Author: Bruce Ray

Day 3 – Stranger Love

~ Bruce Ray ~ 3 Comments

Proverbs 3:29-30
Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.
Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.

“Get out of my country!” These words reportedly preceded the firing of a gun that killed Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounded Alok Madasani on February 22, 2017.  The 32-year-old immigrants had come to the U.S. from India to work for Garmin, a Kansas City technology company, and were enjoying time at a suburban sports bar.

There were a lot of presumptions at work in this situation.  The shooter, a 51-year-old white male, presumed that the two men were not U.S. Citizens.  Was it the color of their skin? An accent?  The shooter presumed that they were a threat to “his country.”  His presumption of threat led him to plan preemptively and act defensively–even though no harm had been done to him.  In this case, an immigrant from India died, and immigrants (from anywhere) became more anxious about their own safety as they go about their daily routines.

Presumptions are not formed in a vacuum.  They are shaped over time by the messages we receive from family, school, media and even our faith.  And presumptions, once formed, are difficult to change.

But not impossible.

Romans 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Questions for Reflection

What have you been told about immigrants?  Were some immigrants portrayed positively and others negatively?  How have those messages shaped your beliefs and prompted your actions toward immigrants–or people you think may be immigrants?

Do you have any direct personal experience with an immigrant?  If so, how has the relationship impacted your presumptions?

How have you experienced difficulty in changing your presumptions about immigrants?

Read more about the homicide and the investigation.

Day 2 – Stranger Love

~ Bruce Ray ~ 3 Comments

At the very beginning of his run for president, Donald Trump portrayed immigrants–especially those from Mexico–as hardened criminals and rapists.  On Tuesday evening, before a joint session of Congress, President Trump continued to connect the word
“immigrant” with criminal activities.  As proof of how dangerous immigrants are, Congress was introduced to several victims of immigrant crime: a man whose son was killed by an “illegal immigrant” and the wife of a police officer who was killed by “two illegal immigrants.”  Because “our citizens” are at such high risk, Trump announced the creation of a new office within the Department of Homeland Security–Victims Of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE)–that would address the supposed epidemic of immigrant criminality.

Yet, a 2014 study published in the journal Justice Quarterly concluded that immigrants “exhibit remarkably low levels of involvement in crime across their life course” and are less likely to commit crimes than native-born U.S. Citizens. (source: AP)

So why is Trump insistent upon telling the “immigrant as criminal” storyline?  Is he articulating a narrative about immigrants that he will use to justify state-sanctioned actions against them?  Likely.  By constantly connecting the words “immigrant” and “criminal,” Trump plants the seeds of suspicion and fear into the minds and hearts of the public–seeds that will bear the fruit of hatred and discrimination and that will lead to public support for deportation, incarceration or worse. It’s happened before.

Question for reflection:

When you hear the word “immigrant” what are your first thoughts?  Who do you picture? What are they like?

Do you have a counter-narrative to the “immigrant as criminal” storyline?  What is it?

Link to the related article by the Associated Press.

The Journey Begins – Ash Wednesday

~ Bruce Ray ~ 1 Comment

Lent begins with the recognition that we live in a broken world and that we are broken with it. We are in need of grace. We are in need of healing. We cannot experience God’s shalom and wholeness until we deal with the brokenness in us and between us. This is the nature of repentance–an awakening to our true condition; an admission of our true need that moves us to renounce that which leads to and maintains brokenness and to embrace God’s invitation to experience and be part of God’s new creation in Christ.

On this Ash Wednesday, we are again confronted with the brokenness of our world–the old creation–as evidenced in the ways we have categorized and classified people by race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. and the ways that we have placed value and worth on those classifications. Our nation built a social order on the foundation of superior white, male, straight, Western European identity. And in so doing, we have identified the inferior “other”–all those who do not fit what is “normative.” And to our shame, we have codified the social order through our politics and justified it through our religion. In the process, we have stripped others of their personhood. Nowhere is this more evident than in our treatment of indigenous peoples, people of color and immigrants throughout our nation’s history to the present day. 1

And on this Ash Wednesday, we are again confronted with God’s vision–the new creation–of a place where the old categories and classifications are destroyed (Colossians 3:11) ; where the dividing walls of hostility are broken, never to be rebuilt (Ephesians 2:14); where the power structures are dismantled and the arrogant are humbled (Luke 1:51-53); where the most valued members of the social order are the most vulnerable and the last shall be first (Matthew 25:34-36).

