"The days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will fulfill the promise...
I will raise up a just shoot.
He shall do what is right and just in the land...
the Lord of Justice!"

~Jeremiah 33:14-16

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PLACES TO SHOP:

• Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade www.crsfairtrade.org/index.cfm
  The Fair Trade program through CRS has coffee, chocolate and fair trade handcrafts for sale. The handcrafts are offered through A Greater Gift (see below) and a percentage of the purchase is donated to the CRS which gives various grants to help artisans and farmers succeed in the US market and help to grow the market for Fair Trade products here in the United States.
  209 West Fayette Street, Baltimore MD 21201, 1-410-951-7459
  
  
• A Greater Gift (A program of SERRV International) www.agreatergift.org
  “We bring you fair trade handcrafts and foods from around the world. We strive to promote living wages, women's rights and eco-friendly production through our partnerships with small-scale artisan and farmer groups. No child exploitation is used to make our products.” Serrv International has partnered with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) since 1995 to bring fairly traded handicrafts and food from small-scale producers overseas to Catholics in the United States. SERRV donates 10 percent of all sales revenue to CRS for its overseas relief and development work, so your purchases have twice the impact!
  P.O. Box 365, 500 Main Street, New Windsor MD 21776-0365, 1-800-423-0071
  
  
• Heartbeats Catalogue www.heartbeatscatalog.org
  “Dedicated to developing self-sufficiency and self esteem for women, minority and developing world artists by networking and marketing their creative endeavors. Heartbeat continues to promote fair trade policies.”
  20015 Detroit Rd, Cleveland OH, 44116, 1-800-808-1991
  
  
• Mayan Traditions www.mayantraditions.com
  “We sell fair trade Guatemalan crafts made by Maya artisans and craftspeople from many different regions in Guatemala. In addition to buying fair trade Guatemalan
  handicrafts and Mayan weavings, we take a portion of our proceeds and send contributions to orphanages and other charities in Guatemala. Your purchase of a fair trade Guatemalan craft from our site really makes a difference in the lives of many people in Guatemala.”
  4031 Stringtown Road, Evansville IN, 47711, 1-812-402-2645
  
  
• Peacecraft www.peacecraft.org
  “Beautiful handmade crafts and clothing from all over the world allows you to shop responsibly by participating in the struggle against poverty and exploitation. Peacecraft is a non-profit organization that uses fair trade as a solution to poverty in disadvantaged communities and developing countries.”
  3215 Central Ave. NE, Albuquerque NM, 87106, 1-505-255-5229
  
  
• Ten Thousand Villages www.tenthousandvillages.com
  “Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America.” They have been selling fairly traded items made by artisans from diverse cultures around the world since 1946. Online shopping is possible and the closest local store is in Ann Arbor.
  303 South Main St., Ann Arbor MI, 48104-1133, 1-734-332-1270
  
  
• Co-op America www.coopamerica.org
  Co-op America is an organization that tries to use economic strategies to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. They publish information about various companies and their labor practices so that consumers can be more informed about where they spend their money.
  You can find more information at their website or by calling (800) 584-7336.
  

SUGGESTIONS FOR DONATIONS:

• Behrhorst Partners for Development www.behrhorst.org
  This nonprofit organization’s goal is to work in respectful partnership with Mayan Guatemalans to have a positive impact on the problems associated with Guatemala’s history of violence against indigenous populations, natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy and disastrously high rates of infant and maternal death. Current efforts focus on rural maternal and neonatal health.
  2411 S. Superior Street, Milwaukee WI, 53207, 1-414-483-0728
  
  
• Bread for the World www.bread.org
  “BFW is a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers. BFW Institute seeks justice for hungry people by engaging in research and education on policies related to hunger and development.”
  50 F Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C., 20001, 1-800-82 BREAD
  
  
• Food for the Poor, Inc. www.foodforthepoor.org
  Food For The Poor (FFP) ministers to spiritually renew impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1982, our goals are to improve
  the health, economic, social and spiritual conditions of the men, women and children we serve. In 2005, 96% of all donations went directly to programs to help the poor.
  550 SW 12th Avenue, Dept 9662, Deerfield Beach FL, 33442, 1-800-427-9104
  
