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Dear Friends: Aligning our spiritual beliefs and values with our financial resources is never easy in this culture. Sharing the resources we have access to can quickly take us beyond our comfort zone and can often make us feel as if we're teetering on the ledge of a cliff. A case of "what ifs" comes calling, reminding us of why we need to keep more of what we have - for our uncertain future, for our children, to maintain our current lifestyle. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina (and Hurricane Rita heading toward the Gulf Coast this week), I think we can encourage ourselves and one another to move further out there on that cliff ledge. We can envision ourselves in the shoes of those living on the Gulf Coast who have lost everything - everything - and ask what we would want our neighbors, our fellow Americans, to do for us and our families. Certainly that means money and supplies but it also means our time, our skills and our networks and connections. Are we in positions to offer housing or jobs to evacuees? Do we have construction or medical skills to offer? Does a civic club or spiritual community we belong to have the means to sponsor families or raise funds? Whether we're millionaires or on public assistance, we have a part to play - in this crisis and those happening daily around the world. Katrina is a crisis in our own backyard but it is important to remember that equally catastrophic events and situations happen around the globe every day - genocide, wars, AIDS, terrorism, and abject poverty. And that's why the alignment I'm talking about it so difficult - there is great hardship and suffering all around us and we're just not sure what to do. What does God want us to do in these situations and does it have to be uncomfortable for us - and how do we deal with that discomfort? Often we become overwhelmed by it all and fall into our favorite La-Z-Boy recliner to watch TV reruns. Easier to numb our heads and hearts with mindless entertainment than ask ourselves the hard questions, like: "Am I willing to live with less so that I can give more to others with even less than I have?" "Am I willing to open my home to strangers in need?" "Do I have the courage to live differently from my family members and neighbors?" Not easy questions. No easy answers. Feminist Theologian Sallie McFague has written that liberation theology for North American Christians is the relinquishment of power and resources for the liberation of others, as compared to the liberation theology of people in the Two-Thirds World that arises from the cries of the oppressed seeking their own liberation. Relinquishing pieces of our current U.S. lifestyle is tremendously difficult ... tough to give up central air for a window air conditioner; tough to give up window air for a ceiling fan; tough to give up any fan on a hot breezeless day. The same is true for refrigerators with built-in ice makers, garage door openers, dishwashers, rider mowers, multiple TVs, storage units and cellphones. Once we get used to having and using a 'luxury' item, we come to see it as a necessity and it is hard to imagine life without it. We forget that much of the world lives on less than $1 a day - which just can't accommodate the above-mentioned items in their budget. So, am I asking you to give up these or any items? No, I'm not. But I am reminding you that you can make changes in how you use your resources if you want to - that you're making daily choices that impact your life and lives around the world - and those choices and behaviors are not carved in stone. I'm asking you to become and remain aware of the reality of the Katrinas happening around the world and to be conscious of the choices you are making - both directly and indirectly. In addition to placing items in a line, 'alignment' also means adjusting to produce proper conditions and relationships - becoming allies - which is certainly what marginalized people in the world need from us now. There are numerous organizations needing your support for Hurricane evacuees. Network for Good has a listing of organizations serving people and animals along the Gulf Coast. That's a good place to start. Blessings,  Jan Sullivan Dockter, Editor
- By André Trocmé, from the Bruderhoff Communities Web Site According to the Torah, the year of Jubilee was to be celebrated every seventh Sabbath of years (seven times seven). Just as the week ended with a “day of release” called the Sabbath and a “week of years” ended with a sabbatical year (every seventh year), each period of forty-nine years ended with a Year of Jubilee. What were the religious principles upon which the Year of Jubilee was based? First, God is the owner of the land. In Leviticus 25:23 we read, “The land shall not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.” At the time of the Jubilee every tribe repossessed the land it had received when the people of Israel first settled in Canaan. Similarly, each family regained the lands it might have lost in the interval. In this way, even though God was the ultimate owner of the land, he did not operate as a tyrant oppressing his people in slavery. Rather, he acted as a good master, entrusting to his servants the administration of his goods, which he let them enjoy, but whom he would call to account at regular intervals and once again distribute the capital he alone possessed. This redistribution of land prevented the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few.
Kids and Money Retreat: Teaching Faith &
Values in a Materialistic World
At a Kids and Money retreat, parents, grandparents, teachers, and others explore what the Bible says about money; have opportunities to share their own successes and challenges; hear from professionals about how and when to take advantage of teaching moments with children; and get practical strategies for handling issues such as allowances, household chores, giving/saving/spending money and helping kids develop a sense of compassion for others. The cost of this two-day, non-residential event is $100 and includes the program and three meals. Child care is available with advance registration for an additional fee. Musician Bryan Sirchio will provide music and retreat leadership will be provided by MoM staff and volunteers. For more information, please contact Susan Taylor at (502) 454-3535 or by email at staylor@justmoneyadvisors.com. Download Retreat Brochure
Asheboro, NC Money and Faith
Retreat
Tijuana Pilgrimage
Dominican Republic Pilgrimage
- By Gary Gardner, from the Worldwatch Institute Magazine, September 2005 In his book God’s Politics, evangelical minister Jim Wallis describes an episode from his seminary days when a fellow student took scissors and snipped out of an old Bible every verse that focused on poverty and wealth. The remaining text was tattered and fragile, reports Wallis; these economic themes occur in the Hebrew scriptures more often than any topic except idolatry, and in the Gospels account for as many as one in seven verses. The eviscerated Bible was an effective prop for his sermons. “I’d hold it up high above American congregations and say ‘Brothers and sisters, this is our American Bible; it is full of holes,’” the empty spaces constituting the mute teachings that favor the poor and outline the economic obligations of the wealthy. Recovering the lost economic teachings—not just of the Jewish and Christian traditions, but of many of the world’s faiths—could be enormously valuable to a global economy faced with unprecedented ethical challenges. Mass consumerism in wealthy countries has already broken the ecological bank, with a crippled climate, extinct species, scalped forests, and drained or polluted rivers standing as red ink. Now billions of citizens of China and India demand a piece of the global consumption pie.How can the legitimate aspirations of emerging nations be met without further damaging the planet—while safeguarding opportunities for the world’s poorest, especially in Africa, to stake their consumption claims?
