Shane Claiborne, founder of The Simple Way and author of The Irresistible Revolution is here. His talks were more or less summaries of his writing, so I'll just share some of his writing. Hits me quite a bit when we brag so much about the largest charitable gift to a non-profit in history, largest social service project in Boston, etc.
Shane says this:
Layers of insulation separate the rich and the poor from truly encountering one another. There are the obvious ones like picket fences and SUVs, and there are the more subtle ones like charity. Tithes, tax-exempt donations, and short-term mission trips, while they accomplish some good, can also function as outlets that allow us to appease our consciences adn still retain a safe distance from the poor. Take this poignant example I stumbled across. Kathy Lee garments, which earn over $300 million in sals annually, are being produced by teenage girls in abysmal conditions in Honduran sweatshops. These girls as young as 13 work fifteen-hour hsifts under armed guards receiving 31 cents an hour to produce clothing sold under a label which promises that "a portion of proceeds from the sale of this garment will be donated to various Children's Charities."
Charity can be a dangerous insulator
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4 comments:
Hey... I like the new look!
Shane is such a great speaker, isn't he?!
That sweatshop story is surely ironic. We --if I may define "we" as, well... everyone-- are so messed up in so many ways. Stories like that make the idea of communal sin so much more personal, and complicated.
I hope you keep up your committment to blog. I'll be here and there as I finish up the year. I'll stop by when I can.
Jocelyn
I have long struggled with mission trips for that very reason. It, too often, sets the tone that "mission" is something we do once a year for spring break.
When I lived in Pittsburgh, we started to become this hub where rich youth groups would come and spend a week "working" with us. After the first one, I only agreed to work with them if they submitted a plan for how they would continue mission once they got home. I'm cool if a mission trip is a launching pad to get people motivated for mission, but it just feels dirty when it's nothing more than a glorified vacation.
Bono once said something that continues to resonate with me; "When we see their problems, but don't do anything about them, we become tourists in these people's tragedy." I neither want to be a tourist or a tour guide.
i wish i could have been there. i was at the last forum. i have read shane's book and heard him speak. he sounds more like a salvationist than many salvationists do.
see you in a couple of weeks.
HEY!
hahaha sorry about that text message. That does make a funny story though. Glad to see you back on blogger!
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