  
• Haiti Outreach Mission — Saint Blase Orphanage www.haitioutreachmission.org
  Built and operated by St Louis Catholic Church, the orphanage was named after St. Blase Catholic Church. St. Blase is a member of Haiti Outreach Mission and provided funding for the orphanage. A $25.00 donation will help to feed and clothe one child for approximately one month. Donations can be made for 1, 2, 3 or even 12 months. A tax deductible donation can be mailed to:
  • Haiti Outreach Mission, 25656 Island Lake Dr., Novi, MI 48374
    (specify for St. Blase orphanage) or contact Pat Byrne, 586-296-2091
    
    
• Heifer International www.heifer.org
  Donations allow Heifer to work to end hunger and poverty, and care for the earth by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide. Our cornerstone of "passing on the gift," assures that each participant in the program becomes a donor and gives the animal's offspring to another family in need.
  1 World Avenue, Little Rock AR, 72202, 1-800-422-0474
  
  
• Macomb County Warming Center/Ray of Hope Day Center
  “MCWC seeks to provide a safe warm place to spend the night for those who have no shelter. We will refer our guests to agencies that may be able to assist them further. We are a faith based group and strive to see Christ in all who come through our doors.”
  PO Box 53, Roseville MI, 48066, 1-586-466-4413
  
  
• MCREST www.mcrest.org
  “A Macomb County nonprofit agency consisting of a center for intake, assessment, referral and support for the homeless; offering them safe, emergency shelter within area host churches and an opportunity to choose a path that could enable them to become self-sufficient.”
  20415 Erin, Roseville MI, 48066, 1-586-415-5101

Rating Charities All of us want to make sure that the money that we donate is going to truly worthy causes and is being used to help those in need. Charity Navigator is a website that helps to evaluate charitable organizations so that people can make intelligent decisions about giving. http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Fair-Trade Coffee

The Justice and Peace Committee sponsors Fair Trade coffee from Equal Exchange on Sundays on the first Sunday of each month. We serve Fair Trade coffee at the Fellowship gatherings after the 8 & 10 o'clock masses and will have coffee available for purchase.

WWJD (WHAT WOULD JESUS DRINK?)

Fair Trade coffee (or tea), of course! The Justice & Peace committee is looking forward to another year of promoting the principles of Fair Trade and making fairly traded products available for purchase. We are very excited that the entire St. Blase community will be supporting this effort by switching over to using Fair Trade coffee at all parish events. By doing so, we are committing to live the message of the Gospel. We thought that we would recap with some basic information about Fair Trade.

What is Fair Trade?
Fair trade is a method of buying/selling/trading goods that ensures a fair wage to those who produce the products. Fair trade cuts out the host of middle men who usually stand between the farmer and companies that sell coffee and pays the farmers a just wage for their work.

Without fair trade, farmers get about $0.25/lb from middle men. Fair trade guarantees at least $1.26/LB and because it goes directly to the farmers, the people doing the labor see more of the profit.

No one human becomes obscenely rich by making another human disgracefully poor. Fair trade is simply fair-minded thinking put into practice. With their earnings, farmers can invest in community development, coffee quality improvements and organic farming practices. Fair trade does not make farmers rich; it takes them from the brink of starvation and allows them the basic necessities of life and the ability to provide for their families. The environment benefits from fair trade. Fair trade farmers must abide by strict environmental standards that prohibit the use of harmful chemical pesticides. The majority of fair trade coffee is organic and shade grown. Shade growing is a method where coffee trees are grown alongside other food crops under a canopy of taller trees. This not only protects the habitats of many species, but provides fruit, wood and other products to the farmer and saves the soil from erosion.

Is coffee the only product that can be certified as Fair Trade?
No. While coffee is probably the largest commodity that can have Fair Trade certification, other products such as tea, cocoa, chocolate and bananas can also get Fair Trade certification in the US.

Who Decides if something can be labeled as Fair Trade?
There is a company called TransFair that oversees all Fair Trade certification in the US. They ensure that companies who sell products labeled as Fair Trade meet all of the standards set forth by an international Fair Trade commission.

Does it cost more?
Fair Trade coffee costs about the same as any gourmet type coffee and is sometimes cheaper.

Does it taste different?
No! The only difference is how it is bought, sold and traded. Just like with an coffee there are may different flavors depending on the type of bean used, how it was roasted, etc. But this has nothing to do with it being Fair Trade.

