Seasonal Charity and Biblical Justice

This essay by Jim Evans spoke to me and I think hits on points that nag many of us.

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=9885

Your thoughts?[Especially wonder what you and Jane think, J.D.]



P.S. Matt, thanks for the beautiful picture gracing the Around the Bend blog site.



Scott

More on Walmart

Here are some videos that are about this topic. I'm just not sure these guys really did a good job responding to the interviewer's responses, though they were pretty biased. I thought the pastor did a better job.

Wake-up Wal-Mart

I have no idea if people have posted about the ethical dilemma of shopping at Wal-Mart before, but ethicsdaily has just brought this issue back to my attention. I have not seen these ads on TV yet, but apparently there are advertisements featuring Atlanta pastors urging Wal-Mart to take up its moral obligation to be a better neighbor given the immense amount of wealth that is has accrued. One of the pastors, Charlie Johnson, was even on of my McAfee professors. Check out that advertisement here.

I have heard about the simple atrocities that Wal-Mart commits many times before--failure to give a living wage, completely inadequate access to health care, conditions that only perpetuate the cycle of poverty, keeping workers at part-time status to avoid benefits...the list goes on and on. Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed provides a great look into the world of gainful employment at Wal-Mart, and has forever made me cringe when I think about the big-box store. But I had never thought about, until this new advertisement, the ethical implications of Wal-Mart's involvement with China. With 70% of Wal-Marts products being produced in China, the stats show that Wal-Mart serves as China's 8th biggest trading partner
--having a hand in direct and indirect human rights violations. (Check out www.wakeupwalmart.com for the sources of these statistics.)

So...now it is Christmas. Two of my Sunday School classes have just collected about $1000 for a refugee family of 11. I sit here wondering how to make this money go as far as it can for this family who has seen so much tragedy and poverty. We plan on taking the family shopping, so that the children can have the joy of picking out their very own things that have not been passed down, borrowed, or purchased from a Goodwill store. It makes sense to take the family to Wal-Mart where the prices really cannot be beat, and great toys and cute clothes are plentiful. And the dilemma is not just with this family...when I have to use the church's budget to purchase things for ministry, trying to make every dollar count Or, when I want to buy basic supplies for my own home, and hate to spend much money on such products. Outrage at Wal-Mart would be so much easier if there was a better alternative to the convenience and prices, wouldn't it?

Isn't it funny that those near the poverty level--those who scrape each nickel and dime together to get through life--are the ones who benefit most from the prices at Wal-Mart? Aren't these are the same people who are tethered to the poverty level because of their Wal-Mart-induced work conditions?

Thoughts?

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Click here for a short and entertaining film about where our stuff comes from. It's a particularly helpful look at consumerism, energy consumption, and waste.

Farm subsidy bill--Carter's reflection; and Scott's frustration.

Check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/09/AR2007120900911.html?wpisrc=newsletter.

Every time I read much about the farm subsidy bill, I tend toward despair. It is a bill that comes up only every five years and is very far removed from original intent and draws much lobbying money, including much in Georgia. The rich get much of the subsidy, it does little to protect smaller farmers and apparently does major economic and personal damage in less developed countries of the world. The proposed reforms have bipartisan support, but big money and power are likely to carry the day.

People of faith in the US should care about such matters. How can we confront them beyond just writing an occasional letter to a Senator or a Representative from whom we get almost a form response? Are all these issues just too complicated, too controversial, too difficult and/or too inconvenient?

If the answer is that such issues (and each of us could name numerous others) are important but just fall far down on the priority or cost/benefit scale of our Christian action list, what are the items that for each of us are at the top of our list ?

I do not have answers. I am frustrated. Have, for example, people of faith so little leverage against the wishes of big money and big power? Is there anything that we (JEPR folks) can do, and not necessarily about this particular issue, to have our governmental representatives pay more attention to the mandates that faith puts upon us?

In my more cynical and frustrated modes, I suspect that we get the government that we deserve. I also feel that the faith communities often pay woefully little attention to justice for those groups upon which Jesus' focused so much attention, even while we do pretty well at the charity side.

For suggested effective solutions, we ( or at least I) would owe you forever. Absent the silver bullet, do you have comments, thoughts, advice, suggestions?

