The Sustainist

GracEconomic Exchange Center

I was in a thrift store the other day and found a beautiful tie.  I would have paid at least $10 for it but the thrift shop only priced it at $3.  So I paid $3.  As I was leaving the store, I realized that the idea of a thrift store can be expanded into a more missional and sustainable (MAS) ministry. 

Many churches and community organizations have thrift stores for the purpose of fundraising.  Most thrift stores are conceived and operated in a charity model.  That is, people donate goods to the store, shoppers pay a modest price for these items and the money collected goes to support the charities or ministries that the thrive store supports.

Here is the (MAS) ministry idea:  transform the thrift store into a GracEconomic Exchange Center.  Here is how it might work:  The store will continue to receive donation of goods.  If possible, the donors are asked to give an estimate of what each item is worth.  Each item is priced in the range between $0 and the estimated monetary price.  A shopper can pay within that range.  This way, those who can afford it may pay at a higher rate while those who have no financial resource can take it for free.  In any case, the shoppers are then asked to consider other ways to contribute to the ministry in exchange for the items that they receive.  This can be done by asking them to fill out a card to describe their offering in currencies other than money.  For example, someone might decide to offer to volunteer to work at the store for an hour.  Depending on the gifts and talents of the shopper, he/she might offer, for example, to clean someone’s house, or to custom knit a sweater for someone which can be worth “x” amount of money.  These cards of offering are then posted on a bulletin board in the store.  A shopper might decide to “buy” the custom knit sweater or the cleaning service with money, which would go to support the ministry or he/she might pay with other currencies by offering something else by filling out another card.  This MAS ministry is missional because it provides opportunities for the people who run the ministry to build relationships with the shoppers. Also, the shoppers are getting to know each other in the process of exchanging goods, time, treasure and talent. This MAS ministry is sustainable because the shoppers who can afford to pay with money at the higher range will offset the cost for those who receive the goods free and should provide enough monetary income to pay for the cost of running such a ministry.

Once the people in the community figure out how the GracEconomic Exchange Center works, they would find other innovative exchanges that contribute to creating a sustainable community.

Reflection Questions for Proper 8 (Year C) 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14    What did you learn from this story about leadership? Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20  What does it mean to meditate on the acts of God? Galatians 5:1,13-25   How do you live by the spirit? Luke 9:51-62   What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

2013 Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 15-19 Holy Currencies: Beyond Time, Talent and Treasure Los Angeles, CA August 19-23 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community and Holy Currencies Orientation Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

GracEconomic Grocery Store

New ideas of missional and sustainable (MAS) ministries always emerged during the Holy Currencies workshops I had facilitated in the last months.  Many of these ideas came from an exercise when we would invite participants to re-imagine a ministry from being a linear, doing-for, charity model to a spiral, relationship-building, reciprocal form.  These new ideas were always met with excitement.  Even though as of the writing of the post, these ideas had not been realized, I would like to share them with you in this and the next few posts.  Maybe you will be inspired to make them real. 

For the first MAS ministry idea, I am calling it a GracEconomic Grocery Store.   Many churches and community centers have food pantries which are often run in a linear, goal-driven fashion.  That is, we take in the food donation, put them in bags with volunteers, line up the recipients, hand them the bags of food, clean up and we are done for the day.  This linear approach is not sustainable in a number of ways:

1. It relies solely on donation of food and money.  If for some reason the sources of donated food and money run dry, this ministry would cease.
2. It does not ask the receivers anything in return.  By maintaining the one-way giver-receiver relationship, we might not be valuing the integrity and dignity of the receivers.
3. The receivers have no choice in what food items they receive.  This reinforces the powerlessness of the receivers.

The idea of a GracEconomic Grocery Store goes like this:  Using the available space, we build a store that looks and feels like a regular neighborhood grocery store.  The only difference is that there are no price tags or stickers on the food items.  This store would stock the basic daily essential items such as milk, eggs, juice, etc., as well as seasonal and donated food. This store would be a place where both the ones who have money and the ones who have no money would feel comfortable coming in and “shopping.”  Anyone is welcome to come in and select from the items that you need for yourself and your family.  At the check out counter, if you have money, make a donation; if you don’t, fill out a card to offer other kinds of currencies in exchange, such as volunteer to work at the store for a few hours if you have the time, or offer your talents in ways that are appropriate. 

The GracEoncomic Grocery store serves the same function in providing food for the poor but it does much more than that.  It can become a gathering place where those who have and those who have not can “shop” side-by-side.  Those who have money and resources will know that their donation will go to keeping this ministry financial sustainable.  Those who have not are treated with respect and they feel they are valued because they can take part in contributing to this ministry and the community. 

As we were exploring this idea at a seminary, a graduating, soon to be ordained, student came up with another idea that helped to develop the currencies of relationship further.  She said she would invite members of her church to be “personal shoppers” at the store.  That is, when someone walks in, he/she will be greeted by a personal shopper who will get to know the shopper, finding out more about his/her family: how many people are we feeding, what are the ages, etc.?  The personal shopper would direct the shopper to the appropriate shelves stocked with delicious and healthy items.  If the shopper does not know how to prepare a certain food item, the personal shopper would be equipped with knowledge to show him/her how. 

