Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Of Conference, Purple-clad elites and the Poor

“I was at a meeting of the Superiors General in Europe. They talked only of changing the structures of society, organizing things in a different way. It all came to nothing. It did not do something for the poor, or preach Christ to those without religion, to those totally ignorant of God”

This is a quotation from Mother Theresa and as I read it I can't help but think of our Conference, beginning on Wednesday, and what its outcome may be. Our connexion, covering Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, has a multitude of dreadful problems, not least of all the scourge of preventable disease which kills thousands, particularly amongst the poor, daily. South Africa has the greatest gap between rich and poor in the world, having recently overtaken Brazil in this disgraceful statistic. Corruption is rife and many continue to live as if there is no God. Will Conference 2010 affect the great justice issues in our part of the world.

This week's RCL Gospel reading, Luke 16:19-31 (the parable of the rich man with the beggar at his gate) addresses some of these issues as it records a conversation across the divide between haves and have-nots, between the purple clad elites (in the KJV) and the masses.

It speaks of Abraham (and perhaps the descendants of Abraham, the church) being able to communicate with both sides and in this life, of bridging the gap (as a dentist I love that idea), closing the space, perhaps even laying ourselves down as the pontic.

I hope our Conference will help us, as it guides us, to work at closing the iniquitous gaps in the places God, in His grace, has called us to be Methodists