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poverty in ancient Greece, Rome, and late antiquity
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red-blue circle image at top: detail from a 12th-century illustration for an ancient Greek sermon on poverty

NEW FOR 2010:

New Course syllabus:"Luther on Sanctification and Social Ethics" (Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Spring 2010)

New books noted:

• Pauline Allen, Bronwen Neil, and Wendy Mayer, Preaching Poverty in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Realities. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2009. ISBN 978-3-374-02728-6.
• Geoffrey Dunn, David Luckensmeyer, and Lawrence Cross, eds. [title tbd]. Volume 5 in Australian Catholic University's series of publications from the "Prayer and Spirituality" conference, forthcoming (advance Table of Contents available at http://www.cecs.acu.edu.au/books/ps5toc.pdf).
• Miriam Frenkel and Yaacov Lev, eds. Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions. Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients 22. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009. ISBN 978-3-11-020946-4.
• Bruce W. Longenecker, and Kelly D. Liebengood, eds. Engaging Economics: New Testament Scenarios and Early Christian Reception. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2009.
• C. Paul Schroeder, trans. St Basil the Great: On Social Justice. Popular Patristics Series; Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-88141-053-2.
• Susan Crawford Sullivan, Living Faith: Everyday Religion and Mothers in Poverty, forthcoming. A faculty member of Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts), Sullivan is currently Colorado Scholar and Visiting Assistant Professor of Women's Studies and Sociology of Religion at Harvard Divinity School. More details on her work and the book in progress are available here.

New conference news:

"'Lord, When did we see you hungry?' Philanthropy and Social Welfare in Eastern Orthodox Tradition" was the theme of the second annual conference, on December 4, 2009, of the Sophia Institute at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The day's speakers are listed here. Papers will be published in the second annual issue of the Sophia journal later this year.

GOOD CAUSES

Earthquake: it could happen to any of us. Don't forget that the people of Haiti will need resources and partnerships in material, skills, and other support to rebuild their lives and communities for years to come. Give via your best-trusted funding organization; our favorite for empowering Haiti during this time (well, anytime really) is Partners In Health.

IMAGE LEFT:
Luther and the Hungry Poor: Gathered Fragments, by Samuel Torvend. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8006-6238-7

IMAGE RIGHT:
New English translation and critical edition of Juan-Luis Vives' treatise, "Concerning the Relief of the Poor" (see description below)

Luther and the Hungry Poor: Gathered Fragments, by Samuel Torvend. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008. A welcome study of Martin Luther's teaching and preaching on responses to the hungry poor, especially drawn from the six formative years that followed his nailing those 95 theses to that famous door. This book is a glimpse into the economic need in which the Reformation arose and an affirmation that Martin Luther was keenly aware of the needs of the poor. For Luther, the baptized were made free to live in this world as the "sacrament" of the living Christ, to engage this world as Christ had engaged the world of his time.

Vives, Juan-Luis, "Concerning the Relief of the Poor, or, Concerning Human Need: A Letter Addressed to the Senate of Bruges, January 6, 1526," critical edition of the Latin text with English translation of the entire work (2 books): De Subventione Pauperum sive De Humanis Necessitatibus, Libri II: Introduction, Critical Edition, Translation and Notes, edited by C. Matheeussen and C. Fantazzi with the assistance of J. De Landtsheer. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2002; ISBN 90-04-12742-9. (priced for research libraries only).

Also published recently (not pictured):

Wealth and Poverty in Early Church and Society, edited by Susan R. Holman. Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History 1; Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2008. This collection of edited conference essays examines the astonishing range of early Christian responses to the issues of wealth and poverty in: the New Testament period (Steven Friesen, Denise Buell, Görge Hasselhoff, Edward Moore), Egypt in late antiquity (Annewies van den Hoek, David Brakke, Adam Serfass, Susan R. Holman), the era of John Chrysostom and the Cappadocians (Rudolf Brändle, Wendy Mayer, Francine Cardman, Efthalia Makris Walsh, Demetrios Constantelos), Early Byzantium (A. Edward Siecienski, Daniel Caner, Angeliki E. Laiou), and the relevance of patristic studies for today (Timothy Patitsas, Brian Matz).

Holman, Susan R. God Knows There's Need: Christian Responses to Poverty (NY: Oxford University Press, 2009). Click here to read the book review from InCommunion, winter 2010 (posted January 18, 2010 on the reviewer's blog site).

Miles, Sara. Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion (NY: Ballantine, 2007). Extraordinary memoir of how a radical (former) atheist walked into St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco one Sunday morning for no earthly reason, received communion, and in the communion encountered Jesus, and found herself transformed. Before long she was turning the bread she ate at communion into a food kitchen, with groceries given away from the altar itself. Within a few years she and those she served had started nearly a dozen food pantries in the poorest parts of their city. For more on the food pantry, visit http://www.saramiles.net/food_pantry

Johnson, Kelly S. The Fear of Beggars: Stewardship and Poverty in Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2007). Explores the role of Christian ethics in the ageless question: 'Why give to beggars?' In this study, Kelly Johnson considers examples from Christian thinkers, beggar saints, and economists throughout history, with an emphasis on the life and work of Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. Published by the Eerdmans Ekklesia Series in cooperation with the Ekklesia Project.

NOTED IN PASSING

New 2010: Interview with Susan R. Holman, in the Spring 2010 issue of Tufts Nutrition, the alumni magazine of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (11/2, pp. 6-7).

"Struggling by on minimum wage" (from the BBC News; what most strikes your webmaster is this former homeless woman now barely scraping by on minimum wage who exclaims, "I love my job!!")

"Street kids raid poverty summit" - another article seen at BBC News online on January 24, 2007. In respect for copyright issues, the link takes you straight to their site.

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The only professional journal in the U.S. that focuses exclusively on contemporary health care issues of low-income, under-represented, and other medically underserved communities. It is the official journal of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.

NOTE: News about an organization or resource on this site does not constitute an endorsement; inquirers should research organizations very carefully to find the group that best fits your sense of social responsibility before donating time, money or other resources.