The Story of Stuff

A great 20-minute animated resource for children and adults alike! (See Katie's post "Buy Nothing Day")
The Story of Stuff

Annual Buy Nothing Day

I am in the middle of writing a paper for my Theological Ethics course about conscience as it relates to social sin.  The social sin on which I have chosen to focus is Capitalism.  While the paper will probably not be published here in its entirety, I believe that it is vital for those of us in ministry to draw a connection between one's spending habits and one's Catholic identity.  There are moral implications when we shop.  We need to acknowledge these implications which include, but are not limited to, the following:

1) "Sweat Shops" and other abuses that relate to globalization
2) An ever-widening gap between rich and poor, both in our own country and world wide
3) The environmental impacts of consumerism

Each year, Adbusters.com sponsors a Buy Nothing Day.  AdBusters is not a faith-based organization, but its message speaks to the spirit of Christianity and to Catholic teaching.  First, AdBusters adamantly decries the environmental effects of consumerism and promotes efforts towards sustainability.  (See Care of God's Creation in Catholic Social Teaching; Genesis 1 reminds us that human beings are merely stewards of the Earth.)  Second, AdBusters observes that, "You may find that it’s harder than you think, that the impulse to buy is more ingrained in you than you ever realized" - and encourages us to fight back!  Why is buying such a large part of our culture?  Jesus reminds us that we cannot "serve two masters... You cannot serve God and wealth (Lk 16:13)."  We need this reminder more often than not.

Buy Nothing Day is also known as Black Friday.  This year, it takes place just two days before the beginning of Advent.  How poignant!  Will you take a stand and say NO! to consumerism?  Will you truly help to "Keep Christ in Christmas" by avoiding this social sin?

The Website: AdBusters
The Event: facebook
The Poster: Advertise

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue!  Please comment!

Eden and Mountaintop Removal Mining

In Old Testament on Tuesday, we talked about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Dr. Bucur emphasized that these first few chapters of Genesis are a liturgical text, and connected them with the temple worship in later books of the Old Testament; The Garden of Eden is the place where God dwells; the Temple. Adam and Eve are the Levites, or priests; they tend the garden, following the Order God has set out. Thus, their dominion is not one of exploitation of “natural resources” for human gain; it is one of responsibility and loving care; an act of worship, of following God's precincts.


Thursday evening, Sheila and I arrive for the Army Corps of Engineers hearing in Pittsburgh an hour early. The Corps is soliciting input regarding the suspension of permits to coal companies which presently allow them to dump solid waste from Mountaintop Removal (MTR) mine sites into waterways. We know we're at the right convention center when we spot a line of people dressed in casual, baggy clothing of subdued colors. Hippies. When we get inside, security checks our bags and wands us. It's getting crowded. They have seating for 400 people, one of the guards tells me. It looks like there are about 300 people. Most of them are wearing teal shirts that say “Coal=Job+Energy” and “FORCE: Families for PA Coal”.


It becomes clear that, as clothing has indicated, there are two distinct sides represented tonight. Each frames the issue at hand differently. The people in the teal shirts are CEOs of coal mines, miners, and family and friends of miners. They are against suspending the permits; it would mean increased operating costs for mines, which they argue would lead to the closing of mines, and thousands of jobs lost. One speaker illustrates his point by citing the loss of 6,500 mine jobs in Kentucky as a result of new regulations for the coal industry. The mismatched hippies counter that any reduction in coal production would easily be replaced with renewable energy. Many of them traveled from West Virginia to voice their support for this proposed suspension of dumping permits. They tell stories of friends and communities that are effected by MTR's impact on water quality: how toxic metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury from sludge dams on MTR sites leech into water tables, polluting drinking water and causing toxic metal poisoning and other health complications. They speak of streams they used to fish in, which can no longer support wildlife. An ecologist spoke of the Myth of Reclamation. Mycorrhizae, the microscopic fungi found in top soil, which delivers nutrients to plant roots, dies when top soil is piled up, for instance during the process of surface-mining coal. Thus, even when the original top soil is replaced at a mine site and seeded, it can no longer support the indigenous plants and original ecosystem, as the mycorrhizae are gone.


More philosophical issues connected to Mountaintop Removal Mining in particular and environmental degradation in general were raised. Why do we “soil our nest”, ruining our home and the natural habitat of so many species that also call Appalachia home? What about our grandchildren? What kind of natural environment will they enjoy? This reminded me of Tuesday's class. Are we being good stewards of God's creation? Or do we weigh other concerns, like our thirst for cheap energy and the availability of high-paying jobs, as more important? Adam and Eve were evicted from Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now that humanity has that knowledge, will we use it to serve God and care for His creation?

Faces of Jesus

Please see this link for the Seminar instructions. See this link for the handouts.

Objective: To use pop culture (specifically the Harry Potter series) as a starting point for theological reflection about the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ. At the end of the seminar, participants should be on their way in developing a personal Christology.

Sessions: There are 5 sessions associated with this seminar. Each session will last approximately 60 minutes. Between sessions, participants should answer reflection questions in the provided Workbook in order to decipher their own Christology. The 5th session will be devoted to open discussion of individual Christologies. The sessions will consist mostly of open, guided discussions.

Audience: Adults; including parents, catechists, teachers, and young adults. Participants should have a general acquaintance with the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling, or the movies (Warner Bros.).

CST With Youth

Please visit this link to download this retreat.

