The Church of the Redeemer

The Third Sunday after Easter

April 14, 2002

“How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” 

On Monday morning, April 1^st, I joined the Episcopal City Mission’s lobby day at the State House.  Political activism is not something I am normally predisposed to consider, however, since the primary concern focused on protecting the children of the Commonwealth.  It was also coincidental that our lobby day fell on April first, the month of the year nationally recognized as child protection month.  Because of the focus and month, I felt called to participate.   I must admit, I was nervous about embarking on this endeavor.  I had never spoken to a state senator or representative, much less written about concerns to one.  However, in the two hours that I was in the State House, I found God’s assurance and comfort as I approached state senators and representatives as a priest and a representative of this diocese and articulated the concerns I share with our Bishops concerning the allocation of funds for fiscal years 2002 and proposed allocation of funds for fiscal year 2003.

            As we are painfully aware, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is facing a serious financial crisis that is creating a projected budget short fall of close to two billion dollars and even more in fiscal year 2003.  Governor Swift intends to honor her pledge not to raise taxes in the coming year and is attempting to solve the crisis by reducing state spending across the board.  Unfortunately, the hardest hit area of state spending is health and human services, most particularly the Department of Social Services, the state authority that administrates our welfare and protective services programs.  Most of us equate the work of D.S.S. with the millions of dollars spent supporting indigent   (often thought to be lazy) single mothers and their children.  However this is only a small fraction of what this agency is responsible for.  In fact, the majority of the money spent on State Welfare is provided through federal tax dollars.  The bulk of the state’s tax dollars are spent on the protection of children from abuse and neglect, supporting agencies, and Medicare for our frail elderly. 

            Sixty million dollars has been cut from D. S. S. and is having a major impact on the services provided to our children.  In the area of Children’s protection, eleven per cent of the social workers involved in direct care have been laid off, displacing 2000 child and family cases, increasing caseloads by 70 per cent.  The 3.5 million dollars saved by this cut in personnel is creating a great amount of stress on an already over burdened system.  A system, when adequately funded, if there is such a situation, substantiates over twenty child deaths a year that are a direct result of physical abuse by a parent or caretaker.  Now I know state systems can be incredibly inefficient and can easily be redesigned to be managed at lower cost to the state.  Unfortunately, in the area of Children’s protective, while this may in fact be true, because it is run within such a complicated web of federal and state mandates, there is no immediate solution that can easily or legally be implemented.  Because of this, the current fiscal situation is creating a gap in services that is leaving scores of children from infancy to adolescents at risk of physical abuse and neglect and even, death, because the state has fired the staff that is needed to adequately monitor the families at greatest risk.  Legally we expect parents to adequately provide for the physical and mental welfare of their children and we hold parents who fail to do so criminally responsible.  How do we describe it when the state we live in fails to do the same? 

            When informed of these facts and the other programs cut from the state budget such as after school programs for children of the working poor, the forty people from around the diocese, lay and ordained, were only too glad to speak with those who represent our cities and towns.  We were also willing to accept the fact that in order to restore programs cut from health and human services this year we would have to accept revenue enhancements that equated to an additional fifty to one hundred dollars in state taxes per house hold.   It is about the cost of a dinner and a movie for two, a small price to pay for the life of a child and one small way to answer the question of the psalmist, “How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” 

            Psalm 116, which we have heard sung this morning, is one of many songs of praise and thanksgiving to God found in this beautiful book of poetry.  In this morning’s psalm, the writer’s primary focus is to thank God for delivering the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt.  In the portion we read, the writer tells us of two ways he is responding to God’s love.  In verse fourteen the writer expresses his love and gratitude for God by openly stating how he feels connected with him. “O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant and the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from my bond.” In verses twelve and sixteen, the psalmist emphasizes his second response to God’s love by stating in both verses, “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”

            Today, as Christians, we sing this psalm to thank God for delivering us from the snares of death through the sacrifice of Jesus.  We can follow the example of the psalmist by openly proclaiming our bond with God and by living out the Baptismal vows we so gladly renewed in the course of our services last week.  How we express our baptismal vows is as varied and unique as we are individuals within the Body of Christ.  And this parish has a proud tradition of repaying the Lord for all the good things he has done for us through the assistance we provide the various social agencies in the greater Boston area and the world.  Many of us give freely of their time and talent through volunteer efforts.   It is through all of these efforts that we directly serve Christ in all people.  However, we tend to become uncomfortable when we are asked to consider our politics through the lenses of our faith.  This is not surprising; we are part of a country that has a proud history of keeping the church and state separated.  This does not mean we are part of a country that requires us to separate our faith from our political viewpoint.  In reality, a representative democracy is designed to prevent one ideology from becoming disproportionately dominant over others. 

            It is with all this in mind, that many of us joined Bishop Shaw to lobby for the reinstatement of funds to D.S. S.  Because, if we feel any gratitude for the sacrifice Christ made for us at Calvary, and, truly rejoice in his victory over death, then we are called at the very least to “repay him” by following his example of ministering to the most vulnerable of society by advocating for ours.   

So, I would like to take this opportunity to urge all of us in the weeks and months ahead to pay close attention to how our commonwealth attempts to design a balanced budget for 2003, and then, to continue educating ourselves as to the impact this will have on the thousands of children in this state who are at risk of abuse and neglect.   Finally, I hope that each of us, as Christians and members of this diocese, will inform our senators and representatives as to what we individually hold to be true concerning the adequacy of funding the commonwealth is providing for the safety and protection of our children. 

Let us pray:

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread; Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

The Rev. Craig R. Swan+

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