Ministries: Social Justice Commitee

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Social Justice Committee

Come learn about current and vital social justice issues and actions you can take to address the root causes of injustice. All are welcome to attend our regular meetings on the 2nd Sunday of each month, 4:30–6:30pm. For information, please contact Jeri Dwyer, Chairperson.

For More Information: Hunger Issues / Eco-Justice / Fair Trade / Peace Issues / SJ Classes

Do you know the difference between charity and social justice?

Charity; Social Service * Private, individual acts * Responds to immediate need * Provides direct service: food, clothing, shelter * Requires repeated actions * Directed at the effects of injustice: symptoms

Justice… Social Change * Public, collective actions * Responds to long-term need * Promotes social change in institutions: i.e. changing corporate policies, legislative advocacy * Resolves structural injustice * Directed at the root causes of social injustice

Click here to download a copy of our brochure

As guided by the Social Principle of the united Methodist Church and the teachings of the Gospel, join us in learning about the complicated issues behind social injustice and change offered through the following subcommittees:

Hunger Issues / Eco-Justice / Fair Trade / Peace Issues / Classes and related offereings

What are the Social Principles?

The Social Principles of the UMC are a prayerful and thoughtful effort on the part of the General Conference to speak to the human issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation as historically demonstrated in United Methodist traditions. www.umc-gbcs.org

To see the 2009-2012 Social Principles, click here

Some Important Links

Eco-Justice links

Fair Trade

War and Related Issues

Hunger Issues

Hunger Issues

Hunger Issues Update and Action Needed Welcome to the information page for the Hunger and Poverty Issues Subcommittee of the Social Justice Committee. Our committee focuses on awareness of the global hunger problem, urging others to advocate on behalf of those in need. We provide opportunities for both legislative advocacy and hands-on ways to learn more about hunger and poverty issues. Be sure to read the recipes and hunger stories from all over the world! What You Will Find Here: • Offering of Letters 2009 – Charting a New Course • Why should we care about hunger? • US & Colorado Poverty • Methodists: what you can do! • Opportunities • 2008 Offering of Letters - Update • 2007 Offering of Letters - Update

Want to join the St. Andrew Hunger and Poverty Issues Subcommittee? Contact Terri Lowe, St. Andrew Outreach Coordinator at 303-794-2683. Offering of Letters 2009 – Charting a New Course The world has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. But the way our country delivers aid to the world's poorest nations is still being driven by the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act. This year, we need to urge Congress to rework U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing hunger and poverty. U.S. assistance today is making a difference in millions of lives around the world. In 1961, 33 percent of the world's population suffered from hunger. Today, that number has decreased to 17 percent. But the way our nation delivers long-term foreign assistance could be made far more effective. Currently our country's global development policies and programs are scattered across • 12 departments, • 25 different agencies, and • nearly 60 government offices. A more efficient foreign assistance system - with better coordination and stronger accountability - will get help to those who need it faster and more effectively. The aid our nation provides will also go further because waste and duplication will be eliminated. That means fewer children will die of hunger. More parents will be able to feed their families in the years to come. This year, we need to make U.S. assistance more effective in reducing poverty. St. Andrew Update: Over 1,100 Prayers Sent to Washington via St. Andrew Offering of Letters Thank you, St. Andrew, for signing almost twice as many letters to our legislators as we signed and sent last year. After the blessing of the Offering of Letters in all the services on May 3rd, we sent 1,154 letters to Washington on behalf of the poor and hungry in the world. This Offering of Letters was held in conjunction with Bread for the World (see below). Special thanks to the Charles Wesley Choir, UMW, JustFaith classes, confirmation class and parents for your group support of the Offering of Letters.
Legislative Update: On April 28, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), member of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced the: Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 2139), The bill has four main sections: • Requires the president to develop and implement a comprehensive National Strategy for Global Development • Requires the president to develop and implement a rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of U.S. foreign assistance • Requires that both American taxpayers and recipients of U.S. foreign assistance have full access to information on U.S. foreign assistance • Repeals several outdated provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 http://www.offeringofletters.org/component/content/article/87.html Who is Bread for the World? Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which we live. We can end hunger in our time. By making our voices heard in Congress, we make our nation's laws more fair and compassionate to people in need. See: http://www.bread.org/. Click here for more information on types of reform needed Sample Letter

The Two-Minute Letter

An effective letter to Congress needs four things: 

  1. Put your name and address at the end of your letter AND on the envelope, so your members of Congress know that you are one of the people they represent.