How do I know if something is Fair Trade?

Look for the logo! All Fair Trade products will have this standard logo on them.

Where can I buy Fair Trade products?

• Sam's Club will soon be carrying a line of Fair Trade coffee and some other local stores also carry Fair Trade products. If you favorite store does not carry Fair Trade, ask the manager if they would consider it.
• Meijers - local Meijer's stores all sell at least one brand of fair trade coffee in a few varieties.
• The Internet . You can also order coffee directly over the internet from companies that sell fair trade.
• Transfair: www.transfairusa.or
• Equal Exchange: www.equalexchange.com
• Catholic Relief Services: www.crsfairtrade.org
• Starbucks brews fair trade coffee on the 20th of every month.

More on Fair Trade Coffee....

Part I
How does your morning begin? Do you sit down in peaceful silence to slowly read over the newspaper and reflect on the day to come? Is it controlled chaos trying to get everyone out the door on time with lunches packed? Regardless of the peace or chaos of your morning, most of our routines have one thing in common: we cannot "get going" without a cup of coffee. The mere aroma of that first cup of java helps to put a little more energy in our step. Whether it is simply black or loaded with cream and sugar, it is an essential part of our day.

If you can't get started without that cup of caffeine, you are not alone; over 150 million Americans drink coffee regularly and at 2.3 billion pounds per year, Americans consume more coffee than any other nation. Coffee is big business and is the #1 US import behind oil. Most of us probably do not give a second thought to the impact of our coffee habit on people around the world for whom coffee brings a vital source of income. Consider that for every daily drinker of coffee in the US, there is one worker elsewhere in the world who depends on coffee for his or her livelihood.

Coffee prices have slid to an all time low on the world market and the resulting "coffee crisis" has left many small farmers and their communities devastated. Most small-scale farmers, who grow 50% of the world's coffee, must sell to local middle men and will only receive 2-4% of the retail price of their coffee. With world coffee prices constantly changing and the middlemen paying the lowest price possible, coffee farmers never know how much they'll get for their crops. Isolated from markets, they struggle to afford the most basic of necessities. The producers of a rich crop are often trapped in extreme poverty and can be at risk of starvation. It is a crisis of large proportions that you will surely never read about in the Free Press or the News.

Fair trade was born out of this devastated market. Fair trade cuts out the middle men so that companies buy directly from small farmers which helps these farmers gain access to international markets. It's simple. It's fair. No one human becomes obscenely rich by making another human disgracefully poor. Fair trade is simply fair-minded thinking put into practice. Without fair trade, farmers get about $0.25/LB from middle men. Fair trade guarantees at least $1.26/LB and because it goes directly to the farmers, the people doing the labor see more of the profit. Consider that the average $3 latte brings less than 2 cents to farmers on non-fair trade farms.

Income from Fair Trade helps to fund schools and provide basic medical care for families. Opportunities for economic independence and community involvement for women become available. With their earnings, farmers can invest in community development, coffee quality improvements and organic farming practices. Fair trade does not make farmers rich; it takes them from the brink of starvation and allows them the basic necessities of life and the ability to provide for their families.

The environment benefits from fair trade. Fair trade farmers must abide by strict environmental standards that prohibit the use of harmful chemical pesticides. The majority of fair trade coffee is organic and shade grown.. Shade growing is a method where coffee trees are grown alongside other food crops under a canopy of taller trees. This not only protects the habitats of many species, but provides fruit, wood, and other products to the farmer and saves the soil from erosion.

Standing in the coffee aisle at Meijer's, the plight of farmers in the developing world seems far enough away to be on the moon. Why should we care? Because our faith call us to it. The Managing Director of a fair trade cooperative in Ghana summarizes: "We all have to go shopping. Fair trade is just shopping with respect."

Part II
Java. Cafe. Kafe. Koffie. Coffee. No matter what language you speak, one thing remains the same; coffee starts many of our days and is the centerpiece for many of our social gatherings. However, many of the small farmers around the world who sweat and toil to produce this valuable crop are forced to live in dire poverty as a result of unpredictable world markets and a host of middle men who come between the farmers and the consumer.

Fair trade cuts out the middle men and pays the farmers a just wage for their work.

