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Table of Contents
Focus Text: Luke 1:47-55
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for [God] has looked with favor on the lowliness of [God’s] servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is [God’s] name. [God’s] mercy is for those who fear [God] from generation to generation. [God] has shown strength with his arm; [God] has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. [God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; [God] has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. [God] has helped [God’s] servant Israel, in remembrance of [God’s] mercy, according to the promise [God] made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
Luke 1:47-55
Overview
Focus Text: Luke 1:47-55
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for [God] has looked with favor on the lowliness of [God’s] servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Pastoral Reflection by Maggie Kane, Executive Director, A Place at the Table
Maybe the world can become one step closer to the Kingdom of God. Are you using the hands and feet that Christ gave you?
Personal Vignette: An Alternative Christmas Market
In the early 1980’s, several United Church of Chapel Hill members began having conversations about combating the ever-increasing consumerism accompanying each Christmas season. One member in particular, Elizabeth Greenlee, had a vision to create an alternative Advent season, and soon the idea spread rapidly throughout the congregation. Obvious questions began to surface: what would it mean to offer an alternative? What would it look like? As Jill Edens, co-pastor of United Church, puts it, “we were looking for ways for people to avoid the mall altogether” during the Christmas season—a formidable task!
Key Fact
From 1972-2012, the incomes of the top 1% of wage earners in North Carolina grew by 172%. Over the same time period, the incomes of the remaining 99% grew only 32% (NC Justice Project, http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/Slide3.JPG)
Related Texts
Additional Texts
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; [God] alone you shall worship; to [God] you shall hold fast, and by [God’s] name you shall swear.
Deuteronomy 10:17-20
Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.[a]
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my[b] victory.
2 “There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.[c]
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
I Samuel 1:2-8
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 146:5-10
As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause. [God] does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number. [God] gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; [God] sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. [God] frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. [God] takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night. But [God] saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
Job 5:8-16
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:16-21
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[a] shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
Isaiah 58:6-9
Other Lectionary Texts
- Micah 5:2-5a
- Psalm 80:1-7
- Hebrews 10:5-10
Scriptural Commentary on Luke 1:47-55
Mary’s Magnificat reveals a great deal about God, both God’s character and who God is “for.” God’s “mercy” (v. 50) and “strength” (v. 51) mean that God favors the “lowly” (v. 52), a word that has political and socio-economic connotations (Francois Bovon, Luke 1: a commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1-9:50, Hermeneia series, 2002, p. 60). God’s compassion for the poor and marginalized requires concrete judgments on the rich and powerful who resist this divine love. As commentator Francois Bovon puts it, “When God inaugurates his reign, he necessarily shakes the mighty from their thrones and demands the money of the rich. If he did not do so, he would be neither just nor good, and thus not God. The child’s birth signifies the end of many privileges and oppressions” (63). There is some debate over whether the Greek verbs in Mary’s speech indicate that God has already exalted the downtrodden or will do so in the future. The ambiguity invites us to pray the Magnificat with Mary, sharing her faith that God’s word will be fulfilled and that this work has begun already (Bovon, 64). Mary’s invocation of God’s mercy “for those who fear him” widens the scope of this good news to those outside Israel (Bovon, 62).
- Alan Culpepper in The New Interpreters’ Bible (1995) puts it this way: “The overthrow of the powerful has not come about through the mounting up of the weak in rebellion but through the coming of God in the weakness of a child” (55). He finds Mary’s identification of God as “Savior” (v. 47) particularly meaningful:
The confession “savior” expresses the desperate need of the lowly, the poor, the oppressed, and the hungry. Those who have power and means, privilege and position have no need sufficient to lead them to voice such a term that is itself a plea for help. “Savior” gives evidence of one’s sense of need greater than one’s own strength. The proud are thereby excluded from the beginning from the confession that leads to joy and salvation (56).
The reversal of fortunes praised and prophesied in Mary’s song challenges wealthy Christians to question our own positions of privilege, and to remember our ultimate dependence on God.