  2. Ask for specific action, using the sentence below or your own words:"Please work to bring U.S. foreign assistance up to date and ensure that development is elevated as a national priority, alongside defense and diplomacy, in our foreign policy."

Give reasons why. Examples are: U.S. foreign assistance is governed by a law signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. With a new president and new Congress, this is an important opportunity to modernize and improve foreign aid. Many development assistance programs already make a difference. But the large number of federal agencies and offices involved in distributing aid demands a more coordinated system. As a global leader, the United States must elevate development within our foreign policy to help create a better, safer world. Send your letter to Congress. Put each letter in a separate envelope and address it. Send your letter to:

Sen. __________ U.S. Senate  Washington, DC 20510   Rep. _________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Sample Letter

Date

Dear Sen. ________ or Dear Rep.________,

I’m asking that you make something our nation has been doing well even better. Aid from the United States already helps low-income nations reduce hunger and poverty. But our nation’s foreign assistance programs are seriously outdated and need to be better coordinated in order to be more effective. It is time for Congress to look at making poverty reduction a primary goal of foreign assistance. Please work to bring U.S. foreign assistance up to date and ensure that development is elevated as a national priority, alongside defence and diplomacy, in our foreign policy. This will ensure more economic opportunities in low-income countries and help poor people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty.

Sincerely, Your Name Your Address Where to Send: Click here for Colorado Senators and Representatives addresses You can find your representatives at http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml.

Social Justice Classes and other Offerings

Life after Exoneration-In September 1984, Darryl Burton was arrested on charges of capital murder.  After meeting with his attorney only once, and having a 2-day trial in which no physical evidence was presented, 23 year old Burton was convicted and sentenced to life in a Missouri prison.

He was exonerated and set free after serving 24 years behind bars, as an Innocent Man. Please join us, Thursday, Jan 28, 7pm, to hear Darryl speak of injustice, violence, hopelessness and his overriding message of forgiveness.

Join us for Just Desserts - A Monthly Film series every 3rd Friday, 7-9:30pm - dessert, movie and discussion. Friday, Feb 19, we’ll view Made in L.A., a documentary that follows three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from trendy clothing retailer Forever 21. In intimate observational style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience.  Questions about Just Desserts-Heidi Parish.

We have several Just Desserts movies in the Library, available for you to check out, including Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, about slavery in the North; Body of War, about an injured soldier returned from the Iraq War who becomes “an anti-war hero”; and Trashed, the true story of American garbage.

St. Andrew Green Team - Green Teams are groups of neighbors, co-workers, church members, school groups, etc. who get together to have fun and save money by becoming environmentally-friendly in their everyday practices. The average graduate of the program saves between 10-30% in each of the five resource areas: water, energy, solid waste, chemicals, and transportation, as well as a fair amount of money. There is a cost to the program of $25 per household which covers the workbook and the assessment provided at the end of the course. Through these teams we grow in community with each other as well as cultivate a greater appreciation for the earth and all its inhabitants.

