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Dear Friends: Kevin Cashman and I just recently returned from leading two Ministry of Money pilgrimages in Eastern Africa - Kevin to Ethiopia and my trip to Kenya. Both of us came home with heavy hearts and renewed hope, deeper questions and greater clarity - the ongoing tensions and paradox of Africa, I'm afraid. Over these past weeks, Kevin and I have often found ourselves speechless, vague - unable yet to really share the depths of our experience with others. There are faces of people we met who haunt our sleep and cause us to repeatedly ask ourselves how we are to live as followers of Jesus in this materialistic North American culture after we've sat with the poorest of the poor, some of the most marginalized people in the world, and heard their stories, held their children, wept for their dead. For me, it's about living in and with the tensions - holding both sides of the coin and knowing that seldom are there simple black and white answers. Life is complicated and often gray in color - and the tensions I experience are between my efforts to unravel the systems and structures that keep people like Teresa, a 27-year-old HIV+ woman living with her HIV+ children in a 6' x 6' dirt floor hovel in Africa's largest slum, and my desire for personal comfort and stability. I am a creation of my culture - both good and bad. Push/pull, push/pull. Humor helps. Community is essential. Resting in God (however one defines God) is imperative. MoM staff, trip leaders and participants often experience spiritual growing pains - like those burning leg pains that wake youngsters up at night as bone and tissue and skin expands. And yet, I encourage everyone to make a pilgrimage to the marginalized world - to embrace the AIDS orphans; to hold the hands of mothers unable to feed their children; to stand and listen to the young men unable to find work; to walk beside the refugees who have fled their homes, families and livelihoods to save their very lives. Whether it's a trip across town or on the other side of the globe, we must wander from our insulated and comfortable lives and touch reality - our brother's and sister's reality, God's reality. And not just once, but regularly. In the liminal space between a heart still lingering in the slums of Africa and the rest of me back here in rural Pennsylvania, I pray for God's Spirit to bridge the distance, to nurse the wounds, to wipe the eyes and to tenderly hold the tensions experienced by us all - within Nairobi's Kibera slum with 1.5 million residents living on 600 acres and within my little community tucked away in the Pennsylvania woods. There is a meditation in the Buddhist tradition called Metta, or Lovingkindness, meditation. You start by asking for the following:"May I live in safety, be happy, be healthy, live with ease." Then move on to asking the same for someone dear to you - a family member or close friend. Now think of someone you know who is experiencing a difficult or painful time and pray the same prayer for them. As you continue to meditate/pray, think of an acquaintance or someone you generally know - the clerk at the grocery store, the paperboy, or whomever comes to mind - "May he live in safety, be happy, be healthy, live with ease." Next, bring to mind your enemy, that person you just can't stand, and again bring them into your prayer. "May she live in safety, be happy, be healthy, live with ease." And ultimately, open in this way to all beings everywhere, without distinction, without separation. All people, all animals, all creatures, all those in existence, near and far, known to us and unknown to us. All beings on the earth, in the air, in the water. Those being born, those dying."May all beings everywhere live in safety, be happy, be healthy, live with ease." I can't tell you how often this simple prayer has moved me from the depths of despair to renewed hope, guiding me through the transitions and transformations of each pilgrimage abroad, as well as the day-to-day challenges faced here at home. We all belong to one another - we are one another. The trips have been teaching me this; and when I remain awake and aware, I sincerely want a life of safety, happiness, good health and ease as much for others as I do for myself. And knowing that, believing that, helps me to answer the question of "how am I to live today?" There are several MoM pilgrimages of reverse mission scheduled in the months ahead. Trips to Israel/Palestine and India are scheduled in early November and a return to Kenya is scheduled for March 2007. Information about these pilgrimages can be found below and on our web site. I hope you'll consider taking a journey with us soon. P.S. - Save a copy of this ezine onto your desktop and read a bit every day this week . . . and forward it on to others you think might enjoy it! We are a grassroots group that expands through word-of-mouth - starting and maintaining dialogue with others. Invite others to join in the conversation . . . Blessings,  Jan Sullivan Dockter, Editor and Director of Programs and Communications
