church in the South Bronx; the Rev. Robert V. Lee III, founding chairman and CEO of Fresh Ministries; and Salil Shetty, director of the U.N. Millennium Campaign.
Williams spent the earlier part of the day participating in discussions at the United Nations. Following the panel discussion he was scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The archbishop is in New York to participate in the 2010 Trinity Institute's National Theological Conference, themed "Building an Ethical Economy: Theology and the Market Place."
In her discussion of home as "the first institution for meeting the needs and the rights of children," Brooks advised the panel and the audience of more than 175 people to expand their definition of home to include refugee and internally displaced peoples' camps, orphanages, foster homes and homeless shelters.
"Home is not always a physical structure … with parents, siblings, toys, electrical gadgets and one environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicle parked in the driveway," she said.
A home, she said, is a place of safety where a child is free from violence, hunger and uncertainty.
"It is God's will that each child feel safe and protected," Brooks said. "If home is not a safe place, we are as guilty as the warlords and the architects of inadequate public policies."
Shetty spoke of the Millennium Development Goals on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of their adoption by the leaders of 189 nations, and their collective goal of providing the groundwork for meeting the needs of the world's poor and providing the framework for society's home.
Shetty sees the MDGs -- six of the eight relating directly to meeting the needs of children -- as basic human rights and as such a government responsibility. And "political will," he said, is the single force standing in the way of their success.
Still, remarkable progress has been made since their adoption in 2000, and not just in China and India, but in countries like Rwanda, Mozambique and Nepal, he said.
"Where the leadership at the top is strong … that's where the success is," he said.
Two weeks ago, Ban declared the MDGs a priority, and in preparation for a summit of heads of state scheduled for September, the means of achieving the MDGs are being evaluated, he said.
Without a hint of apology, Shetty pointed out that of the nations that signed on to contribute 0.7 percent of their national income, only Italy has done less than the United States to meet that goal.
Governments, however, cannot do the work alone. For his part, Lee stressed the value of partnerships in meeting the needs and protecting the rights of children worldwide, and in breaking down the fear that isolates human beings.
"When we do the work in the name of love, people come together and band together in the name of love, fear subsides," he said, stressing the value of global Anglican Communion partnerships.
Williams pointed to the recently formed Global Anglican Relief and Development Alliance, whose goal it is to promote effective communication between existing agencies to strengthen their effectiveness and work toward eliminating duplication, as a means toward supporting partnerships.