On October 7-8, United Methodists gathered in Camp Hill, PA for the third annual Anti-Poverty Summit. The event, organized by United Methodist Advocacy in Pennsylvania director Steve Drachler, featured panelists and speakers from across the nation addressing the issue of American destitution and the church’s ministry to the poor. Included in the lineup was influential Ohio United Methodist pastor Michael Slaughter, who was joined by other powerful voices within the United Methodist Church. Pennsylvania Bishops Jeremiah Park and Peggy Johnson also attended.
Lorenza Andrade Smith, an activist for the homeless and illegal immigrants, offered the opening sermon. “To be kind is not to be a doormat,” she instructed, “We don’t need our personal holiness to be at odds with our social holiness.” Smith observed, “Law and justice are related, but they’re not always aligned.” She quoted from the Equal Justice Initiative’s Bryan Stevenson: “The opposite of poverty is not wealth — the opposite of poverty is justice.”
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