A New & Unsettling Force Reflections on building a movement to end poverty.

Thia Reggio, Poverty Initiative Fellow and graduating M.Div., was recently published in the May/June 2012 issue of Unbound:  An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice, in its “Inside Agitators:  Seminarians for Justice” edition.  Each article reflects on the social justice minis...

Last week Jeff Mansfield, Union alum and Poverty Initiative Poverty Scholar, was ordained in the United Church of Christ at Judson Memorial Church in New York City.  Jeff has worked for years with the Poverty Initiative and the Poverty Scholars program as a chaplain and organizer for the Restaurant ...

Liz Theoharis, coordinator and co-founder of the Poverty Initiative was honored at Union’s 175th Anniversary Gala on Thursday, April 19th.  Below is a transcript of her remarks. On this occasion of Union’s 175th Anniversary, we remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was at Union when he decided to g...

The Poverty Initiative‘s Crystal Hall is in Lakeland, FL all this week where she, along with over 50 allies: farmworkers, students, activists, and religious leaders, are participating in the Fast for Fair Food.  The six-day hunger strike (March 5-10) is led by the Coalition of Immokalee Worker...

Last week the Poverty Initiative had a chance to reflect with the Union community about its January immersion course in a noon chapel service.  Below are the thoughts that Willa Johnson shared.  Willa was one of 35 Union students, Poverty Initiative staff, and Poverty Scholars who made the trip.  Se...

“I realized that immersions are about something much bigger than, although certainly inclusive of, the experience of the students who participate from Union. Immersions are about being introduced to an entire network of Poverty Scholars Program organizations, committed to the work of developin...

The following is the first in a series of Poverty Initiative Poverty Scholars profiles that will highlight some of the amazing leaders that are working to build a movement to end poverty. Colleen is asking what it means to be a person of faith in a world in economic crisis. She believes that Christi...

Below are two pieces by Poverty Initiative leaders discussing the different contexts in which they have served as chaplains and how this work is connected to the broader movement to end Poverty.  The first is a reflection by Jennifer Wilder about her work with the Union protest chaplains who have be...

“Children, if you are tired, keep going; if you are scared, keep going; if you are hungry, keep going; if you want to taste freedom, keep going” – Harriet Ross Tubman On the south edge of Auburn, NY, at 180 South Street, there’s a plot of land with a small, two-story wood-frame farm house, a [...]

Last week Professor Traci West (’94) brought over 35 students from her Christian Ethics course at Drew Theological School on the Poverty Initiative Wall Street tour.  Below is Professor West’s reflection from the trip. “Does the economy serve human beings? Or, do human beings serve...