Oh, to be proud that we do God's work!

My friend Tom writes a blog on living your faith in the workplace. Recently, he wrote how the two presumptive presidential candidates are openly discussing their religious beliefs making it easier for us to do the same. (Read his thoughts here).

I recalled his comments yesterday while listening to a radio interview with a woman who was promoting a fundraising event for a non-profit agency that matches seniors with volunteer opportunities here in Southern Minnesota. During the interview, the host mentioed that her agency was sponsored by Catholic Charities, the largest private social services network in the nation.

Immediately, the woman discounted the connection, making sure to clarify that the program she was touting was not affiliated with any religious institution or denomination. Her tone turned from one bursting with enthusiasm to one of flat out denial. I don't recall her exact words, but the gist of it can be summarized like this: Though we are affilliated with Catholic Charities sort of...you can still support us because we're not "catholic"... .

Clearly, she was uncomfortable with the connection her work had to any "religious" institution; I believe she assumed the show's listeners would be too. I found her backpedaling to be more damaging to her program's cause than an administrative affiliation to any religious organization could ever be.

I was also saddened that in her view, the only valid support for a community-based service agency was support that came unaffiliated with God. She apparantly has yet to discover that for many, many Americans, including the two running for President, that God can't be partitioned off from our work, whether it be for income or for the betterment of the community.