@This Point - Columbia Theological Seminary

@This Point - Columbia Theological Seminary
Check out this new site. Should be a good source of thought and conversation.

response to Scott

Comments have been appreciated tho I continue to get your thoughts by e-mail.
WRBC is doing a great job in making faith exploration pertinent for all. 2 separate services each Sunday. Many projects that should and do catch the interest for work or exploration are growing in number. The information is spreading tho slowly that "we are the church" and open our arms and minds to those searching, hoping they will feel comfortable in joining in.

Sustainable Eating

Over at the Atlanta Emergent Cohort, we have been exploring the interplay between eating and ethics. Check out the speaking of faith podcasts regarding sustainable consumption practices. Pretty interesting stuff.

Abby and I participate in a group called Mellowbellies out at Grant Park. We pay into this group and we get fresh produce from local farmers delivered every week. To be honest, however, we have done this more for the desire to eat healthier. I had never thought of this as a living out of my faith. Peace.

Psalm 104 is a major Creation Psalm. Verses 14-13 cover the point that God’s Creation is a home for all creatures. See, also Eccl. 3:18-20.

Passages which deal with God as Creator include: Genesis 1-2; Psalm 19; Psalm 24:1-2; Psalm 65; Psalm 74; Psalm 146:7-9; Psalm 148:3-4; Proverbs 17:5; Isaiah 42:5-6; Isaiah 45:18; Isaiah 51:9-10; and Isaiah 65: 17-25.

Passages that describe how Creation suffers because of what mankind does include: Hosea 4:1-3 and Jeremiah 4:23-26.

A major element of Old Testament theology is God’s work as Creator. Because He the Creator, mankind is responsible to live in ways that show care for the Creation. This is a means of worshipping God. His Creation is meant to provide for all, especially those who have no power or voice in world affairs.

New Testament Passages that relate to Creation and mankind’s place to care for it: Mark 4:35-41; Luke 4:18-19; and Revelation 21:1-5 and 22:1-3.

George Hunsinger succinctly summarizes the ecological situation: "Whether the human race will survive the next century is not clear. What is clear is that the means and mechanisms of self-extinction already exist. Ecological destruction is the slow version, while the quick version is nuclear war and its military analogues, and the intermediate version is overpopulation and the gross maldistribution of resources." ("Doctrine as guide to social witness," The Christian Century, April 19-26, 2000, p. 456)

Faith and the Environment at a sister church in town

Check out
www.peachtreebaptist.net

for a discussion on faith and the environment going on within their faith community. You'll notice a blog on their website within which folks are having discussion as well. They've been on a 2 or 3 month long exploration of these issues.

Matt

Cynic, tempted to test

Since there are few postings from JEPR group, which group assembles wonderfully probing and well-read minds, one wonders why. One aspect is that common for us all; we are overwhelmed and just too busy.

Another possibility may be a problem I have. In stuff involving passwords, access and process, if I do not use them with some frequency they are forgotten and a barrier arises to their use.

So... for education or testing, would each of you please make a Post to the Around the Bend blog site. It can be just, "Hey, I am here and can do it," or can be a posting of some article, essay, website, or one of your past writings. Developing a habit of often commenting on posts of others would be an added plus.

My tendency is to want something to come from both spouses of JEPR couples ( including you, Debra) to demonstrate involvement and capability, but I will try to repress greed in this regard.

If you find that you do not know (forgotten or never knew) the process, please contact Matt for instructions.

Please laugh and forgive me for being pushy, but an old teacher's instincts sometime will out. BUT..... please pass the test, even if you have to cheat.

Scott

Conservatives and liberal and societal needs

The extract copied below is from a recent blog, seen at a Sojourners site. The phenomenon he notes is probably typical and his perspective should be a prod for us, whichever side of the contribution equation we normally lean.

Also, from consideration of poverty ( and DC in part) I strongly suggest that you check out http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/seeingpoverty/index.shtml. Either listen, or download and read the transcript. Now that I think about it, a JEPR group discussion on this program would be useful and possibly inspiring.

Scott

I Got Mugged (by Ryan Rodrick Beiler) ( an extract of the longer article)

Why can't we - both as a society and as a church - do better at providing positive choices for our youth? And for me it is a both/and. I've seen more small-government conservatives willing roll up their sleeves and volunteer as tutors. Meanwhile, it's mostly the justice-minded liberals who march and lobby to end poverty and violence. How can we get more liberals to show up at UFD and more conservatives to advocate? (I know these categories are unfair and far from universal, but I've seen this dynamic over and over in my own church experience.)

