The Little Things

It is true that the little things can help..Connie you are right, so far the pay it forward idea seems to multiply the best. I guess sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the needs of everyone and the so little I have to help. In this last month I have been inondated at work with fund raisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation...almost literally every day, someone was asking for money..ie bake sales, breakfast fundraisers, draws, etc. By the way, I told them I refused to buy bacon and eggs to support the Heart and Stroke foundation. If they put out fresh fruit, I would bite. So, the next day, they put out grapes and apples, so I bought them along with some of my supportive co-workers.

I also joined my church organization today, the United Methodist Churches movement ....here is my tasks for the week. All the prayer will keep me busy!

Abundance

I came that you might have life and have it abundantly
John 10:10

Moment of Centering and Reflection
Try to imagine living life abundantly. What does abundance include?

Now think about abundant life in terms of your health. Spend time imagining how God’s intention for abundant life might be reflected in our current health care crises. For many, abundance may simply mean a life in which one does not have to make decisions between buying food for one’s family, or buying costly health coverage.

We see where we have failed this offer of abundance in:

■High health care costs without covering everyone;
■over 45.7 million uninsured
■Racial Ethnic disparities
■Excess sickness & death
Please spend time reflecting on an abundant life and how the current proposals for Health Care Reform might bring us close to this kind of life. A life in which all are given the chance to live healthy lives.

Because we as people of faith value the promise of abundance, we pray for a health care system that is…
ACCESSIBLE

All persons should have access to health services that provide necessary care and contribute to wellness.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Those who are uninsured in our current system
■Health Care reform which includes a Public Option
Humanity

So God created humankind in God’s image, in the image of God [they were created].
Genesis 1:27

Moment of Centering and Reflection

Bring into your mind the face of a friend, loved one, colleague.

Please spend time reflecting on this person’s humanity. In that humanity, they are a reflection of the very image of God.

So too do the 47 million people in this country who are currently uninsured bear the image of God. So too must we honor them and value their humanity.

We see where we have failed to value this humanity in:

■Current structures of Corporate Power
■Deregulation
■High prices whenever one provider has sole control of a good or service -- drugs, hospital care, etc.
As people of faith we honor the humanity of all persons and our collective identity as children of the Creator.

We pray, today for a health care system that respects the humanity of all people and allows them the dignity to live into this identity.

Because we as people of faith value human dignity, we pray for a health care system that is…

ACCOUNTABLE

Our health care system must be accountable, offering a quality, equitable and sustainable means of keeping us healthy as individuals and as a community.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Those who are sick and in need of healing.
■The Health Insurance Industry. That as they encounter stories of those who go without health care in our current system that they would be challenged and moved by their humanity. 
Community

For all must carry their own loads…bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6: 5,2

Moment of Centering and Reflection
Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers two distinct calls. First, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to “carry our own load”. Connecting this call to our health, we have a responsibility to keep ourselves healthy.

And then he continues that we are to “bear one another’s burdens”. Scripture clearly calls us to intentional community, connected and accountable to one another.

Reflect on how reforms in our health care system might help us to live out both parts of this call.

We see where we have failed this call to community in:

■Conversion of Non-Profits to For-Profits;
■Reduction of Medicaid funding
■Means-testing Medicare/Medicaid
■Increasing pressure on the poor and the sick to fend for themselves.
We pray for a deeper understanding of community and specifically how this relates to our commitment to one another. We pray as people of faith that we would consider this scriptural mandate to care for our community as we desire a health care system which provides for even “the least of these”.

Because we as people of faith value community, we pray for a health care system that is…

INCLUSIVE

Health care is a right and a shared responsibility that is grounded in our common humanity.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Preventative and public health education programs, by which we can be held more accountable to our own health
■An end to discriminatory regulations against pre-existing conditions
■An end to racial and ethnic disparities 
Stewardship

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.
Luke 12:48

Moment of Centering and Reflection
The Gospel of Luke clearly calls people of faith to live lives of stewardship and sacrifice.

Spend time reflecting on what has been given to you. What resources have you been asked to steward on behalf of the Creator?

We see where we have failed this call to stewardship in:

■Decisions made from a "business model" where profit is the criterion for success and the rewards go to the “owners”.
■Failure of Government to provide health care: Ezekiel 34:4 - rulers have not healed the sick
Prayerfully consider how call to stewardship speaks to our responsibilities in a reformed health care system.

What could our health care system look like if we conveyed this moral imperative to our Members of Congress and asked that they join us in this call to be stewards of the resources we have as a country?

Because we as people of faith heed the call to stewardship, we pray for a health care system that is…

AVAILABLE TO ALL

Health Care must contribute to the common good by being available to all for individuals, families and society as a whole. We pray for health care that covers everyone… a public option for those who cannot pay, and affordability for those who can.

Spend time in prayer for…

■The Members of Congress who are discussing and debating the details of the legislation that will be presented to reform health care.
■Leaders of the faith community who are carrying this message into their places of worship. Pray that they may be bold in their speech and that this prophetic word would be received and lived out by those who hear it.