I'm loaded. It's official.

Based on my annual income, I found out I'm in the top 3% percent of the most wealthy people in the world [Global Rich List].  Oops.  How did that happen?  I always thought I was "middle class", middle of the road, doing okay...

The Global Rich list provides perspective.

It is easy to find ways of making money disappear, then to assume that we don’t have much.  It's to easy to compare myself to the 3% of the people in the world that have more than I do.  But, as Scotiabank's tagline says, "You are richer than you think."  [Banks will say that sort of thing so that you borrow and spend more – good for them, not so much for you.  But you are most likely richer than you think].  Just because you don't have any money in the bank account doesn't mean you aren't rich.  It might just mean you spend too much, or don't make good financial decisions.

You want to know something crazy (besides me being in the top 3% of the wealthiest people on earth)?  Research has shown that the wealthier I am, the less money I am likely to give in proportion to my income[1] (likely connected to the problem of comparing myself to the 3% that have more, not recognizing how wealthy I am).


I wonder if a early step towards being generous requires accepting that I have more income that 97% of the world.  Looks like its official: I'm loaded.

**************

I just read a recent stat that claims Canadians give 0.73% of our income.  Less than one percent?

I think it is time that we start giving.  For real.  I am going to pick a random number that feels like it is achievable, reasonable, and biblical.  Let's say 10%.  What would it look like if Christians in Canada gave 10% of their incomes.  Well, in fact, it would look like many, many, many billion dollars.

What would it look like if Mennonites (MWC members) gave 10%?  There are about 135,000 of us in Canada.  Multiply that by 10% of the per capita Canadian income of $43,000 and you get $580,500,000.  That is more than half a billion dollars.  To put that into context, If Canadian Mennonites gave 10% of their income, they could support the worldwide ministry of Mennonite Central Committee 7 times over. [Don't quote me or pay too much attention to the exact numbers here, this wasn't a scientific study...this was only to make a point].

How rich are you?  Find out at http://www.globalrichlist.com/.

How close are you to giving 10%?

---

[1] Sider, Ronald.  The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience.  2005. Page 20.  The research was focused on giving patterns of church members in the US over a 30 year period.

Engaging in Politics

This is the first election that I have been involved with in any real capacity other than voting.


Among other things, I spent a whole lot of time helping to organize an all candidates meeting  on behalf of the 21 Stouffville churches.  Our aim for the All-Candidates Meeting was to provide an information forum to hear where candidates stand on issues of concern to the churches and the local community. This event was an opportunity for the churches and parishes of our community to positively engage the political process.


I would be curious to know what others think: As Christians, is it worthwhile to put a whole bunch of energy into politics?  Or should we use our energy/gifts elsewhere?

Questions for MP candidates of interest to Churches

I helped to organizean all candidates meeting last night in my riding on behalf of the Stouffville Ministerial, which represents the 21 local churches.

Our aim for the All-Candidates Meeting was to provide an information forum (not debate) to hear where candidates stand on issues of concern to the churches and the local community.  We wanted to provide the opportunity for the churches and parishes of our community to positively engage the political process.

Give what you have

Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; 

the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

               Proverbs 21:26 (The Message)

News from Mennonite World Conference

Misrak Meserete Kristos Church in Addis Ababa.

Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is "a community of Anabaptist-related churches rooted in the 16th-century Radical Reformation in Europe.... Today, more than 1,600,000 believers belong to this faith family; more than 60 percent are African, Asian, or Latin American."

MWC links together this Anabaptist community of faith for fellowship, worship, service, and witness.  One way MWC connects the church is organizing an assembly that brings this global fellowship together for about 1 week every 6 years.

I can remember travelling to Manitoba with my family when I was 8 years old to gather with other Anabaptists when Canada last hosted the event, Winnipeg 1990.  I have fond memories of that week.  Though I couldn’t speak a word of Spanish nor he more than 3 words in English, I spent the week with a Puerto Rican kid named Luis.  Our friendship brought our parents together, which led to my family living in Aibonito, Puerto Rico less than two years later (my mom taught English at a school called Betania Mennonita for a semester).