Government at every level must do better at making the needed resources available, if for no other reason that the churches simply don't have the resources to do it all on their own. But the church must also be the conscience of the state - challenging not only with words, but by example in serving and caring for those at the margins of society. Conversely, the words of the prophet Jeremiah may inspire the church, but they were originally spoken to a king: "Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord." (Jeremiah 22:15b-16)Consider this as the onslaught of opportunities for "Canned Compassion" wash over us with the holiday season, and look for opportunities to do both justice and mercy, not with band-aids of a march here or a meal there, but with sustained service and activism that seeks real healing for our communities.

Ryan Rodrick Beiler is web editor for Sojourners.

U.S. Funded Child Soldiers

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3763

Kids in combat
U.S.-funded child soldiers
by Dean Peerman
In the decade 1995-2005, 2 million child soldiers were killed and 6 million permanently disabled or injured in armed conflict, according to a United Nations report. Of the estimated 300,000 children (younger than 18) currently serving as soldiers in various parts of the world, some have joined voluntarily, out of economic desperation or for their own safety. Others have been forcibly recruited, trained and deployed by rebel forces. But many are conscripted and used in combat by recognized sovereign governments—at present the governments of nine countries, and eight of the nine receive military assistance from the United States. The eight: Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

Some of these exploited children are as young as eight. Sometimes girls as well as boys are recruited—and often the girls are raped or otherwise sexually abused. In addition to being compelled to engage in combat—wielding AK-47 assault rifles and the like, often while hopped-up on drugs—the children may serve in support roles as porters, cooks, guards, medics, messengers, spies, human mine detectors or sex slaves. Children are often targeted as recruits because they are viewed as more malleable and easier to manipulate than adults.

On occasion child soldiers are forced by their commanders to commit grisly ritual killings or engage in torture and mutilation, and sometimes other children are the victims. The child warriors are at great risk not only of physical harm but of severe psychological trauma as well. That trauma is likely to be heightened when the shooting is over and they return home, where they tend to be stigmatized and ostracized and may be disowned by their own families. Since they are without suitable skills and often without means of rehabilitation, the transition to a comparatively normal and productive life is extremely difficult. Generally branded as terrorists by U.S. immigration law, former child soldiers are denied asylum or refugee status.

That U.S. taxpayers' money would be dispensed to finance state-run armies using children is an atrocity in itself. Such funding is also in violation of treaties and agreements to which the U.S. is a signatory, such as the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict—a protocol approved and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 2002. About 125 countries have ratified the protocol, but not all of them enforce it; five of the above-named eight nations are signatories. People who recruit and use child soldiers run little risk of being prosecuted.

Last spring liberal Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and conservative Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas introduced the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2007 in the Senate. Designed to end the use of children in hostilities around the world, the measure encourages governments to "disarm, demobilize and rehabilitate child soldiers from government forces and government-supported militias." While putting restrictions on U.S. assistance to child-using militaries, the bill would not immediately cut off such aid but would allow for a phase-out period of up to two years, during which the U.S. would help the affected countries to professionalize their armed forces and to provide therapy and reeducation for former child soldiers and restore them to society.

A coalition of NGOs—headed by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Defense Information and the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision—is strongly backing the bill. One of the arguments advanced by this coalition: "It is . . . in our own national interest to reduce the incidence of child soldiers in the world: our commanders do not want U.S. troops to confront the spectacle of an armed child in a combat situation."

Speaking about the child-soldiers bill to fellow senators, Durbin quoted Cicero's dictum that "in times of war, the law falls silent," then went on to say: "We must prove Cicero wrong. Even during times of war, the law should never fall silent for the most vulnerable among us—our children."

The bill is still in committee and has yet to come up for debate, much less for a vote. A similar bill is pending in the House.

On October 1 the United Nations held a meeting to reaffirm political support for the Paris Principles—a multination pledge not to use children to wage war that was signed in Paris last February. The U.S. participated in neither the Paris conference nor the October meeting at the UN.

Where Have All the Prophets Gone

Please check out this web site: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=9631

We would love to hear responses or discussion.

Free Special Movie Screening Thursday Night!

Dear friends,

There is a movie focused on Darfur called "Darfur Now" that will be screening as a pre-release movie. (www.participate.net and www.myspace.com/darfurnow)

I received a packet of invitations to the screening at Phipps Plaza theater Thursday, at 7:30pm. Each ticket admits 2 people. The movie is produced by Warner Independent and is rated PG.

