Working Group on Economic Justice and Non-Violence A Radical Revolution of Values

All Saints Church Vestry Retreat Reorganizing for Transformation March 1, 2013

Agenda
Robyn Smith Working Group for Economic
Justice and Nonviolence

Jonathan Williams Nonviolent Parenting Cecil Hoffman Integrating Contemplation

and Action

Charlie Rahilly Economic Update

Robyn Smith Vision + Next Steps

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the good Samaritan on lifes roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on lifes highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Economic Justice Topics Addressed at 2012 Vestry Conference

Money in politics post-Citizens United; Regulation of financial markets; Taxation and progressive taxation; Role of war making in the economy; Wealth inequality; Globalization; Education issues; Budget values; and Critique of unlimited growth/GDP.

Working Group Discussions

Reverend Lawsons Non-Violent Method
FOCUS AND
STUDY STRATEGIZE DIRECT ACTION

W. Brueggemans Exodus transformation

Questioning the dominant
ideology; Public processing of pain; and Release of a new social imagination.

For people generally, their story of the universe and the human role in
the universe is their primary source of intelligibility and value. The deepest crises experienced by any society are those moments of

change when the story becomes inadequate for meeting the survival
demands of a present situation. Thomas Berry, Dream of the Earth

It can be argued that we are in the time of greatest change that humanity has ever known. John Phillip Newell

DISTANT PATRIARCH (RELIGION)

Emphasizes an individual
relationship with a personal God whose home is in a separate dimension. Our human relationships with one another and with nature are secondary. In many interpretations of this story, life on Earth is but a way station, and nature solely exists for our use and comfort.

Source: David Korten, Religion, Science & Spirit PowerPoint Presentation, 1/31/13

GRAND MACHINE (SCIENCE)

The universe and the evolution
of life are consequences of a combination of physical mechanism and random change that have no larger meaning or purpose. A brutal competition for survival is the basic law of nature. Neglects the role of cooperation and synergy on which all living systems and human society depend.
Source: David Korten, Religion, Science & Spirit PowerPoint Presentation, 1/31/13

 Both cosmologies affirm the self-destructive individualism and separation that lead us to relate to one another and to nature in deeply destructive ways. John Phillip Newell We have lived in a deep falseness to think we could take care of the needs of our own family, while ignoring the well-being of the family down the street; to think we could be truly healthy while infecting the earth.

What if we turn our economic and environmental crisis into a love story?

From Fierce Light, Conscientious Projector movie for Earth Day on Apr. 19, 2013

INTEGRAL SPIRIT (RELIGION & SCIENCE)

God is in the world and the world
is in God, yet they are not identical.

All of creation is a sacred

expression of an eternal and intimately divine will. All beings are interconnected and our fates are intertwined.

As participants in the ongoing

process of creation, we each bear a sacred responsibility. Our lives take on profound meaning and purpose in relationship and service to the sacred whole.
Source: David Korten, Religion, Science & Spirit PowerPoint Presentation, 1/31/13

 The growing consciousness of interrelatedness is the deep spirit of this moment in time. We have two choices: 1) further fragmentation and destruction of the species; or 2) transformation and healing, giving up your life to save it, truly following Jesus rather than following the ego of nation, species, religion, etc. Christ is our memory, he embodies what is deep within us, a yearning for oneness. We need to access Jesus energy of non-violence for true transformation. John Phillip Newell

Different Values - Different Outcomes TALE OF TWO ECONOMIES

Old Suicide Economy values money & selforganizes toward:

Environmental Collapse Wealth Concentration Shared Prosperity Political Corruption Living Democracy

New Living Economy values life & selforganizes toward: Earth Balance

Source: David Korten, Religion, Science & Spirit PowerPoint Presentation, 1/31/13

Sacred Earth Rights Hierarchy Old Economy

Financial System Logic
Corporations Humans Property Corporations

New Economy Living System Logic

Nature (Sacred Earth)

Property
Humans

Nature (Sacred Earth)

Source: David Korten, Religion, Science & Spirit PowerPoint Presentation, 1/31/13

This call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond ones tribe, race, class and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men. This . . . has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man.

Whats Next?

The integral spirit cosmology is not a story we hear in the public domain. The absence of public visibility limits its influence as a guide to rethinking and restructuring our human relationships with one another and nature.

How can we as a Parish articulate and amplify narratives that will lead to systemic change and support the needs of the entire human family and the planet?

Jonathan Williams
Nonviolent Parenting

Cecil Hoffman
Integrating Contemplation and Action

Charlie Rahilly
Economic Update

Discussion
Latest Conditions Economy of the last decade or so Debtit felt good for a while State of the Financial System Federal finances Impacts Jobs and Employment Housing Income and Wealth

Current Conditions
After initially printing -0.1% for Q4-2012, GDP growth revised up to +0.1% The consensus is that if the Sequester goes into effect, GDP will drop by approximately .6% and there will be 750,000 to 1 million jobs lost. - Comstock Partners Continuing challenges
Excessive household debt Potential LT problem with excessive govt debt

Big Economic Dilemma

How to get the economy growing again
At a rate high enough to bring down
Unemployment rate Household debt

While, at the same time, not letting government debt soar to unsustainable levels

Corporate Profits Go Parabolic

Real GDP and Total Employment

(How the U.S. Worker is Getting Screwed!)

Labors Share of National Income

Economy of the last decade or so

Leveraged Future with Diminished Returns

+40%

Central Bank Assets

Financial Regulation Page Count

37 pages

Impacts - Jobs and Employment

Impacts Income and Wealth

2010 IRS Data

Impacts Housing

Working Group Vision

Guide the parish through
a process of discernment Move from education, consciousness-raising, spiritual sustenance, and community-building To strategizing To organizing and mobilizing for action.

Working Group Vision for this Fall

Facilitate conversations and reflection about the narratives
that impact our lives and our economic and political systems;

Explore and learn how economics underlies most injustices,

the power leverages involved, and the theological basis for our concern and response;

Provide a way for every parishioner to participate and

engage in this process;

Involvement of and offerings from all ministries and vestry

committees, many of whom are already exploring these issues.

Offerings Could Include

Kick-off event Forums

Parish-wide meetings and discussions

Small groups will be key

Spiritual practices Book studies or other kinds of study groups Discussion groups
Bible studies Sabbath dinners

Experiential learning Encourage participants to share their own economic or other

stories that for them are urgent in every group

Every group to feed into the larger discernment process

Justice must be rescued by something deeper than justice love. Cornel West