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The Ministry of Money E-zine
July 2007 |
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Rubber Meets the Road: Musings on the
Journey |
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Dear Friends,
I've just returned from leading a pilgrimage
to Kenya for Georgetown University faculty
and administrative staff. This is the fourth
trip I've led for Georgetown over the last
few years, each time taking different staff
from varying departments. Currently, nearly
50 people from the University have
experienced the stark realities, the joys
and challenges, and most especially the
gracious, faithful, and hospitable people of
Kenya. From these experiences bridges are
being built; individuals, families,
schools and organizations have found support
of all types; hearts and minds have been
opened; and the unique resources of both the
Georgetown University staff and the Kenyan
people encountered are being shared.
While in Kenya, the Georgetown group met
with refugees living in and around Nairobi.
Kenya allows refugees to enter the country
but they can only legally reside in refugee
camps and are not allowed to seek
employment. With a total refugee population
of around a quarter of a million, 25%
(60,000+) have chosen to stay illegally in
Nairobi in hopes of eking out a living in
the informal sector. The Nairobi refugees
occasionally receive food (rice, oil, beans)
through Jesuit Refugee Service at a parish
in the slums, which is where we gathered
with them. Their stories were
heart-wrenching and their suffering
continued long after their arrival into
Kenya.
Refugees are virtually voiceless, and the
desperation and frustration expressed when
they have an opportunity to share their
stories is palpable - it's something you
never forget. When we in the West think of
refugees, it's easy to resort to faceless
images in ethnic clothing behind fences
somewhere far away. The truth of the matter
is that refugees are persons just like us
who want to care for their families, live in
safety, find employment, and move about
freely. Instead, most refugees are coming
from very traumatic experiences in their
home country only to find hostility and a
long-term residence in limbo, where they
have few choices in how the rest of their
life plays out. I've visited numerous
refugee camps in the past, and a majority of
the people I've met have been there for many
years and are trying frantically to find a
way out and begin their lives again. James
O'Reilly recently wrote in the preface of
his book "The Best Travel Writing 2007":
"Millions of souls cross borders without
food, documents, clothing, health or hope,
and are preyed upon by weather, wild
animals, and human jackals - their own kind
who hack at them, rob them, rape them, kill
them. These are the travelers we should
admire and study and care the most about,
for our cardboard wall of laws and borders
is flimsy, and expensive weaponry is mostly
an illusion, and while that wall keeps the
demons from snapping at us in our
well-washed and well-fed spendor, if it
collapses we will all too quickly join our
brothers and sisters who suffer unimaginably
every day. We, the lucky ones who can cross
borders with impunity, need to do so as
often as we can to see how the rest of the
world lives, to wake up and spread the
honest news of our fellows to people at home
who don't get out much, or who think that
Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates have it
handled out there beyond the bubble."
For anyone interested in participating on a
future open-enrollment Kenya pilgrimage I
encourage you to take a look at some of the
pictures of our recent journey! The group
spent the last couple of days on safari at
the Masai Mara to see some of Kenya's
amazing wildlife - which proved to be even
more evidence of a very creative and
wonderous God!
 View
photos from the recent Georgetown University
Kenya pilgrimage!
Have a blessed summer,
Jan Sullivan Dockter, Co-Director
P.S.
- There are numerous MoM events
coming up this fall. An
introductory retreat on money & faith
entitled "Our Money: Manna or
Mammon?" is scheduled at Wellspring
Conference Center in September, a retreat
with Ched Myers entitled "What Does
Sabbath Economics Mean for Your Household?"
is scheduled for October, a
pilgrimage to India leaves in early
November, and a pilgrimage to
Tijuana, Mexico departs in
mid-January.
Check out the
calendar below for more information!
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Co-Directors To Lead Ministry of Money Into Its
Fourth Decade |
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The Ministry of Money Board of Directors is pleased
to announce that Mike Little has
been recently hired as a Co-Director of Ministry of
Money, effective July 30th, working with
Co-Director Jan Sullivan Dockter as
a leadership team. Mike will work primarily from the
Germantown office and Jan will continue to work
mostly from her home office in south-central
Pennsylvania, with regular trips south to the main
office. Harriet Taylor will remain
as Associate Director and Vilma Montalvan
as Bookkeeper, both in the Germantown office.
