Goal of event: To facilitate a dialogue about the issue of social justice action in the Emergent Church through a three day event grounded in the spiritual practice of solidarity with the global poor. This event will be advertised to members of the entire HDS community, and I believe that anyone, not just Christians from the Emergent Church can find a point of connection to the topic at hand.
Teaching: We have engaged Will Samson author of Justice in the Burbs to come and speak at HDS on April 29th (Sperry Room, 7pm). His book is about how we can learn to live just lives in our current situations. He has a new book coming out in the fall, yet untitled, on consumerism. We have asked him to give a lecture on how consumerism contributes to, and affects the issue of global poverty, focusing especially on things that we can do in our lives to make a difference. Will is on the organizing board with Emergent Village, and is also writing a third book on the issue of justice and poverty.
Spiritual Practice, Less Than Two Dollars a Day: During the three days of the event, the HDS Emergent Cohort and other affiliated groups will be leading an initiative encourage people to live at a level of less than $2 a day for three days. This is to create a feeling of solidarity with the global poor, of whom 1/3 of the world live at a level of less than $2 a day (US). 12 people from the Cohort are also currently involved in an Economic discipleship group, in which we have completed our budgets to see where we are spending our money and to try to figure out places we
can cut back spending. We anticipate using our budgets as part of this spiritual practice and to encourage others to do the same. If for example, we find out that we are spending $100 a day, we would make that a fundraising goal for the event, to emphasis the extreme disparity between our lifestyles and the lifestyles of the rest of the world.
Action: we will be using this event both to raise awareness and money for global poverty. The money we raise from the Less Than $2 a Day event we will donate to an organization somewhere in the world that seeks to directly get people out of poverty, such as an organization that gives micro loans, or buys cows for villages.
Community Building: During the Less Than $2 a day event, we will set up a community dinner each night where participants can come to eat a meal together that is representative of something that someone in another part of the world would eat as part of a diet that costs less
than $2 a day. We will also provide sample menus so that people can accomplish this spiritual practice at home, with, for example 1⁄2 cup rice and 1tbs of peanut butter as a meal that may serve as part of the budget. We also plan to have a final potluck where people will bring
what they have from their refrigerator to share a "Bring what you have" potluck (no buying allowed). The first community meal will tentatively be set up as the “reception” that will follow Will Samson’s lecture.
Dialogue: On the second night we will convene optional small groups/ or breakout sessions to discuss the idea of justice in the Emergent Church and to brainstorm steps that we can take to move forward. People will present these ideas the next day at the closing worship service. We have reserved Belva’s at 6pm on May 30th for this.
Worship: Everyone is invited to worship at the Crossing worship service (downtown in St. Paul’s Cathedral) on Thursday night at 6:30pm where the reflection that night will be on a theme related to the topic of social justice and to come together for communion and prayer and time of worship.
Commitment: After the Thursday worship service, at the potluck, people will present their ideas and we will choose one idea to take forward from this point. We will ask for people to commit to being part of a group to work on exploring this.
Check back for more concrete details in a few days. Thanks!