The Magnificat has been particularly compelling for liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez, for whom the passage calls Christians to live in solidarity with the poor (Bovon, 65). Dorothee Solle’s contemporary reimaging of Mary’s song invites us to do the same for our own context. For Solle, Mary “not only sings of God’s overall victory, but also expresses her confidence about the freedom that is beginning…: ‘The empty faces of women will be filled with life’” (“Meditation on Luke 1,” 51, quoted in Bovon, 65).
–Hana Suckstorff, Duke Divinity School Intern
Pastoral Reflection on Luke 1:47-55
“Mike was found in August in a ditch off New Bern Avenue, dead.”
A friend told me this one morning as I was entering work. I hadn’t seen Mike since July and knew something was wrong. I would normally see him at Love Wins Ministries or Oak City Outreach Center, two places where people who are experiencing homelessness or who may be experiencing food insecurity go throughout the week. I would see him for a few months at a time when he was settled and able to make it here in Raleigh – and when he wanted to be closer to God, he said. We were close friends who happened to be from completely different economic backgrounds and opposite family upbringings. What did we have in common? We shared a love for God, a hope for the world, and a need for each other.
Mike would be gone for few months on end, figuring out how to make it on the streets, and finding different places, mostly in other towns, to sleep. Despite his history, he’d never disappeared for more than three months without at least calling or writing. His case worker had stopped by a few times looking for him – I knew something was wrong if neither of us had seen or heard from him.
For decades Mike searched for home, a place to feel comfort and love. Mostly Love Wins Ministries or Oak City Outreach Center was that place for him. He cared for many of us, just as much as we loved him. He found comfort in his faith and in the hope for the world that we shared. He constantly reminded me that God loves me, and he would bring his grandmother’s Bible and read verses from it to me or to my other friends in need.
Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending. Mike did pass away as I learned that morning. I am comforted in his passing because after all these years of searching, I believe he finally found the home he had been hoping for.
I don’t tell you this today to sadden you or to discourage you with Mike’s struggle or his death. I share Mike’s story with you all because of the hope it brings to us.
He felt, just as Mary expressed in our scripture in Luke, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for [God] has looked with favor on the lowliness of [God’s] servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is [God’s] name.” The moments in his life when he was at peace, was when he was with God or with the hope that God was bringing to him. That hope for him was his community surrounding him, loving him daily, and being present with him in his journey. That hope was the reminder daily that he was cared for and protected.
There are many people, everywhere who may be struggling many days just as Mike was. Luke calls us to be open and accepting of the love God has for us. As we accept that love, he calls us to be present with one another, support each other and love each other who are his beloved. If we begin to open our eyes to the Mikes of the world and listen to what Luke is calling us to do in our scripture today, then there is not only hope for us and our communities, but there is hope for the Kingdom.
As Jesus is working in us and my friend Mike, then we know that there is more for us. We all know that the world can be a terribly sad place with poverty, destruction, loneliness, and death. With Jesus in us, these powers such as destruction and loneliness that exist are not the only answer. The ultimate answer is the salvation that God brings us and the hope we bear in the world.
It is what we do with this salvation we have been given that matters.
I end with a quote from Teresa of Avila,
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours…
Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out on a hurting world;
Yours are the feet with which he goes about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he uses to bless.”
Maybe the world can become one step closer to the Kingdom of God. Are you using the hands and feet that Christ gave you?
—Maggie Kane, Executive Director, A Place at the Table
–
Worship Aids about Justice for the Downtrodden
Responsive Reading
For all those who have fallen victim to hatred and inhumanity, for those loved ones who are left behind to mourn, for the souls of those whose hearts are cold,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the children who are being born into this world of conflict and violence, for women and mothers who suffer needlessly,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For all those who have been forced into unemployment, who long to return to work, for all those who struggle to support their families,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the policy-makers who are misguided in thinking that bombs and bullets will bring about peace, and for those who feel called to conscientiously object to military orders,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the children who cry in their beds at night and wonder ‘what have I done?’, for the mothers and fathers who must try to explain the inexplicable,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For all the children who have died before their time, for the healers who are denied the opportunity to use their gifts,
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the redemption of souls of both victim and perpetrator, for those who commit themselves to the forgiveness of sins,
Lord, hear our prayer.
O God,
Open our eyes that we may see the needs of others;
Open our ears that we may hear their cries;
Open our hearts that we may feel their anguish and their joy.
