Ash Wednesday

The time of Lent is upon us. As we share in the remembering of our mortality and call to be something more, something better, we welcome you to this Lenten Study on poverty. Each Sunday and Wednesday we'll be posting a blog written by a leader in one of our two Dioceses. Each blog post will connect with a chapter from the book ad invite us to consider something or wrestle with some questions. You're invited to share comments and questions and use this as a dialogue space.

Today's blog post is for Chapter 1 - Introduction and Overview, reflecting on the book of Job, written by Episcopal Community Services President/CEO Beau Heyen.

I have always been drawn to the book of Job. As a child, my family struggled to make ends meet. Even as an adult there have been times that I experienced hunger and homelessness. Like Job, I have suffered - or at least I have convinced myself that I know what it means to suffer. However, if I am honest, what I have called suffering is nothing compared to others around the world or some of those in my own back yard.

During my time as a professional school counselor in the Hickman Mills School District, located within urban South Kansas City, I was first introduced to the work of Dr. Ruby Payne. As a small-town kid working in a school surrounded by poverty and diversity, I began to realize that my experiences, although valid, were tempered with opportunity and support that many others were not able to access.  Now, as I continue to grow into my role as President and CEO of Episcopal Community Services in Kansas City, I am surrounded by reminders of the privilege and power I was given as a member of the white male working class. 

As we begin the season of Lent, and this study of What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty, I am once again drawn to the story of Job - but in a new, unexpected way. I had always found the interaction with Job's "friends" to be off-putting, but it wasn't until I read the story found in this first chapter that I could wrap my mind around what often caused me to pause.

It is easy for us to tell others what to do or how to feel. It is easy for us to say "have faith" or "don't worry, it will be okay." It is easy to stand behind the walls of our own experience and perception to judge.

Now, I am not a believer in God's "condemnation" and would never be so bold as to think that there is anything I could do to prevent God's grace; however, I must admit that I find motivation in what happens to Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in this story.

As we continue this study over the next few weeks, I invite you to remember the story of Job. As you read the pages of this book, reflect on your relationship with the Jobs in your life - your friend, your neighbor, the man on the street, the single mother struggling to provide for her children. Do you default into thinking like Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zopher? If so, what can you do to change your inner script to look deeper?

As you reflect on the readings and this blog, please leave comments below so that we can engage each other on our journey to better understanding the impact of class and learn how to move beyond what we once knew to truly work beside our neighbors. 

Beau Heyen is the President/CEO of Episcopal Community Services in Kansas City, MO.