And our only response must be humble repentance that moves us to renounce the signs and sins of the old creation: xenophobia, superiority, exclusion; and moves us to embrace the new heavens and earth where justice is at home.

Let’s begin.

Questions for Reflection:

In what ways have you lived the signs and sins of the old creation such as xenophobia, superiority, exclusion?

What does repentance from xenophobia look like?

1 Last night, Donald Trump regularly identified immigrants with criminality. Today, he is expected to sign a new Executive Order related to travel restrictions.

The Journey Begins – Ash Wednesday

~ Bruce Ray ~ Leave a comment

Lent begins with the recognition that we live in a broken world and that we are broken with it.  We are in need of grace.  We are in need of healing.  We cannot experience God’s shalom and wholeness until we deal with the brokenness in us and between us.  This is the nature of repentance–an awakening to our true condition; an admission of our true need that moves us to renounce that which leads to and maintains brokenness and to embrace God’s invitation to experience and be part of God’s new creation in Christ.

On this Ash Wednesday, we are again confronted with the brokenness of our world–the old creation–as evidenced in the ways we have categorized and classified people by race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. and the ways that we have placed value and worth on those classifications.  Our nation built a social order on the foundation of superior white, male, straight, Western European identity.  And in so doing, we have identified the inferior “other”–all those who do not fit what is “normative.”  And to our shame, we have codified the social order through our politics and justified it through our religion.  And in the process, we have stripped others of their personhood.  Nowhere is this more evident than in our treatment of indigenous peoples, people of color and immigrants throughout our nation’s history to the present day. 1

And on this Ash Wednesday, we are again confronted with God’s vision–the new creation–of a place where the old categories and classifications are destroyed (Colossians 3:11) ; where the dividing walls of hostility are broken, never to be rebuilt (Ephesians 2:14); where the power structures are dismantled and the arrogant are humbled (Luke 1:51-53); where the most valued members of the social order are the most vulnerable and the last shall be first (Matthew 25:34-36).

And our only response must be humble repentance that moves us to renounce the signs and sins of the old creation: xenophobia, superiority, exclusion; and moves us to embrace the new heavens and earth where justice is at home.

Let’s begin.

Questions for Reflection:  In what ways have you lived the signs and sins of the old creation such as xenophobia, superiority, exclusion? What does repentance from xenophobia look like for you?  

1 Last night, Donald Trump regularly identified immigrants with criminality.  Today, he is expected to sign a new Executive Order related to travel restrictions.

Stay Sober, Friends

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Have you had your donuts, pancakes, paczkis?  It’s Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras, Fastnacht, Shrove Tuesday).  It is the day of preparation for the season of Lent and the start of fasting.  While some may use today as an excuse for excessive revelry and drunkeness ala Bourbon Street, many of us will stay sober in order to watch #45 address a joint session of Congress.  (Getting smashed may come after the speech.). The White House has promised that the president will present an “optimistic vision” that will include the topics of healthcare, infrastructure, defense spending, and…wait for it…THE BORDER.

We’ve already heard the president’s vision for a “big, beautiful wall.”  We’ve already seen the chaos of an Executive Order ban on Syrian Refugees.  We’ve already read about ICE raids and detainment of U. S. Citizens at airports because they have Muslim sounding names.  We’ve listened to the fear and seen the anxiety in the eyes of our immigrant sisters and brothers.  It is what motivated our church to focus on Immigrant and Refugee Justice for this year’s Lenten Compact, “Stranger Love.”

