By BSC senior Catherine Watson

What do religion, systemic homelessness, and #5 plastic all have in common? That’s a question that the students of Dr. M. Keely Sutton’s RE270 Wealth, Poverty, and Religion class, have spent the spring term investigating. Over the last few months, we’ve looked at how the issues of poverty and homelessness intersect with religious doctrine and practices, and we’ve come up with an answer in the form of a service project called Rowdy on the Rise.

Homelessness and poverty are issues as old as religion itself. Since the semester began, our class has spent most of our time reading about and discussing the causes of entrenched poverty, as well as how different religious traditions react to and often shape the landscape of what it means to be poor. We’ve covered a number of topics within this issue, from Christian prosperity preachers across the world, to voluntary poverty within a variety of spiritual practices, to the difference between tithing in Christianity and zakat in Islam. Every religion we’ve studied throughout this course has had a variety of opinions on this topic, often even within individual groups.

Given the topic of our class, our final project needed to be something more hands-on than a typical exam or an essay. Instead, we’re setting up a table at the BSC Spring Market this Friday, April 14 selling goods made by members of Church of the Reconciler created from recycled #5 plastic. All sales of these products will go to Community on the Rise, an organization partnered with Church of the Reconciler to provide services helping to combat systemic challenges facing the unhoused population of Birmingham. This type of post-consumer plastic is not recyclable through most recycling programs, so buying these products both provides funds to Community on the Rise and helps the planet. Goods for sale will include necklaces, earrings, ornaments, keychains, coasters, and more!

By working on this event, our class has been able to interact with those experiencing homelessness in Birmingham, hearing firsthand how people are affected by poverty, what factors are contributing to its rise, and what we can do to help in sustainable ways. Join us on April 14 for Rowdy on the Rise, buy a power pot or a dinosaur keychain, and learn about how you can help Church of the Reconciler and Community on the Rise fight poverty and end homelessness in Birmingham.