A 'just' Christmas

alternative way of giving the Christmas
by Rev. Kate Murphey

We are about to celebrate God’s gift of eternal truth and love made tangible in the person of Jesus Christ. As a way of honoring and passing on the hope and joy of such a gift, we, in turn, give one another gifts. It’s a practice meant to ripple out God’s love across our communities and world, drawing all of us closer to one another. Unfortunately, there are some things impeding those ripples. The rampant consumerism coupled with a drive for maximizing profit has led to slave labor, unsafe working conditions, and the depletion of natural resources. We have focused on what we want for ourselves, making sure the right people have our lists. However, Christmas is not about us. It is not our birthday. And in honor of that, I invite all of us to focus on what we want for others, for our communities and for our world.

Give life-giving gifts

So that not only is the gift-receiver blessed, but the gift-maker and the natural resources used to create are as well. Here are names of fair trade organizations to Google where you will find such good gifts:

General Gifts

Global Exchange
Fair Trade Federation
Ten Thousand Villages
Women Thrive Worldwide
Global Stewards

Baby & Kids Gifts

Taraluna
Tiny Birds
Peapods

Food/Drink Gifts
Women’s Bean Project
Garudain
Equal Exchange
Alter Eco

Clothing

Avatar
Market Place India
Maggie’s
Marigold
Global Mamas

Give Empowerment

www.kiva.org is a micro-loan site. Choose an entreprenuer; lend that pesron money; read about how they're doing; receive payment on the loan, and lend the money again to someone else. Give a gift certificate for someone else to do the same.

I saw the transformation such micro-loans can bring first-hand in Nicaragua in 2008: I met a woman, Berta, who received a $300 loan to buy a cow. She went on to establish her own brand and now has eight cows to supply cheese and milk for her family and to sell. Her husband and children have also started helping her with household chores so that she can travel to workshops. She described the experience by saying, “It was like before I was asleep, without courage.” That one $300 micro-loan and one cow changed her world.

As we give this Christmas, I hope that we can look for life-sustaining opportunities that will bless the maker, giver, and receiver.

Peace,

Rev. Kate