So here is the basic idea. I believe such a ministry can be self-sustaining financially with the donations from the shoppers who have money. Combined with the hours from volunteers both from the church and shoppers, the cost of running such an operation will be minimal.  If you decide to try this by either converting your food pantry ministry or creating a new Economic Grocery Store, please let me know and the Kaleidoscope Institute would love to assist and document and share your experience.  Imagine what it would be like if every church situated in the crossroads of the rich and poor neighborhoods had a GracEconomic Grocery.  We would be developing sustainable communities while building up our currencies of wellness, relationship and truth.

Reflection Questions for Proper 7 (Year C) 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a    How do you hear the voice of God in times of trouble? Psalm 42  What does it mean to put your trust in God? Galatians 3:23-29   What does it mean for us to be children of God through faith? Luke 7:36-8:3   How does this story connect with our society today?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

2013 Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 15-19 Holy Currencies: Beyond Time, Talent and Treasure Los Angeles, CA August 19-23 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community and Holy Currencies Orientation Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

Scorecards for Sustainable Communities

Jesus was invited to eat with Simon, a religious leader of his time. While at table, a woman, who was considered by others a sinner, wept and bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. She also continually kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

This is a very strange situation indeed and most people would judge the woman as improper and worthless if we use money and social status as the measuring rod for someone’s worth.  But Jesus challenged our value system and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." (Luke 7:36-8:3)

Jesus was saying that if we use “hospitality” and “love” as the measuring rod, this woman was worth much more than Simon who had done little to welcome Jesus.  How do you measure your worth and success?  Do you appraise your worth by counting how much money you’ve made?  Do you gage your success by naming how much power and prestige you claimed?  Or do you measure your worth by how you show hospitality and love for others?

So many communities also fall into the trap of measuring their success with the currency of money only. As a result, many communities perceived themselves as unsuccessful and unsustainable. What would happen if we measure our success with different scales, different currencies such as relationship, truth and wellness?  We would ask different questions, and use different scorecards.  How many trusting relationships have the people in your community developed this last month?  How do the people in your community discern and speak the truth together?  What have the people in your community done to foster spiritual, economical, social and ecological wellness in your community?  If you are able to answer these questions with measurable data, your community will be sustainable.  

Reflection Questions for Proper 6 (Year C) 1 Kings 21:1-10 (11-14), 15-21a    What did you learn from this story about power and greed? Psalm 5:1-8  How does this psalm inform you about prayer? Galatians 2:15-21   How does it mean to be justified by faith? Luke 7:36-8:3   What does it mean to encounter Jesus?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

2013 Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 15-19 Holy Currencies: Beyond Time, Talent and Treasure Los Angeles, CA August 19-23 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community and Holy Currencies Orientation Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

Tornados, Wildfires and Floods

I spent last week in Canada doing workshops and presentations for the Anglican Church and United Church.  For most of those days, I stayed at a B&B and a college dormitory where there was no TV in my room.  I was cut off from mainstream media until Sunday night when I turned on the TV in my hotel room.  I expected the usual political stories that had dominated the news media a week ago – who is going after whom with what power?  To my surprise, every news program began with reports of tornados, wildfires, and floods.  Not only did the media report the suffering, loss and devastation, they also shared stories of survivors and heroes who risked their own lives to help others and save their neighbors.  There would give money to assist the recovery process.  For the moment, these stories about basic human survival and the need for  human connections and communities displaced the political battles about who is right or wrong, or who has more power, or who is abusing power, or who is taking whose rights away.

Nature is sending us a message.  Aside from pushing us to address the causes of extreme climate changes and what we can do about them, natural disasters have a way of resetting our value system. A wildfire does not care how much money I have or how big my house is. A tornado pays no attention to how powerful I am or how many guns I own.  Disasters strip away the roles we play in our human constructed society. During a natural disaster, we are all just human beings doing what we can to survive.  No matter how much we want to believe that we are autonomous, a natural disaster forces us to acknowledge that we are interdependent. In order to survive, we have to help each other and work together as one community.

So, before the heightened sense of interconnectedness fades away, before the tornados, floods and storms of 2013 become background noise to be ignored, I invite our communities to take this opportunity to create a sustained acknowledgment of the interdependence of humanity.  A sustainable community lives out this interconnectedness everyday.  A sustainable community doesn’t need another disaster to remind us of our interdependence.  And when a disaster does strike, people in a sustainable community will be prepared to support each other and help each other through mobilizing our greatest resources: our abilities that allow us to be compassionate, make connections, and create communities of healing and hope.

Reflection Questions for Proper 5 (Year C) 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24)    What did you learn from this story about living in abundance? Psalm 146  What does it mean to have hope in God? Galatians 1:11-24   How does this text inform you about authority? Luke 7:11-17   What does it mean to encounter Jesus?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

2013 Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 15-19 Holy Currencies: Beyond Time, Talent and Treasure Los Angeles, CA August 19-23 Fundamental Skills for Building Inclusive Community and Holy Currencies Orientation Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org