It seems to me that the Western world, particularly in regard to areas that have any sense of authority, are only open to degree-educated people. I have been pondering the Church in my role as a pastor and I have come to the conclusion that the Church, as a global entity, is set up to cater, mostly, for middle-class, university-educated, people who respond to a lecture format of information dissemination and who also engage with ideas and concepts.

A key part of my calling is pastoral care. I, particularly, have a concern for those people who find themselves on the edge of the church. I meet weekly with a man suffering from bipolar disorder. It is not glamorous, cutting-edge ministry that will get me a cover shot on Christianity Today, but I feel, nonetheless, that it is worthwhile. I also meet with a schizophrenic man, and my wife and I are assisting a single mother in need at this time.

I share these things not to boast but in order to raise some thoughts. Of course, I do much more than this in my ministry, but these tasks for me are equally, if not more, valuable than my teaching role.

As I pondered this I began to think about how accessible politics is for the lower-class, lower-income person or for the mentally ill or the socially disadvantaged. Even websites such as this attract upper middle-class, university-educated people. I am not wanting to trigger a Monty Python-esque battle for the worst upbringing, and I am not at all minimizing the value of websites such as this, but what I want to raise is whether we, as socially concerned, politically active, spiritually aware, intelligent people, are creating structures that encourage the participation of those who fall through the cracks of society.

My contribution to this, in practical terms, is a drop in the ocean, but I am learning that I can only do what I can do. What are you doing? What more can I do? The political system in the U.S.A. is heavily loaded towards a wealthy minority who can afford to get involved. I want to assert that there is a place for grass-roots movements. I know that they are around. I would like to encourage anyone who is involved in political, social or spiritual engagement with people on the fringes of society to respond to this post or to email me. I would like to build a profile of positive contributions to society both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

What I have done here is to throw out some thoughts. This is not a comprehensive answer by any means but it is a beginning of sorts.  Will you join me in the journey?

Regards,
Rev. Les