"Only the walker who sets out toward ultimate things is a pilgrim. In this lies the terrible difference between tourist and pilgrim. The tourist travels just as far, sometimes with great zeal and courage, gathering up acquisitions (a string of adventures, a wondrous tale or two) and returns the same person as the one who departed. There is something inexpressibly sad in the clutter of belongings the tourist unpacks back at home. The pilgrim is different. The pilgrim resolves that the one who returns will not be the same person as the one who set out." - Andrew Schelling The search for the spirit... insists on the collaboration of the different basins of knowledge found in the diverse cultures our world has manufactured. - Carlos Rodriguez AmadeoThe lenses with which we view the world are changed when the ground beneath our feet shifts. That's what happens on a Ministry of Money pilgrimage of reverse mission - the ground shifts from US soil to African or Asian or South/Central American or Middle Eastern or Caribbean soil and the view from "below" (the Third World, the marginalized world, the "developing" world, the "pillaged" world, the South) is much different. And not only is our own culture mirrored back to us from a different perspective, our glimpses and experience of God are also changed. It is transformational travel . . . and one doesn't return the same. Upcoming Ministry of Money PilgrimagesIsrael/Palestine The Holy Land, home to three major religions . . . what images those words bring to mind, from Biblical stories and from today’s news reports. Ministry of Money has led four pilgrimages to the Holy Land since 1998, the most recent in fall 2005. Now we’re ready to take another group of pilgrims on this life-changing journey. Even if you’ve been there before, you will find this pilgrimage quite different from your previous travels.We will visit holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nazareth, and the Sea of Galilee. We will also see the Dead Sea, Masada and Qumran. Most importantly, we will visit the “living stones”, the people of Palestine and Israel, spending time with Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, hearing the stories of Palestinians living under occupation and Israeli settlers living in the West Bank. We will focus intensely on the Bethlehem region, the major Christian area in the West Bank, visiting for several mornings in schools, nurseries, and the Al Kalima Center of Christmas Lutheran Church which provides activities and arts and crafts for the many troubled children of Bethlehem. Staying in Palestinian Christian homes for several nights will allow us to experience what life is like under occupation and to build relationships with individual families. We will also have the special opportunity to attend part of the 6th International Sabeel Conference on: “The Forgotten Faithful: The Challenges and Witness of Palestinian Christians.” Sabeel is the Center for Palestinian Liberation Theology in Jerusalem, “an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, promote unity among them, and lead them to social action.”Our Palestinian and Israeli speakers and unique resource people give us a very broad perspective on the terribly difficult issues confronting Palestinians and Israelis today. Harriet Taylor will be the trip leader. Download Israel/Palestine trip flierIndia India's northeast section is a sub-tropical region that embraces some of the most fertile land in India. The Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are famous for their large tribal communities, extensive mineral deposits and the unforgettable city of Calcutta. But in spite of its vast natural resources, this area is underdeveloped and among the poorest areas in India. With rich and diverse spiritualities throughout the centuries - Northeastern India is an ideal location for a Ministry of Money pilgrimage of reverse mission.This Indian immersion experience provides exposure to both the history and culture of northeastern India. It also offers an immediate setting in which to experience the political, social, economic and spiritual dimensions of daily life in this impoverished region of the globe. A primary focus of a pilgrimage of reverse mission is to create opportunities for direct contact with the poor and marginalized and with programs that address the misery of their condition, as well to visit sacred sites and have opportunities to meet and share with Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs as we attempt to build bridges. This MoM trip includes visits to and occasional service at community-based social development projects - such as Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity homes for orphans and dying destitutes and The Cheshire Home. The group will also visit Bodhgaya, the birthplace of Buddhism and site of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha gained enlightenment, and Varanasi - one of Indias oldest and most sacred cities. Varanasi sits on the Ganges River and is home to numerous Hindu and Buddhist temples. Each day also includes prayer and reflection in order to process the experience, both individually and as a group. Jan Sullivan Dockter will be the trip leader. Download India trip flierKenya Revered by anthropologists as the cradle of humanity, Kenya is the heart of safari country boasting the most diverse collection of wild animals on the African continent. But Sub Saharan Africa is also home to one of the worst pandemics in history: HIV/AIDS. Life expectancy in Kenya has dropped from 66 years to 48, and it is reported that over 2.2 million Kenyans are currently living with AIDS. Millions of children are orphaned when their parents die from the disease and many have sadly inherited the disease themselves. In Swahili, one of the primary languages spoken in Kenya, the word 'Kenya' literally means 'journey.' Join us on this journey of hope to Kenya - an ancient region of beauty and wonder.The focal point of our Kenyan experience will center around the capital city of Nairobi, as well as the Kakuma Refugee Camp in the northwest corner of Kenya. A primary focus of a Ministry of Money immersion experience is to create opportunities for direct contact with poor and marginalized people, and exposure to programs that address the misery of their condition, both through direct service and from a systemic change perspective. This MoM trip will include visits to social development projects and community-based entities - such as Nyumbani - an orphanage, hospice and community outreach program for orphans who are HIV+; Jesuit Refugee Services - which provides