Recessions are good for some things, and one of those things is alternative economies. Time banks, local currencies, bartering and swapping all see a resurgence whenever the economy takes a tumble. Swapping brings people together, saves you money, keeps stuff out of landfill and uses less of the earth’s resources. The internet makes swapping a [...]
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The Fortune Forum’s tax breaks for the rich
The Fortune Forum will be meeting on tuesday night at the Dorchester hotel to discuss innovative ways to relieve global poverty. In attendance will be 100 billionaires, captains of industry, celebrities and philanthropists, gathered to hear Ted Turner speak and Joss Stone sing. The Fortune Forum, according to their website, “is dedicated to assist and [...]
Global spending priorities – where’s your treasure?
In his famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. It’s a slightly more elegant way of telling us to put our money where our mouth is. We may talk a good game, but the way we spend our money shows what we really value. In [...]
Is poverty really a priority?
“What we have seen today is $16 billion pledged by countries, by charities, foundations and by business for a common goal to end the poverty emergency.” Gordon Brown, September 26th. “Loans under the special liquidity scheme will be increased from £100 billion to at least £200 billion… The largest banks have committed that they will [...]
Using ‘The Story of Stuff’ in church
We were talking about consumerism in church last night. (church for me is about twenty of us in Colin’s front room on a thursday night). I showed Annie Leonard’s great little film The Story of Stuff and then we discussed it. It raises all kinds of issues, about the environment, the exploitation of developing countries, [...]
how would you slice a million dollar pie?
Just a quick note – I don’t know how many of you use Tripadvisor, the travel planning website, but they’re giving away a $1 million and they’ve invited their users to vote on where it goes. There are five charities to choose from: Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy, and [...]
aid promised vs aid delivered
Last week we heard a lot of new promises about world poverty. That’s great, but here’s a quick reminder of how far we still have to go. In 2002, and then again in 2005, world leaders committed to increase their aid to 0.7% of Gross National Income. According to OECD statistics, this is how we’re [...]
A vision of generosity
The banks are being bailed out and today the FTSE is on the up. Behind the headlines and the pictures of city workers clearing their desks is the reality of high interest rates, rising food and energy prices, the shadow of negative equity, and the fact that real people in real life carry the can [...]
The Irresistable Revolution, by Shane Claiborne
It seems like half the people I know have read or are reading this book, so I feel like I’m playing catchup on this particular conversation. It’s one I’m glad I’ve joined. Shane Claiborne has prompted a lot of questions, and rocked a few boats. In summary, Claiborne has found a different Jesus in the [...]
1000 books for £1
Each obviously… I know this isn’t relevant to all of you, but this blogger is getting rid of over a thousand Christian books for a pound each and postage. All listed here. Needless to say I’ve already raided it like a bandit for anything related to the themes of this blog, but Graham has a [...]
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