Let the guide ‘inspire you to take decisive action against poverty,’ SDOP coordinator says
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People has released its annual SDOP Sunday Resource & Yearbook and it’s available for free online, with a list of 13 ways to engage in poverty eradication.
The downloadable publication — “Celebrate SDOP Sunday Resource & Yearbook: People Investing in People March 10, 2024 and Beyond!” — also includes stories, statistics, a sermon and hymns for congregations and individuals who desire to lift up or learn more about the work of the justice-rooted ministry and its partners. (A companion survey can be found here.)
Partners highlighted in the resource include the Alliance for Community Services, a grassroots organization in Chicago involved in advocacy for the disabled and other disadvantaged people, and Caridad Gardens, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit dedicated to helping and “humanizing the homeless.”
“We want you to pay attention to the stories of our incredible community partners provided in our SDOP Sunday Resource and Yearbook,” said the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, SDOP coordinator. The 24-page guide includes “a plethora of information that will be helpful in interpreting the ministry of SDOP in your congregations.”
The Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace is Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). (Photo by Rich Copley)
SDOP is part of the Presbyterian Mission Agency and is made up of Presbyterians and ecumenical partners dissatisfied with poverty and oppression. It offers grants and other forms of assistance to empower economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people and seeks to change the structures that perpetuate such conditions and injustices.
The 2024 SDOP Resource and Yearbook is now available for download.
“I consider our denomination’s SDOP one of our unsung or under-sung heroes,” the Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), says in the resource. “It embodies our commitment to serve as partners with community organizations focused on empowering individuals in a way that is transformative for them as they seek to transform others who find themselves on the margins.”
The publication includes suggestions for how to use the resource, accounts of SDOP’s national and international visits and travels, a suggested reading list, opportunities to donate, and information about SDOP’s webinar series, “The Struggle is Real.”
You’ll find that this resource can be used in your Bible studies, mission meetings and youth group meetings, said Johnson, who hopes the resource will be a catalyst for the future.
“As many of us are still beaming from the excitement of the Matthew 25 Summit, let these links and stories continue to inspire you to take decisive action against poverty in your contexts,” he said.
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self Development of People is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Its work is made possible by your generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Go here or to the SDOP Sunday resource for ways to get involved with SDOP.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.