Given the history and current climate, I cannot imagine an”optimistic vision” for immigrants and refugees.  I cannot be optimistic.  Tonight, I’ll be watching.  Tomorrow, we’ll fast from xenophobia and fear in order to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Shalom

Stranger Love

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statue-of-liberty-crying

On March 1, 2017, we will begin the season of Lent and start our 2017 Fast for Immigrant and Refugee Justice.  We invite you to join us on a journey from xenophobia to xenophilia, learning God’s heart for the “alien and stranger” along the way.  From the Hebrew Scriptures to Jesus, we are commanded to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  Jesus expanded the definition of neighbor to include those of different faiths and different ethnicities and even ones enemies.

We are currently living in a time of rising mistrust and suspicion and a resurgence of nationalism and ethnic/racial supremacy.  In the midst of this climate, the church faces a choice.  Will people of faith add their voices to the calls for bans and walls, or will they–in Jesus’ words–see him “a stranger, and welcome him?”

Link to the 2017 Compact (above) for more information and details of our collective fast. Together, we will act for the justice that will destroy dividing walls of hostility and build bridges of peace.

2017 Compact

~ Bruce Ray

“Stranger Love: A Fast for Immigrant and Refugee Justice”

We live in Xenophobic Times

Lent has often been considered a personal time to ‘fast’—deny ourselves something we enjoy so that we can focus ourselves on God and the “self-denial” of Jesus and “give alms” to those in need.  But this year, because of the rise of xenophobia and outright expressions of suspicion and hatred of the “other”, our fasting MUST result in more than just self-denial.  It MUST result in justice for our neighbors.  As the prophet Isaiah reminded God’s people:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”  (Isaiah 58:6)

Therefore, We Will “Fast for Immigrant and Refugee Justice”

Throughout last year’s election campaign, candidate Donald Trump tapped into anti-immigrant, anti-refugee and anti-Muslim sentiment among many Americans.  He identified the millions of undocumented immigrants as the main reason for his candidacy—calling them rapists and hardened criminals.  He proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants and refugees, and at one point proposed a Muslim registry. Now, as President, he has continued to pound the drum of fear, claiming that undocumented immigrants are the primary cause of violence in Chicago, that Syrian refugees are terrorists seeking to destroy the United States, and that the solution is a border wall, mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and “extreme vetting” of anyone entering the country. One of his first Executive Orders placed a temporary travel ban from 7 predominantly Muslim nations and an indefinite ban of refugees from war-torn Syria.  While the order was stopped by the courts, he continues efforts to deny entry to the US. He has continued to promote the building of a wall along the Mexican border and has stepped up raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The result has been anxiety and fear within the immigrant, refugee and Muslim communities who now feel vulnerable to harassment, discrimination, deportation, and even life-threatening violence.

In the midst of the rising xenophobia, Jesus Followers have risen up to advocate for immigrants and refugees, reminding God’s people of the Biblical call to care for “the alien and stranger” and of Jesus’ words, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Love of the stranger—xenophilia—is a mark of God’s faithful people, and Jesus expanded the definition of “neighbor” to include those who were of a different faith and even one’s enemy.

Our immigrant sisters and brothers need to know that followers of Jesus are their allies. Our refugee sisters and brothers need to know that followers of Jesus will not abandon them. Our Muslim sisters and brothers need to know that followers of Jesus will not seek their harm.  Now more than ever.

How Can We Fast for Immigrant and Refugee Justice?

Fasting is not just about giving up something; it is about working for God’s justice.  While giving up something of importance, we will intentionally

RENOUNCE XENOPHOBIA AND REJECT FEAR

and we will

TAKE ACTION FOR AND WITH IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES WHO LIVE IN FEAR.

  • Together, we’ll oppose Executive Orders and Legislative Policies that harm our neighbors.

Join the Resistance Tuesdays Rally at the Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn each Tuesday at 3:30 pm.

  • Together, we’ll advocate for immigrant and refugee rights.

Participate in the Day of Action at the State Capital in Springfield on March 15.

Participate in our annual Occupy Palm Sunday Action on April 9. (Details to come.)

  • Together, we’ll hold vigil for those facing deportation and for their families.

Participate in the Prayer Vigils at the Broadview Detention Center each Friday at 7:15 am

  • Together, we’ll support refugee families and organizations that are aiding immigrant families.

