This year, Christ Church, Dayton is celebrating 150 years of worshipping in its building on First Street with a year of jubilee that will include special music programs, improvements to the church’s exterior, history displays—and a campaign to eliminate the medical debt of its neighbors.
“What is a better way to begin a year of celebrations than with setting the captive free and releasing indebtedness?” the Rev. Peter Homeyer, Christ Church’s rector, asks.
Christ Church’s Easter Offering, which continues this week through Pentecost Sunday, aims to eliminate $1.5 million in medical debt in Montgomery County by partnering with Undue Medical Debt, a not-for-profit organization that buys medical debt in bundled portfolios at a steep discount. Each $1 donated erases about $100 in debt, according to the organization’s website.
Recipients of debt forgiveness through Undue Medical Debt must either earn less than four times the federal poverty level or owe more than five percent of their income in medical debt. According to KFF Health News, more than 100 million Americans carry health care debt, and people of color are disproportionately affected by the burden. Black adults are 50 percent more likely and Hispanic adults 35 percent more likely to have medical debt than white adults.
Christ Church’s Easter Offering to relieve Montgomery County medical debt has raised more than $14,000 so far, says Homeyer, and the parish welcomes online donations from people across the diocese to help it meet its goal. Donate online.
