Prospect Park United Methodist Church
Social Justice

[Peace & Justice Committee - 2007 Year in Review]

Social Justice ... Who Benefits?

There is an old adage that says a person who heats his house with wood gets warmed three times; when he cuts down the tree, when he splits the wood, and when he burns the wood. Buying Fair Trade tea, chocolate and nuts at PPUMC is similar in that it benefits different people at different times and in different parts of the world.

For every pound of fairly traded products that United Methodists sell, Equal Exchange donates $0.15 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). For 2006, that amount totaled $17,191.07! This year, UMCOR used those funds to support agricultural development in West Africa. Our Peace and Social Justice Committee places a small markup on the items; this profit goes to help support people in need in our backyard and across the globe.

The farmers who grow the tea, cocoa and nuts benefit by getting a fair price for their products so that they can support their families and send their children to school. And you benefit by paying lower prices for these products than you would at any of the local co-ops or stores. Our chocolate prices went up this fall due to an increase in the price of cocoa, but our price still beats the competition hands down! (The cocoa we sell for $5.00 costs $6.39 at Seward Coop. and the nuts we sell for $5.00 cost $6.99 – we obviously have lower prices because we do not have the expense of running a store or paying salaries).

Thanks for your support of this project and your support of Fair Trade.

Peace Village 2008

Peace Village 2008 will be happening June 23 - July 3, 2008. Since 1994, Peace Village has offered programs in peace-making and conflict resolution for children and families. It is part of the outreach of the Community of St. Martin. Its goal is to help children and families learn the importance of peacemaking and conflict resolution in an increasingly troubled world. This year's program is for children who have completed kindergarten through 5th grade. The camp is Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, and is based at Faith Mennonite Church at 2720 E. 22nd St. Minneapolis. Tuition for one child is $275, and tuition for other children in the same family is $200. Parents who volunteer at Peace Village are eligible for a discount on tuition. Scholarships are also available. Cost should not be a barrier for enrollment. To enroll, contact Beka Hamlett-Leisen at 612-724-4339 or email bekaloca@hotmail.com by May 15th.

Families Moving Forward

The Families Moving Forward program provides a place for homeless families to stay. PPUMC volunteers to provide a meal and overnight facilitators several times a year. The following story was reported back by one of our volunteers:

“I sat around the table with two preadolescent girls, chatting about such things as school, boys, music and holidays. One of the girls had recently come here with her family from Georgia, the other from Illinois. The 10-year old told of how she had just come back from Illinois for the funeral of her 25 year-old cousin, who had her throat slit and was then stabbed multiple times by the father of her 10-day old baby.

Hopefully, most of us will never experience being homeless, as these girls are. Hopefully, most of our children will never have to deal with this kind of violence in their families. Hopefully, we will continue to work towards a society where every person matters.”

Watch for announcements in the bulletin and on the web site for when PPUMC will be needing volunteers to honor our commitment to this important ministry. If you would like to help or want more information, please contact Joy DeHarpporte or Kelley Rae Jewett.

Hope Lodge Volunteers Needed…

The Richard M. Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge opened in late December 2007 at 2500 University Ave SE in Minneapolis. This nurturing, home-like environment will provide free, temporary accommodations for adult cancer patients traveling long distances for outpatient treatment. Here is your chance to make a difference. Whether you have a few hours once a week or once a month, you can make a difference. Volunteer as an individual or as part of a community or civic group. Some volunteers help at the front desk or drive patients to treatment. Some volunteers cook while others make the lodge shine. The personal rewards for volunteering at Hope Lodge are immeasurable.

An Open Letter from Concerned Citizens

Bishop Sally Dyck has signed (with other leaders) a statement printed in the Star Tribune May 16th: “To Governor Pawlenty and MN State Legislature, We believe that is unacceptable that nearly one half of entering kindergartners are not fully prepared to succeed in school. We are especially concerned that children from disadvantaged backgrounds start school already behind. We know MN can do better than that. We can make MN a national model for quality early care and education, and we should. We therefore respectfully request you to make access to high quality, cost-effective early childhood experiences a much higher priority than it has been in the past, and to maintain a sustained commitment to greatly improved school readiness, so that in the future, all of our children are ready to succeed in school and in life.”