Let us defend the oppressed, the poor, the powerless, without fear of the anger and might of the powerful.
Show us where love and hope and faith are needed, and use us to bring them to those places. Open our ears
and eyes, our hearts and lives, that we may in these coming days be able to do the work of justice and peace
for you.
Amen.
(adapted from “A Call to Prayer in Two Voices,” Sabeel Center, www.sabeel.org/old/conf2001/worship1.htm)
Prayer of Confession
Hold us before you in judgment as well as grace, O God, until we are willing to serve instead of being served; until we are more concerned for justice than our comfort; until we walk the second mile and turn the other cheek; until we make right our wronged relationships. We confess how we run from the demands of the Gospel while expecting our demands to be met. Forgive, O God, our cowardice in the face of injustice, our posturing on the issues instead of acting in faith, our endorsement of pettiness and false patriotism. Please forgive us for all that is past and renew our discipleship that we may serve you in these dark and perilous days.
(by Rev. Eugene Walker, from the National Council of Churches, www.ncccusa.org/iraq/prayersforpeace.html)
A New Vision
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of our land as your love would make it;
– a land where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
– a land where the benefits of civilized life are shared, and everyone can enjoy
them;
– a land where different races and cultures live in tolerance and mutual respect;
– a land where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
And give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(from the Anglican Church, www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/carey/releases/011002c.htm)
Prayer for Social Justice
Almighty and eternal God, may your grace kindle in all persons a love of the many unfortunate people whom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life unworthy of human beings.
Arouse in the hearts of those who call you God a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
Grant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to our souls, peace to our community.
Amen.
(Pope Pius XII, from the Center of Concern, www.coc.org/focus/ej/prayers/justice_piusXII.html)
Justice Prayer
O God, we pray for all those in our world who are suffering from injustice: for those who are discriminated against because of their race, color or religion; for those imprisoned for working for the relief of oppression; for those who are hounded for speaking the inconvenient truth; for those tempted to violence as a cry against overwhelming hardship; for those deprived of reasonable health and education; for those suffering from hunger and famine; for those too weak to help themselves and who have no one else to help them; for the unemployed who cry out for work but do not find it. We pray for anyone of our acquaintance who is personally affected by injustice. Forgive us, Lord, if we unwittingly share in the conditions or in a system that perpetuates injustice. Show us how we can serve your children and make your love practical by washing their feet.
Amen.
(Mother Teresa, from the Center of Concern, www.coc.org/focus/ej/prayers/justice_motherteresa.html)
An Advent Prayer of Confession and Dedication
O God, in the fullness of time you sent your son Jesus in a manner that confounded kings yet moved Shepherds and magi. Guide us now as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.
As we make our family plans for Advent and Christmas,
We commit to hold central the one whose birth we celebrate.
As we feel the pressure to buy and buy and buy,
We commit to resist our temptations to find you in material things.
As we consider all of the waste generated in our celebrations,
We commit to set limits on what we will consume and throw away.
As our plans do not include those who are hungry, sick, lonely and imprisoned,
We commit to seek you in the spirit of humility.
As we make our Christmas lists for family and friends,
We commit to remember our reason to celebrate.
O God, forgive us when we forget who you are and why you have come. As we prepare for the Prince of Peace to be born in our midst, help us to bring peace to a troubled world and people. As the shepherds and magi looked for you in a stable, let us look for you among those you came to serve. Amen.
(from the “Buy Nothing Christmas Information Kit,” www.buynothingchristmas.org/images/resources/pdf/Info_Kit.pdf)
Holy Child of Bethlehem
We pray for all who are homeless.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, born in a stable,
We pray for all who live in poverty.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, rejected stranger,
We pray for all who are lost, alone, all who cry for loved ones.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, whom Herod sought to kill,
We pray for all who live with danger, all who are persecuted.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt,
We pray for all who are far from their homes.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, in you God was pleased to dwell,
Help us, we pray, to see the divine image in people everywhere.
(from the “Buy Nothing Christmas Information Kit,” www.buynothingchristmas.org/images/resources/pdf/Info_Kit.pdf)
Children's Sermon about Justice for the Downtrodden
Theme: God calls on the most unlikely people to do great things on His behalf.
