“God of grace and God of glory,” prayed the Rev. Cynthia Hale during a national conference call Aug. 19 on health care reform, “É We believe that it is your will that every man, woman, boy and girl receive quality health care in America.”
On that point, no religious leader would contest Hale, pastor at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga., who offered the prayer at the kickoff of an effort by the faith community to mobilize religious support for the ideals of health care reform favored by President Obama.
From the pulpits and through public statements, religious leaders have been weighing in on various elements of what they say is a crucial moral issue. Catholic bishops in New Jersey, in letters to the state’s members of Congress, have lobbied against possible inclusion of abortion coverage in any federal health care plan, a possibility Obama dismissed in his prime-time speech Wednesday. The Episcopal Church USA passed a resolution favoring a single-payer system, while some Catholic bishops in the Midwest have publicly opposed any massive government effort.
I had heard about a Christian group a few years back (maybe more) that had started a health-care savings account for their congregation, taken from the regular ‘tithes and offerings’ plus whatever a person wanted to contribute specifically for the plan.
If a parishioner were hospitalized, and the costs went beyond what insurance would pay, they could draw from it, and then repay it when they could, or however much they could, no time limit.
It made news at the time, then like all things not new, it faded out of the public eye.
I wonder how it did? That is truly the sermon on the mount taken to heart.
Jim Elliott <><