That experience – or perhaps that friendship – planted in me a seed of curiosity in connecting with people that are “different” than me; a seed which can only be fed by learning with people who can show me different ways of living, and different ways of living out the gospel.  This journey (which I recognize I have just begun) has really enriched my understanding of what it means to part of the body of Christ, with all our diversity in worldview, ideas, challenges, gifts, and abilities.

"The last 100 years of nonviolence"

http://ontario.mcc.org/peace

A little with righteousness...

"Better a little with righteousness 

than much gain with injustice."

Proverbs 16:8

Great Resource on Creation Care for Young Adults

Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation, by Ben Lowe. IVP Books, 2009.

Lowe writes from the perspective of a young adult evangelical who was active in Renewal, a grassroots organization of students caring for creation.

He directly and convincingly addresses the common objections evangelicals have for caring for the environment, like whether the earth will be burned up anyway or that we should care about saving humans only and not worry about the rest of creation. Most helpful is Lowe's description of the creation care movement among young people as he describes many projects and initiatives at campuses and churches.

I would highly recommend this book for youth and young adults wanting to be inspired to make a difference in their communities.

Here's a description from the back cover:

"Activist Ben Lowe calls us to come together and care for the earth in a way that previous generations have not. Telling real-life stories from colleges, churches and communities across the nation, Lowe shows that little things make a big difference when we all work together. We now have an opportunity to show the world what it looks like when Christians care for the planet God gave us, so that future generations can live sustainably. This is our moment. This is our issue. Come join the green revolution."

"My Life is my Message"

Camp Micah (http://www.campmicah.ca/), an inter-denominational peace and justice leadership camp run the last week of August for high school students, was a new experience for us.

As Mennonites we kind of thought we had the market cornered on peace and justice work, and it was exciting and refreshing to work alongside Catholics and United Church friends to instill alternative leadership skills in youth with a focus on peace and justice. Camp Micah uses all the normal camp activities (canoeing, low-ropes, games, and campfires) to create awareness about the importance of peace and justice in our everyday lives, and to challenge us to think about how we live our lives and, ultimately, what type of message we share with others by how we live.

My life is my message...  It was a catchy phrase to put on the t-shirts for Camp Micah.

Light a candle...

"Don't curse the darkness,

                                      light a candle”

~Chinese Proverb

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 4 of 4. Conclusion

Some final things to remember

Peace happens in relationship

Jesus, sometimes called Truth said:

Folks are lucky, blessed, fortunate, on the right track

by living out compassion

“dethrone [yourselves] from the centre of our world and put another there”[1]

This is the kindom of God

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 3 of 4. Remembering we live by a different story

We’re not alone, you know

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even beauty queens, with their tiara’s and sparkling dresses wish for …

[sigh] world peace

– someday

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even the Lennon’s who imagine no countries

[sung] and no religions too (Oh, oh – o-o-oh)

Everyone wishes for Peace

Even the folks who earnestly engage in war,

They believe that their show of mighty force will bring conflict to a speedy end:

“We’ll just go in,

strike with precision

and then we’re out.

Balance will be restored.

We’re helping people — oh, and democracy.”

But, as the general said on the radio: conflict is never that predictable

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 2 of 4. Remembering who we are

Sisters, brothers, friends, we’ve called this Peace Sunday

It’s the proverbial string we tie around our finger every year so we won’t forget

On Peace Sunday we remember who we are,

who we propose to be

We are children of God’s Peace

"We who were formerly no people at all, and who knew of no peace, are now called to be...a church...of peace.  True Christians do not know vengeance.  They are the children of peace.  Their hearts overflow with peace.  Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace.” (to quote Menno Simons)

A Peace Sunday Sermon: Part 1 of 4. Remembering the victims of violence

Scripture: Matthew 5, Micah 6: 8

I remember, Je me souviens

I remember,

but mostly I’d rather forget

Mostly

I’d rather sit in my corner and cry, wail, lament

I remember the things we do and don’t do to each other:

war, injustice,

poverty, torture,

broken relationships, bullying, meanness, gossip, betrayal, …

I remember,

but sometimes I’d rather forget

For those of you in Kitchener-Waterloo...

What are you doing this Thursday?  And the next?  If you have some flexibility with your schedule I would encourage you to read on.  Below are two interesting events that you should to check out:

The first is an invitation from my friend Steve who works with Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support to a Rally for Refugees on Nov. 4th.  The second, an invitation from my colleague Matthew to an Interfaith Peace Vigil on Nov. 11th.

