Did You Feel That?

Last week’s little earthquake in New Jersey was felt in several other states and it’s also true that some residents of those states didn’t feel a thing.

Did you feel that? was a question asked in offices and classrooms and homes on Friday morning. But this post is not about that earthquake.

I’m thinking about the increasingly deep chasms between the rich and poor in the United States. This will not end well. Do you feel that?

Three stories felt a bit earth-moving last week:

• When I read that retirees in the United States will need $1.4 million to retire comfortably, I felt it. I felt like laughing. I felt like groaning. I felt like somebody needs a reality check. I’m so happy for you readers who will have $1.4 million when you retire, but most of us will not have anything close to that. And what is “comfortable?” To be able to pay your utilities? To be able to travel internationally every year? I’d like to know.
• When I read here that “an individual must make an annual salary of at least $101,338 — or an hourly wage of $48.72 — to achieve a comfortable lifestyle” in Charlotte, NC (where I live) I felt it. I felt it for the majority of the pastors in my Presbytery. Of the 280 pastors of Charlotte Presbytery, less than 20 make six figures in terms of what we are paid to serve our churches or agencies/organizations. Do you feel it? Do you feel that painful realization that some of our pastors are “comfortable” and the great majority – with the same education and experience in most cases – are “uncomfortable.” This study defines “comfortable” as being able to pay off debts, save for the future, and pay for housing, utilities, transportation and food. Note that this figure is for single adults living alone. If you happen to have children $101, 338 won’t be enough. I felt a deep sense of frustration and grief reading this.
• And finally, when I read the new (2025) Board of Pensions package in my denomination which was released last week, I definitely felt it. I felt the fear from young pastors (or older pastors) with dependent children in that their annual dues will increase to an untenable amount. I felt the comments from young colleagues who talked with me about the need to leave professional ministry for the sake of supporting their families. I felt the jealousy that colleagues without benefits feel when colleagues with benefits make comments on social media about their invitations to CREDO or financial assistance to pastors who hope to adopt a child. Our denomination felt the earth crack a little bit last Wednesday.

There is enormous inequity in the church and in the country in general. And if we don’t feel it, we have the responsibility to seek understanding as a member of the human family. Volunteer to mentor single moms living in poverty. Volunteer to read to kids whose parents don’t have the capacity to take them to the public library. Don’t just serve a meal at a shelter; sit with the residents and listen to their story.

I have a friend who parents her two children alone while seeking a new job. She lives in a crummy apartment but it’s what she can afford. When her 12 year old asks for money to take a school field trip and there’s no extra money, Mom feels it deep in her body. When her 16 year old has a cavity that’s becoming infected but there’s no money for a dentist, Mom feels it.

Did you feel it last week? Not the earthquake, but the growing crater between the haves and the have-nots? Maybe you felt it. Maybe you didn’t feel a thing.

Those of us who don’t feel it need a wake up call. What can we do about the cracks in our human foundation? This is a real question.