Swiss churches in action against poverty

Evangelical Focus reports this.

The organisers state that “the world seems to be more broken than ever. Global pandemics, violence and hunger, are prominent in the news.” They assert that it is the calling of the churches to proclaim God’s love and bring His restoration to the world.

The campaign focuses mainly on French-speaking churches in Switzerland. As part of the campaign, congregations can organise a ‘‘Sunday for your neighbour’’ in February or March to “dedicate time of worship to reflect on children in need.” The theme of the campaign is “To leave no child behind.”

Intergenerational worship

To join, a congregation should register itself on the website of StopPauvreté. After that, the campaign organisers will send the church resources, among which three sermons they can use on the “Sunday for your neighbour.”

The package also includes a factsheet with the global situation of children and a proposal for intergenerational worship. After receiving these resources, each congregation can set a date. It is also possible for the congregations to invite a guest speaker who will then lead the sermon.

The initiators of the action assert that children and young people are the most vulnerable groups of the populations worldwide. “We have a huge responsibility towards them in particular because they have suffered greatly from the effects of the pandemic as schools closed. And when problems in families arise, children are the first to suffer”, Alexis Bourgeois, the SEA coordinator of StopPauvreté, points out.