By John Hooper

“Taking Action for Economic Justice”, often known as the Michigan Plan, was developed as a response to a working paper published in October, 1987 by the Urban Bishops Coalition. The bishops’ document was prophetic in describing what they called “the paradox of a prosperity that generates poverty…the growth and extent of such poverty constitutes both a moral contradiction and a systemic social flaw that serves to undermine the very prosperity which helped create it.”

The bishops cited unemployment figures, the severe hunger of children and the elderly, growing rural poverty, the inaccessibility of adequate health care for 50,000,000 citizens, the feminization of poverty, and a growing new underclass of “throwaway people.” They called attention to the excessive drive for wealth and power for their own sake that produced new forms of social catastrophe: plant closings and relocations, rapid automation, the expansion of low-paying service jobs, the international trade deficit. At the same time they took new hope from the “exciting new developments” sponsored by “religiously sensitive people (who) along with others are getting vocal in advocating the restructuring of economic decisionmaking so that wealth produced by the common efforts of the many will benefit the many and not just the few.”

Later in 1987 the House of Bishops, without a dissenting voice, voted to encourage dioceses to bring forward to the General Convention of 1988 resolutions for action based on the urban bishops’ paper.

Bishop Coleman McGehee, then bishop of the Diocese of Michigan, where the Convention was to be held in 1988, called his advisors together and suggested that the Diocese must respond to this challenge of the House of Bishops. He called upon urban and rural missioners from around the country for their recommendations. Several months of research and study followed.

A forty page proposal was developed with a resolution to the Convention “that the Episcopal Church hereby establishes a ministry of community investment and economic justice directed to community-controlled economic development programs of the disadvantaged, with a special focus on land trusts, housing cooperatives, worker-owned business and community development credit unions.” A theological statement was prepared by Dr. James Perkinson, a summary of which is printed in Appendix A of the “Economic Justice How-To Manual”, published in June, 2006. A bus tour of the economic high-spots and low-spots of Detroit was prepared and offered to the delegates at the Convention. The Resolution was passed nearly unanimously by the delegates.

The proposal offered a short analysis of the need in lower-income communities for land, housing, jobs and finances. It highlighted “four examples of community self-help programs that respond to the current economic crisis: community land trusts, housing cooperatives, workerowned businesses and community development credit unions.” The proposal then described each of the models and gave examples of each, suggesting a number of elements that would form a supportive environment for these co-operatives to flourish: secondary co-ops and associations, revolving loan funds, community organizing, community development corporations, public and private sector support.

The proposal comments that it “is, of course, at one level a fund drive, a call to the economically advantaged to share of their abundance with those less advantaged: to assist their selfdevelopment projects. But it is also a call to the economically advantaged in the Church to become more engaged with the lower-income community in its journey to equal opportunity within an insensitive system.” In his theological paper, Perkinson asserts that “what is at stake for the Church in the relationship to the poor is ultimately a question of the Church’s own salvation. Judging not only from Mt. 25 but from the entire biblical tradition and not least from the passionate public struggle of Jesus of Nazareth, the option for the poor is in reality a ‘must,’ not an option.”

The resolution called for specific actions: that the Church at every level utilize its buildings, properties, personnel, financial resources and moral power in support of this ministry; that there should be an economic justice commission in each diocese with financial support for the ministry; in addition it called for an implementation committee at the national level, a $24 million dollar fund for “the economic empowerment of the disadvantaged”, and the support of public policies at every governmental level to advance community economic development.

After 19 years a study has yet to be done of the Church’s implementation of this resolution. The Episcopal Church established the Economic Justice Loan Fund, endowed it with $7 million dollars, and made the money available to community development lenders to support the self-help projects of the disadvantaged. We know that many dioceses and parishes have developed housing organizations and housing units for lower-income families, often through participation in the work of organizations like Habitat for Humanity or through local community development corporations. They have also formed and/or funded community development financial institutions (development banks, community loan funds, community development credit unions) which invest in the projects of the disadvantaged. And many congregations and dioceses have offered these projects the use of church buildings and skills and time of parish members and staff.

When the national Economic Justice Implementation Committed was disbanded after six years, participants in the program in 1996 formed the Episcopal Network for Economic Justice to support the ministry of economic justice in the Church. The Network is a membership-based organization of dioceses, congregations, outreach organizations and individuals who seek further implementation and support of this ministry. The Network is financed by its members with additional support The Episcopal Church.

Over 19 years the work of the economic justice movement in the Church broadened out beyond the support of cooperatives to include projects like community organizing, the worker justice movement, and advocacy at every governmental level.

As we anticipate the celebration of 20 years of economic justice ministry in the Episcopal Church at the 2009 Convention, we will call for the adoption of a revised resolution which reflects existing conditions and our experience of 20 years. And we hope for a renewed and stronger commitment of the Church to this ministry.