Heart for the Poor
There’s a physicality about Christianity that means heartfelt generosity must be
coupled with action. What is felt in the heart is also to be felt in the pocket and in the
muscles. The poor must be fed, visited. The poor are our neighbours, when we live
nearby, when we clean and wash, sacrifice ourselves, our souls and bodies.
They are Christ. ‘When I need a neighbour, where you there?’,
Sydney Carter wrote paraphrasing Matthew 25:31.
Mothers Union members are to be neighbours: heart, soul and body.
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and will be repaid in full.
Proverbs 19:17
In the diocese of Down and Dromore, Northern Ireland Mothers Union connects with church
programmes for the vulnerable and isolated. Children normally fed meals at school,
are hungry during the holidays so hot meals are served. A camp on the green has
free packed lunch and fun exercises. There’s school uniform recycling.
Poverty is real and relative. The love of Jesus is shared.