This is your annual reminder to forget Black Friday

An interesting article from Treehugger connecting with our wish to live simply, supporting Amanda's wish at our last meeting, to find a less consumer oriented approach to Christmas.

IMAGE SOURCE:  Buy Nothing Day

You can read the article by CLICKING HERE.

NOTE:  As I followed the link to Buy Nothing Day (the source of the image), I found THEIR WEBSITE.  Have a look if you get a chance.  Buy Nothing Day is connected to Adbusters, a magazine Aiden Enns (you may remember him from Faith in the City) used to work for.  He now publishes/edits GEEZ magazine.

The Vatican's Journey From Anti-Communism to Anti-Capitalism

The pope's strong condemnation of income inequality and free markets shows how much has changed in the Catholic Church since the Cold War.  

The Atlantic / Emma Green / Nov 26 2013, 3:31 PM ET

Pope Francis is once again shaking things up in the Catholic Church. On Tuesday, he issued his first “apostolic exhortation,” declaring a new enemy for the Catholic Church: modern capitalism. “Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” he wrote. “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

He couldn't be much clearer. The pope has taken a firm political stance against right-leaning, pro-free market economic policies, and his condemnation appears to be largely pointed at Europe and the United States. His explicit reference to “trickle-down” economic policies—the hallmark of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and their political successors—is just the beginning: Throughout 224 pages on the future of the Church, he condemns income inequality, “the culture of prosperity,” and “a financial system which rules rather than serves.”

Taken in the context of the last half-century of Roman Catholicism, this is a radical move.

You can read the entire article, taken from The Atlantic, by CLICKING HERE

Moral Compass

Although he officially retired in 1996, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has remained a voice of conscience for South Africa and the world, speaking out on issues including poverty, AIDS, women’s rights, Syria, and world peace.

This year, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate took a strong stand in support of gay rights, saying that he would refuse to enter a “homophobic heaven” and would rather go to hell.

While same-sex relationships are legal in South Africa, gays and lesbians still face discrimination and brutal violence, and homosexuality remains illegal in 38 countries across Africa, according to Amnesty International.

Tutu said today’s struggle for gay rights is as important as the 1980s movement he helped lead to end apartheid, and he called on his fellow clerics to support the principles of human dignity and equality.

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic,” he said at the launch of a United Nations-backed gay rights campaign in Cape Town. “That is how strongly I feel about this.” 

See more by  CLICKING HERE.

-submitted by Nancy P.

'I will never be silent again'

Jury suspends pro-gay pastor

SPRING CITY, Pa. -- A United Methodist minister from southeastern Pennsylvania who was convicted under church law of officiating his son's same-sex wedding ceremony was suspended for 30 days Tuesday and told he will lose his credentials if he violates any of the church's rules in that time.

The same jury of fellow pastors that convicted Rev. Frank Schaefer on Monday of breaking his vows told him he must surrender his credentials if he can't reconcile his new calling to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community with the laws from the church's Book of Discipline.

Before the punishment ruling, Schaefer, who officiated at his son's 2007 wedding in Massachusetts, told the jury Tuesday he is unrepentant and refused to promise he wouldn't perform more gay unions.

Rather than beg for mercy Tuesday in the trial that has rekindled debate within the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination over church policies on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, the pastor upped the stakes, telling jurors that he has been called by God to be an advocate for the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.

 The church "needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation," he said. "We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians."

You can read the whole article on the Winnipeg Free Press website by CLICKING HERE.
 

-submitted Nancy P.

 

Social Purchasing Shopping Tour (Dec. 11)

2nd Annual Holiday Shopping Bus Tour

The Social Purchasing Portal is offering a tour similar to Augustine's Ethical Shopping Tour.  For those who aren't finished after Augustine's tour on December 7, or if you have a conflict on the 7th, you can register for this one on Wednesday, Dec. 11.  It says that space is limited, so register ASAP.

For more information CLICK HERE.

-submitted by Gareth

Religion and Culture Colloquium Series

- Submitted by Kathleen

Circle of Courage

An Afternoon with Dr. Martin Brokenleg

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing educational and informational opportunities linked to supporting employment equity/ diversity, the departments of Indigenous Affairs and Human Resources are pleased to bring Dr. Martin Brokenleg to The University of Winnipeg. 

Tuesday, November 12
12:30-3:30 p.m.
Convocation Hall (Wesley Hall)
University of Winnipeg

ALL WELCOME!

Photo: Reclaiming Youth International

Dr. Martin Brokenleg, co-founder of the Circle of Courage, consults worldwide for Reclaiming Youth International.  He holds a doctorate in psychology and is a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School. He is an Emeritus Professor and was most recently Director of Native Ministries and Professor of Native American Theology and Ministries at the Vancouver School of Theology in Vancouver, British Columbia. For thirty years, Dr. Brokenleg was Professor of Native American studies at Augustana College of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has also been a director of The Neighborhood Youth Corps, chaplain in a correctional setting, and has extensive experience as an alcohol counselor. Dr. Brokenleg has consulted and led training programs throughout North America, New Zealand, and South Africa. He is the father of three children and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe practicing the culture of his Lakota people.

Grassroutes, UW

This event Tuesday evening has been recommended by a number of Just Living folks, including Karla, Kathleen and Mike.  

 

Extractive Industries, Indigenous Development, and the Environment: A Panel Discussion

 
Tuesday, November 12, 7-9 pm -- The University of Winnipeg, (Riddell Hall)

Speakers: Wab Kinew, Richard Atleo, Darren Courchene, and more, moderated by Julie Pelletier. More speakers TBA.

In April 2013, an article in the Guardian claimed that “Indigenous rights are the best defence against Canada’s resource rush” and that “First Nations people – and the decision of Canadians to stand alongside them – will determine the fate of the planet.”  This “natural marriage” between environmental activism and movements for Indigenous rights is not new. But is it useful? Or does it simply recycle old myths of the Noble Savage? What is the relationship between Indigenous development and extractive industries in Canada? Where does environmental activism fit into the picture?
For more information, for speaker profiles, and for more information about the Grass Routes festival visit www.grassroutes.ca