 Mike
Little
has spent his career working with issues of
homelessness and affordable housing. He has
been especially committed to Samaritan Inns, a
ministry providing treatment and housing for men
and women recovering from addictions. He began
at Samaritan Inns 18 years ago and served in a
variety of capacities, including most recently
as Executive Director. He has also worked in
shelters, soup kitchens, and as a job
counselor. He is primarily motivated by
discipleship and is passionate about the
church's role in pursuing justice in the world.
He co-founded Lazarus Church, a worshipping
community based in DC which seeks to break
barriers and build bridges between people of
different racial, economic, and social
backgrounds. Mike lives in Silver Spring, MD
with his wife Victoria Roberts, Jakob (10) and
Caitlin (8).
When Mike joins the staff at the end of the
July, you can reach him at (301) 428-9560 or by
email at
mike@ministryofmoney.org.
Welcome, Mike!
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Compassionate Consumption |
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From the
Center for Action and
Contemplation Web Site
"Do not avoid contact with suffering or close
your eyes before suffering. Do not lose
awareness of the existence of suffering in the
life of the world. Find ways to be with those
who are suffering by all means, including
personal contact and visits, images and sound.
By such means, awaken yourself and others to the
reality of suffering in the world."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Our employment and consumption no longer impact
just our local community. Our economic community
in this global age includes our neighbors in
every part of the world. Every dollar we earn or
spend has some direct or secondary impact on
brothers and sisters we will never meet in
person. This is a blessing and a curse. We can
promote great kindness or foster terrible
atrocities throughout the world without leaving
the confines of our home or community. If the
massive consuming energy of the United States
(190 billion on clothing alone) were channeled
into the purchase of fairly traded goods and
services, the economic face of the world would
be transfigured immediately. We can take a look
at the clothing industry for a case study in
some principles that can be applied to all of
our economic decisions.
Read The Entire Article .
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Reflections |
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 "It
is a rare day when we are completely satisfied.
Usually we are hoping, wishing, longing, thirsting,
for something more, something different, something
else we think will satisfy us or make our lives
happier. We are often like an empty cup waiting to
be filled with whatever it is we think is missing in
our lives. There are many kinds of inner thirsting.
Not to thirst for things of the ego such as
recognition, prestige, power and success is very
difficult. Once we shake ourselves loose from these
longings, our spirit will be more free to thirst for
the deeper things of God. We will be much more
intent on asking for the living water for our
thirsty soul instead of the things that feed our
thirsty ego."
- Joyce Rupp, The Cup
of Our Life
"I think one of my Religion professors said
it best when he held up a blank sheet and said,
'This is what Jesus said about homosexuality.
This is what Jesus said about abortion,' and
then he held up a paper completely full of
writing and said, 'THIS is what Jesus said about
peace. THIS is what Jesus said about loving
your neighbor. THIS is what Jesus said about
social justice and equality.'"
- from a blog on ProgressiveU.org
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Protecting the
Earth with Dr. Vandana Shiva
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As I follow the regular, dire reports on
global warming, I recall my visit two years ago
along the foothills of the Himalayas, near the
border of China and Nepal, north of Dehredun in
India. There I met Dr. Vandana Shiva, a leading
anti-globalization and environmental activist, a
brilliant, engaging scientist and Gandhian
activist.
She has taken up a formidable challenge --
to resist globalization and protect farmers,
not to mention the earth itself. Her
strategy -- to harvest every endangered seed
and indigenous plant, restore the soil to
its original richness, and save the seeds
from corporate patent theft by creating
"seed banks." A modern-day Noah, gathering
for the future the herbs of the world.
I toured Navdanya Farm, her farming
commune and laboratory for biodiversity
conservation and farmers' rights, then
moved on to see Bija Vidyapeeth, a
college she founded to teach sustainable
living and global alternatives. There
one learns new ways to cook, garden,
compost, farm, organize politically, and
do yoga.
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The Rich Have Priced
the Outdoors Out of Everyone Else's Hands |
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By Barbara
Ehrenreich,
AlterNet, June 30, 2007
As mansions increasingly eat up the
coasts and hillsides, an old saying rings
true: "If a place is truly beautiful, you
can't afford to be there."
I took a micro-vacation last week --
nine hours in Sun Valley before an
evening speaking engagement. The sky was
deep blue, the air crystalline, the
hills green and not yet on fire.
