Core Values and Stewardship of Action

(Reuters photo)

Today, we welcome a guest post on our staff blog from our Rector's Warden, Pam Hill.

A few months ago I was so smug! I had planned my visit to see our son Peter and his wife, Mandy very carefully, in order to be in South Dakota to help out soon after the birth of their new baby and get back here for the wonderfully exciting dedication of the new Wellspring space. Things worked perfectly! I could join them a week after they got home with the baby, stay for two weeks, and return in time for the celebration. It went flawlessly until the night before I was to fly home. Smugness turned into humility.

There’s nothing like a powerful act of nature to remind you that you’re not in charge. And there’s nothing like the elimination of daily props and taken-for-granted amenities to thrust you into an unasked for “back to basics” experience. It’s one thing to plan to go camping or to rough it on vacation, but to be “passing through” on your way elsewhere, then stymied in transit, on your own, in a makeshift spot, and having it suddenly become where you will remain for an unknown period of time, brings you to an intimate present in this transitory life. These are the times you bump into the question Jarrett raised on a recent Sunday: does creation care about me? There was day and there was night. There were few distractions—cold, wind, darkness, strangers, and snow. I say “present” because that’s where I was. There were past memories of fun-filled hours from days before and a remembered future that I would go into. But here and now was where I was without much to do. When busyness becomes pared down like this, is that when core values emerge? Maybe.

Survival or getting through is supposed to be a key instinct, a value we all have. Is the value on “me” or “us”? I think for many people at this present time, survival-in-comfort is really the value. And comfort is tied to getting what I want, more or less when I want it. It’s an affront when it’s taken away. In this storm trapped without lights, heat, or escape and with diminishing food and omg, dying cell phones, one comfort people sought was to be with others, so people gathered in small family or friend-groups in large, chilly, public spaces. At first there was a lot of complaining and asking questions that had no answers. Once beyond that however, a few people ventured out and struck up conversations with strangers. Somebody had a deck of cards; another person a set of dominoes. Games began. People shared ideas about how to keep warm, and information or rumors they’d heard. There were some little acts of kindness and some of appalling thoughtlessness. People more or less maintained civility. A certain pragmatism carried most people through. Things weren’t dire, and it would end relatively soon. Boredom or being with yourself with nothing to do (except fret) was a main complaint. In the midst of going someplace else we were all caught right here. There was an underlying nervous energy, especially for a lot of the men, to be out doing something to make it end faster. They would go out and stand in the gale winds and blowing snow and stare at their SUV’s and trucks, and then come back in. When the winds dropped and the snow stopped at last, they rushed out in sneakers and flip flops with wastebaskets as shovels to free their cars, sometimes taking the snow and dumping it on the car next to theirs. It’s a thin space between what I need and acting in concert with broader needs.

Core values, something we’re about to consider deeply at St. Martin’s, are shown in actions. If I think generosity is something I value, then others should see this through acts. That’s why identifying values has a check system that goes along with it. If I value consideration of others, yet cut in line ahead of those patiently waiting for food, they don’t call it consideration. I am the steward of my own actions, even if and especially when I’m caught in the unexpected. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of frustration, fear, huddling under the covers. (It was really cold!) Could I say that creation didn’t care about me? Sure. And that God didn’t care about me? Less sure. I still had stewardship over all I have been given. My actions would still be governed by my values. No longer could I act in smugness, though. That easily perceived yet rather thoughtless value faded. It was an unexpected time to think and to be immensely thankful. I could think about what I have, what I value, and what I could do. And with grace, maybe, be a sort of good steward. God does act in very mysterious ways.

- Pam Hill, Rector's Warden

Catching Up with POWER

On October 9th, St. Martin's hosted three “house meetings” to explain the current priorities of POWER – Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild. All POWER congregations are holding house meetings in October, most in members’ homes. We decided to make the gatherings easier by holding them after one of our wonderful SUPPERs.

We began by showing this video created by POWER to illustrate its analysis of the state of the city. That video can be seen on St. Martin’s website in case you missed it. However, the video throws out so many statistics in a rushed voice that it is hard to catch. Here is a recap.

A prevalent myth is that Philadelphia and PA are broke, forcing us to close schools and pay poverty wages. However, tax breaks for corporations operating in PA have more than tripled, from $850,000 in 2003 to $3,200,000,000 in 2013. In 2010, 73% of corporations paid no corporate income tax. A good example is Comcast. After spending $140,789 in lobbying efforts in Philadelphia, Comcast received $30,000,000 of property tax abatements over five years, in addition to $42,750,000 in state grants and assistance. In 2011, Comcast made $55,000,000,000 in profits.

At the Philadelphia Airport, where POWER concentrated its efforts all last year, US Airways paid $166,485 in lobbying efforts while its earnings jumped to $637 million in 2012. The CEO of US Airways received a 44 percent increase in compensation to $5.5 million last year. Meanwhile, more than 20% of US Airways staff at the airport reported going hungry within the last year. 75% had difficulty paying bills. 97% received no paid sick days. A significant number rely on food stamps.

The number of Philadelphians at or below the poverty line is 40%; a doubling in the last six years. Philadelphia has the highest level of severe poverty among the nation’s ten largest cities. Poverty-wage jobs often lack basic support structures like paid sick leave, time off, and health benefits. Among workers of color, the rate of poverty is twice as high. Even in the suburbs, poverty rates have grown by 40% in the last decade. For these reasons, creating jobs with a living wage is one of POWER’s two main concerns.

POWER's other main goal is improving public education. Lawmakers, lobbied by corporations, have consistently underfunded Pennsylvania’s schools. We are one of only three states that lack a fair funding formula. An article about this was written in The Atlantic, and can be read here or on St. Martin's Facebook page.  476 of 500 school districts in Pennsylvania were underfunded in 2006 even before Governor Corbett cut $1,000,000,000 from the education budget.  While education is reduced, the prison budget has doubled over the last decade. A good example is $400,000,000 for a new prison just outside the city.

Jim Wallace of Sojourners magazine asserts that public budgets are moral documents. We, the tax payers, are complicit in what these budgets say. The city owns the airport and all its public projects. The city allows subcontracted labor on city projects to be paid lower than the minimum wage without benefits.

POWER is working on a campaign to pass an initiative on the May ballot to correct this practice. POWER is also working to achieve a fair funding formula for our schools. Watch the video on the website. Help POWER accomplish its goals.

- The Rev. Carol Duncan