They suggest you get there early because they naturally send out more tickets than they have seats, so come early so you can get in.

I have about 25-30 2 person tickets, so please mention this to as many folks as you can.

I can't go because I have a CBF/GA interfaith task force meeting at 7:00 that night in Alpharetta. I'll leave these tickets in the church office for anyone to come by and pick up today, tomorrow, or Thursday.

Blessings,
Matt

10/25, sure would be good to have a rep there

Again, sorry but I am committed and cannot attend this important learning program. Wish someone could/would.

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light invites you to participate in our Energy Star Training Program for Congregations on October 25!

Join us for a training session with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for Congregations Program to learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, October 25 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (www.uuca.org). This program is especially helpful for congregations who have had or plan to have an energy audit or assessment of their facilities, as it will help you track the progress you are making in reducing your energy use.

Your congregation can be a front runner in energy efficiency by measuring your carbon footprint with Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager Program. Portfolio Manager is an online data management tool that helps track and measure your building’s energy use. Portfolio Manager can calculate the energy intensity and associated carbon emissions of a particular building while taking into account changes in weather. Once a baseline is established in Portfolio Manager you can calculate the percent energy use reduction to track progress towards your goals. Help your congregation measure your current energy use and track improvements as you become more efficient!

Please plan to attend or to send someone from your congregation to attend this valuable training session!

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta is located at 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.

Feel free to call or e-mail us if you have questions!

Energy Star Training; and miscellany

I will not be available on the night noted below but wish that at least one of us would be able to be there. It would at least be a start for JEPR and Wieuca's energy usage.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light invites a representative from your congregation to attend Energy Star Training Program for Congregations. Learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 PM on Thursday, October 25, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta 30329.
=====================================

On a different matter, it was good to have the African children movie as our first ( or second?) film to tweak our faith and conscience and provoke conversation on tough topics.
Thanks to Matt and Andy for moving this activity forward.

A crime to feed the homeless?

Here is a link to a very disturbing article that I found on the CNN website today:


http://www.wftv.com/news/14289861/detail.html


Here is the summary:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial city ordinance has led to a number of protests and now a trial. An Orlando man is the first person to face a jury for feeding the homeless.


Very sad.

Invisible Children

Hey folks, don't forget about the Invisible Children showing tomorrow (Sunday, October 7th) at 1:30pm in the Heritage Room. Grab some lunch after worship and make your way back to church to watch. We will have some brief discussion afterward.

I invite you to make comments on this post, giving your reflections and thoughts on the movie.

Matt

More Spam

Hey folks. Sorry about the additional SPAM. I found another place where an email post was permitted. I've tied that loophole. Hopefully this is it.

I appreciate your patience.

Blog Spam Corrected/ Invisible Children

Dear JEPR group,

Scott brought to my attention some blog spam that we got. It was posted in my name because spammers running programs find blogs and try different email combinations so many times that they finally get it. There is an email address that if I send something to it, it will come up as a post on the blog. Somehow they found that email address. I will disable this feature so we will not have any more erroneous posts about watches. :)

Let's keep it to justice.

I have a copy of Invisible Children, the movie from Andy Smith. He showed it to his youth in VA. Would be good to hear from him his perspective on the experience. We're still on for the 7th of October, 1:30 for the movie. I got something running in the supplement, but we'll need some more.

Matt

Global Warming: Newsweek

Hi folks, you might get a kick out of the latest edition of newsweek. The cover concerns global warming.

Enjoy!
Matt

Event Tonight (Monday) at Peachtree Baptist Church

Just a reminder of the dinner at Peachtree Baptist Church at 6:00pm tonight—they are hosting the director of Alternatives for Simple Living. Alternatives is a great source of curriculum and personal resources dedicated to biblical simplicity and intentionality in all of life’s aspects. This event will be a casual dialogue with this person about the topic of simplicity in today’s world.



I plan to attend—let me know if anyone else is going to.



Thanks!



Matt

Istanbul Center Dialogue Night - July 12

I got this from my friend Kamal who works at the Istanbul Center

 

 Dear Friend,

 

Istanbul Center for Culture and Dialogue is happy to invite you to
another "Istanbul Dialogue Night" that will take place on Thursday, July 12th at 7:30 pm

 

Istanbul Dilogue Night is an ongoing monthly program that brings
people from different backgrounds together to discuss issues and topics of common interest.

