CIW to Collier County Government, FL Department of Health: “Failure to prepare invites catastrophe”…
Dispatches from the student front in the fight for Fair Food ahead of huge Follow the Money March!
Student/Farmworker Alliance leaders convene in Immokalee for a face-to-face planning weekend on the Wendy’s Boycott!
PLUS: Big news out of Immokalee! SFA’s Jordan Lake and Nova Friedman join the ally team!
Anyone who knows anything about the two-decade old Campaign for Fair Food knows the all-important leadership role students have played in winning the legally-binding agreements — with now fourteen of the world’s leading food brands — that put the teeth behind the groundbreaking Fair Food Program’s human rights standards. Without those agreements, there would be no market consequences for human rights violations on Fair Food Program farms; without those agreements, 35,000 workers (and growing) would still face rampant sexual harassment and assault, systemic wage theft, and even forced labor, on the job, without recourse; and without those agreements, there would be no Fair Food Program.
And so whenever student leaders with the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) come together from across the country to make plans for turning up the heat in the Campaign for Fair Food, we here at the CIW are eager to receive news of the gathering, and to share that news with you! And that’s exactly what happened last weekend in Immokalee, which means we have the report, hot off the presses, for you today from the SFA itself.
So, without further ado, here below is the latest dispatch from the front lines of student organizing ahead of the major Follow the Money March, (including a special video treat at the end of today’s update…). Enjoy!:
Last week, the newly-inducted members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance’s national leadership made their way to Immokalee, FL, for a full weekend of building strategy and student power in the Campaign for Fair Food! The 2020 Steering Committee (SC) — comprised of 15 tireless organizers hailing from Washington State to Rhode Island — convened for its first face-to-face meeting of the year, setting ambitious campaign goals and sharpening their organizing skills.
The long weekend’s packed schedule included interactive workshops ranging from the shameful legacy of slavery in our country’s food system to building resilient campus organizations. Most importantly, the SC spent many hours making moves to mobilize scores of students and youth for the CIW’s upcoming Follow the Money March in New York City from March 10-12. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we announce details about the buses and caravans leaving from a city near you to the major spring action!
Throughout the year, the SC will be helping to coordinate community-building and direct actions within SFA’s vast network of allies. So, here’s your chance to meet the official new and returning members of the 2020 SFA Steering Committee:
Meanwhile in Immokalee, new faces fill the ally office!
Jordan Lake (left) and Nova Friedman (right) of the Alliance for Fair Food.
On the topic of new leadership, we’re excited to announce that we’ve hired two incredibly remarkable SFAers to join the ally team in Immokalee! First up, Jordan Lake is stepping into her role as a National Co-coordinator for SFA, working with the SC and SFA leaders to bring the Wendy’s Boycott to new heights and build leadership across our network. Jordan first became involved with the CIW as a participant of the CIW’s powerful 5-day Freedom Fast in 2018. The following year, she helped grow the Wendy’s Boycott at UMass Amherst and throughout the Northeast as a member of the SC. Beyond working with the SFA network, Jordan is excited to support new and existing Fair Food Groups to sustain the fight for farmworker justice! You can catch her on email at jordan@allianceforfairfood.org.
Also new to the Immokalee crew is Nova Friedman, one of the core leaders of the Boot the Braids Campaign at Temple University. After participating in the 2018 SFA “Encuentro” gathering in Immokalee, Nova helped to start a burgeoning Student/Farmworker Alliance chapter at Temple’s campus to pressure the administration to cut ties with Wendy’s over the company’s refusal to join the Fair Food Program. Nova will be working as part of the Alliance for Fair Food staff as an Administrator and Historian, supporting the AFF’s day-to-day operations, creating new resources to amplify our network’s vibrant organizing on-the-ground, and documenting the movement for Fair Food’s 20-year campaign history! Feel free to get in touch with her at nova@allianceforfairfood.org.
To wrap up this exciting recap of what has been a truly great start to 2020 for SFA, we leave you with this smashingly choreographed dance video from our brand-new TikTok account (follow @boycottwendys, btw). Facilitated by SFA’s very-own Dave the Director, check out and share the SC’s rendition of the viral “Renegade” dance with a Wendy’s Boycott twist at the end!
Watch out, Wendy’s… we coming for you!
