Give It For Good!
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation have a new campaign, urging americans to take at least part of the stimulus check and use it to help alleviate global poverty:
The Basic Idea
Take the "economic stimulus check" you'll get from the government in May (or a similar amount if you don't qualify for a check) and pledge to give all or part of it to organizations working to alleviate global poverty.
Our MissionTo start a conversation about what it means to be a Christian in a society that encourages overconsumption. To hold up a vision of choosing compassion over consumption.
Why A "Stimulus Check" Campaign?How we spend money has spiritual underpinnings. Our society encourages overconsumption far beyond our actual needs. It's both morally and economically unsustainable.Now, the federal government has rewarded the overconsumption that led to economic slowdown by providing many tax filers with an "economic stimulus check" of between $600 and $2,100, encouraging Americans to go out and consume even more to bolster the stagnant economy. This fiscal policy is doing nothing more than feeding our national addiction to overconsumption – and continuing the destructive cycle that got us here in the first place.
IT'S TIME FOR AN INTERVENTION!
Let’s break the cycle and find more creative -- and Christ-centered -- uses for these "stimulus checks." Jesus says that as we compassionately care for the poorest of the poor, we care for him (Matthew 25:31-46). This time, let's choose compassion over consumption.Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation is committed to following Christ's call through the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. So we are engaging all Americans in this campaign to commit those stimulus checks to the MDGs. While fully understanding and appreciating that for millions of Americans, the checks will provide much needed relief in everyday living expenses, for millions more of us, the funds are nothing more than ‘found money.’ Let’s give it away – all of it, a tithe, or the 0.7% that we are all encouraged to commit to relief of extreme global poverty.
Read it all here.
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