The Disempowerment of Charity
It is incredibly challenging to talk about poverty well in an online space. I hope you’ve seen the due diligence poured into the discussions from this week as we have talked about disenfranchised communities from a mostly one-sided perspective. If you are engaging with Velvet Ashes, it’s likely that you are someone with a deep […]
When the Poor Begin to Bless
When my husband and I arrived in Kenya as Kingdom workers six years ago, we joined a ministry that trained pastors across the country in how to effectively run small discipleship home groups out of their local churches. These churches were in remote, rural villages where water was scarce and abject poverty was a reality. […]
Learning to See
I sat on a wall between the beach and the road in Thailand. To my right, three teens were in conversation with my colleagues. Silently praying, I watched facial expressions and body language. Since I’d just arrived, I understood little, but I could guess the gist of the conversation. To my left, within arm’s reach, […]
Struggling with Guilt in the Face of Poverty
I was in Wal-Mart shortly after getting married, shopping for household necessities. I’d bypassed the paper goods section, as I never buy napkins or paper towels, but found myself staring blankly at the row of trash bags. I couldn’t bring myself to put the trash bags in the cart, the internal guilt was overpowering, “You […]
This Week’s Theme: Poverty
Many of us are confronted by poverty issues every day. Our reactions can vary: guilt, compassion, overwhelm. The issue is complicated and the layers can feel daunting. But we don’t want to shy away from tough conversations, and so we are opening up the topic of poverty this week. Here’s a taste of the posts […]