Vacation Bible School 2008 takes on Rain Forest Theme
BLOOD DRIVE
July 16th at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea
Save a Life — donate blood
Wednesday, July 16th
12:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 16th, noon until 5 p.m. at the parish hall, co-sponsored by the (downtown) First United Methodist Church and the (downtown) Kiwanis Club. This is a community effort for a great cause and a chance to showcase our newly reconstructed parish hall. Please call the parish hall to reserve a time that is convenient for you. This is an outreach ministry effort for our parish. If you have never given blood before, this is a good time to start. It’s easy and painless!
You CAN donate if you:
• are 17 years of age or older
• weigh at least 110 pounds
• have not donated in the past 56 days
• are over the age of 65
Presenting donors will receive a free t-shirt and will be registered in a drawing to win a $1000 gas card.
Donors must present identification prior to donating.
An Innocent Cup of Coffee
I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves. Matthew 27:24
Is this really how it is — can we really wash our hands of things? Can I really absolve myself of responsibility for something just by saying I’m not responsible? No. Ethical responsibility is not something we choose or don’t choose to have. We just have it. Our only choice is whether or not we live up to it.
Sometimes people are angered by assertions about the responsibility of the wealthy for the welfare of the poor. I didn’t make them poor, someone says, poverty has been around a lot longer than I have. Maybe so, someone else says, but you benefit from it every day. It may well be that we ourselves have committed no overt action to cause the impoverishment of others, but we reap the fruit of a prosperity that feeds on it every day.
Well, there is one thing you can do — a real thing, a market-driven thing, not a handout at all. You can change the coffee they serve at church.
Yup, Episcopal Relief and Development sells coffee. Or, rather, makes it possible for you to buy organic coffee from small farmers in poor countries. Bishop’s Blend coffee combines social justice with ERD’s mission of responding to needs around the world. Fair Trade coffee helps farmers in the developing world receive a living wage for their coffee, while protecting the environment.
The sale of Bishop’s Blend coffee also furthers ERD’s mission of responding to issues such as poverty, hunger, and disease worldwide. All proceeds raised through Bishop’s Blend go into ERD’s general fund so they can be used for the areas of greatest need – such as emergency assistance after floods, or support for AIDS orphans.
And it’s really good coffee, too. The arguments about what really helps the poor will continue at coffee hour, and that’s a good thing: if people care enough about the poor to argue about them, eventually they’ll care enough to do more. Buying fair trade coffee for the church won’t do the whole job, of course. But every lovely cup of the luxurious dark brew will remind you again of how good life can be, and how small a thing can bring a person joy. Any person, anywhere; it’s not too much to ask.
Please order your own supply of Bishop’s Blend Coffee by using the gold order form in the church.