Who and What:
The following is a retreat experience designed for High School-aged youth. It can be easily adapted and used with young adults. This retreat is especially appropriate with groups of Confirmation or R.C.I.A. candidates, or with Religious Education groups. The objectives of the retreat are to:

1. Introduce the participants to some of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching as defined by the USCCB
2. Encourage the participants to consider how they are applying or how they can apply the principles to their lives
3. Reinforce the importance of putting Catholic Social Teaching into practice in order to live a Catholic Christian lifestyle

The retreat is best used with groups of 10-25 youth who are put into small discussion groups of 4-5. Mature “table leaders,” whether they are adults or peers, are essential to the retreat experience in order to foster understanding and productive discussions.

Method:
There are four sections in this retreat. Each section is based on a different principle of Catholic Social Teaching:

1. Call to family, community and participation
2. Solidarity
3. Care of creation
4. Life and dignity of the human person

Each principle is introduced to the participants in two ways: first, they are given a Church statement that indicates why the principle is a Catholic teaching; second, various media (ie. a movie clip or story) are used to show that principle being lived (or, conversely, ignored) in pop culture. The participants are then invited to explore what that principle means in their everyday life through small group discussion questions that consider Church teaching and pop culture. Finally, the small group is given an activity to do together that reinforces the concept that has been presented.

Making Statistics Meaningful

The course entitled Catholic Social Thought began with an exercise about the Village of 100 People. (Please view the data below.) We were asked to reflect on this question: Given the make-up of the "Village," which principles of Catholic Social Teaching are the most important? Why? What do you think??

(You can view the source of this data here.)
The following is a detailed version of our 100 People statistics. Source information for each of the categories is available at the bottom of the page.

If the World were 100 PEOPLE:

Gender	50 would be female 50 would be male
Age	20 would be 0-14 67 would be 15-64 14 would be 65 and older
Geography	5 would be from North America 9 would be from Latin America & the Caribbean 12 would be from Europe 61 would be from Asia 13 would be from Africa
Religion	31 would be Christian 21 would be Muslim 14 would be Hindu 6 would be Buddhist 12 would believe in other religions 16 would not be religious or identify themselves as being aligned with a particular faith
First Language	17 would speak Chinese 8 would speak Hindustani 8 would speak English 7 would speak Spanish 4 would speak Arabic 4 would speak Russian 3 would speak Bengali 2 would speak Malay-Indonesian 2 would speak French 45 would speak other languages
Overall Literacy	82 would be able to read and write 18 would not
Literacy by Gender	87 males would be able to read and write 13 males would not be able to read and write 77 females would be able to read and write 23 females would not be able to read and write
Education	76 males would have a primary school education 72 females would have a primary school education 66 males would have a secondary school education 63 females would have a secondary school education 1 would have a college education
Urban/Rural	47 would be urban dwellers 53 would be rural dwellers
Drinking Water	83 would have access to safe drinking water 17 would use unimproved water
Food	17 would be undernourished
Infectious Disease	<1% would have HIV/AIDS <1%would have tuberculosis
Poverty	53 would live on less than 2USD per day 50 would live in poverty
Electricity	76 would have electricity 24 would not
Technology	34 would be cell phone subscribers 17 would be active internet users 1 would own a computer

Opting Out of Social Concerns

Gaudium et Spes tells us that Christians may not opt out of social concerns. I have tried to live up to that standard for several years, albeit with varying degrees of success. As this is the first time I have read Gaudium et Spes, I was not aware that the Church laid the command out in this way – certainly it is not an aspect of Church teaching that I have heard in homilies on a regular basis. As such, my initial reaction was quite positive. I have long believed that all people, and especially Christians, have a duty or responsibility to one another. I am glad that my Church also teaches this.

But by no means do I harbor illusions of grandeur! This teaching is incredibly challenging, especially as a citizen and resident of the richest nation in the world. At the risk of sounding apocalyptic, social sins seem to be rampant in this country if one is able to look around and take stock of the over-arching values of our culture. Materialism, individualism, and wastefulness are not only hallmarks of our society, but they are also the standards to which many hold themselves as they compare themselves to “American royalty” (ie. Hollywood). Even if one is aware of these traps, it is impossible to avoid them; our society is set up in such a way that prevents us from opting out of the system regardless of the injustices. For this reason, I can see how it would be easy to simply give up and ignore the Church’s call to social concern. However, I agree with the Church, which tells us that the promise of imperfection is not an excuse for inaction.

We discussed the matter of “pricked consciences” in class, and this is something with which I have been struggling lately. I have personally been boycotting Wal-Mart and limiting my patronage at other chain stores for many years. Although there is a second side to the issue, namely, that Wal-Mart is essential to the livelihoods of many West Virginians, my conscience tells me that a boycott is essential because of the multitude of injustices practiced by this company. However, the parish for which I work gets supplies and food from Wal-Mart regularly. My conscience is pricked every time my co-workers ask if I need anything from Wal-Mart for my ministry. Usually I simply smile and tell them no, thank you. I have had little success at “converting” people in the past, and so my super-ego takes over and I generally choose to maintain a friendly/stress-free/superficial work environment rather than taking the time to explain my beliefs. This is one small change I can make in my life in order to actively engage conversation about social justice.

What changes can you make in your own life to show your solidarity with the materially poor of the world?

Students Formerly Known as TIMELY

Hello, and welcome to our blog!

We are Masters students in Duquesne University's Pastoral Ministry program, sponsored by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. We come from many walks of life, but we all have two things in common: (1) we are Catholics from West Virginia and (2) we are passionate about our ministry. Some of us work in religious education, some with the R.C.I.A. Some of us volunteer at our respective parishes.

This blog is here so that we can share our faith with the people of our diocese. As we learn and apply our knowledge to our ministries, we'll be posting projects or helpful tips. You'll find things like reflections on the role of parish ministry in our lives, as well as resources that we have either written or found useful. Join us on our journey of faith!

If you would like to use any of the materials offered here, we require the following:

1. Please let the author know ahead of time
2. Post a comment with feedback and/or constructive criticism