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For example, the World Evangelical Alliance and Micah Network (a network of evangelical relief and development organizations led by theologian Rene Padilla) co-sponsor the Micah Challenge, which has a weekly prayer and study series based on the Millennium Development Goals. It is not, however, tying its efforts to Lenten observances.

Jason Alfonse Fileta, field organizer for Micah Challenge, said Christian commitment to the Millennium Development Goals is helpful both for the world and for the church. "What I've seen and what I've heard is that when this campaign for the MDGs is rooted in an evangelical theology, the church is growing rapidly. And if people are pushed to focus on Jesus, that is going to push them toward action on the Millennium Development Goals."

The Episcopalian materials urge meditation on Matthew 25, Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats, as "the mandate of Episcopal Relief and Development." Humphrey emphasized that there is much justification for the principles of the Millennium Development Goals in Scripture, but said that's not the point of Jesus' parable. Jesus, she said, was talking about how he will honor non-Christians' mercy and service to his representatives.

"It simply shows to me a lack of care in using the Scriptures in context," Humphrey said.

Several critics at Anglican blogs, including Harmon's TitusOneNine, have accused the liturgy of conflating Jesus' death on the Cross and human suffering. That's not a problem for Mike Kinman, executive director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, an independent organization that is promoting the Stations service.

"I look at the 30,000 children who die every day of preventable, treatable causes. If every one of those children is in the image of God, then there's a level at which those are 30,000 crucifixions," Kinman said. "That is not to cheapen what Christ did on the Cross — in some ways it makes it more meaningful."

In spite of these debates, Fodor said the response from churches who have used the resources is positive, and most of the criticism has focused on whether the Stations of the Millennium Development Goals should replace Holy Week observances.

"I wouldn't think this liturgy would be appropriate for Good Friday," he said.

Angell, who initially wrote the liturgy, agrees that it should not replace traditional Lenten worship. "Unless we see [the MDGs] as a way to participate in God's saving action, they don't accomplish anything," he said. "That's why the idea of them being a substitute for the Stations of the Cross would be beyond heretical and idolatrous."

"The real point of this liturgy was to allow people to prayerfully enter into the MDGs," said Angell, campus missioner at the University of California , San Diego. "Lent is a good time to explore the poverty in our world and the way in which our actions can either prolong that suffering or — through repentance and following the Jesus who calls us to be mindful of the poor — alleviate that suffering."

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

A December 2007 Christianity Today editorial looked at the Millennium Development Goals and their abuses.

The Church of England Newspaper had a report on the Stations of the MDGs.

Wikipedia has information on the Stations of the Cross, which have been changed in recent years to eliminate extrabiblical events.

Last year, Christianity Today's Holy Week slideshow incorporated elements of the Stations of the Cross.

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March (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52