Volunteer at Justice for our Neighbors Legal Clinic at Humboldt Park United Methodist Church or another organization that works directly with immigrants and refugees.

Financially Support an immigrant advocacy organization.

Participate in the 35th Ward or 33rd Ward Community Defense Committee

  • Together, we’ll increase our Biblical and Social Conscience regarding “Strangers”.

      Through reading Scriptures and books, hearing the stories of refugees and immigrants, and monitoring national and local news, we will gain new insight into the immigrant experience and become attuned to God’s hearts for “the alien and stranger.” Several suggested books are: Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Soerens, Our God is Undocumented by Ched Meyers, and The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.

We recognize that no one can do everything, but we encourage you to participate in at least ONE ACTION each week throughout Lent that will connect you to immigrants & refugees and increase your “love of strangers.”

Together, we will experience God’s gracious transformation and renewal so that “Stranger Love” becomes a natural practice of our faith in Jesus. 

Third Sunday of Advent

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Matthew 11:2-11

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist (JB) seemed so certain. “Behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!” He witnessed the voice from heaven when he baptized Jesus: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”, and he saw the dove descend. But now, JB is uncertain. He has moved from certainty to doubt. And doubt often leads to hopelessness and despair.

What has changed? For one thing, his circumstances have changed. We initially met JB in the wilderness by the Jordan River. People had travelled long distances to see him and hear him proclaim the coming of the kingdom of heaven, telling the crowds to repent and prepare for the arrival of the One; speaking truth to power as only a prophet can. The wilderness was a place where the prophetic voice was unbound and prophets were safe. But JB isn’t in the wilderness now. He is in prison, put there by the State (Herod) for speaking against the State.

And there is no sign of the kingdom of heaven. The Empire, which does not like talk of change and moves to silence the voices calling for change, is still in power. Where is the kingdom? Where is the coming One that was promised? I thought I knew, but now I’m not so certain. Was I wrong?

I have to give JB credit. He doesn’t let his doubts have the final word. He investigates and seeks confirmation of the vision of God’s reign. Sending a delegation to Jesus, JB seeks the answer. “Are you the one who is to come? Or should we look for someone else.”

Jesus doesn’t give a ‘yes or no’ answer. Jesus simply says, “Look and Listen.” And Jesus then points to evidence of the kingdom’s presence in the world—blind see, deaf hear, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the poor hear good news. This is the kingdom. This is Jesus’ work.   Look. See. Listen. Hear.

In these days when the kingdom of Hell and the reign of death seem to have reasserted themselves into our national lives, I can relate to John the Baptist. There are days in the past several months when I have had my doubts—doubts about God, doubts about the future, doubts about whether the church is relevant anymore and doubts that the kingdom of heaven is near. And the kingdom of heaven seems far, far away…farther than it has felt in a long time. The news is full of confirmation that the Empire is still in power:  Russia influences US elections; climate change deniers are in charge of the EPA; an oil executive will likely run the State Department, the stock market surges into record territory, benefiting the 1%; white supremacists advise the President-elect and hate has permission to go public.  And the voices of dissent and the voices of change are intimidated and threatened. This feels like prison. It feels like the kingdom of heaven is being pushed back. This is the time that doubts rise to the surface. Were we wrong to believe that the kingdom of heaven is near?

Jesus would have us also look and listen. See and hear. There is evidence–small as a seed buried–but evidence just the same that God is still with us, and God is still at work. I see God in the US Army Corp of Engineer’s decision to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and protect the waters of the Missouri River. I see God in the ways that people are coming together to resist evil and promote justice and righteousness. I see God in an unexpected federal court hearing that could force CHA to replace the 525 units of public housing eliminated from Lathrop Homes. I see God in our Alderman’s commitment to replace at least 40 of those units in Logan Square. I hear God in the chants of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Las Posadas march for affordable housing. Look. Listen. See. Hear.

And after I see and hear, I am strengthened to return with renewed commitment to live and act in alignment with God’s presence. My doubts may remain and the future may be uncertain. Just look at JB’s future. He remained in prison and then was beheaded. He was silenced, but the message went on. “The kingdom of heaven is near.”