Mutual Aid with Ben Janzen

Faith and money are very much connected, whether we like it or not. Often we try to avoid making the connections, because thinking about faith and money can lead to some pretty difficult decisions - ones that force us to think about how and how much we spend, give, and save (give and save?)...


And many of the habits that we develop (ones that you and I are developing right now) stick with us for most of our lives. Unless, of course, we are willing to consider some pretty tough questions, and also consider the possibility that we may have to change the way we spend, give, and save. And maybe even where we bank...

About 47 years ago, a group of Waterloo Mennonites got together to explore a response to what they were seeing and feeling in their churches around faith and economics. At the heart of their discussion was the concept of mutual aid, “bearing each other’s burdens”. That led to a discussion about how a faith-based credit union could be an ideal way for church members to support each other, their churches and to conduct financial business in keeping with their faith.

“Why a credit union and not a bank?” you might ask.

Here’s a video (thanks to some credit union friends in Alberta) that shows some of the reasons why:

Walking with People in Poverty

Jesus announced his mission: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…." 

And what is good news for the poor? 

Affordable housing, quality relationships, wages that sustain a dignified life, meaningful community, adequate social assistance, a valued voice in society … and much more. 

In Toronto, Kitchener and Timmins, MCC Ontario responds to poverty by walking alongside marginalized people with compassion and caring.

Listening: the best way to build peace

When dialogue is mentioned, most people associate it with talking.  Not so for the participants of The East-West Dialogue for Peacemaking, an event held this past June in Amman, Jordan.  Thirty participants from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, the United States, and Canada came away associating effective dialogue with good listening. The art of good listening, they learned, is key to effective dialogue and peacemaking.

During the 4-day conference, participants, both Muslims and Christians, spent intensive time together informally and in sessions developing relationships and learning from the rich and diverse experiences of each other. 

“When we build friendship we are one step closer to peace,” says Mouhammad Aref El Hassan, from Lebanon who was also at the conference in 2009. “…There are a lot of people out there that want to understand and to be understood.”

One of those people was Sara Anderson who attends Kitchener Mennonite Brethren Church and who recently completed her first year in the Global Studies program at Wilfred Laurier University focusing on Peace and Conflict in the Middle East and Muslim Studies.  She was interested in this Dialogue as a way of putting into action some of the lessons she learned in the classroom, and as a way to learn more about what it means to be a Christian in the world.  “I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the culture and customs in the Middle East and how I, as a Christian, am to live in a multi-faith world.”

Sara Anderson (far right) speaking with three participants from the Middle East

Loving our neighbor through witness to government

Many of you are energized by following Jesus call to love our neighbors.  There are many ways that you can do this and I would encourage you to think creatively with others about how this might look in your community.

One way to love our neighbours, both near and far, is through political advocacy.

When we claim that Jesus is Lord we are claiming that (as the early church and as many Anabaptist communities have done for 500 years) our political leaders and structures are not Lord. This doesn’t mean that we call for anarchy and disregard order.  But it means we must be willing to speak out (even to our government representatives) when our convictions as Christians come face to face with injustice.

Good thing we don’t have to go it alone…there are people that can guide us along the way.  To get you started, check out these helpful sites:

Advocating for a Poverty Free Ontario

MCC Advocacy Webpage

Yella: a middle eastern learning tour for young adults

Ever wonder what the heck is going on in the Middle East? We know Jesus grew up, and lived his life and ministry somewhere in what we now call Israel (and parts of Palestine). We hear about a lot of conflict ('over there').

The Old City of Jerusalem, May 2010

But how does the developing story of today's Middle East connect to the Roman ruled context of Jesus? Is there anything we can learn about Jesus and the bible by walking where he walked?

MCC Ontario has partnered with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada to develop opportunities for people like you to learn about God, the world, and yourself...to explore questions of Christian faith and life by:

- Interacting with Christians, Jews and Muslims

- Encountering complex peace and conflict issues

- Considering the context for Jesus' life and ministry

The program is called Yella and we have organized two groups thus far: the first in 2008, and most recently in May 2010.

You might have heard of the program through some articles in the Canadian Mennonite by Micheal Turman, Katie Erb, and Katie Penner.