 

This program takes place on 2nd Thursday of each month.
It takes place at Istanbul Center Dialogue Center located at
6760 Jimmy carter Blvd. Suite 110 Norcross, GA 30071

 

It is a friendly and relaxed program where we share ideas, feelings
and delicious food with friends.

 

You can look at a PDF flyer for this months program
titled "Creation: A Multicultural and Multireligious Perspective"

http://www.istanbulcenter.org/doc/DialogueNight_July.pdf

 

You can also find more information about this program and other Istanbul Center programs
from our web site at www.istanbulcenter.org

 

Hope to see you soon

 

Istanbul Center for Culture and Dialogue
www.IstanbulCenter.org
6760 Jimmy Carter Blvd.
Suite 110
Norcross, GA 30071

 

If you wish to be removed from our mailing list please let us know.

 

Alternatives for Simple Living speaker in Atlanta on Aug 6

Hey everyone. I thought I would give you all some advance notice for an event that will be held at Peachtree Baptist on Monday, August 6. Gerald Iversen who is the National Coordinator of Alternatives for Simple Living will be speaking.

Alternatives is a non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly, and celebrate responsibly. Started in 1973 as a protest against the commercialization of Christmas, it encourages celebrations year-round that reflect conscientious ways of living. Throughout its 30-plus years, Alternatives has helped lead the movement to live more simply and faithfully. The many staff members and volunteers of Alternatives have developed a wide variety of resources, organized an annual Christmas Campaign, led numerous workshops, and reached countless people with the message of simple, responsible living.

The event at Peachtree will be a covered dish. Here are the details:

Mon., Aug. 6, 6 p.m. - Potluck Supper and conversation, Peachtree Baptist Church, 2108 Briarcliff Rd NE, ATLANTA, GA. Contact Steve Vellines at steve.vellines@ricoh-usa.com or (678) 481-6645 (cell) or (770) 723-4249, or Leann Gunter at Leann@PeachtreeBaptist.net or (404) 634-2463. – CONFIRMED

Everyone is encouraged to bring a dish and enjoy fellowship around the tables and then hear Gerald speak. My understanding is that it will be more of a dialogue and I think he would be very interested in the Around the Bend group and may have some helpful tips on some of the topics that we are interested in. I hope you all can come and also please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.

Darfur opportunity and "troika" possibilities

I am on the Save Darfur ( http://www.SaveDarfur.org) e-newsletter list and just received a request to offer encouragement to Secretary Rice on an upcoming meeting with representatives of China and France to begin to end the violence in Darfur. As I often do, I at least registered to offer her such encouragement by EM.

In the context of that e-newsletter, the site http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/pdf/axis_of_peace_paper.pdf was noted. It provides an interesting and informative overview of some of the issues, challenges and opportunities for the world to, quote George Bush and, say "not on my watch" relative to this on-going violence and genocide.

NPR.org - When it Comes to Faith, Partisan Lines are Blurring

Matt thought you would be interested in this story: NPR : When it Comes to Faith, Partisan Lines are Blurring
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10785980&sc=emaf

Final word (for now) on using the blog: helpful update

Hey everyone! I promise I’ll stop switching things around, but hopefully, this will help all of us to ensure we’re posting and sending what we intend.

 

2 ways to post on the blog

 

1.)     Login at www.blogger.com and then create a new post.

2.)     Email wieucajepr@gmail.com (this replaces the horrendously long email I gave you earlier: mattbrich.wrbcaroundthebend@blogger.com)

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

Mysterious Email for another google Group

Hello everyone...

Please disregard an email that you may have received that says something about "Forward Account"

Currently, the best way to send a message to the Around the Bend blog is to login to www.blogger.com and post it from the web. You may also email: mattbrich.wrbcaroundthebend@blogger.com to post.

The secondary way is to send a message to the google groups account wrbcaroundthebend--but that's not the most reliable way to do it since it may or may NOT make it to the blog itself that way.

So, if you email in something to the google groups account, it will make it to everyone's inbox, but it's not guaranteed that the BLOG will accept it.

However, if you post to the blog, everyone will get an email AND the blog will record it. The main purpose of the goolge group is for it to be a forwarding agent so you'll know when the blog has activity, not for actual activity itself. So when you get an email with around the bend stuff in it, only hit "reply" if you DON'T want it going on the blog.

In sum:
Either post via the blog website. Or post via the blogger.com address listed above.

Thanks!!