In the face of the present evil days, the message goes on through God’s faithful church. The day IS coming.  And we continue to prophetically speak with renewed certainty that the future bends toward justice and that some day, we will overcome.

A Message To My Sisters and Brothers (in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Presidential Election)

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The following is an edited version of Pastor Ray’s sermon given Sunday, November 13, 2016—a faith response to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Like many of you, I’ve spent that past several days processing the outcome of Tuesday’s general election where Donald Trump unexpectedly shocked the nation with his victory. On Wednesday morning, I listened to the deep pain and profound grief of family and friends—women, LGBTQ folk, people with disabilities, Latinx and African American sisters and brothers, and I watched as tears streamed down their faces. Again and again, they asked with fear in their voices, “What will happen next?”, knowing full well that history has already shown us what regularly happens next to people who are perceived as the cause of the problem. I felt their fear. Again and again, I was asked, “How could this have happened?” I don’t believe anyone expected me to have the explanation, but it moved me to seek an answer. How did this happen? How did the least qualified candidate in United States history become President?

The answer was deeply painful for me. Donald Trump won due to the votes of white men (60%) and the votes of white evangelical Christians—both men and women (over 80%). Of course, others voted for him, but without the support of evangelical Christians, he would not have been elected. Which deeply grieves me since I was born and raised in the evangelical tradition and I am still deeply connected to it.

I am grieved because people that look just like me and use the language of my faith selected the candidate that Jim Wallis of Sojourners (also a white man of Christian faith) called “ a man who embodies the most sinful and shameful worship of money, sex, and power, and—perhaps more than any other public figure in America—represents the very worst values of what American culture has become….” As a result, white evangelical Christians are now inextricably linked to the bigotry, the misogyny, the hatred, the cruelty, and the rudeness and crudeness of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric. White evangelical Christians are now bound to white supremacy, hate, rape culture, homophobia and religious intolerance and with all those who want America to be great (code for white, male, straight, Christian) again. And all Christians are now implicated by association.

White Christians have communicated to our neighbors—women, Black and Brown Americans, those with disabilities, immigrants, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community, “you are not and never will be fully accepted. You will never be equal. You are less important; less valued; LESS, PERIOD.” The white evangelical church demonstrated in the polling place that the they are more committed to making America great again than to following Jesus, who commanded us to “love the Lord our God…and love our neighbor as ourselves.”

The Shepherds—the theologians, the evangelists, the pastors, the revered representatives of the evangelical faith—have led the flock into the depths of hypocrisy, excusing behavior that the Word of God expressly condemns—adultery, sexual assault, abusive speech, false witness—and justifying a man who has arrogantly refused to confessed his sin. Christians have aligned themselves with darkness. Christians have chosen the road of Balaam. Christians have turned to Egypt and “drunk the waters of the Nile.” Christians have embraced the harlot.

Some may object and say, “We didn’t like the man. His words and his actions were disgusting and vile. But we had no alternative.  We had a moral obligation. We were voting for the future and protecting the children living in the womb.” And in so doing, you have sacrificed the living children who now cling to their mothers in fear, anxiously wondering if they have a future.

Indeed, you have voted for a future, but it is not the new heavens and new earth where justice dwells that God announced through the prophets and that Jesus inaugurated. The future you elected is built on the sand of the past not the Rock. You supported the old racism. You supported the old misogyny. You supported the old bigotry. And you chose to rebuild the dividing walls of hostility that Christ destroyed at the cross.

Sadly, we have already begun to see your future, which looks disturbingly like the past. Hate crimes have spiked since Tuesday’s election with Muslims and blacks and gays the primary targets. A chapter of the Ku Klux Klan has announced a victory parade in North Carolina. Andrew Anglin declared of the election results on his Neo-Nazi website, “Daily Stormer,”: “Our Glorious Leader has ascended to God Emperor. Make no mistake about it: we did this.” 1

And you helped to do this. What you thought was buried has returned to life. The demons you thought had been cast out have returned seven fold.   Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

God has a word of mercy for us. “REPENT!”   There is a way forward. God’s prescription for a people infected with the disease of superiority and supremacy is this: “IF you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and IF you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, THEN [and only then] your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:9b-10) (NIV)

 And Jesus is standing at the door of the evangelical church—poverty stricken, naked and blind as the Church of Laodicea—and he is knocking, inviting us to “Come, follow me.”