food, shelter, clothing, income-generating programs and medical care to poor inner-city Nairobi residents who have been displaced from their homes by political unrest and war; and educational, counseling and outreach services at the Kakuma Refugee Camp; Lea Toto - a community-based outreach program in the slums of West Nairobi; Kwetu Home - a rehabilitation program for street children; St. Aloysius High School - a secondary school within Kibera slum serving AIDS orphans; Missionaries of Charity - programs for children and adults; and St. Joseph the Worker parish in Kangemi which provides numerous outreach services for people of all ages living in this impoverished region. Each day will include prayer and reflection in order to process the experience, both individually and as a group. Kevin Cashman will be the trip leader. Download Kenya trip flierOther trips schedule for later 2007 and early
2008 include:
- by Zarrin T. Caldwell; OneWorld US; Dec. 7, 2005 “Fair trade creates the opportunity for businesses to increase their profits through socially responsible business practices, for consumers to vote with every purchase for a more equitable world, and for farmers to view themselves not as an anonymous cog in the world market, but as a valuable contributor to a global society.” - Paul Rice, TransFair USA’s founder and CEO Although the sale of fair trade products has become a more prominent business in Europe than the U.S., American consumers are becoming increasingly educated about fair trade products and many have shown a willingness to pay more for goods that they know will directly support small farmers and producers in the developing world. Today’s fair trade industry grew out of a movement that began in Europe about 40 years ago and was largely initiated by churches hoping to provide relief to refugees and other poor communities by selling their handicrafts. By the late 1970s, Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs) had come on the scene. Primarily importing handicrafts, these organizations sold small quantities to specialized stores and to social and church groups. Because ATOs thrived on handicrafts, however, their fair trade status was not subject to independent certification.
How much do you know about fair trade? 1) Today's fair trade industry traces its roots back about 40 years. Who is credited with launching the movement? 2) Which country sells the most fair trade products?
"When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude." - Elie Wiesel "To choose simplicity is to live into complicated questions without easy answers, taking one step that may make another step possible." - Sharon Daloz Parks "The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?" - Pablo Casals "A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even if he lives in paradise." - Baha'u'llah "Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities." -His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In military terms, a 'retreat' is the drawing back of forces after an enemy attack or defeat. That definition is not unlike what a spiritual retreat is - a pulling back from the world to regroup, rethink, gain clarity and see a larger picture - God's picture. At a Ministry of Money Money and Faith retreat, participants step back from their 'normal' daily lives - their routines, habits, circles of influence - to reflect upon their attitudes and behaviors, and the forces that impact them, through the lens of their faith. When we look at topics such as money, wealth, possessions and power, we see that we are daily deluged by an 'enemy' that tells us that more is better, there is never enough, we are what we have, and to gather all we can before others get it. And when we don't pull back, don't stop and look at God's bigger picture, we can easily start to believe those cultural messages and live our lives accordingly. Ministry of Money has been in the process of redesigning its Money and Faith retreat for the last several months. As always, we continue to include personal stories from the presenters, small and large group discussions, biblical references, and help to determine some next steps for participants. But we have now added more interactive activities that explore the cultural messages we hear/see hundreds of times a day and then compare and contrast them to the numerous biblical messages regarding money/wealth and possessions. We examine the cultural and personal barriers which cause us to resist Jesus' teachings. What in us rebels against Jesus' examples of how we are to use the resources we have access to? We've also added video clips and recorded music to help us look at these issues from different points of view. Included in the new format is a deeper biblical study of the Manna story in Exodus and Luke 12. We are excited about the new design and have had very positive feedback from our recent retreatants. We invite you to our 'new' Money and Faith Retreats at Wellspring Conference Center in Germantown, Maryland, this September 15-17 or at Fairfield Mennonite Church in Fairfield, PA, (near Gettysburg), on September 29-30. Even if you've participated in a retreat before, we think you'll be stretched and gain insight from this new format.Wellspring Money & Faith Retreat
Fairfield Mennonite Church Fairfield, PA (8 miles southwest of Gettysburg, PA) Retreat Fee: $40 (2-day, nonresidential retreat) Download Retreat Brochure
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- a special money & faith retreat with Ched Myer
October 20-22, 2006 This retreat will introduce the basic concepts of Sabbath Economics in a biblical framework. We will then focus on three aspects of household finances - surplus, debt and giving - in order to examine how our discipleship can become more congruent with our financial practices, and to explore spiritual disciplines for our daily economic lives.
