Readings for Feb. 22

Hello, all, and thanks for such a lively discussion in class today. As we prepare to host the Fellowship Lunch next Sunday, I am mindful of how blessed we are -- both because we have the material bounty to provide lunch (for 100 people -- did you see the size of our soup pots!?!?!), and because we have such a vibrant community of faith to share it with.

Our readings for this week focused on what it means to be poor in America -- how we calculate poverty and what kinds of material conditions poor people face -- or don't face -- in this country. For next week, I'm hoping we can focus on our own state and community. Legal Services of New Jersey's report, Poverty Benchmarks 2009, provides a lot of great background information. It's also 137 pages (or at least the .pdf file is!), so perhaps folks can pick and choose the sections that are the most compelling to them, and then we can reweave the broader story on Sunday through a discussion of what we found most interesting about the report. You can find it online here: http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/budget/Benchmarks2009.pdf.

I had mentioned the Self-Sufficiency Standard, which has been calculated on a county-by-county basis for a number of states (maybe all of them?). It identifies the minimum income required to obtain necessities -- food, transportation, health care, housing, child care, etc. -- and reflects what those items actually cost in each county and how those costs might vary for families with different configurations. The Mercer County Self-Sufficiency Standard can be found here: http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/PovertyResearchInstitute/County/2008/Mercer.pdf.

I'll see you all next Sunday. Best! - Amy