NYC Jewish, labor leaders pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with farmworkers ahead of City Council vote!
NYC Council Member Mark Levine (left) declares his support for the Fair Food Program on a panel with CIW’s Oscar Otzoy (center) and the Alliance for Fair Food’s Uriel Perez (right), presenting at an event convened by The Workers Circle (January 2020) in New York City.
NYC City Council Member Mark Levine: “Immokalee is not just, in my opinion, one of the best examples of worker power in America, but globally… But you need allies in this fight. Especially when you’re going up against a corporate Goliath like Wendy’s and that’s why we’re here. “
For more than a century, The Workers Circle has drawn upon Jewish values to confront and resist workplace exploitation and to build a society centered on respect and dignity. In line with their storied history, last week The Workers Circle convened leaders from Jewish and labor organizations from across the five boroughs for a powerful forum on Fair Food headlined by NYC Council Member Mark Levine, Oscar Otzoy of the CIW, Uriel Perez of the AFF, and Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster of T’ruah.
Supporters of the Campaign for Fair Food since its inception, The Workers Circle hosted the event, and their Executive Director, Ann Toback offered opening remarks, reminding us of the power we have when we stand united.
Oscar then took the mic, recounting how, against all odds, farmworkers from Immokalee organized themselves, reached out to consumers and together confronted and convinced 14 of the world’s largest food retailers to sign legally-binding agreements that are the bedrock of the Fair Food Program. He described the rights won and urgent need to expand these gains by bringing Wendy’s on board.
After greeting Oscar in Spanish and joking to the rest of the room that the rest of the program would be in Yiddish (much to the delight of all), Council Member Levine expressed how much it means that the Jewish community has stepped up in this fight and stood with workers from Immokalee. Levine, who, this past November, introduced NYC Resolution 1156 urging Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program, then paused to underscore the significance of this undertaking.
“Immokalee is not just, in my opinion, one of the best examples of worker power in America, but globally. What you’ve done proves the power of organizing and I hold it up as an example here in NYC constantly. But you need allies in this fight. Especially when you’re going up against a corporate Goliath like Wendy’s and that’s why we’re here. We’re here to apply consumer pressure, public pressure, political pressure. We know this company is vulnerable to that pressure. And we are going to squeeze them hard until they do the right thing.”
After a lively exchange of ideas and commitment to mobilizing support for the NYC resolution and the 3-day Follow the Money March (March 10-12) in New York City, leaders left for the Bronx, for Queens, for Brooklyn and Manhattan, on fire for farmworker rights!
And you can fan those flames! Are you in NYC? Contact your council member today and urge them to become a co-sponsor of Resolution 1156!
2019 Growing the Light: Advent Reflections on Farmworker Justice: Week 4
This Advent, join unwavering allies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, Rev. Kaji Douša, D.L. Mayfield, and Rev. Brian McLaren in preparing to grow the light of farmworker justice throughout the new year. The season of Advent draws us into a time of anticipation and preparation with all who long for release from oppression. Through the Fair Food Program (FFP), the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, together with student and faith allies, kindles the flame of justice for farmworkers in the tomato fields of Immokalee and now on farms across seven states. Sign up today to receive this weekly Advent reflection series and its calls to action in solidarity with farmworkers!
Refuse the Evil, Choose the Good By Cláudio Carvalhaes
Cláudio Carvalhaes is a theologian, liturgist and artist. A native Brazilian, Cláudio completed his Ph.D. in Liturgy and Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 2007.
Isaiah 7:13-16
“Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.”
In the cyclical celebrations of the Christian faith, Advent is a time of newness, a time to be
prepared for the arrival of that which we couldn’t imagine, that for which we could not prepare enough. The season of Advent helps us prepare our hearts and our communities for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. It is the time when love conquers fear, God fills us with courage, and our minds are cleared as we gain consciousness of something bigger, more important, more necessary.
The texts for today are preparing us for the coming of Emmanuel. The coming of Jesus is surrounded by awareness and preparedness. In Isaiah 7:10-16, we read that the coming of Emmanuel will be a process of transformation, one that will prepare the child to learn how to “refuse the evil and choose the good.” Thus, the arrival of Emmanuel is about a season of discernment, a time to see, listen, ponder, judge what is good and right, and act.