Object: Wrapped gift
Scripture: “He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.” Luke 1:48
Ask: What is their favorite part of Christmas (someone should mention getting gifts). Ask the children what they think that God wants for Christmas this year.
Read the scripture verse.
Explain: Briefly summarize the angel’s visit to Mary and her reaction. When the angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would have a baby she was overjoyed that God had chosen her. She broke out singing! Ask if they have ever been that happy?
Explain: Mary’s song had these words (paraphrased): “I glorify the Lord! I rejoice because he chose me…a simple, lowly person….to be favored by God (asked to do a very important thing.)” Then Mary sang about what God considers important: showing mercy, pulling down arrogant and proud people, and lifting up the lowly. He feeds the hungry and comes to the aid of His people.
Let me read another scripture from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 10:17-20). This tells us some specifics of what God wants for Christmas: take care of orphans and widows, protect the weak, feed the hungry, help the poor, no playing favorites, treat everyone equally, be tolerant of difference races and cultures, work for peace, and work for justice through love.
That is what God wants this Christmas.
Challenge: Like Mary, we should be happy when God calls on us to be useful to him. There will be many ways that each of us can be useful to God and work to give God what He wants for Christmas. Make a few suggestions: food pantry, welcome new kids at school, be a friend to someone who is different.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for Christmas. Help us to find a way to be useful to you during Christmas this year to make a better world.
Suggested Hymns about Justice for the Downtrodden
O Holy City, Seen of John
The Hymnal (1940) (Episcopal) 494
Gather 685 (Catholic)
United Methodist Hymnal 726
Presbyterian Hymnal 453
Canto de Esperanza (Song of Hope)
Presbyterian Hymnal 432
I Will Lift Up My Eyes
Gather Hymnal (Catholic) 500
We Are Often Tossed and Driven
African Methodist Episcopal 394
United Methodist Hymnal 525
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 444
Christian Methodist Episcopal 325
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
The Hymnal (1940) (Episcopal) 2
Gather (Catholic) 317
United Methodist Hymnal 211
Presbyterian Hymnal 9
Magnificat
Holden Evening Prayer (Lutheran)
Gather 146
My Soul Gives Glory to My God
Presbyterian Hymnal 600
United Methodist Hymnal 198
Gather 14
Chalice Hymnal 130
The New Century Hymnal 119
Quotes about Justice for the Downtrodden
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.
Eleanor Roosevelt
There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.
G.K. Chesterton
Christmas is a school for consumerism – in it we learn to equate delight with materialism. We celebrate the birth of One who told us to give everything to the poor by giving each other motorized tie racks.
Bill McKibben“Justice is what love looks like in public.” Cornel West
Our Christmas cheer turns sour as mass marketing, frenzied shopping, shortened tempers, burgeoning debt, and an exhausting calendar of activities overwhelm us. Buying fair-trade gifts and celebrating Christmas within the context of the Christian year are two humble practices for disentangling the holy day from consumerism.
F. Matthew Schobert, Jr.
Jesus was not talking about how to be good and how to behave within the framework of a domination system. He was a critic of the domination system itself. Marcus Borg
The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice. Bryan Stephenson
Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system. Dorothy Day
We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained. Derrick A. Bell
Justice is what love looks like in public. Cornel West
Vignette about Justice for the Downtrodden
Alternative Christmas Market – United Church of Chapel Hill
In the early 1980’s, several United Church of Chapel Hill members began having conversations about combating the ever-increasing consumerism accompanying each Christmas season. One member in particular, Elizabeth Greenlee, had a vision to create an alternative Advent season, and soon the idea spread rapidly throughout the congregation. Obvious questions began to surface: what would it mean to offer an alternative? What would it look like? As Jill Edens, co-pastor of United Church, puts it, “we were looking for ways for people to avoid the mall altogether” during the Christmas season—a formidable task!
At this same time, United Church began holding classes based on Alternatives for Simple Living’s “Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?” a yearly publication designed to offer ideas and products that can keep Christmas “Christ-centered.” Young parents in the church, including the pastors, Rick and Jill Edens, also began having conversations about combating consumerism in their own families. From these classes and conversations, the idea arose to begin a yearly offering (called a “gift of life”) to Church World Service during the Advent season.
