Updates from Jubilee to You for Thanksgiving
Inspiring Work on a Local Food System That Works for All
A new ministry is slowly emerging in the San Diego Jubilee Circle that’s inspired by the San Diego Food System Alliance. Ben White has led this with his deep sense of regenerative agriculture and biodiversity underground. He wants to make a contribution locally to the big picture needs for sequestering carbon and generating living soils, living with millions of microbes. Ben has developed a really special process that turns palm tree waste into compost; then adds worms for a living vermi-compost contributing to better soils and better nutrition. As more of us work with him, local farmer Byron Nkhoma, and others, our efforts will not be isolated. They will be part of a local economy, a healthy food system organized through the SD Food System Alliance, an alliance overflowing with collaborators, cooperatives, and healthy food providers.
Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash
A 2025 Course on Household Practices
After this newsletter announced a new collaboration between OneEarth Jubilee and Faith & Money Network, readers sent the following messages:
I’ve often wondered what became of Ministry of Money after Don McClanen passed. A new connection with OneEarth jubilee economics is a perfect fit for these days. blessings on you all, Cossy
It’s exciting to see this new cooperation between two organizations I care about. —Ellen Young
You are invited to participate in a practical course in the coming year offered by Faith & Money Network. There is a prerequisite in the description below. If you have not met that prerequisite, call Mike Little (240-606-2282) to see if any arrangements can be made. Here is the F&MN description and invitation:
If you’re looking for an opportunity to fully embrace Sabbath (Jubilee) economics in the coming year, consider our Household Practices Covenant Groups. A new cohort will begin in January 2025. Covenant Groups meet monthly to work through the seven household practices outlined in the sabbath economics framework developed by Ched Myers and Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries.
A Faith and Money Network facilitator leads an online group (via Zoom) of six to ten people who have already completed a Sabbath Economics Workshop or a Money, Faith and You study group and commit to meeting monthly and supporting one another in discerning how to put Sabbath economics to work in their daily lives. Learn more and sign up.
Wes Howard-Brook Teaches Jubilee Circles on Jubilee Past and the Urgent Need to Make It Our Way of Faith and Life Today
The Jubilee Circles gathered for shared thinking about the biblical Jubilee. It was the first time all the Circles were together (via Zoom) for this kind of teaching/learning. Wes Howard-Brook introduced us to the four D’s of Jubilee—debt, disease, demons, and death. Wes gave biblical passages for each one. He also described two narratives that lie parallel and in conflict throughout the Bible—the religion of empire and the religion of creation. Jesus fully committed himself to creation. These two storylines persist in societies today with one harming life and the other regenerating life. It’s most important that we shape our lives to regenerate life as biodiversity continues to dive so precipitously and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to rise.
Representative comments from attendees follow—
- Chris Justice, SD Circle— The teaching by Wes Howard-Brook was a great refresher course for developing an understanding of the religion of empire versus the religion of Jesus (or Creation as we called it). Wes has processed this issue and presented it in a very clear and easy to understand manner. He is a good teacher with obviously much more to say.
- Angelica Juarez, San Mateo Circle— Personally, I really liked Wes’ presentation. It was very interesting and enriching. You can tell he’s a good teacher because he allowed us all to participate and gave us a lot to think about. He helps our circles remember the basic principles of the Biblical Jubilee and to get back on track. It made me think a lot about how we are applying the Jubilee in what we are currently doing in terms of activities at the Cultural Center, and how to apply those principles to our savings bank as just one example.
- Pedro Robledo, San Cristobal Circle— It is very important to consolidate a continuing education program with thematic axes. So the idea of holding more training meetings for our jubilee circles is a good one. I thought the meeting we had last Wednesday was beneficial and relevant. I’ll send some suggestions later.
2025 Will Have Many Jubilee Anniversaries
Next year includes at least three significant milestones in our Jubilee story that you’ve been part of these years.
- 25th Anniversary of JEM (Jubilee Economics Ministries). Soon we’ll unveil the artwork of Isai Robledo for the event. Isai is part of the Alter-Nativas ministries in San Cristobal. A couple of his art pieces are included in the 2025 Peace Calendar of the Syracuse Cultural Workers. You can buy one from their website.
- 10th Anniversary of Mexico-U.S Jubilee, a bi-national ministry. This could never have happened without Dan Swanson and Angelica Juarez Swanson.
- 15th Anniversary of Yobel School in San Cristobal. Started by Dan Swanson and Pedro Robledo, Pedro has been its committed director ever since.
Photo by shraga kopstein on Unsplash
Violence—May We All Resist It Everywhere, including in Ourselves
This past month people in Chiapas and beyond had their hearts drained by sadness when Fr. Marcelo Perez, while getting into his car after mass, was murdered when two gunmen on motorcycles drove past him. This happened in the mountains east of San Cristobal. JEM has had ministries in the villages there in the past, but not currently. Two cartels there are in violent turf conflict. Fr. Perez was a vocal advocate for the poor and for human rights. He spoke out against drug trafficking.
The following statement drafted by David Funkhouser, JEM board president, and Lee Van Ham, JEM co-founder, was sent to the Jubilee Circles.
On behalf of Jubilee Economics Ministries, with Jubilee Circles in San Diego, California; San Cristóbal, Chiapas; Tapachula, Chiapas; and San Mateo, Puebla, we express our deep pain and concern for the tragic death of Father Marcelo Pérez, murdered on Sunday, October 20, after presiding over Mass in his town of Cuxtitali, Chiapas.
We are people of faith in Mexico and the United States, and we pray powerfully in solidarity with all who have been touched by the testimony and the value of Father Pérez. We pray for our mutual perseverance in the face of violence, and we pray for the transformation of the hearts of the perpetrators, as we remember the words of Father Pérez, “The manipulations of the Powers of “Death will realize that they cannot extinguish the Power of Life.”
Funding in the Final Quarter of This Year
What’s happening in the world makes Jubilee all the more useful. We definitely need a way to live that synchronizes with the wisdom of creation. Creation has been evolving for billions of years; human civilization for 12,000. Ways of living, such as the biblical Jubilee, are widely needed. Jubilee ways regenerate life. Please keep this in mind, and if you feel gratitude for Jubilee at work today, consider a special Thanksgiving offering honoring the Creator of life and the Jubilee way. Thanks.
Photo by Megan Watson on Unsplash