The times we live in are so confusing. We hear about fake news, climate change, and the condemnation of the poor. So much of our time is enveloped in anger and violence. Powerful voices try to convince us to blame those who are actually fighting for our common good. If we continue to get confused between what is good and what is evil, we and our land will continue to live in dread. Sometimes our beliefs don’t draw us into these processes of discernment. We get stuck and we end up feeling lost and angry and fearful.
For Christians, Advent is a time to open ourselves up again to the good news of love coming our way, again and again, remembering who we are and to whom we belong. During Advent we have the gift of discerning our way in the world. When we look around there are so many wonderful things happening and the presence of God appears in places and people that help us discern good from evil.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Fair Food Program are evidence of goodness and justice that speak to the active presence of God in our midst. Workers help us discern good from evil -- help us tell the difference between real human rights solutions that work on the ground and those false yet nice-sounding solutions propagated by corporations more interested in protecting their reputations than ending abuses.
The Fair Food Program shows us how we are creating justice for every farmworkers...indeed every worker. CIW has worked with the FBI to investigate free over 1200 persons trafficked for labor in the fields and to assist USDOJ putting traffickers behind bars. But most importantly, they created the Fair Food Program that actively prevents modern-slavery in the first place. The CIW’s model of ending and preventing gender based justice is being translated to other industries around the world. CIW doesn’t do this on its own -- workers are leading the movement for these changes but that movement involves you and me. We are invited to use our power as consumers to be a part of the expansion of justice and hope in our world right now through the Wendy’s Boycott!
The Fair Food Program is an example of what we need most in our days in order to restore our world from collapsing. With workers’ voices setting the standards, and consumers demanding retailers join the Program, the gold standard of social responsibility, together we are restructuring our food system to ensure good and well-being for all.
As we go through the discernment process that Advent offers, remember that even Emmanuel had to go through a process of learning in order to distinguish good from evil. It is our task now to continue this process in our time. Can we name the evils that threaten to kill us? Can we identify and magnify the good that is fighting against the forces of death? Can we name and live the love that demands justice and welfare for all?
Take a look at what the Coalition of Immokalee Workers are doing through the Fair Food Program and the Wendy’s Boycott. They can surely help us stay awake and discern the call of love that God is issuing to us right now during Advent.
Prayer - God of love, you are coming to us once again, giving us opportunities to start anew. In our new beginnings, help us in our process of discernment so we can “know how to refuse the evil and choose the good.” Help us become God’s presence in the world so we can turn from evil and the emptiness it creates. We cry out: Emmanuel, God with us! And with the Psalmist we pray: Restore us, O Lord God of hosts, let your face shine, that we may be saved. Amen.
Searching for a gift that matters this Christmas? When you make a donation to the Fair Food Program in honor of someone, you gift goes to protect and advance farmworkers' human rights. And the Fair Food Program has beautiful holiday cards you can print or which can be emailed. Give a gift of justice, respect, and hope today.
About the Author:
Cláudio Carvalhaes, theologian, liturgist and artist, a native Brazilian, completed his Ph.D. in Liturgy and Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 2007. He earned his first Master of Philosophy degree in Theology, Philosophy, and History at the Methodist University of Sao Paulo in 1997 and a Master of Divinity degree from the Independent Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Sao Paulo, Brazil) in 1992. In the summer of 2016, Dr. Carvalhaes joined Union Theological Seminary in New York City as the Associate Professor of Worship.
Give the Gift of Human Rights this Holiday Season
2019 Growing the Light: Advent Reflections on Farmworker Justice: Week 3
This Advent, join unwavering allies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, Rev. Kaji Douša, D.L. Mayfield, and Rev. Brian McLaren in preparing to grow the light of farmworker justice throughout the new year. The season of Advent draws us into a time of anticipation and preparation with all who long for release from oppression. Through the Fair Food Program (FFP), the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, together with student and faith allies, kindles the flame of justice for farmworkers in the tomato fields of Immokalee and now on farms across seven states. Sign up today to receive this weekly Advent reflection series and its calls to action in solidarity with farmworkers!
Tasting God’s Justice and Joy by D.L. Mayfield
D.L. Mayfield is a writer, supporter of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), and an ESOL teacher who lives in Portland, Oregon with her family. Her writing has appeared in a variety of places including the Washington Post, Vox, Image Journal, Christianity Today, and Sojourners.