After several years, these “gift of life” offerings expanded to include donations to Interfaith Council, Habitat for Humanity, and One-World Market, among others. As United Church began to realize how much money was being raised for these missions, they began inviting recipients of their offerings to the church during the Advent season. Tables were set up for these organizations, providing space for them to educate congregants on their mission activities through handouts and videos.
According to Church World Service, United Church’s Alternative Christmas Market has grown into one of the largest of its kind in the country. The Market has expanded to include, along with the original “gifts of life” to Church World Service, arts and crafts from around the world; gifts of time and service from church members that are sold or auctioned to benefit the market; and craft and food items made by church groups.
The proceeds of Market are divided between Church World Service and a designated mission outreach program of United Church. Last year, the Market raised over $30,000, with close to $20,000 going to Church World Service and $2,500 going to the North Carolina Council of Churches.
Jill Edens feels that the Alternative Christmas Market is “a creative and fun way to find resources for missions. It is a festive way to give ‘gifts that give twice:’ once to the recipient, and also to the service project that receives the money. The Market has become an alternative celebration.”
For more information, go to www.unitedchurch.org or contact the United Church of Chapel Hill office, 919-942-3540.
Contacts & Resources for Justice for the Downtrodden
www.nccouncilofchurches.org
North Carolina Council of Churches – Links to the issue areas of the Council’s work are listed under the “Programs” section on the home page. Issue areas/links include: farmworkers, health care reform, immigrant rights, rural life, legislative advocacy, public education and others.
www.nccouncilofchurches.org/2011/08/workers-are-worth-their-keep/
“Workers Are Worth Their Keep” is meant to bring the issue of wages into conversation with theological perspectives of economic justice. Workers Are Worth Their Keep is divided into three main sections. The first section highlights passages from the Bible. The second section examines the perspectives of several major figures from Christian traditions. The third section of this resource quotes from official statements from many of the denominations represented in the NCCC.
www.nccouncilofchurches.org/2010/05/thy-kingdom-come-a-call-to-prophetic-ministry/
“Thy Kingdom Come” addresses the presence and practice of love and justice in nine domains within our life together in North Carolina. They are: health care, housing, jobs and wages, race, criminal justice, education, the earth, government and citizenship, and sustainable communities. The publishers and authors of this guidebook hope and pray that it will provide spiritual inspiration and insight, leading to an even greater sense of social responsibility and action.
www.ncjustice.org
North Carolina Justice Center, the state’s leading private, nonprofit anti-poverty organization. Its mission is to reduce and eliminate poverty in North Carolina by helping to ensure that every North Carolina household gains access to the resources, services, and fair treatment that it needs in order to enjoy economic security.
www.legalaidnc.org
Legal Aid of North Carolina, a statewide, nonprofit, 501(c)3 law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. A link to a Spanish-language version of the website is on the home page.
www.buynothingchristmas.org
Buy Nothing Christmas is an initiative started by Canadian Mennonites who offer a prophetic “no” to the patterns of over-consumption of middle-class North Americans. They invite Christians (and others) all over North America to join a movement to de-commercialize Christmas and re-design a Christian lifestyle that is richer in meaning, smaller in impact upon the earth, and greater in giving to people less-privileged.
www.simpleliving.org
Alternatives for Simple Living is a non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly, and celebrate responsibly. Founded in 1973 as a protest against the commercialization of Christmas, its focus is on encouraging celebrations that reflect conscientious ways of living. Its mission is to challenge the way our consumer society continues to usurp our holy days and to exploit people and the environment.
www.nciom.org
The North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) serves as a non-political source of health policy analysis and advice in North Carolina. The NCIOM is an independent, quasi-state agency that was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1983 to provide balanced, nonpartisan information on issues relevant to the health of North Carolina’s population. To meet its mission, the NCIOM convenes task forces of knowledgeable and interested individuals to study these issues and develop workable solutions.