So we all now have a decision. Will we take the medicine God offers? Will we answer the call? What will be your next step?

For me, I can no longer self-identify as ‘evangelical Christian’ or even ‘Christian.’ Those labels have lost all credibility as a result of this election. From now on, if I self-identify my faith at all, I will self-identify as ‘Follower of Jesus.’

My next steps will be in the footprints of Jesus. And his footprints lead me to the very people so belittled and abused in this election. Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ (Matthew 25:35-36) (NIV)

Jesus is found in the marginalized, the oppressed, the vulnerable; in those who have been stripped of their dignity and human-ness; in those who have been mocked; in those who have been rejected; in those who have been poisoned by the water; in those whose land has been forcibly taken from them; in those who are considered ‘less than’.

I will follow Jesus in these people. In repentance, I will offer my hands and feet to their cause. With ears to hear, I will listen to their cries. And with renewed strength, I will bear their burdens. I will humbly remember my Lord’s words, “the last shall be first and first shall be last” and “whoever wants to be great…must become the servant.”

So, if you are looking for me, you will find me following behind the women, the people with disabilities, the LGBTQ folk, the communities of color, the indigenous peoples, the immigrants, the laborers, the Dreamers, the chronically unemployed, the incarcerated, the Muslims, the forgotten and the displaced. And whatever power and privilege I have because of my race and gender and faith, I will offer it to them. For it is in them that I will find Jesus and through them that I will enter into the fullness of God’s kingdom and God’s love.

I will follow the way of faith that joyfully welcomes the outsider, graciously includes the outcast and the sinner, boldly defends the vulnerable, and prophetically liberates the oppressed. I will model THIS faith for my children and grandchildren, for my congregation and for my community.

God has said, “Here is the way. Walk in it.” It is a narrow way. It is a way that leads to insults and persecution. It is a way that ultimately leads to the cross. But I will walk it, knowing that Jesus walked this way ahead of us and made it through; and knowing that there is a cloud of witnesses who have also walked it before us cheering us on.

“Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. And let us run with perseverance the course that is marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning it’s shame.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

1 Southern Poverty Law Center

Housing News is not good for Low-Income Families

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In December 2015, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies issued a report called “America’s Rental Housing.”  The news is not good for low-income families.  Rental costs are increasing and wages are stagnant which means that housing options are shrinking.  Almost half of US renters are spending more than 34% of their income on housing–meaning that they are “housing burdened.”  Here are some additional findings of the study identified by the National Alliance to End Homelessness:

  • The number of available rental units is startlingly low. In the first three quarters of 2015, the national vacancy rate was at its lowest point in 30 years – only 7.1 percent.
  • Rents are increasing faster than inflation. In all major metro areas in the America, rent growth has outpaced overall inflation in 2015
  • Rents are rising while incomes are falling. In 2014, median housing costs for renters rose 7 percent since 2001. The median income for renter households, however, decreased 9 percent in inflation-adjusted terms in the same time period.
  • More and more Americans are severely burdened by housing costs. In 2014, the number of renters paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing costs increased to 11.4 million—a record high.
  • Nearly all minimum-wage workers are severely burdened by housing costs. In 2014, a full-time minimum wage worker made $15,000 per year. 72 percent of renters with incomes at or below this level paid spent than 50 percent of their incomes on housing.
  • Low-income renters simply do not have enough units available to them. In 2013, 11.1 million extremely low-income renters (i.e., those earning less than 30 percent of area median income) were vying for only 7.2 million housing units that they could afford. This means there were only 34 affordable rental units for every 100 extremely low-income renters.

Use the Interactive Map to see the status of rental burden in your community.

http://harvard-cga.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=b05d4c1daa2042489bdd99b3e89a27dd&autoplay

Read the entire study HERE .