Isaiah 35:1-2 NRSV
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.”
So many times I have felt as though one of my ministries has been the duty of despair. I can go into any happy gathering and deflate the mood instantly by bringing up any number of topics: white supremacy, inequality, the strategic dismantling of the US refugee resettlement program, slave labor and unjust food practices. I wonder why I don’t get invited to many parties anymore!
The truth of it is that the world has always been full of people who are being oppressed and those who benefit from that exploitation. It is the age-old story of Pharaoh’s empire and the enslaved Israelites, of predatory economies and the disenfranchised people whom God sees. I see the threads of this scriptural theme everywhere in my own context—as a White evangelical American woman, I too have benefitted from an economy of scarcity and extraction. I enjoy low, low prices on my food and clothes and electronics because of low, low wages paid to the workers. I am connected to the threads of suffering that enable my lifestyle.
But staying solely in a place of despair can lead us into places of paralysis, toxic shame, or burnout. How are we to respond to the great injustices of the world—including how farmworkers are treated in our own communities and countries—wholeheartedly? I believe it takes the imagination of the Creator God to move us forward and give us a vision for a world where everyone in our neighborhoods can flourish.
When I am tempted to only see the world with the eyes of despair, I read passages like Isaiah 35 and something new is sparked within me. God, who is obsessed with those who have been and are being exploited, also seems to have an eye for beauty. God designed flowers and trees to burst into bloom simply for the joy of it. I read about the highway called the Way of Holiness, where people will walk to Zion, singing and shouting for joy, their sorrows and sighing long forgotten. What does it look like for me to live today as if I might someday be on the highway of joy to the new city, one where every person in our communities is flourishing? Perhaps it looks like leaning into joy where we can find it, even in the midst of these dark times.
One of my favorite activists is Dorothy Day, who is known for living in solidarity with the poor and getting arrested for the rights of others. But she is also known for her belief in the duty of delight, of being connected to the small joys and pleasures of being alive: a piece of pie, a hot cup of coffee, a tree blooming in the spring, a favorite novel. Dorothy Day lived and fought for the humanity of her neighbors until her death. Is it possible that she was able to live her life the way she did because she pursued joy in the midst of a world choked with despair?
Sometimes it truly does feel like we are living in a wilderness, where xenophobia, racism, economic inequality, and misogyny have stripped our societies bare. But this advent season, I am going to try and look deeper. I will learn from the Israelites before me, and from those like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, that the fight for justice is also a fight for joy. I will walk in that precarious balance of having both the duty of despair and the duty of delight. I will keep walking the road in front of me, trusting that one day we shall reach the new city together, singing songs and eating in the house of the Lord, where the meals are marked by laughter, not tears.
Prayer - God, give us eyes to see both our neighbors who are suffering in the fields and factories of our communities and the eyes to see glimpses of your beauty at work in the world here and now. Give us the resilience needed to not stop the work until every single person in our community is flourishing. Take our impoverished dreams for the world and replace them with your expansive, joyful desires. Bless those who are at the forefront of the fight for justice, and give them a taste of your joy today. Amen.
Learn more:
Learn more about how farmworkers from Immokalee and consumers across the country are working to expand the gains of the Fair Food Program to cover thousands of more workers by bringing Wendy’s into the Fair Food Program. Spread the word about the Wendy’s Boycott through which consumers and farmworkers are demanding Wendy’s sign a legally binding agreement to use its purchasing power to guarantee farmworker’s rights -- just like McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) are already doing.
Searching for a gift that matters this Christmas? When you make a donation to the Fair Food Program in honor of someone, you gift goes to protect and advance farmworkers' human rights. And the Fair Food Program has beautiful holiday cards you can print or which can be emailed. Give a gift of justice, respect, and hope today.
About the Author:
D.L. Mayfield is a writer, neighbor, and ESOL teacher who lives in Portland, Oregon with her family. Her writing has appeared in a variety of places including the Washington Post, Vox, Image Journal, Christianity Today, and Sojourners. She has written two books, Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith and the forthcoming The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power.
