%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250205085548+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250205085548+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2191 >> stream xXMWtnq.$JRl:v֮K;!0$&` 3l~o^π\4NrHK 1,rw_~'jt,qGOh1T}AS߈ukNYkHt4V7_/T$2{f8\")qoI[Pח˔owx~r|ۯiR^(IUZ&i87V.?U*gIVr4yS(7 8e<V]V9.e/w>o*` )KꍣAXrAԿͱ?\&+8O) I|Bh]*ފF1{GjčͥIL#'%ÂJast^6OKn۩znJ+MTZ5m䀩1z\SJYi1'x*XΚZIUVwOʹoLqSi,bt$ҞI^n/qt9]g~;) R;i*ܣtHwNmʈ#gF ޴VN&UtQ8-qkT!lWEbr;c{ҮlT.L#p;J$*ɚi*+[TXN@O jUDkBz+W 8F#п3c2K^.,0X7@^F);/w|R-qÝlg;o}Yr"ε|p, t̹rVl УA~m9Vf :+N( "̭Zidiܣ`6A9/bm998z`tvK] W#Ra?7Htet(1y|BtxZEJxᆾ `2Z*<٬c0tTMZ$dD=9Ԋ#SjJ Ҙt6cw΀э%3 =M Cҫ\oUnP 02<x2ai UdSZ@8QZ2sxV>}ޟyчIE-#_wVk7 AĕDӌꥵ`xL!mpEŏEvP*wn_~0 21vqVc"pjv[}~c33> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Times-Italic /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1297 >> stream xVM6ﯘc x, I"i P@KcYTHʮ{? McJ(Λfy&iIoxs^\ryUֻ]]e0lA+C*lSt֞8N֦'] z1WiNWOA|oA(a Zp!{lvLNsSA:~ iaIv&@٨eS3tbgQ&`pW[UVjk+:ZG%١g۷@bt)9<)|xykq=Ǿ2DGv;n[XܱAsc!z!T Y!$A(Y4S (t-Z@XUᩈGR?-+ɕuGAE36FoiOk/Xltuwv"V9C㑹,*: y>I[|Qk,eêg" sǎ2ed>HV_=6#/ƍFha?P0fpXL|pKZ6"lɢʑqh&$H c=93@ CgV !-Q>av: MZf&wS&t%F-hsB03Tb}vlh;z-MBGjY;[k}~&Pı<ʴQW3 +b&s 7d̀TFIE?# ג$_ħt{yLc0tPJDk $391:࿎X``Ҭ3V`SzǵQ6b/_S1sުUX:~'vx6vmB04b|Lѩ> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000003014 00000 n 0000003123 00000 n 0000003230 00000 n 0000003339 00000 n 0000003452 00000 n 0000003563 00000 n 0000003592 00000 n 0000003702 00000 n 0000009277 00000 n 0000010408 00000 n 0000010467 00000 n 0000010526 00000 n 0000010631 00000 n 0000012002 00000 n 0000012059 00000 n 0000012116 00000 n 0000017691 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 18822 %%EOF FOCUS - Class clash: Sunday school mirrors the world | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

FOCUS – Class clash: Sunday school mirrors the world

December 25, 2000
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

by Lt. Amanda ReardonI have a Sunday school class of second and third graders. It is a difficult class where two worlds collide. About half of the class are children from homes with two parents and enough resources to meet every need. The other half of my class comes from a homeless family shelter. These children would have no home were it not for Christian charity, and possibly very little clothing and food. Some of their families have deep-seated troubles above and beyond financial concern.

I sat at my kitchen table preparing for my class, thinking of the children in it. The less fortunate kids seem to want to reach out to the others, but have difficulty doing so. The more fortunate, who are also better at reading the lesson aloud and have a fairly good working knowledge of the Bible, have a hard time understanding the struggles of the less fortunate. Why can’t they read better? Why can’t they sit still?

The lesson I was preparing that evening was about compassion. Such a topic made me acutely aware of how my class was a microcosm of the oldest struggle known to civilization. Every Sunday morning, one socio-economic class bumps up against another. And like most of the rest of the world, none of them quite knows how to handle it.

My students are actually in a fortunate situation. Christians talk about loving the poor, but how many middle-class church-goers know any poor people? They may volunteer at a shelter or soup kitchen, but do they really know any poor people? Romans 3: 12­15 talks about a Christian compassion that is so deep it binds us in “perfect unity.” Surely this brand of compassion must involve something more than an annual visit to a soup kitchen to hand sandwiches to the hungry. The compassion Paul describes implies intimacy.

Of course, this works both ways. The Christian in poverty must also have true compassion toward those who seem more advantaged. Bitterness is inappropriate. Ambivalence is inappropriate. Whatever barriers exist, whichever camp has constructed them, they are to be abolished. Believers are brothers and sisters in Christ–fellow heirs to his Kingdom! Some day soon there will be no social class, no race, no gender.

It has been said that during the Civil War era an interesting phenomena seemed to occur. While people in the north believed in freedom for the slaves and respected blacks as a people, they (and I’m generalizing here) did not appreciate them as individuals. Apparently, many slaves who escaped to their “Promised Land”–the free north–were greeted with disdain. In the south, however, many blacks felt loved as individuals by the families who owned them but did not care to set them free. Their masters were thoroughly convinced that blacks were of an inferior race, yet they often developed deep personal affection for them individually.

Of course, the Christian attitude would be to both love the individual and value the dignity of the entire race. And the same challenge faces the modern Christian. We are quite accomplished at doing good for certain groups of people. But do we value the individual person? Do we respect the foul-smelling homeless man who comes through our doors looking for bus fare on a Sunday morning, oblivious to the fact that we are all clean, odor-free and trying to worship? Or is he only welcome when he is a nameless member of a large group we are feeding on Christmas day?

Compassion is cheapened when it is used merely to occasionally soothe the guilty souls of those who live with abundance. Worse yet, it is stripped of all meaning when acts of benevolence are just something to be checked off on a Christian’s “to do” list. Real compassion is gritty, tangible. Real compassion is visible when a tidy soldier invites the unshowered man to lunch after church. It is seen again when the woman in one pew rises to sit with the lonely foreign exchange student in another pew, and asks about her homeland, her family. It is unmistakable as women of the church pitch in to buy maternity clothes for a pregnant teen with little money.

As Christmas approaches, let us assume every reader will be helping with holiday efforts in some way…standing at a kettle, taking applications for food baskets, passing out toys, visiting in rest homes, etc. Our task will be to see each person in need as an individual. To reach out as one human to another…maybe even learn some names, and go home and pray for those we meet. This Christmas, I don’t want to help “the poor.” I want to help James and Elena and Tyronne and Anna…

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like