Two stories on Thursday night's American Public Radio's Marketplace worth listening to.
First, "What Will Americans Do With Their Rebates?" takes a look at alternative uses for the "economic stimulus checks" going out this week -- including EGR's Give It 4 Good!
Confession is good for the soul. (But maybe not so much for the ego!) I had been reading the info about the Give It 4 Good campaign and how we should choose compassion over consumption and I was thinking “Yeah, but I ain’t getting’ no check and I already give LOTS! This should be for other people who aren’t already givin’ what they can!”
And didn’t the Holy Spirit, in that wonderful way of Hers, convict my heart. I was reading At Knit’s End, Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much (yes, I may have taken my Lenten discipline of learning to knit socks a bit too seriously but we’ll talk about that later,) when I came across this quote by Kahlil Gibran: “Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking in less than you need.” (Nobody needs to tell me that God works in mysterious ways…)
That was it. I did it. I took the pledge. And I feel at peace. Up and until I’m at the place where I have given away everything I own, I’m still not doing all I can. Somehow, the bills are still getting paid, I still am able to put gas in my car, and my family has food on the table. We are so blessed. We can always do more.
This morning I am going to preach at another parish about the Millennium Development Goals. The woman who extended the invitation was very excited about the work their youth group did throughout the Lenten Season bringing awareness about the MDGs to the congregation. I sent her a copy of the GiveIt4Good Bulletin Insert and asked that it be put in all the bulletins. She told me that she thought I should just do a “regular” sermon for the 8 o’clockers since they “really weren’t all that interested in the MDG’s.”
Friends, I am more excited about the opportunity to share the information with the 8 o’clockers! I believe that we miss an incredible opportunity when we assume our seniors don’t want to get involved. I don’t know about your parishes, but in mine, my long time members are the slow-steady engines driving the train. They deserve to be challenged and invited to get involved. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Take the pledge, folks. Compassion over consumption is the way to go.
The following was Barbara Crafton's meditation from her "Almost daily eMo" from Geranium Farm. Click here to see them all and for information about subscribing.
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. - John 14:2
Extravagant language about God -- the Gospel of John is full of it. The power of God, the glory of God, the wisdom of God, these are everywhere in John -- and here, God's house in heaven is so big, many mansions can fit into it! Now, who can't relate to the excitement of that? Big! The Biggest! The most ever! The idea of abundance entrances us: size, power, wealth. We want it all, and then we want more of it. And when we imagine God, we imagine God to be like us.
But what actually happens in this ancient book with all the high-flown language? The Son of God is betrayed by one of his friends, deserted by others and finally killed. The power and glory of God isn't a simple matter of more and more, bigger and bigger. The one who raises Lazarus from the dead does not escape his own death. And his own rising from death is strangely quiet, mysterious, puzzling. Nobody knows exactly what has happened, but we see no mansion, no big army, no pot of gold. Life in Christ is something else, something different from the usual human love of more and more.
Maybe more and more is not what we need. In May, many Americans will be receiving “economic stimulus” checks from the federal government in the hopes that the money will be spent to bolster the languishing economy. We're supposed to spend it. But, with a national debt of $9 trillion, the United States is arguably the most consumer-oriented society in the world. Far more goods than are needed, or that can be produced in an environmentally-sustainable manner, are purchased by people who already live lives of material plenty.
To help direct the stimulus checks to people who can truly benefit from this money, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (EGR) launched the “Give it 4 Good” campaign http://www.giveit4good.org/ to encourage people to give all or part of the stimulus check to an organization working to advance the Millennium Development Goals, a set of benchmarks established by the international community to cut rates of global poverty. Spending our stimulus checks in this way would serve a spiritual purpose for us, as well as a charitable one for others. We don't just need to give poor people money; we also need to change our own values. More and more is not always better, or even desirable. Longing for more and more hasn't always served us well. Part of achieving Millennium Development Goal 7 -ensure environmental sustainability- begins with people who live in western countries limiting their consumption behavior.
To support the Millennium Development Goals Inspiration Fund through this campaign, make a gift to Episcopal Relief and Development online at www..er-d.org , or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development “Millennium Development Goals Inspiration Fund”, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. To record your gift with Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, please visit www.giveit4good.org and complete the form, indicating your pledge to Episcopal Relief and Development and the Millennium Development Goals Inspiration Fund.
This week, EGR launched the Give it for Good campaign to" urge people to contribute to MDG programs the money the US Government is about to send out to folks to stimulate the economy. This is worthwhile because it will raise money for the MDGs. But equally, if not more importantly it focuses on the fact that we in the richer countries need to look at how we spend our resources.
Working for a better world is not an abstract concept. And it does not just require money. It requires our own personal transformation. Every day we spend money; every day we make decisions about what to buy, what to support with our dollars. Do we buy fair traded goods? Do we buy clothes that are made in sweat shops? Do we purchase fuel efficient, energy efficient goods—from cars to light bulbs? Yes, change has to take place also at the national and international level. But it starts with us and what we do.
I am co-authoring a book about to be published called Practical Idealists: Changing the World and Getting Paid. The book tracks how over forty young people in our country have chosen to live out their values in their work. We found that it is first important to know what your values are. What do you believe in? In the case of Christians—do these values come from the Gospel? How would you articulate these? And then it is good to be in tune with your passion—what makes you tick, or get up in the morning.
“The interplay between your passions and your values will be the foundation for your practical idealism. For example, if you hold economic fairness as a value and are passionate about the environment, you might work for good air quality in economically disadvantaged regions. On the other hand, if you are excited by politics and its processes, you might work for equity by lobbying local governments to provide low-income housing for their citizens or work in government to enact legislation for school improvement. Thinking seriously about your values and your passions allows you to shape the form your practical idealism will take.”The EGR campaign Give it for Good reminds us that it is all too easy to be sucked into a way of life that precludes mindfulness and doing good for society. What we do with our money matters; the choices we make every day matter. It is part of our discernment of how to be open to personal transformation in all aspects of our lives.
Values and passion are important. But crucial is also asking yourself how much is enough? What do you want/need in terms of money, time, and/or recognition (success/prestige)? And can you live your life—including your spending habits—within these?
“Like it or not, one of the thorniest dilemmas facing those who wish to be practical idealists is how to have enough money to live well, but also have a job that allows them to have meaning in life. John often hears students say that they cannot take a practical idealist job and live well. There may be some truth to this; it depends on your definition of living well. It is possible in today’s world to live well and do good with a job in education, nonprofits, government, public service, farming or small-scale businesses. Likewise, practical idealists can be attorneys, physicians, mutual fund managers, or corporate executives-- they just need to avoid being sucked into a way of life that precludes mindfulness and doing good for society.”
11 - Dr. John HammockAssociate Professor of Public Policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy & The Fletcher School, Tufts University. Currently on leave until September, 2008 and working Sabina Alkire as a senior research associate at the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative, Was Executive Director at Oxfam America from 1984-1995 and Executive Director at ACCION International from 1973-1980. EGR board member