2019 Growing the Light: Advent Reflections on Farmworker Justice: Week 2
This Advent, join unwavering allies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, Rev. Kaji Douša, D.L. Mayfield, and Rev. Brian McLaren in preparing to grow the light of farmworker justice throughout the new year. The season of Advent draws us into a time of anticipation and preparation with all who long for release from oppression. Through the Fair Food Program (FFP), the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, together with student and faith allies, kindles the flame of justice for farmworkers in the tomato fields of Immokalee and now on farms across seven states. Sign up today to receive this weekly Advent reflection series and its calls to action in solidarity with farmworkers!
Worthy of the Fruits of Justice by Kaji Douša
Rev. Kaji Douša is Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, “The Park” in New York City. In the congregation’s 207 years, she is the first woman called to this role. An award-winning preacher and liturgist, she is Chair of The New Sanctuary Coalition and a supporter of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW).
Matthew 3:7b-12
“He said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”
There is work in the fields.
Sun and soil, wind, rain and the seasons have their demands.
The ones who buy the seeds and lease or own the lands have their demands.
The managers, the pace-setters, the quota-getters, the overseers: they have their demands, as well.
The timing and the rhythm are everything.
The posture and terms are everything, too.
My ancestors knew this posture. They knew the terms. The knew the work. The sun, the soil, the pace, the oversight.
Their rhythm, their timing is written into my grandparents, parents, into me.
My child knows it, too.
Do. Repeat. Shift.
Do. Repeat. Shift.
And: again.
When that is my rhythm, too, something remarkable happens:
There is a rustling.
A wind picks up.
And their voices cry out from the wilderness:
TURN.
Turn.
Look where you are but then turn because there is more.
Turn because the ancestors saw this story before you got there. They knew the pitch and the season and the beat before you ever heard it.
Turn.
Turn and take your face from the task and look to the sky.
Turn.
There is a breeze just now but it wants to be a storm and it will be.
Turn.
The ancestors are whispering, and just like the breeze they’re about to shout.
Turn.
There is fruit to bear.
But it might not be the fruit your overseers told you to plant.
There is fruit to bear.
But it’s likely to be born of your own inspiration.
It could be that your labor is fruitful:
But not so much for you.
If the labor is hard but the fruits are distinctly not yours to share?
Then maybe the ancestors are chanting a different tune, setting a new pace, calling forth a shifted order that says:
You matter. Your time and your labor matter. Your posture and your pacing and your leisure matter.
And you are worthy of the fruits.
You are worthy. In Jesus’ name.
Amen
Learn more:
Learn more about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ internationally-recognized Fair Food Program that uses the purchasing power of 14 corporations (like McDonald’s and Walmart) to guarantee farmworkers in seven states the right to work free from violence, sexual assault and forced labor and to take breaks, seek shade, pause to drink water, and to labor in respectful conditions.
Searching for a gift that matters this Christmas? When you make a donation to the Fair Food Program in honor of someone, you gift goes to protect and advance farmworkers' human rights. And the Fair Food Program has beautiful holiday cards you can print or which can be emailed. Give a gift of justice, respect, and hope today.
About the Author:
The Rev. Kaji Douša is Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, “The Park” in New York City. In the congregation’s 207 years, she is the first woman called to this role. Her ministry focuses on deepening connections, empowering voices and finding refreshment in Spirit-filled ways. An award-winning preacher and liturgist, she has held several fellowships including the Beatitudes Society, the UCC Pension Boards' Next Generation Leadership Initiative, the UCC Presidential Fellowship and Chair of The New Sanctuary Coalition.
2019 Growing the Light: Advent Reflections on Farmworker Justice: Week 1
This Advent, join unwavering allies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, Rev. Kaji Douša, D.L. Mayfield, and Rev. Brian McLaren in preparing to grow the light of farmworker justice throughout the new year. The season of Advent draws us into a time of anticipation and preparation with all who long for release from oppression. Through the Fair Food Program (FFP), the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, together with student and faith allies, kindles the flame of justice for farmworkers in the tomato fields of Immokalee and now on farms across seven states. Sign up today to receive this weekly Advent reflection series and its calls to action in solidarity with farmworkers!
Wake up! A new day of justice is dawning! by Brian McLaren
Rev. Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, public theologian and longtime supporter of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
Romans 13:11-12
“Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light...”
