Let’s give a shout-out to the incredible people working in the Jubilee Circles! Throughout the pandemic, they have found ways to do vital ministry. Even when scheduled activities shut down, the Jubilee Circles in San Cristobal and San Mateo, Mexico, rendered humanitarian aid and spiritual solace. Then, as soon as health protocols allowed, a schedule of activities gradually began again, adjusting as necessary.
If you are part of a family struggling with student debt, you likely know that student debt now totals nearly $1.7 trillion, exceeding both total car loans and credit card loans. Only mortgage loans are a bigger part of economic debt.
Recently, the Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast had a conversation with a feminist economist. It was so informing. Rich. Brenda Wyss (Weess), professor of Economics and Coordinator of Development Studies at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, explains how she and colleagues study and teach what’s missing in “orthodox” economics. Hear her answer to the question, “What is feminist economics?”
With every year that passes, evidence mounts that the current economic and political systems cannot deliver the social and ecological justice that is necessary to sustain life on our planet. Where then do we turn? Women are an obvious and undervalued source—an answer hiding in plain sight.
The big zoom into the July San Diego/U.S. Jubilee Circle happened when Lindsey zoomed in from San Cristobal, Mexico. Lindsey Mercer-Robledo is part of the San Cristobal Jubilee Circle and a JEM board member. It was great to get updates from her on Jubilee ministries in Chiapas following the complete shutdown because of Covid in March of 2020. Limited reopening, with mask protocols, began six months later, in October.