There are a number of companies that sell fair trade coffee. Some companies, like Starbucks, sell fair trade coffee as a small percentage of their total sales. However, other companies sell 100% fair trade coffee. The Justice and Peace committee has decided to work with a company called Equal Exchange. They work with farmers in 10 different countries and 100% of the coffee they buy and sell meets fair trade standards. They are committed to paying a fair price, working with democratically run cooperatives, buying direct, providing advance credit to farmers, and encouraging ecologically sustainable farming practices. Equal Exchange has also partnered with Catholic Relief Services, and through this partnership has developed a program especially for congregations that have decided to start serving fair trade coffee.

Fair trade coffee costs about the same as other gourmet-type coffee if you buy it at the grocery store. Through Equal Exchange, the Justice and Peace committee can buy it in bulk and sell it for substantially less, but it will still cost more than the coffee that most of us are accustomed to buying. Sometimes living our faith requires that sacrifice.

In their Pastoral letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the US Economy called "Economic Justice for All, " the US Bishops tell us:

"Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral and Christian must be shaped by three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does it do to people? And how do people participate in it?"

As Catholics we are called to ask these three questions about all of our economic activities. Fair trade coffee offers us the opportunity to answer them in ways that uphold core principles of Catholic Social Teaching on economic justice. Sometimes this might cost us a dollar or two more, but in the end, living out our faith will satisfy more than just our taste buds.

Microfinance: Practice of Prudence

Microfinance refers to financial services given to low-income people in the developing world, usually to help support self-employment. Microfinance can help with small loans ( generally ~$50-$300), savings plans, insurance, payment transfers, and other services that are provided in small increments that low-income individuals can afford. These services help families to start and build very small businesses that are important sources of employment, income, and economic vitality in developing countries worldwide.

The microfinance movement was born in the 1970"s to ease the suffering caused by poverty, and to awaken the global economy's sleeping giant: the under-capitalized productivity of the world's working poor.

Sherida Mkama, her husband, and their ten children live in Kamanza, Tanzania. Nearly all her husband’s earnings go for food. The couple must also pay for their children’s school tuition and uniforms. However, with a $10 micro-loan from a village banking group, Sherida was able to buy spare parts for her bicycle so she could sell tomatoes in the nearby city. Since then, she has been able to plant her own tomato garden and set aside savings.

Sherida’s community banking group got its start from the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), whose motto is “Small loans, big changes.” FINCA assists micro-entrepreneurs like Sherida on five continents. The loans—up to $1000—strengthen communities because the funds are managed by the borrowers. As loans are repaid, the capital is re-circulated so that many people can be assisted. Benefits are multiplied manifold! More information is available at www.villagebanking.org.

Reprinted from At Home With the Word 2006 © 2005 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1800 North Hermitage,Chicago, IL 60622-1101; www.ltp.org

Donations for Microloans

• Kiva www.kiva.org
  Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to specific small businesses in the developing world. You can actually choose the business that you want to sponsor and throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your money back.
  3180 18th St., Suite 201, San Francisco, CA 94110
  
  
• FINCA www.villagebanking.org
  Their mission is to provide financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. They have over a half million clients in 20 countries.
  1101 Fourteenth St. NW, 11th floor, Washington, DC 2005 1-202-682-1510
  
  
• Friendship Bridge www.friendshipbridge.org
  A nonprofit, non-governmental organization that provides microcredit and educational programs to help women and their families create their own solutions to poverty. Their model is unique in that they blend the short-term economic needs of women through access to credit and education, and the long-term goal of breaking the generational cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities for their children. They first worked in Vietnam from 1994 until 2000 and now in rural Guatemala since 1998.
  3560 Highway 74, Suite B-2, Evergreen, CO 80439 1-303-674-0717

St. Blase Charity Boutique: Out of Business

Our Charity Boutique has closed for good. Barb Sciullo, who has operated the Charity Boutique with fidelity and dedication for many years, recommended to me that we cease this ministry. Sales in the boutique have steadily declined in each of the past four years. Given the time, talent and cost that running the boutique requires, it fully appeared to me that this is no longer a viable ministry for us. I thank Barb and all who have assisted in running the boutique over the years. Through the boutique our community was able to help various charities over and above our tithing commitment. The Charity Boutique had provided opportunities and challenges for the family of Saint Blase to share their time, talent and treasure by selling crafts and religious items to raise money to donate to charity.