Living a Green and Sustainable Lifestyle

"Global warming is so scary!", a friend declared helplessly to me. It's easy to think that this is a problem that we can't do anything about or to voice complaints about our slow-to-respond political system. It's easy to not "see" the problem and it can be inconvenient to try to be "green". But as Christians we are called to try to take steps toward being faithful stewards of creation. It's a social justice issue.

Our church is doing a lot. We're lucky to have Dave Robinson directing our church renovation and considering how to incorporate "green" technology. Our "Bird by Bird" group has been exploring sharing and learning about how to make our lives more sustainable and conserve resources. We're connected with Congregations Caring for Creation that is a resource for us. Pastor Nancy has given leadership in encouraging our congregation along this path.

What has PPUMC done?

PPUMC Joins ISAIAH

How does a small church like ours make its voice heard on social justice issues? We answered that question by joining ISAIAH. The Ad Council unanimously approved membership in ISAIAH, a self-directing, proactive organization that is moved by faith to strengthen congregations and effect justice on social and economic issues. The current issue on the agenda is the campaign for a Minneapolis Living Wage Ordinance. Other concerns are education, immigration rights, and transportation. You can find more information about ISAIAH on their Website at: http://www.gamaliel.org/isaiah.

Joining with other churches deepens our efforts to build a just community by organizing together for the common good. The list of ISAIAH members (mostly Lutheran and Catholic) now totals about 85 in the metropolitan and St. Cloud area of Minnesota. PPUMC works with what is called the Minneapolis caucus of 20 churches, because our church is in Minneapolis. Since we are members through our church, we work with other churches in Minneapolis, not necessarily where our own home are.

It is a joy to attend ISAIAH gatherings. It is a privilege to work for social justice!

The ISAIAH meetings are held at 7:00 pm on the third Thursday of each month at one of the member churches.

PPUMC Donates to Gandhi Ashram School

PPUMC is in partnership with Hennepin Avenue UMC to support†a cooperative of handicapped weavers and the school they started in Jaipur, India. At last report the weaving cooperative had closed, but the school was open and needs help. From the sale of weavings and the fund-raiser last fall, PPUMC was able to send $1,000 with a group of 15 people led by Hank and Dottie Garwick from HAUMC.

They left on February 15, 2007 to visit Indian Methodist missions and the Gandhi Ashram School in Jaipur. They took calculators and calculator lessons with them, and will work in the school for five days. We also placed an order for more hand-loomed weavings from another cooperative of people who have had leprosy, and folks from HAUMC will bring back those goods. THANK YOU PPUMC for continuing your generous support.

Grenada Benefits from Fund-raiser

Garvin Jellison and Edward Chapman received a fine send-off, and Grenada received the benefit of their presence and PPUMC's efforts. Over $1,000 was raised from donations from a†tropical dinner on a January Sunday after church. Garvin and Edward have done their good work in Grenada, have returned and have stories to tell!

Highlights from the preparation and dinner include a satisfying dinner prepared by many hands, the helpful, jovial attitude of the Saturday workers and Sunday servers and clean-up crew, and the "best tasting church dinner ever."

Fair-Trade Chocolate

The Peace and Justice Committee has been selling fair trade chocolate during the monthly coffee hour. Sales have been great, so we plan to continue this indefinitely. We get our chocolate from the Equal Exchange Interfaith Program in Massachusetts, an organization that seeks to improve the lives of small farmers and their families through fair trade. The organic cocoa used in the chocolate bars, baking chocolate and hot chocolate mix we sell is grown by CONACADO, a 9,000 member cooperative in the Dominican Republic. The organic sugar in the hot cocoa mix is grown by small-scale cooperative farmers in Paraguay, and the milk powder in the mix comes from Organic Valley, an organic, farmer-owned cooperative based in Wisconsin. (Talk about knowing where your food comes from!)

About 5% of the proceeds from these sales go to UMCOR's Small Farm Programs to assist small farmers; the remainder of the proceeds goes to the Peace and Justice Committee to be used for local, national and international projects. Thanks for your support--in addition to getting really good chocolate, you are supporting just and equitable economic systems that directly affect small farmers and their families around the world.

Minnesota Foodshare

All food shelf donations brought to PPUMC will go the Share and Care Food Shelf at Glendale.

Some numbers to ponder:

• Visits to MN food shelves in 2004: 1.7 million
• Pounds of food distributed in 2004: 36 million
• Number of the hungry who are children: over 50%
• Number of adult food shelf clients that are employed: over 50%
• Number of food shelves in Minnesota: over 300, serving every county

What can you do for Social Justice?

