- an excerpt from an article by Gilberto Flores, in The Mennonite, 10/5/04

"What are the interests that should move the conscience of the Christian disciple to vote responsibly? Do we understand that upon voting we are responsible for the decisions that those who govern us make? Are we clear that voting is not neutral because upon voting we are authorizing the actions and decisions of those who govern us? . . .

The electoral season is a good time to be prophetic about the true justice that comes from a commitment to the values of the reign of God. This is a propitious time to show the relevance of our Christian values in a society highly educated but that in some aspects shows itself capable of political manipulation. . .

Christian wisdom pushes us to be prophetic. This does not mean being loudmouthed, adding in this way more religious noise to the electoral environment. A prophetic voice for today begins with an appropriate analysis of the ethos this nation is modeling, as much within its own society as toward the world in general.

Another point of reference for the prophetic task consists of being conscious of the ethical implications of our political decisions. For a coherent Christian, the world is the geographical space for the mission of God, not a camp for a religious or ideological brawl in which the strongest imposes itself by whatever means available. Christian wisdom encourages us to offer hope and the opportunity of redemption. . .

"Consumerism is the cultural myth that the human spirit can find personal well-being, social fulfillment and integration through non-essential, conspicuous consumption. It invites a lifestyle based on shopping to quiet the needs created by marketing. It invites us to perpetually seek more and bigger versions of what we already have. Consumerism masks the need we all have to turn inward to encounter God immanent at our core. This call to find satisfaction in acquisitions masks the call of the Spirit to find God within." - Jim Profit, SJ

"Sometimes the strongest resistance in spiritual life is the fear of having to give up one's attachments." - Carol Wilson

"I no longer pray for God to be present, or God to give me guidance. What I pray for is openness to God . . . God is always present. We build the walls that separate us from God. It is our responsibility to tear them down and open ourselves to God." - Mary Kay Sauter

"My call for a spiritual revolution is thus not a call for a religious revolution. Nor is it a reference to a way of life that is somehow other-worldly, still less to something magical or mysterious. Rather, it is a call for a radical re-orientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self towards concern for the wider community of beings with whom we are connected, and for conduct which recognizes others' interests alongside our own." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

-by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, from the National Catholic Reporter

Have you ever in your life seen politics posing as religion as much as it is in this campaign?

There's something nice about a year like this though: Everybody who's anybody is telling you who you are. For instance, I got a letter on my computer this week from the Republican National Committee telling me that to vote Republican was to vote "in accordance with Catholic values."

Then I got an article about "10 teachers of Christian ethics" who wrote to Bush to criticize the Bush campaign's attempt to collect church membership directories from "friendly" congregations so they could make the religious pitch to them directly.

- by Jim Wallis, Sojourners and printed in the Boston Globe 7/13/04

Many of us feel that our faith has been stolen, and it's time to take it back. A misrepresentation of Christianity has taken place. Many people around the world now think Christian faith stands for political commitments that are almost the opposite of its true meaning. How did the faith of Jesus come to be known as pro-rich, pro-war, and pro-American? What has happened? How do we get back to a historic, biblical, and genuinely evangelical faith rescued from its contemporary distortions?

That rescue operation is crucial today in the face of a social crisis that cries out for prophetic religion. The problem is clear in the political arena, where strident voices claim to represent Christians when they clearly don't speak for most of us. We hear politicians who love to say how religious they are but fail to apply the values of faith to their leadership and policies.

- by Bill Moyers, Alternet This was a speech given at the Inequality Matters Forum on June 3, 2004 at New York University.

Some things are worth getting mad about. Case in point: the growing, vast equality gap between the richest and the poorest Americans. If this isn't class war, what is?

It is important from time to time to remember that some things are worth getting mad about.

Here's one: On March 10 of this year, on page B8, with a headline that stretched across all six columns, The New York Times reported that tuition in the city's elite private schools would hit $26,000 for the coming school year -- for kindergarten as well as high school. On the same page, under a two-column headline, Michael Wineraub wrote about a school in nearby Mount Vernon, the first stop out of the Bronx, with a student body that is 97 percent black. It is the poorest school in the town: nine out of ten children qualify for free lunches; one out of 10 lives in a homeless shelter. During black history month this past February, a sixth grader wanted to write a report on Langston Hughes. There were no books on Langston Hughes in the library -- no books about the great poet, nor any of his poems. There is only one book in the library on Frederick Douglass. None on Rosa Parks, Josephine Baker, Leontyne Price, or other giants like them in the modern era. In fact, except for a few Newberry Award books the librarian bought with her own money, the library is mostly old books -- largely from the 1950s and 60s when the school was all white. A 1960 child's primer on work begins with a youngster learning how to be a telegraph delivery boy. All the workers in the book -- the dry cleaner, the deliveryman, the cleaning lady -- are white. There's a 1967 book about telephones which says: "when you phone you usually dial the number. But on some new phones you can push buttons." The newest encyclopedia dates from l991, with two volumes -- "b" and "r" -- missing. There is no card catalog in the library -- no index cards or computer.

The Impossible Will Take Awhile: a citizen's guide to hope in a time of fear by Paul Rogat Loeb; Published by Basic Books; 2004
"This has been a year in which many of us are struggling to find much in the way of hope, but reading this new book by Paul Loeb was just the step up I needed. I highly recommend this book!"- Jan Sullivan Dockter, MoM editor

Syllables of the Perfect Word: Advent Reflections 2004 by Rose Marie Berger; Published by Pax Christi USA; 2004

The Heart of Christianity: How We Can Be Passionate Believers Today by Marcus J. Borg; Published by HarperSanFrancisco; 2003

The Bible: A Political Model for Contemporary Politics By Shirley L. Gilson; Published by Honeycomb Bible Resources (a 4-6 week study curriculum)

The next issue of the MoM ezine will arrive electronically in early January.

And watch for the upcoming issue of the MoM print newsletter that will be out in early November with a theme of "Refocusing the Holidays." If you'd like to subscribe to either 'free' publication click here.

Retreats:

October 15-16, 2004
Kids & Money: Teaching Faith & Values in a Materialistic World
Christ Church (Episcopal), Wilmington, DE
$100 per person (adults only for this retreat)

October 29-31, 2004
Hungering for God in an Affluent Culture: a special retreat with Arthur Simon, Founder of Bread for the World
Co-Sponsored with Harvest Time
Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD
$240 per person

November 19-20, 2004
Basic Money & Faith Retreat
Myers Park United Methodist Church, Charlotte, NC
$100 per person

January 28-30, 2005
Basic Money & Faith Retreat
San Luis Rey Center, Oceanside, CA
$275 per person

April 8-10, 2005
Basic Money & Faith Retreat
Co-sponsored with Beyond Borders
Temenos Retreat Center, West Chester, PA
$240 per person

May 13-15, 2005
Special Money & Faith Retreat with Sr. Jose Hobday
Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD
$240 per person

Pilgrimages:

Tijuana, Mexico Pilgrimage
January 31-February 6, 2005
Cost: $850
Registration Deadline: December 1, 2004

India Pilgrimage
March 2-14, 2005
Cost: $3,400
Registration Deadline: January 10, 2005

Haiti Pilgrimage
August, 2005
Cost: $TBD
Registration Deadline: June 2005

Israel/Palestine Pilgrimage
September 23-October 7, 2005
Cost: $TBD
Registration Deadline: July 30, 2005

Ethiopia Pilgrimage
November 2-16, 2005
Cost: $TBD
Registration Deadline: September 1, 2005

For information about any of these events, please contact Ministry of Money at (301) 428-9560 or by email at office@ministryofmoney.org