Here is some additional information from the Green Team Project website www.greenteamproject.org " . . . the team process works because people feel empowered, supported and responsible to the group. They feel a part of something meaningful and bigger than themselves. With the support of a customized version of our workbook (Green Action Guide: Steps to Sustainable Living) and a trained coach, we assist communities in forming "Green Teams." A team is comprised of 6-8 people who meet every other week for seven weeks. At each meeting one of the following chapters (resource areas) of the workbook is explained and discussed: 1) Solid waste; 2) Water usage; 3) Household chemicals; 4) Energy usage; 5) Transportation; and 6) Community action. At every meeting, there is usually an educational presentation (by a group member) and discussion on that week's resource and then each team member chooses the actions he/she plans to take before the next meeting where they report on what they accomplished."

Fair Trade

UMCOR’s 100 TON CHALLENGE!!

YOU DID IT!!! Within one year’s time, you have purchased 1002 pounds of Fair Trade Products. This church loves a good challenge, and you rose to the occasion! 1002 pounds would equal 1336 bags of coffee, or 4581 candy bars! But the true winners are the farmers growing the crops. Because WE SUPPORT FAIR TRADE, these farmers are able to build better lives for themselves and their families.

"I want to send my thanks to all of the congregations that purchase our coffee. Thanks to you, we have a seed of hope in our lives." Jose Luis Castillo Vasquez, Coffee Farmer, El Salvador
THANKS TO YOU, from the St. Andrew Social Justice Team (See www.equalexchange.org for more information) The 12-month campaign encouraged United Methodists to help increase the amount of fairly-traded coffee, tea, chocolate and snacks purchased through The UMCOR Coffee Project and its partner Equal Exchange, a 100 percent fair trade, worker-owned co-operative. Purchasing fairly-traded goods allows small-scale farmers to earn fair prices, invest in farm improvements, reduce debt, and improve their communities while providing a better life for themselves and their families. With every pound of product sold through the UMCOR Coffee Project, 15 cents goes to support farmers through UMCOR’s Sustainable Agricultural and Development Program. Through this program, farmers learn new methods of cultivating their crops that produce good yields and nutritious food. Farmers who depend on fair trade for a living are better able to support their families, live healthier lives, and send their children to school. Many of you have loyally supported Fair Trade by purchasing Fair Trade products here at St. Andrew on the 4th Sunday of every month. Thank you! And we appreciate your continued support! For those of you yet to try the products, please stop by on a 4th Sunday and check us out! You may now use credit cards when purchasing Fair Trade Products! Price list of all available products: COFFEES: Breakfast Blend; Mind, Body and Soul; French Roast; Columbian Above coffees available in drip grind and whole bean Flavored: French Vanilla, Toffee Caramel and Hazelnut Crème Available in drip grind only All Regular Coffees - $8.00 DECAF COFFEES: Organic drip-grind and whole bean, Hazelnut Crème-drip grind only All Decaf Coffees - $9.00 TEAS: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green, Magic Green All teas - $3.00 COCOA: Hot Cocoa Mix $6.00 Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix $6.00 Organic Baking Cocoa $6.00 Drinking Chocolate (decadent!) $8.00 SNACKS: Organic Pecans $5.00 Organic Almonds $6.00 Organic Dried Cranberries $5.00 CANDY BARS: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Almonds, Dark Chocolate with Mint, Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs, Dark Chocolate with Expresso, Dark Chocolate with orange, VERY Dark Chocolate!!! All Candy Bars: $4.00 Stock up the for holidays - coffees, teas, baking and drinking chocolates, candy bars, pecans, almonds dried cranberries - all organic.

Did You Know? The United States is the Largest Consumer of Coffee in the World!