Ched Myers is an ecumenical theologian,
activist, writer, community builder and popular
educator with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries in
Los Angeles, California. For registration information, contact the Ministry of Money at (301) 428-9560 or by email at office@ministryofmoney.org. You can also download the retreat brochures and register on our web site at www.ministryofmoney.org.
- by David R. Francis, Christian Science Monitor, January 30, 2006 It's unusual for a controversial economic issue to be fought on moral grounds. But ACORN, a public advocacy group, has been winning a higher "living wage" for workers in state after state, city after city, by appealing to voters' sense of justice. "It's probably the best [argument] we have," says Jen Kern, director of ACORN's Living Wage Resource Center. A decent income is a moral matter of "fairness," she says. Those who "play by the rules of the game should be able to support themselves by their work." "A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you poor," agrees Paul Sherry, coordinator of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, a church-based coalition in Cleveland seeking to raise low wages.
- by Respsonsible Wealth, A Project of United for a Fair Economy Q. What does "living wage" really mean? At an absolute minimum, a living wage is the amount a person would need to earn to stay above the federal poverty level. In 2000, this amounted to $17,050 a year for a family of four, or $8.20 per hour for a full-time, year round worker. A true living wage varies city by city because it takes into consideration the cost of living (housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, etc.) in each location.
Instead of rotting our souls, money may make us contemplate the profound - by Gregg Easterbrook, BeliefnetDesigner clothes, cell phones, SUVs, mutual funds--modern materialism seems the enemy of all that is spiritual. Advertising screams out insatiable consumption. Movies and television blast us with images of runaway wealth, instilling the notion that too much is never enough. New books such as Luxury Fever and The Overspent American lament that the cycle of work and spend is sapping away all that matters in life. And prosperity continues to increase: we have more stuff each passing year. If materialism and spirituality are inversely proportional, it would seem that the soul is doomed. Where Nietzsche, Darwin, and Freud failed to destroy spiritual belief, perhaps Nike, Disney, and American Express will succeed. As Jonathan Twitchell argues in the provocative new book Lead Us into Temptation, losing themselves in fashion, cars, electronics, and other forms of consumption "is how most of Western young people cope in a world that science has pretty much bled of traditional religious meanings." That's the conventional wisdom, anyway. Yet a nationwide increase in religious and spiritual interest is happening at the very time America enjoys unprecedented physical prosperity. Perhaps the upsurge in concern for the sacred is not happening in spite of materialism, but because of it. Consider that Rev. Jim Henry, pastor of First Baptist Church of Orlando, Florida, a mega-church that is among the country's largest evangelical houses of worship, notes, "People today find that the things they're buying and turning to are not fulfilling. Interest in spiritual subjects is the highest it's been in the 35 years that I've been preaching, and I think disenchantment with consumerism has a lot to do with that." Henry's church, being in Orlando--home of Disney World and its satellite parks and hotels and malls and stores--sits at the epicenter of runaway consumption. This fact seems to be driving people toward the church, not away from it; First Baptist draws almost 10,000 worshippers per week.
Global Civilization: Challenges to Society and
Christianity
Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote
Development
Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone
Beliefnet
Watch for the upcoming MoM printed newsletter. It will arrive in your mailbox by early September. The next MoM ezine will be sent to your email address in early autumn.
Retreats September 15-17, 2006Money & Faith Retreat Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD Cost: $250 September 29-30, 2006 Keep the Gift Moving: Money, the Market and Mutual Aid with Ched Myers Festival Center, Washington, DC Cost: $295 You may register for these retreats online by clicking here Pilgrimages Israel/Palestine Pilgrimage November 1-16, 2006 Cost: $4,100 - $4,500 Registration Deadline: September 1, 2006 Kenya Pilgrimage For information about any of these events, please contact Ministry of Money at (301) 428-9560 or by email at office@ministryofmoney.org
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