Social Justice and Religion

In my social justice oriented class we discussed Hurricane Katrina today. This was after having watched "When Levees Break" and reading "Katrina's Hidden Race War". It was very painful. To think and be faced again and again with the devastation of the extreme flooding in the area. That would be bad enough, losing everything you have. Facing that abject terror that comes from knowing your life and the lives of those you love is in danger, and may end, has to be the most horrible of feelings.

The racism and classism that happened after this disaster was gut wrenching. In this country we feel like we have gotten so far and in some ways we have made progress but there is still so very far to go that sometimes it is destructive to think about. It was interesting to find out that even though the government was a complete failure in getting into the area quickly, and there were many racist events, the churches were there.

Churches and religion is in part about community building. In Christian churches this is about following Jesus and his commandments to love your neighbor. In Unitarian Universalist churches community is an essential part of our principles. The reverend who did our program today told us that there were incidents of GLBT folks being turned away even from the help of churches. People were turned away from hospitals when they did not have identification. When you are trying to pull your children out of the water the first thing you think about is not that you need to get your wallet.

What does it say about churches that in the time of deepest most desperate need they were the ones that stepped up? What does it say that for some folks they were also the ones who again turned them away? When we are most desperate is that the time we are most ourselves?