Many Americans are not aware that the agricultural worker in the coffee industry toil in what has been called "the sweatshops in the field". The small farmers who grow our coffee often struggle just to make a simple living. Most live in isolated communities in some of the poorest countries in the world. Cut off from markets, they are forced to accept low prices. Some 20 million people near the equator depend on coffee for their livelihood. Many lack access to adequate housing, healthcare, education, running water and electricity. There is an alternative: FAIR TRADE. Fair trade shares the bounty of the coffee trade with those who grow the crop, helping them build a better future for themselves and their communities The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church states under ¶162.III. - The Social Community, O) Sustainable Agriculture: World trade of agricultural products needs to be based on fair trade and prices, based on the costs of sustainable production methods, and must consider the real costs of ecological damage ¶163.IV - The Economic Community, D) Consumption: Consumers should avoid purchasing products made in conditions where workers are being exploited... And while the limited options available to consumers make this extremely difficult to accomplish, buying "Fair Trade Certified" products is one sure way consumers can use their purchasing power to make a contribution to the common good. The International Standards of Fair Trade are based on ensuring livable wages for small farmers and their families, working with democratically run farming cooperatives, buying direct so that benefits and profits from trade actually reach the farmers and their communities... Consumer should not only seek out companies whose product lines reflect a strong commitment to these standards, but should also encourage expanded corporate participation in the Fair Trade Market. Consumers should evaluate their consumption of goods and services in the light of the need for enhanced quality of life rather than unlimited production of material goods. The United Methodist Committee of Relief (UMCOR) has an established Coffee Project. They have partnered with Equal Exchange, an employee-owned fair trade organization committed to the following principles: • To pay a fair price with a guaranteed minimum, ensuring the farmers a fair return for their labors. • To work with cooperatives that are owned and governed by the farmers and their communities • To buy directly from the farmers so the benefits of trade go to the farmers and their communities. • To provide credit that farmers can afford, helping them break the cycle of debt. • To encourage ecologically sustainable farming practices such as organic and shade-grown agriculture which build a long-term economic base for farmers while protecting community health and environment. Equal Exchange follows these standards on 100% of its products. The St. Andrew Social Justice Committee sells Fair Trade products the 4th Sunday of each month at our "Take Action Table." Please join us in supporting Fair Trade .

Products available for purchase: Organic Coffees: Breakfast Blend, Mind Body and Soul, French Roast, Columbian Regular and Decaf - drip grind and whole bean Organic Teas: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green Tea Hot Cocoa Mix, Baking Cocoa Candy Bars: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Almonds, Very Dark Chocolate! Buy Fair Trade Some interesting links: UMCOR Coffee Project Equal Exchange

Eco-Justice at St. Andrew

Green Fact: - Energy at St. Andrew UMC We all know how much positive energy exists at St. Andrew, but did you know how much energy we also save? A series of efforts are underway to reduce energy consumption by increasing efficiencies and conserving energy use. Why is saving energy such an important issue? Although our new building was built to high standards of efficiency and conservation, it is a large complex and the energy bills are quite high. Given that energy costs are expected to rise in the future, it behooves us to be good stewards of our operating budget and reduce costs where we can. In addition, most of the electricity in Colorado comes from coal-fired power plants, which emit pollutants such as mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen compounds, carbon dioxide and particulate matter. As stewards of God’s earth, including water, air, soil, and other natural resources, we seek to lighten our load on the planet. Current energy-saving steps at St. Andrew include: use of curtains which maximize sun in winter and minimize heat and glare in summer; high quality windows; caulking and weather stripping on doors; and maintaining an inside temperature that attempts to maximize comfort while not wasting energy.

Steps which have just recently been implemented include: carbon dioxide monitoring to control the amount of outside air brought into the building for ventilation, reduction of light use in parking lot after 11 PM and before 6AM, and posting signs near light switches and computers requesting that all of us turn them off when not in use. Turning off lights and computers is quite beneficial as computers draw the equivalent of 70 watts of power even when in sleep mode. We can all assist by turning off lights and computers when they are not needed, and by increasing our use of sweaters when we are sensitive to drafts!

All creation is the Lord's and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God's creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. Economic, political, social and technological deve3lopments have increased our human numbers, and lengthened and enriched our lives. However, these developments have led to regional defoliation, dramatic extinction of species, massive human suffering, overpopulation, and misuse and over consumption of natural and nonrenewable resources, particularly by industrialized societies. This continued course of action jeopardizes the natural heritage that God has entrusted to all generations. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God's creation. 2004 Book of Discipline, Social Principles ¶160

More from the Social Principles of the UMC

Paragraph 160.1 B Energy resources Utilization- "...We urge wholehearted support of the conservation of energy and responsible development of all energy resources, with special concern for the development of renewable energy sources, that the goodness of the earth may be affirmed."

