charity

Features

Designer mittens

Mine for the giving

Mar 21, 2013 by Debra Bendis

I gave the woman a Dunkin Donuts gift card and told her to get something hot. She didn't thank me. She said, "Those mittens look warm."

Century Blogs

The Spiritual Meadow

by John Moschus

On reading a weird monk joke about underwear

Jan 17, 2013 by Amy Frykholm

As I mentioned before, I’ve been reading this strange book called The Spiritual Meadow, written by sixth-century wandering monk John Moschos. One of the last stories in the book was as relevant to my daily existence as any story I have read in a long time. I have only the vaguest idea what it means, but I do know it’s another weird monk joke. And this one was aimed directly at me.

The story goes like this: In the ancient city of Antioch, the church had various kinds of social services. “A man who was a friend of Christ” used to gather supplies and give them out to people in need.

Century Blogs

Three common distortions about poverty

Nov 08, 2012 by Amy Frykholm

It is true, as a Century editorial recently argued, that poverty did not get the attention it deserved in the presidential campaign. Even more frustrating are the comments often made about poverty and social program when they do come up. Let’s look at three common distortions.

Century Blogs

A frustrating performance by Dan Savage

May 03, 2012 by Benjamin J. Dueholm

On Sunday night I went to hear Dan Savage speak about the It Gets Better Project. The last time I saw him was 2003, if memory serves, in front of a crowd of perhaps a hundred. At one point Savage took a break from promoting his new book Skipping Toward Gomorrah to refer his audience to the now-famous New Republic cover story "The Liberal Case for War" (against Iraq).

It was a good talk, funny and engaging, and it made a striking contrast with his Sunday appearance.

In the World

Are food drives worthwhile?

Dec 16, 2011 by Steve Thorngate

Are good deeds primarily about the good done for others or the good the doing does for the do-gooder?

In the World

Charity vs. politics?

Aug 23, 2011 by Steve Thorngate

Yes, political advocacy is more effective than Band-Aid-style charity. But are those the only options?

Books

Red-Hot and Righteous, by Diane Winston

Nov 03, 1999 reviewed by Greg Schneider

To the beat of their drums, missionaries from the "Save-a-Soul Mission"—a dead ringer for the Salvation Army—march onstage in Guys and Dolls, the 1950 Broadway musical comedy. By opening her study of the Salvation Army with this image, Diane Winston, a journalist turned academic historian, foreshadows several of her book's major insights.

Features

A refugee for dinner

It’s not in the ministry manual

Nov 15, 2000 by Mary Ann Cejka

Fernando did not look like what I thought a refugee should look like. He was fat, for one thing. The beige polyester suit he wore was tight on him, especially around the belly. He reeked of cologne. He had one gold front tooth and around his neck was a matching gold chain. The pendant dangling from the chain appeared to be a phallus.

Features

What can Christians give?

Pertinent visions

Feb 16, 2000 by Garret Keizer

In this new century, any credible answer to that question needs to be prefaced by what we cannot give. “I have no silver or gold,” says the apostle Peter, “but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Perhaps one of the things we Christians no longer have to give, and probably never had to give, is a neat solution to every human dilemma.

Books

Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire

Peter Brown

Inventing the poor

Jun 14, 2003 reviewed by Walter Brueggemann
Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, former president Jimmy Carter remarked that the “growing gap between the rich and poor” is the most elemental problem facing the world economy. But the gap between the rich and the poor is also a very old problem.