We’ve talked a lot about COVID relief in our action alerts. Driving home the critical importance of passing bold legislation that gives much needed relief to people experiencing extreme hardship. In the midst of it all – there is the ongoing awareness that for many the pandemic didn’t spell the beginning of hardship, but rather the sharpening of it. For too many in our country hunger isn’t new, fear of eviction and homelessness is something they’ve experienced time and again. Being unable to take paid time off or even time off to recover from illness or nurse a family member is an acceptable practice for businesses who are more concerned with the bottom line than their employee’s wellbeing. Too many people are paid too little for their labor and too much is asked of people struggling each day.
Greed before humanity is a hallmark of the U.S. economic system. As people of faith, we stand in the gap between the callous inhumanity of rampant corporate greed and the idea that each person’s value and worth is dependent not on their production, but by their existence. Jesus came so that we might experience an abundant life, and for far too many people that abundant life is out of reach.
One way we, as people of faith can work toward a more just and abundant world is in contacting Congress and asking them to be bold and pass a COVID relief package that helps people in this time of need, and more importantly helps people get to a place that they can thrive. This means supporting the American Rescue Plan as a first step.
You are the best teller of your own story and that of your community. When you call or write, share what’s on your heart; ways hardship is impacting your life and those around you or how you and your congregation are working toward a world restored. It is the responsibility of members of congress to represent their constituents by taking seriously their needs and acting for the good of the nation. We need to pass meaningful COVID relief, not just to address the immediate impacts of the pandemic and economic crisis but also to build people and communities back up. Congress needs to act now.