Strolling out of the Sun Valley Lodge, I
found a tiny tourist village, complete
with Swiss-style bakery, multi-star
restaurant, and "opera house." What luck
-- the boutiques were displaying outdoor
racks of summer clothing on sale! But
things started to get a little sinister
-- maybe I had wandered into a movie set
or Paris Hilton's closet? -- because
even at a 60 percent discount, I
couldn't find a sleeveless cotton shirt
for less than $100. These items
shouldn't have been outdoors; they
should have been in locked glass cases.
Then I remembered the general rule,
which has been in place since sometime
in the '90s: If a place is truly
beautiful, you can't afford to be there.
All right, I'm sure there are still
exceptions -- a few scenic spots not yet
eaten up by mansions. But they're going
fast.
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The Zen of No-Money |
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By Americ Azevedo,
The Eye of the Paradox
There is just plain money, big-money, and no-money.
Most of us grow up in the "just plain money" world.
This is the middle class job, buying or renting a
house, raising children, and paying off debts. This
is a world that is rapidly fading away. Enter now
the worlds of big-money and no-money.
The big-money world has many people that are
like overactive pimps who forever take favors
from their prized performers. The excesses of
some of the stars in the more glamorous
brokerage firms on Wall Street are just some of
the more well known examples.
We talk of economic recession and even depression
these days. No-money for schools, roads, police,
national defense, and medical care to the needy.
Unemployment seems higher than the official
statistics. Riots. Crime. Angry voters willing to
overthrow the two party system. Global economic
gloom. There is uncertainty and risk in the money
games people play with stocks, bonds, currencies,
futures, and even old CD's and savings accounts.
When you have just plain money you may say things
like, "If you are down and out--that is your own
fault. I've got a job. You could find work if you
really wanted to!" Then the tune changes when their
job goes away, and no work shows up for month after
month after month. Yes, yes, work at the McDonald's
counter. Pack those fries; bag those burgers.
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Comic Relief |
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 No
Sex Please, We're Organizing:
A nation of pack rats tries to
get it together
By Elizabeth Gettelman,
Mother Jones, June 30, 2007
Since the 1970s, the average U.S.
home has grown by 80%. Yet Americans face a
"storage crisis," according to UCLA
researchers.
The self-storage industry is only 35
years old. It took 25 years for the first
billion square feet of storage space to be
built. The second billion square feet was
built in just 8 years.
7 square feet of commercial storage
space now exists for every American.
1 in 11 households rents storage
space-1 million more households than two
years ago.
Read The Entire Article . . .
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Ministry of Money
Calendar of Events |
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Our Money: Manna or Mammon? An Introductory
Money & Faith Retreat
Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD
Cost: $250
Contact: Harriet Taylor
(301) 428-9560 · email:
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
October 12-14, 2007
"What Does Sabbath Economics Mean for
Your Household?" with author and activist Ched
Myers
Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD
Cost: $295
Contact: Harriet Taylor
(301) 428-9560 · email:
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
November 2-16, 2007
Pilgrimage of Reverse Mission to INDIA
Trip Leaders: Jan Sullivan Dockter and Joe
Yacinski
Cost: $4,000 - $4,500 (depending on airfares)
Contact Jan Sullivan Dockter
January 20-30, 2008
Pilgrimage of Reverse Mission to TIJUANA,
MEXICO
Trip Leaders: Vilma Montalvan and Rick
Zemlin
Cost: $TBD
Contact: Harriet Taylor
(301) 428-9560 · email:
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
March 28-April 11, 2008
Pilgrimage of Reverse Mission to
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Trip Leader: Harriet Taylor
Cost: $TBD
Contact: Harriet Taylor
(301) 428-9560 · email:
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
Download Trip Flier
April 4-6, 2008
Manna &
Mercy with South
African pastor and
retreat leader Alan
Storey
Wellspring
Conference Center,
Germantown, MD
Cost: $TBD
Contact:
Harriet Taylor
(301)
428-9560 · email:
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
April 11-13,
2008
Manna &
Mercy
with
South
African
pastor
and
retreat
leader
Alan
Storey
Birmingham,
AL
Cost:
$TBD
Contact:
Harriet
Taylor
(301)
428-9560 ·
email:harriet@ministryofmoney.org
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$cholarships May Be Available |
There may be
scholarship funds available for people needing
financial assistance to participate in Ministry
of Money Retreats and Pilgrimages. Contact
Harriet at the Ministry of Money office for more
information: (301) 428-9560 or by email at
harriet@ministryofmoney.org
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