Some thoughts on the Gathering Conference in D.C.
June 24th, 2007 
Flags, originally uploaded by verners.
Last week I attended The Gathering 2007 in Washington D.C. with several other members of Christians Ending Poverty. Christians ending poverty is a diverse group of San Diego Christians responding to extreme world poverty by promoting advocacy and personal discipleship. You can find out more about our group (and see this post almost verbatim) here. The conference was put on by Bread for the World. Over four days, we worshiped together, dialoged, brainstormed, and renewed our commitment to end hunger and poverty around the world.
We attended many helpful sessions including a pre-conference workshop – the CRC Justice Seekers Assembly – put on by the Christian Reformed Church to start a denomination-wide movement focusing on justice in CRC congregations. As a member of the CRC, this gathering was one of the highlights of the trip because it allowed me to connect with others in our denomination who are also working to end poverty.
It’s difficult to summarize an event like this in just a few words. It was inspiring, life changing, yet sobering. I gained a new appreciation for the complexity of our political institutions and legislation and realized how vital it is that we organize on behalf of the poor. Much of the focus of the conference was centered on the farm bill, an enormous, sweeping piece of legislation that affects not only the poor domestically but those suffering from extreme poverty in the poorest countries around the world.
When I joined CEP, I was most interested in doing “things that really mattered” to help the poor. Things like – sending aid, sponsoring a child or a village… Advocacy was certainly a consideration, but it was far down the list below most of the other things I thought could help more. This conference convinced me though that advocacy IS one of the most important activities in the fight to help the poor. Why? Because the poor don’t have the resources necessary to organize, lobby and protect themselves from entities who are primarily interested in promoting self-serving agendas. Take the cotton lobby for example. This is a highly cohesive, organized, well-financed group that spends millions to make sure that cotton crops continue to be subsidized here in the U.S. But subsidizing cotton in recent years is unfair, not only to the majority of farmers here in the U.S. but especially to those farmers who are unable to make a living now due to the overproduction of cotton that has resulted in depressed cotton prices. So what does this really mean, you might be asking? It means that these subsidies are wrecking entire economies of poor nations and are literally killing thousands and millions of people in these places. As a (now informed) Christian I cannot support policies that are unjust and hurtful to the poor of the world.
Visit bread.org to find out more about the farm bill.
But the conference wasn’t just about the politics of injustice. It was much more than that. It was true to its name – it was a gathering. It provided a unique opportunity to learn and share, hear stories, even to vent. I learned from Lawrence, a Zambian who ran a prison ministry there with 1000 volunteers that many involved in this movement are as interested in sharing the truth of the gospel as they are in meeting needs. Meeting so many evangelicals who are concerned for the poor was a great comfort to me. Or the network of small businessman who are using their expertise to help small business owners in Latin America and Africa adopt best practices that will help their business expand and run more efficiently. So many are using their God given gifts to make the world a different and better place.
It was certainly a trip to remember. I hope some of you will be able to attend in 2009 when the conference is held again.
Cory
