Biblical insights from Bono

This little quote was posted on the communality blog and I thought it was rad so I decided to pass it along here. It's a recent quote from Bono, who I don't know a heckuva lot about on account of my not being very hip, but I do know he's a rock star and so it's great that he's talking about the economics of jubilee.

"Carnival is over. Commerce has been overheating markets and climates ... the sooty skies of the industrial revolution have changed scale and location, but now melt ice caps and make the seas boil in the time of technological revolution. Capitalism is on trial; globalization is, once again, in the dock. We used to say that all we wanted for the rest of the world was what we had for ourselves. Then we found out that if every living soul on the planet had a fridge and a house and an S.U.V., we would choke on our own exhaust.
Lent is upon us whether we asked for it or not. And with it, we hope, comes a chance at redemption. But redemption is not just a spiritual term, it’s an economic concept. At the turn of the millennium, the debt cancellation campaign, inspired by the Jewish concept of Jubilee, aimed to give the poorest countries a fresh start. Thirty-four million more children in Africa are now in school in large part because their governments used money freed up by debt relief. This redemption was not an end to economic slavery, but it was a more hopeful beginning for many. And to the many, not the lucky few, is surely where any soul-searching must lead us."

More nourishment for our continuing thoughts about simplicity, global responsibility and the like.

Tis the Season

Hey Gang!

Gardening season is right around the corner and it’s time to start getting geared up! Nikki and I tilled up a really large area out at Crossroads last week to get started. Justin, Arianna, Nikki, and myself (with some help from Nya and Brette) hauled in 6 yards of fresh manure to begin composting for the year, and then Nik and I made a separate trip with 2 yards of 3 way (60% topsoil, 20% sand, and 20% Compost). I have made the necessary arrangements with 2M for our irrigation supplies and was wondering if anybody would be available next week to help me dig out the water lines to the gardening area? Nik and I tilled up a 400’ x 200’ area, not that we need all of that, but it’ll give us a good space to begin dreaming. I was also wondering if Saturday, April 25th would be a good work day for all of us to begin raising the beds? Our useless basement has finally found some use, Nikki has quite a few growing flats down there under UV lights, so we’re on the right track. Everybody also need s to be thinking about how much money they can send towards the garden, we’re going to need about 15 - 20 more yards of topsoil. When you count the cost of the irrigation (some will be donated), the seeds, the fuel for the rental equipment (tractor and tiller last week, mini excavator for water lines), and all the topsoil it really adds up. Anyways I’ve been sick with strep throat the last couple of days which has allowed me some down time to really start planning and I’m starting to get pretty stoked!

Also good news on the chickens - we’ve got 12 meat birds that’ll be ready for butcher in a couple weeks (get ready Justin!), and we have a place to raise them at my folks. Alex has found a large chicken coup at a farm house near his place that, with small renovations can house the 25 layers coming on June 3rd - as long as the post office doesn’t screw it up! So now all we need is some consistent warm weather and the race is on!

Cheers.

continuing the convo

I'm going to go ahead and do a new post to continue the conversation from Alex's post. For those who haven't read it, make sure you read Alex's last post and the comments before reading this.

Is it possible to show love outside of relationship?

The phrase that comes to my mind when pondering this is "Justice is what love looks like in public". For example, William Wilburforce arguing against the slave trade for years in parliament until it was finally abolished was an act of love. His interest in the issue was not personal gain, but a general love for humanity that kept him from looking the other way as people suffered.

I'm definitely not suggesting that we need to get involved in politics to make significant change- and there's a danger in "giving all we have to the poor" if it's not rooted in love.
Furthermore, we can probably all agree that loving people around us and struggling in relationships is much more difficult and more transformational than any money or time we give to someone we have never met. However, as the hands and feet of Jesus in this world at a time when third world debt, American capitalism, and a host of other factors are leaving millions of people in poverty, our christian love should lead us to ask some questions. Like, is it possible that things could be different? Are there things we can do to stimulate that change? What about the way we live our lives, the things we buy, the ideas we support are helpful/harmful to people around the world?

This is all up for debate, so let me know what youo guys think.

No Survivors

Jese received the phone call this morning: the cavalier postal worker announced that our chicks had arrived, but that they were dead... not a single one of our twenty five rare Chantecler baby chicks had survived to come home to us.

The seller was contacted and assured us that this happens all the time, that some postal worker had likely not bothered to read the "Fragile - Keep Warm" warning and therefore the tiny little guys had probably frozen to death in their box.

Lame.

Although we will be getting another delivery of birds in June with no charge to us, let it be known that we have been screwed by the post office no less that TWO TIMES this past month. So, farewell first batch of chicks, we mourn your short and cold life