A Jubilee Unimaginable 25 Years Ago
A Growing Past…
1999 JEM’s Incorporation date: March 25, 1999 (in state of Illinois)
2000 Core group forms in Chicago; Trip to Chiapas to stand with Indigenous resistance to Mexico government’s globalization policies (NAFTA)
2014 the new book, Blinded by Progress: Breaking through the Illusion that Holds Us, increases understanding of the OneEarth economics of jubilee. Readers in India, U.K., and Korea.
2015—JEM, U.S. joined with Jubilee in Mexico (San Mateo, Puebla, and San Cristobal, Chiapas); Mexico ministries had been started by JEM co-founder, Dan Swanson. bi-national, bi-lingual, multicultural ministry. First Encuentro of people in Jubilee ministries.
2016 — shock of sudden death of co-director Dan Swanson, age 58
2017—Jubilee organized as 3 Jubilee Circles (San Diego, San Mateo, San Cristobal)
2019— John Michno joined the JEM staff part-time.
2020—The Covid-19 pandemic undercut most of JEM’s special plans
2022— 4th Jubilee Circle began in Tapachula, Chiapas, when Edman, Rosy and their two children moved there from Toluca, MX.
2023— High-impact trip to MX Circles; Gathering of Circles begin
2024—Tumín, complementary currency to peso, spreads in Chiapas, empowers low-income households; SD relationship with Self-Help Credit Union and SD Farm System Alliance grows. Involvements in regenerative farming grow.
…Produces a Fruitful Future
Your donations over the years have brought the growth that seemed impossible in 2000. We celebrate this and give thanks to God. Not surprisingly, a growing past requires a well-funded future to be fruitful. Please, join our prayers as growth of the Jubilee tree is ready to burst with abundant fruit.
$5000 is immediately needed for a new roof over the kitchen in the Dan Swanson Center, San Mateo. PLUS, more space to do these ministries has become a big issue. So, a special Anniversary Fund over the next 3 years will involve the Jubilee Circles to join together in search of $100,000 over and above current budget giving. Impossible? We’ll find out. Let’s give all we can to this special Anniversary Fund and seek new donors to join with us.
Adding Space— San Mateo – $25,000; San Cristobal -$75,000.
Exciting Gathering for Indigenous Women in Yucatan
Great excitement was generated a year ago at the first meeting for Indigenous women in Central America. This meeting allowed isolated, oppressed, frightened women to share their stories, issues, and knowledge with one another. The size of the meeting was purposely kept small so everyone could get to know one another. By the end, the call rang out for a second gathering.
Sponsor of the meeting, United Religions Initiative, happily cooperated and a second Meeting of Indigenous Peoples is scheduled for Mérida, Yucatan, MX, June 2025. Gloria Gonzales of the San Cristobal Jubilee Circle will be attending. This is great for all of Jubilee. Anticipation runs high. Photo: Goria Gonzales
“Jubilee Circles” Booklet Reborn in Spanish Version
The little book, “Jubilee Circles: Help Save Life on our Planet,” will come out in a new Spanish edition because of the work and vision of the San Mateo Jubilee Circle. David Delgado is guiding this project. He has enlisted the artistic skills of freelance designer, Sandra Roman, to provide a new cover and include internal illustrations. He also works with her on some of the concepts and phrases.
The San Mateo Circle will be using the booklet to educate on Jubilee living in the Mexican context, and also on the biblical Jubilee worldview. The Circle sees such education as the next step to meet the growing interest in their various ministries in San Mateo. Some people ask to learn more about the motivations of the Circle and their ways of thinking about life..
Thinking ahead to printing, David hopes to solidify an agreement with IBERO, a Jesuit university in nearby Puebla. Wikipedia says “the Ibero-American University Puebla is a Mexican private institution of higher education sponsored by the Society of Jesus” (Jesuits).
To cover the designer and printing costs, David hopes JEM will cover a lot. The Circle is also looking at their own resources and contacts.
May 3 Forum: Cruelty vs Empathy
The one-hour Forum is free! 9 am Pacific Daylight Time. Just email lee@jubilee-economics.
Some seem to relish, ignore, or justify growing cruelty among MAGA Republicans. The Christian Right has now contorted biblical teaching to proclaim that empathy is a sin. Christian podcaster Allison Beth Stuckey now has a book Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion. The book teaches her followers that empathy is just an emotion and is used to manipulate us to take sinful positions when we need to be against abortion, against gay marriage, against trans people, against immigration and against social justice.
But science now confirms that we are hard-wired as humans to express empathy, to seek relationships with all beings. James Coan, psychology professor at U. of Virginia cites his studies showing that empathy is essential to our self-identity which is largely based on whom we know and empathize with. To be human is to be empathetic.
Mexico Trip in October Possible. Interested?
Scary news around deportations and border security can spook us. But everywhere I check, a US faith group returning from Mexico gets through security okay. Please let us know if you would like to go see the things these newsletters continue writing about. Sue Shamblin, Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote about her 2023 trip experience.
“This was my first trip to visit the JEM circles in Mexico. I was impressed on Day 1 when Edman Lopez presented to our group. He rode the bus for seven hours from Tapachula to meet with us in San Cristobal with his wife, Rosie and their two children, grades 1 and 6. He spoke about working with some indigenous churches in the mountains but mainly they are inundated with immigrants crossing the southern border into Mexico. With very little money available they try to help them with food and some supplies as they can. The dedication they have toward this mission was admirable.”
We have so much we can learn from our Jubilee colleagues in Mexico. They know so much that is relevant to these moments we are experiencing in the U.S.
Send an email to lee@jubilee-economics.org. Let’s explore it in a conversation. You can commit later if you decide it is just what you want at this time.
Edman Lopez, Tapachula Circle, New JEM Board Member
At a recent Jubilee Board meeting the decision was made to invite Edman or Rosy Lopez to become part of the Board. Board President David Funkhouser extended the invitation with a useful description of the Board.
“The JEM Board of Directors consists of five members representing three of the four Jubilee Circles plus the administration. We meet three or four times a year to share information about Circle projects, approve JEM’s budget and financial plan, and discuss any issues or initiatives that arise, such as the theme for JEM’s 25th anniversary. We share our ideas and perspectives and make the necessary decisions to make the Circle community run as smoothly as possible. The board consists of Lee Van Ham and John Michjno in San Diego, Mariana Velez in San Mateo, Lindsey Mercer-Robledo in San Cristobal, and myself in Philadelphia. Since only three of the Circles are currently represented, we would like to invite you or Rosy to join the board to complete the “Circle of Circles.” The next board meeting will likely be sometime in June. We look forward to receiving your response to the invitation.”
Edman’s reply came immediately and simply: “Hi David, of course, it’s our pleasure to help in any way you wish. We’ll look forward to the next meeting.”
Above photo: Sue Shamblin, Edman, Rosy, Idelette, and Yefte