Advent is a season of waiting, a time for preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of a baby who proclaimed “good news of great joy for all humanity.”
For centuries, faithful people have used this time to sweep out the stable of their hearts, to fill their inner manger with hay, to make sure there is room within them … not just to celebrate Jesus’ birth as a historical memorial, but to actually experience a new birth of Christ within them, spiritually, personally, experientially.
The first step in preparing is waking up.
The Scriptures for this first Sunday in Advent join together to make this point.
“Wake up!” Paul says in Romans 13. “It might seem really dark, but don’t fall asleep. The new day is about to dawn!”
Jesus makes the same point in Matthew 24. He recalls the days of Noah, when people were partying like there was no tomorrow. They had no idea about the flood that was coming until the water was rising from their ankles to their knees to their necks.
However you interpret this text, the message is clear: be awake! Be prepared! Don’t go on autopilot, or slip into numbness, or be complacent and unaware. Otherwise, you’ll miss your opportunity to experience “the coming of the Son of Man.”
I think a good paraphrase for “the coming of the son of man” is “the coming of a new generation of humanity.” Jesus is recalling a passage in the Book of Daniel where a “son of man” refers to both an individual and to a group of people who represent a new generation of humanity, a new kind of people who are living in a new way that pleases God. They’re the kinds of people who, in Isaiah’s words, want to make gardens, not war, so they melt down their spears and swords into pruning hooks and plowshares.
Seen in this light, these passages are like a mirror in which to see ourselves.
Think about it. Some people today remain in sleepy denial about our environmental crisis. They party on through the night (or count their wealth week after week) without giving a thought to how we are impoverishing the soil, the oceans, our fellow creatures, and the climate upon which we all depend. A very literal flood is coming, and they are not preparing. When will they wake up?
We could say the same thing about economic injustice. Many people are simply trying to make a fast buck (or billion) for themselves by any means possible. They’re oblivious to the growing gap between a super-rich super-elite few and the many of us who are often left to pick up the pieces after their schemes fail. They don’t realize that whenever a few hoard luxuries while the many lack necessities, instability will result … with petty crime, organized crime, political corruption, mass migration, war, terrorism, and civil war. When will they wake up?
We could say the same about weapons proliferation. Our world is being flooded with more and more dangerous weapons, from assault rifles to biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Yet many people still think that the more weapons we have, the safer we will be. They will face a rude awakening later if they don’t wake up now.
If we wake up, we’ll see that there is “a new generation of humanity” being born all around us … a new generation of people who want to live responsibly and reverently with the earth, healing it rather than exploiting it … a new generation of people who want to help rather than exploit the poor and oppressed, and hold their oppressors accountable … a new generation that wants to build the conditions for peace rather than hate and bloodshed.
One such group is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. I’ve been privileged to be part of the Coalition’s movement for many years now. I’ve watched as a new form of social activism called Worker-Driven Social Responsibility has taken shape, building alliances among workers, consumers, and business leaders to improve working conditions and pay. It started in the tomato fields of Florida, and now the movement is spreading to other kinds of farm and factory workers around the world, nonviolently freeing people from poverty and exploitation. This is a really hopeful sign, reflecting a new generation of humanity, a new way of doing business, a new day. It would be a shame to sleep through the revolution …
Kind of like forgetting to prepare for Christmas, and missing all the joy!
Prayer - Living God, help us not to sleep-walk into trouble. Help us wake up and prepare for the new day, the new day Jesus’ birth is meant to signify for us all, a day of “good news of great joy for all humanity.” Amen!
Learn more:
Learn more about how workers in other industries and supply chains are adapting the ground-breaking Worker-drive Social Responsibility model to achieve rights advances -- from protecting the safety of over 2 million garment workers in Bangladesh to guaranteeing the rights of Vermont dairy workers in Ben and Jerry's milk supply chain to fashion models!
Searching for a gift that matters this Christmas? When you make a donation to the Fair Food Program in honor of someone, you gift goes to protect and advance farmworkers' human rights. And the Fair Food Program has beautiful holiday cards you can print or which can be emailed. Give a gift of justice, respect, and hope today.
About the Author:
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for "a new kind of Christianity" - just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow, a contributor to We Stand With Love, and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors and church planters.