“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow and to love him as they love their cow - they love their cow for the milk and cheese and profit it makes them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God when they love him for their own advantage. Indeed, I tell you the truth, any object you have on your mind, however good, will be a barrier between you and the inmost truth.” - Meister Eckhart “People must realize that even with all these comforts, all this money and a GNP that increases every year, they are still not happy. They need to understand that the real culprits are our unceasing desires. Our wants have no end.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Imagine All the People" “It’s a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand.” – Madeleine L’Engle “The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry.” – Native American (Omaha tribe) proverb
- By Paul Rogat Loeb, author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear In the wake of the New Orleans disaster, I thought of an article I read about Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s other yacht. The 300-foot Tatoosh carries a 30-person crew, two helicopters, a swimming pool, a spa, a private movie theater, six other surface boats (including a separate 54-foot racing yacht and two Hobie catamarans) and a submarine. Reading about the Tatoosh and a third yacht just slightly smaller made me wonder about Allen’s yacht of choice. Did it have two swimming pools? Four helicopters? Twelve other on-board boats? And what was Allen doing with two yachts, when he could only ride on one at a time? Allen bought the Tatoosh in 2000, when it was America’s second largest. Three years later, he added the Octopus (aptly named for a Microsoft man), enabling him to leapfrog the founder of Victoria’s Secret to own the largest yacht in the world. Itself since surpassed by the yachts of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and the ruler of Dubai, the Octopus is 413 feet long, with seven decks, a 60- person crew including several former Navy SEALs, seven other on-board boats, a basketball court, the obligatory movie theater and swimming pool (just one?), and two submarines, one of which can stay two weeks on the ocean floor. Allen also owns a third megayacht it turns out, plus two personal Boeing 757’s, in case one is in the shop. We know Allen is unimaginably rich, so maybe his yacht collection comes as no surprise. But the Republicans are talking about permanently ending the estate tax in the new Congressional session. Our leaders are already lavishing more and more gifts on those who already have more than they can ever use, even in the midst of crises from the Iraq War to the New Orleans disaster, to the shifts in global warming that, by warming the ocean, turned a routine hurricane into a cataclysmic one. Allen’s yachts remind me of our choices about what we value.
- General information and an interactive chart on your personal 2004 income taxes from the National Priorities Project This publication shows how the average household's tax dollars are spent for every state and 193 cities, towns and counties.
Women's Perspective - Women’s Perspective provides transformational education for women seeking to understand their spiritual and economic power. Whether your funds are significant or minimal, Women’s Perspective can help you bring your financial life into alignment with your core values. Global Giving - At GlobalGiving, you can learn about and fund locally-run social and environmental projects from around the world.
The next issue of the MoM ezine will arrive electronically in early 2006. And watch for the upcoming holiday issue of the MoM print newsletter that will be out in early November with a theme of "Liberation." If you'd like to subscribe to either 'free' publication click here.
Retreats October 28-30, 2005Money & Faith Retreat Caraway Conference Center, Asheboro, NC Cost: $265 November 4-5, 2005 Kids & Money Retreat Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, Louisville, KY Cost: $100 November 11-12, 2005 Money & Faith Retreat All Saints' Church, Milwaukee, WI Cost: $65 February 3-4, 2006 Money & Faith Retreat St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Eagen, MN Cost: $TBD March 1-4, 2006 Business, Faith & Money Retreat Walla Walla, WA Cost: $TBD March 24-25, 2006 Money & Faith Retreat Charlotte, NC Cost: $TBD April 28-30, 2006 Special Money & Faith Retreat with Bishop Peter Storey Wellspring Conference Center, Germantown, MD Cost: $TBD You may register for these retreats online by clicking here!
Pilgrimages Ethiopia Pilgrimage November 2-16, 2005 Cost: $4,100 Registration Deadline: NOW! Tijuana, Mexico Pilgrimage January 22-February 1, 2006 Cost: $1,150 Registration Deadline: NOW! Dominican Republic Pilgrimage March 31 - April 9, 2006 Cost: $TBD Registration Deadline: February 1, 2006 Israel/Palestine Pilgrimage November 1-15, 2006 Cost: $TBD Registration Deadline: September 1, 2006 India Pilgrimage November 2-16, 2006 Cost: $TBD Registration Deadline: September 1, 2006
Stepping Free of the Culture: A Benefit Dinner for Ministry of Money Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 6:30PM Festival Center, Washington, DC Speaker: David Hilfiker, M.D., activist and author of Not All of Us Are Saints and Urban Injustice Tickets are $25 per person or $150 for a table of six. 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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