http://dconc.gov/government/departments-a-e/criminal-justice-resource-center
Durham County Criminal Justice Resource Center: individuals who are currently incarcerated, returning from incarceration, or facing the possibility of incarceration face staggering financial, health, and procedural obstacles. The CJRC of Durham Country provides reentry counselling, mental health services, and pretrial services to residents of Durham County.
http://communityempowermentfund.org/
Community Empowerment Fund offers jobs skills training, matched-savings accounts, and relational support for folks transitioning out of homeless in the Triangle
http://www.stepupministry.org/
StepUp Ministry works with formerly incarcerated individuals as they reenter communities outside prison walls. StepUp provides a week-long life stills training that covers job skills, physical and spiritual health, financial literacy, and healthy relationships. With locations in Durham and Raleigh.
What Would Jesus Buy? (http://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Jesus-Reverend-Billy/dp/B0013K2ZDQ)
A 2007 documentary by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me), What Would Jesus Buy? explores Christmas shopping hysteria. It follows Rev. Billy (performance artist Bill Talen) and the Church of Stop Shopping as they spread their gospel of non-consumerism in cities all over the U.S. You can also check out the Church of Stop Shopping at http://www.revbilly.com/.
Facts and Reflection about Justice for the Downtrodden
- From 1972-2012, the incomes of the top 1% of wage earners in North Carolina grew by 172%. Over the same time period, the incomes of the remaining 99% grew only 32% (NC Justice Project, http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/Slide3.JPG)
- In 2011, 51% of income went to the top 20% of wage-earners in North Carolina, more than the remaining 80% of wage-earners combined. The top 20% on average made $144,246 more than the bottom 20% (http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=budget-and-tax/prosperity-watch-issue-18-no-2-income-inequality-grows-north-carolina-likely-slowing)
- More than 1.13 million people in North Carolina lack health insurance (Kaiser Family Foundation, http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/new-estimates-of-eligibility-for-aca-coverage-among-the-uninsured/)
- In 2014, researchers from the City University of New York and Harvard estimated that between 455 and 1,145 North Carolinians could die every year if Medicaid is not expanded (http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2014/10/20/deaths-from-the-lack-of-medicaid-expansion/; original study and chart here: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2014/01/30/opting-out-of-medicaid-expansion-the-health-and-financial-impacts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=opting-out-of-medicaid-expansion-the-health-and-financial-impacts)
- In 2013, the top 10% of income earners in the U.S. earned 30.2% of the total income for that year. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.DST.10TH.10. In that same year, the richest 20% of American families owned 88.9% of wealth in the U.S.
- According to a 2012 study by the American Enterprise Institute, 20% of households in the U.S. accounted for almost 40% of total consumer spending. The same figure for the bottom 20% was less than 10% (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/22/the-many-ways-to-measure-economic-inequality/)
- Global military spending totaled $1.776 trillion in 2014. The U.S. accounted for 34% of this total, spending $610 billion on military expenditures (http://books.sipri.org/files/FS/SIPRIFS1504.pdf) . The prior year, military expenditures comprised 16.5% of U.S. federal government spending. (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.ZS/countries)
- In comparison, in 2014 the federal government spent $17.86 million on community and regional development, $96.34 million on education and social services, and $286 million on housing assistance: (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2015/assets/28_1.pdf)
- Meanwhile, Americans spent around $600 billion on Christmas gifts https://nrf.com/news/the-long-and-short-of-americas-consumer-holidays
- In 2013, the average wealth of white households was 13 times the average wealth of black households. Three years earlier, white household wealth was eight times larger than black household wealth. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/12/racial-wealth-gaps-great-recession/
- In 2013, the wealth of white households was 10 times that of Hispanic households. In 2010, it was nine. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/12/racial-wealth-gaps-great-recession/
- In 2011, the average white household had $111,146 in wealth holdings. The same figure for the average black household was $7113; for Latinos, it was $8348. http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2015/03/26/the-racial-wealth-gap-why-a-typical-white-household-has-16-times-the-wealth-of-a-black-one/
- NBC Nightly News reported that, in 2013, the top 1% of wage earners made 19.3% of all income (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfgSEwjAeno, at the 3:30 mark)
- In 2014, the income ratio between the top 10% and the bottom 10% was 16:1. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfgSEwjAeno, at the 4:20 mark)