Matt

Come to the Pyrons' on Monday night, 6/4

On Monday, Sojourners, CNN and others are co-sponsoring on TV a Presidential Forum querying Clinton, Edwards and Obama (Republican candidates in a later event) on issues of faith, values and poverty. Starts at 7 PM.



Scott and Debra are last-minute inviting a motley (certainly the JEPRites qualify) crew over for a "watching," some talk, and some food. We never have done this, but it seems like fun, as well as timely and interesting. Clearly dealing with justice issues, playing off recent messages from Michael, Bill (Givens) and Jake. Be nimble. Please seriously consider joining us.



Feel free to invite anyone else you think might be interested. If practical, let me know who is likely to come; if not, come anyway. With a guess of numbers, we can detemine how many pizzas, or whatever, to get.



See below for a blurb on the program.



Use Mapquest or ? on our address, or be in touch (EM or cell phone) and I can direct you to the Pyron abode. Let me know if other questions arise.



Scott Pyron
13 Village Walk Drive
Decatur, GA 30030
H 404-378-7078
Mobile 404-822-9550


===========================================

WHAT: Presidential Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty
WHEN: Monday, June 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
WHO: Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama


Sojourners announced today that it will host a candidates forum on
faith, values, and poverty on Monday, June 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. featuring the
three leading Democratic presidential contenders. CNN has joined Sojourners as a
media partner and has agreed to broadcast the forum live from the campus of
George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Jim Wallis, the author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and a founder of Sojourners, invited the leading Democratic candidates to participate in a substantive national conversation on faith and values, with a particular emphasis on poverty, and the candidates have agreed to participate in the forum.

The question and answer format will be used with each candidate, who will appear
on stage one candidate at a time. Sojourners has extended an invitation to the
leading Republican candidates for a September forum in Iowa. The
forum will be co-sponsored by Catholics In Alliance for the Common
Good, the ONE Campaign, Oxfam America and Eastern University.

"We are excited that the leading candidates will be meeting with
faithful voters who are hungry for a real conversation about the big moral
issues of our time," said Wallis. "The forum will focus on faith and values,
with a special emphasis on poverty. This conversation will offer faithful voters
insights into each candidate’s moral compass and help to guide their decisions
as they consider the candidates running for president of the United
States."

What is "Justice"?

I have noticed both from the conversation that I was a part of last sunday morning (the justice & mercy week) at Wieuca and the week on Justice & Mercy at my friend's church several months ago, that there is significant confusion around the word "justice."


Many folks hear the word "justice" and think of punishment/courts/laws. So instead of biblical justice and mercy, the combination of the two terms is understood as "punishment and being nice." To paint an extreme spectrum, justice is for the government and tough-minded people and mercy is for bleeding-heart liberals or little old ladies. One example of how fixed that kind of understanding can be, I heard someone acknowledge that justice and mercy had a direct relationship in that God, in God's sovereignty is mysteriously fully just and fully mercy. That was the explanation, as if we were discussing how divinity and humanity were made one in Christ. The lesson was that mercy & justice were polar opposites and it takes a huge God to do both perfectly. How easily we do mental gymnastics with the lesson to get it to fit our pre-existing paradigms is astounding.

Our society does not give people a chance to think beyond a quid-pro-quo response. Even when justice is understood as "doing the right thing," folks often default to the right thing being punishment. Biblical justice is also misunderstood sometimes to be the wrath of God (plagues, etc.). It's also mostly understood as an individual ethic. Granted, governments and legal systems are necessary, but it seems as if our understanding of justice is based on pop-religion rather than any kind of substantiated Biblical basis. This reinforces for me the need for the Biblical view of (restorative) justice to be highlighted consistently.

I can't tell you how many comments I heard where people said things like, "Oh yeah, I'm the mercy person in my marriage--my spouse is justice person who will take it to you."

I only hope that the message came through that Justice & Mercy are the same package--but I wonder since I heard about as many comments like I referenced after the sermon.

What have the rest of you heard in regard to this?

