Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Old factories stand in lines along empty streets. No one is using them. They look ruined and dirty. There are also empty houses. No one is taking care of them. The people who live in this area are very poor. Some live in the houses. But other people in the area do not even have a house to live in. They are homeless. This is Kensington – an area in the city of Philadelphia in the United States.
Voice 2
There is a hopeful place in the middle of Kensington. It is a community center. It provides help for people in this area. Today, there is a clothes exchange at the community center. Some people brought clothes to give away. Other people came to get clothes. They paid one dollar. Then they filled a large container with clothes for their families.
Voice 1
A group called The Simple Way organized this clothes exchange day. These are the same people who manage the community centre. But these people were not born in Kensington. They choose to live there - even though this area is very poor. Many people do not understand why someone would choose to live in poverty. Today’s Spotlight is on the Simple Way community.
Voice 3
“I wanted what my culture taught me to want. I wanted to get a job where I could make the most money... I had a lot of ideas but I did not have many relationships.”
Voice 2
These are the words of Shane Claiborne. He is talking about his life as a young man. But now his life is different. He is the leader of The Simple Way. He wears simple brown clothes that he made for himself. He has long hair past his shoulders. He talks to many people at universities and churches. Shane speaks with great energy. During a speech at Biola University, he explains how his life changed:
Voice 3
“I was a college student in 1995. I lived outside the city. There were hundreds of empty houses in Philadelphia. Yet, people were waiting a long time to get a house. There was a group of poor and homeless families in Kensington. They were mostly children and mothers. These families decided to show the struggle of homeless families. So they found an empty building to live in. It was an old, empty church. At our college, we saw this story in the newspaper. But the newspaper said the families were told to move out. The city wanted to remove the families from the building. But the families did not have anywhere else to live. So we went to the church. We found those families. We entered into their struggle. It was the first step for a student movement.”
Voice 1
Shane and his friends could not just watch other people suffer. At this time they were reading the book of Acts together. In this part of the Christian Bible, they read about another group of Christians:
Voice 4
“All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. They sold what they owned. They gave each other everything they needed.”
Voice 2
Shane listened to these words very closely. He decided to move to the poorest part of Philadelphia. Five of his friends also moved with him. Some of them had jobs, and others did not. They shared a house. They shared all their money. This is not common in North America.
Voice 1
Today the members of The Simple Way still live like this. They do not dream of being rich or powerful. They have a different dream. They want to follow the words of Jesus. Shane believes the world is broken. It is full of problems. So there is one main question that he thinks all people should ask:
Voice 3
“How can my skills and resources meet the needs of the world we live in?”
Voice 2
Shane tries to improve the world by working in the poor area of Kensington. He also helps by sharing his story. In his speech at Biola University, Shane explained:
Voice 3
“We no longer try to gain more money and more things. We try to see how we can live with LESS. We use our resources and skills to help meet the needs of other people. It is an economy based on loving the people around us as much as we love ourselves. This means another person’s suffering is my suffering.”
Voice 1
The main aim of The Simple Way is to share in the suffering of people living in poverty. They are friends with people who are homeless. They fixed some old houses to be their home and community center. They invite people to their home and share food. They organize events such as giving away many clothes for only one dollar. They made a grassy area in an empty lot. It is now a natural, green space for the community.
Voice 2
The work of The Simple Way is not always easy. In 2007 there was a huge fire in their area. It started in an empty factory building. The fire destroyed many homes. About one hundred MORE families were now homeless. It also burned down the Simple way house and community center. But even in this difficult time, there was something good. Shane told Dilworthtown Community church:
Voice 3
“No one was hurt in the fire. And our whole community came together. The aid organization The Red Cross set up a shelter. But they said the strangest thing happened. Almost one hundred families had nowhere to sleep. Their houses had burned down. But no one stayed in the shelter! Everyone in the community opened up their homes to each other. I am really proud of our community.”
Voice 1
The Simple Way is not the only community of people choosing to be poor. There are groups of people around the world who live this way. But Shane and his friends know that not everyone wants to choose poverty. He says that each person has a different way to live. He wrote a book about his life. In it he explains:
Voice 3
“So not everyone acts in the same way, but we must act. We listen to the voice of God and the voices of people who are suffering. We need clear minds that are free to dream again.”
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