April 22 and May 1 on Zoom

On April 22 and May 1, people from across the Diocese of Chicago will gather on Zoom to discuss Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond. Desmond, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, teaches and researches poverty as professor of sociology at Princeton University. His research focuses on poverty in America, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography.

Poverty is the second title in the four-year “One Book, One Diocese” initiative led by the Peace and Justice Committee. The book selection was announced in December 2023, and scholarships were made available for congregations to purchase copies of the book.

On Monday, April 22, at 7 pm on Zoom, The Rev. Melanie Mullen, The Episcopal Church’s director of reconciliation, justice, and creation care, will lead a conversation about the book, the church’s work on domestic poverty, Jubilee Ministries, and racial reconciliation and justice. Register to attend.

On Wednesday, May 1, at 7 pm on Zoom, Mullen will join the Rev. Gary Cox, chair of the diocesan Hunger Committee, and members of the committee to discuss their work against hunger and poverty across the diocese. Register to attend.

In preparation for both conversations, participants are invited to review the reader’s guide provided by the book’s author.

“One Book, One Diocese” is a four-year sequence of diocesan readings, modeled on the Chicago Public Library’s popular “One Book, One Chicago” program. that address the four interlocking evil systems outlined in the Poor People’s Campaign: racism, poverty, militarism and the war economy, and ecological devastation. In 2023, the program focused on racism, with participants reading and discussing Resurrection Hope: A Future Where Black Lives Matter by the Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas.

For more information contact Ellen Lindeen by email.