Paragraph 160.1.C Animal Life- "We encourage the preservation of all animal species including those threatened with extinction."

Eco-Justice Activities

  • Visit to National Center for Atmospheric Research in June, 2006

  • Gather volunteers to build a sight barrier for church recycling bins

  • Guest Speaker to discuss global warming in September, 2006

  • Sunday School class for adults on Living Sustainably in fall 2006

  • Show film, "An Inconvenient Truth" in October 2006 and in January 2007

  • Recycling Bring your extra packing material (bubble wrap, Styrofoam, popcorn, plastic sheets) and a volunteer will take it to be used to pack art for shipment. Bins are on the Lower level in the open space near the Children’s reception desk at the base of the stairwell leading from the West Gathering Space on Sunday and the material is picked up after the final service. Thru mid-January.

  • StepItUp! at Climate Change Rally, Sat, Apr 14, 10am-12pm at First Plymouth UCC

200+ Computers & Electronics Recycled! - More than 50 St. Andrew’s families recycled computers, printers, and electronics at the Viva Verde Green Team’s drive in cooperation with G&S Mountain Recyclers on Sunday, September 9. This Longmont company completely disassembles and recycles outdated electronics, and refurbishes newer models to be donated to non-profits. Families who delivered unused equipment help to provide jobs for developmentally disabled adults, keep hazardous wastes like lead and phosphorous from their computers from entering landfills, and provide recycled materials for building new computers and electronics. Some materials, like crushed glass from the monitors, is shipped all the way to Brazil to be reused. For more information on reducing your family’s waste and sustaining our planet, visit http://www.greenteamproject.org/Denverindex2.htm. For information on computer and electronics recycling pick-ups from G&S Mountain Recycling, go to www.mountainrecyclers.com

How Can I Help to Care for God's Creation?

Take Action

  • Conserve energy: turn off the lights, lower your thermostat, and investigate using "green energy" such as wind or solar power

  • Drive smart and drive less: use a fuel-efficient car or choose carpooling, public transit, biking or walking

  • Write your Member of Congress and the president and urge them to address the global climate crisis now! Take action at www.umpower.org

  • Reduce: buy less stuff! Reuse: use reusable container for lunch and coffee hours! Recycle3: paper, glass, aluminum and even plastics

  • Save water: turn off the tap while you brush your teeth and take shorter showers

  • Other actions to reduce global warming at www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/

Research

  • Eco-Justice Ministries - www.eco-justice.org Detailed curriculum reviews, tips for a range of church programs, Eco-Justice Notes

  • National Council of Churches eco-justice program - www.nccecojustice.org A mix of theological statements, congregational resources and political advocacy

  • UMC General board of Church and Society - www.umc-gbcs.org This UM website has a Natural World page with links to relevant publications and organizations

  • Web of Creation - www.webofcreation.org A very helpful ecumenical resource

Educate

  • The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, William P. Brown

  • Earth Community, Earth Ethics, Larry L Rasmussen

  • Life is a Miracle, Wendell Berry

  • Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment, Sandra Steingraber

  • A Sand County Almanac: With essays on conservation from the Round River, Aldo Leopold

  • Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

  • Super, Natural Christians: How we should love nature, Sallie McFague

United Methodist Church Resolution

Peace And Related Issues

War and Peace - We believe war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject war as an instrument of nation foreign policy, to be employed only as a last resort in the prevention of such evils as genocide, brutal suppression of human rights, and unprovoked international aggression. We insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must out weigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, we endorse general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. Social Principles ¶ 165.VI.C

A Statement of Conscience from the United Methodist Bishops

********General Board of Church & Society

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