Footprint of our Products

The following is a song by an african american female group that sings of justice issues:

I wear garments touched by hands from all over the world
35% cotton, 65% polyester, the journey begins in Central America
In the cotton fields of El Salvador
In a province soaked in blood,
Pesticide-sprayed workers toil in a broiling sun
Pulling cotton for two dollars a day.
Then we move on up to another rung—Cargill
A top-forty trading conglomerate, takes the cotton through the Panama Canal
Up the Eastern seaboard, coming to the US of A for the first time
In South Carolina
At the Burlington mills
Joins a shipment of polyester filament courtesy of the New Jersey petro-chemical mills of
Dupont
Dupont strands of filament begin in the South American country of Venezuela Where oil
riggers bring up oil from the earth for six dollars a day
Then Exxon, largest oil company in the world,
Upgrades the product in the country of Trinidad and Tobago
Then back into the Caribbean and Atlantic Seas
To the factories of Dupont
On the way to the Burlington mills
In South Carolina
To meet the cotton from the blood-soaked fields of El Salvador
In South Carolina
Burlington factories hum with the business of weaving oil and cotton into miles of fabric
for Sears
Who takes this bounty back into the Caribbean Sea
Headed for Haiti this time—May she be one day soon free—
Far from the Port-au-Prince palace
Third world women toil doing piece work to Sears specifications
For three dollars a day my sisters make my blouse
It leaves the third world for the last time
Coming back into the sea to be sealed in plastic for me
This third world sister
And I go to the Sears department store where I buy my blouse
On sale for 20% discount
Are my hands clean?
-"Are My Hands Clean?" by Sweet Honey In the Rock


Some websites on more ethical spending:
http://www.cleanclothes.org/companies/04-04-alternative-ethical-clothes-review.htm
http://www.fairlabor.org/index.html
http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/index.php?s=59&PHPSESSID=52a241ef26b6e65c1b375d08e156701f

Test Post

I've attempted to set up a google group to help get notices out for emails. This is just a test.

Steve's 1st post

Matt and Scott, Here is my first post. I saw an interesting story at www.standingwomen.org:

The women of Ohio call upon the women of the world, from the day-old babies to our most senior elders, to stand with us to save the world. Sharon Mehdi wrote a wonderful short story for her five-year old granddaughter, The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering that has inspired us. A quick summary of the story is:A busboy who worked in a café whose window faced the public park noticed that two grandmotherly looking women had been standing in the park all day without moving at all and without talking. They were dressed up in their Sunday best and were just staring at the town hall. He asked the other patrons in the café what they thought the women were up to. They speculated on a variety of things. Then, a five-year old year who was in the café spoke up and said "One of them is my grandmother and I know what they are doing. They are standing there to save the world." All of the men in the café hooted and howled and laughed. On his way home the busboy decided to ask the women what they were doing and sure enough their answer was "We are saving the world."Over dinner that evening the busboy told his parents and he and his father hooted and howled, but his mother was totally silent. After dinner, the mother called her best friends to tell them.The next morning the busboy looked out the café window and the two women were back, along with his mother, her friends, and the women who had been in the café the day before. All were standing in silence staring at the town hall. Again, the men hooted and howled and said things like "You can't save the world by standing in the park. That is what we have armies for," and "everyone knows you have to have banners and slogans to save the world--you can't do it by just standing in the park." The next day the women were joined by the women who were in the café the day before and a number of their friends. This brought the local newspaper reporter to the scene. He wrote a derisive article about the women. The day after it appeared, hundreds of women showed up to stand in the park in silence. The mayor then told the police chief to make the women leave because they were making the town appear to be foolish. When the police chief told them they would have to disperse because they didn't have a permit, one of them responded that "we are just individuals standing in our public park and we are not giving speeches or having a demonstration so why would we need a permit." The police chief thought about this and agreed with them and left the park. At this point 2,223 women including the mayor's wife, the police chief's wife, and one five-year old girl were standing in the park to save the world. The news quickly spread and soon women were standing all over the country. The story ended with women standing in every country throughout the globe, standing to save the world. See http://www.grandmotherbook.com/

Please stand with us for five minutes of silence at 1 p.m. your local time on May 13, 2007, in your local park, school yard, gathering place, or any place you deem appropriate, to signify your agreement with the statement below. We ask you to invite the men who you care about to join you. We ask that you bring bells to ring at 1 p.m. to signify the beginning of the five minutes of silence and to ring again to signify the end of the period of silence. During the silence, please think about what you individually and we collectively can do to attain this world. If you need to sit rather than stand, please feel free to do so. Afterwards, hopefully you and your loved ones can talk together about how we can bring about this world.

Posting, etc.

Scott & Steve...

can both of you attempt to make a new post? I want to make sure the permissions are set up correctly.

Thanks!

Matt

Welcome

Here is a post to get the ball rolling.