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
              -- John Wesley

There is a common theme underlying living wage campaigns in various cities (including our ISAIAH campaign here in Minneapolis) and the fair trade movement. Both struggle to work for social and economic justice. Both affect thousands of people's lives. Both strive to provide for a decent income. Here's a reminder list of ways we can participate in best practices for both causes with minimum effort.

1. Call your city council member in Minneapolis or St. Paul to state your support for a living wage. Here at PPUMC I'm sure we DO vote in the elections. You can also influence legislators through letter writing campaigns, attending town hall forums, demonstrations. It does matter, because politicians listen to the voting public especially if there are A LOT of people.

2. Make socially responsible purchases. It was inspiring to see the purchase of eco-palms for Palm Sunday last spring. Coffee and weavings are available at our coffee hour once a month or by request. Both Ten Thousand Villages at 867 Grand Ave. in St. Paul and THE WORLD JUBILEE sell all fair trade items.

3. Tell your friends and family about this list of alternative gifts that you wish to receive for birthdays, anniversaries, and special days. And ask them if there is anything on this list they might like to receive. Changing our world begins with us! As Christians we have a call to work for the common good and the life and dignity of each person.

UMC on Relief

For the items below, make checks payable to PPUMC and write the advance number on the memo line. Your gift will go through our United Methodist Committee on Relief.

• TSUNAMI RELIEF 2004, Advance #274305
• HURRICANES 2005, Advance #982523
• MATERIAL RESOURCE MINISTRY, advance #901440
• MIDDLE EAST EMERGENCY, Advance #601740
• PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE, Advance #232000
• CENTRAL AMERICA FLOOD RELIEF, Advance #501300

For the items below, make checks to PPUMC with the specific ministry on the memo line.

• EMMA NORTON SERVICES. Fosters stability and personal growth for women who are homeless by providing affordable, secure housing and supportive services.
• O. C. MINISTRIES. A ministry with churches, clinics and classrooms in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Latin America.
• COMPATIBLE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL. A Minnesota agency creating income producing projects to improve nutrition in Third World countries.

Other alternative gifts:

• SERRV INTERNATIONAL (http://www.serrv.org/). A nonprofit alternative trade and development organization accredited by the International Fair Trade Assoc. Phone 1-800-423-0071
• NO SWEATSHOP (http://www.NoSweatshop.com) Garments and accessories not produced in sweatshops.
• TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES (http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/). A fair trade retail store that sells products from around the world. Run by the Mennonite Church. Located at 867 Grand Ave, St. Paul, Phone 651-225-1043. Gift Certificates Available.
• THE WORLD JUBILEE. A fair trade sale that sells products from around the world. One fall sale and one spring sale each year.
• HEIFER INTERNATIONAL (http://www.heifer.org/). PO Box 8058, Little Rock, AR/USA, 72203. Tel 800-422-0474. Works to end hunger through self-help

2007 in Review: Peace and Justice

By Kelly Rae Jewett, from the Peace and Justice commitee

Because of the generosity of you all, we have had another year of sharing our love and resources with others.

• We donated $300 to Seeds of Hope, a fund that was set up to help sustainable farmers in SE Minnesota that were wiped out by floods.
• We also gave $250 to Simpson Shelter to help with their ministry of feeding, housing, and providing resources for the homeless.
• Some of our money went towards completing a Refugee Welcome Kit for a family of 6; many of you also donated goods and furniture for this project sponsored by the Minnesota Council of Churches.
• Christian Peacemaker Teams received $100 from our funds for support of their ongoing work and in honor of Abigail Ozanne’s work with that organization.
• Our Garden Surplus Table generated over $700 this summer (who knew our vegetables were so good?), enough to build one tanka (cistern) in India.
• And, we prepared and served a meal to raise funds to support Edward Chapman, Steve Ozanne and Ted Nicholson on their mission trip.
• Our Fair Trade sales are now generating profit, and we will share some of that by donating the tea and cups (paper, not Styrofoam) for coffee hours.

We thank all of you for your support and commitment to these programs, as well as the ongoing programs of the church:  Meals on Wheels, Glendale Food Shelf, Joseph’s Coat, Simpson Shelter, Emma Norton Home, Fair Trade Sales, Teen Gifts for Glendale, Habitat for Humanity and ISAIAH.  Together, we DO make a difference!

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