Empowerment
Diocesan Press Service. February 24, 1972 [72025]
The empowerment of the dispossessed at this time in history cannot take place unless radical structural changes in mental attitudes and in society can be brought about thereby freeing men and people of all sorts and conditions, both rich and poor, old and young, to be- come the new humanity proclaimed and made possible in Christ. Thus, a primary task in the empowerment process is the liberating of man from those "powers and principalities "' and structures which enslave him.
Empowering must be seen as a liberating process for oppressed and oppressor, for powerful and powerless, whereby God's Spirit breaks the walls of separation that dehumanize people.
Empowerment is the predominant objective in the ministry and mission of our church at home and abroad in our day. We believe that Seattle was a watershed in the life of the Episcopal Church committing us anew to enabling the poor and the powerless to know self- determination, the fulfillment, and the wholeness that God intends for all persons.
We, the Program Advisory Group on Empowerment, reaffirm the following goals mandated by Seattle, South Bend and Houston stated as follows:
1) Help the poor and dis-enfranchised gain social, political, and economic power in order to have an effective voice and visible presence in the decisions which affect their own lives.
2) Provide initiative and support for the development of Church and Community organizations which are attempting to eliminate racist practices within the Church and other institutions of our society.
3) Assist in the use of the Church's influence -- by use of its manpower and economic power, separately and in coalition -- in order to support justice and self-determination for the poor and the powerless.
We do not intend to rationalize any principles in the ardent pursuit of these goals, but we do want to put as a very high priority the question of what can each of us as professing Christians within the Episcopal Church do to help each other in the Church and those outside the Church see the issues more clearly, to be honest, frank, and open with ourselves and others, instead of reflecting the bitterness and confusion with which numbers of people are now struggling. We must set an example of education, communication, and action that will restore confidence in our leadership. Certainly, the purpose of Christianity is to respond to the needs of mankind wherever and whenever they exist, and this responsibility never ceases. Therefore, we must challenge our church membership to meet our obligations in obedience to this call to Christian mission.
We are cognizant of the fact that the term "empowerment" has different connotations for different segments of our society. We readily admit that there is a grossly uneven distribution of power in our society. We recognize that efforts to change the distribution of power is a very sensitive thrust that will bring varied reactions. We wish to state emphatically that our " empowerment" goal is to bring the presently disadvantaged to a position of self-determining equals, not to a position where they will impose their will on all other peoploe. Our efforts, hopefully, will be a positive response to Christian mission in the 1970's-- not to be viewed as taking from one and giving to another. There is nothing in the Gospel that says this will be either popular or easy, and some may have to pay a price, judging by secular standards for this certain kind of integrity and rationality and honesty. This most probably won't make everyone happy in the ordinary sense. On the other hand, one will have maintained his soul; it will be whole. The "good life" cannot always be squared with superficial happiness or secular status quo. The world at present is asking for something like this. It cannot get along without it most certainly for very much longere. If there is any of it left in the world, the Church had better conserve it and bring it into action.