“Economic Life As Spiritual Practice”—
That’s How Cynthia Moe-Lobeda’s Book on Moral Economy Begins
You miss a lot if you never make the free Jubilee Forums at 9 am Pacific Time on the first Saturday of each month. On October 4, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda spoke on the topic of her new book, Building a Moral Economy: Pathways for People of Courage. More than a book, it’s a project with other authors contributing five more books in the next two years. And more than a project, it’s an initiative into which you and I are urged to participate. That means we acquire more tools and intention for building a moral economy through our lifestyles, worldviews, and actions to change systems and patterns wherever we can. This is a means to renew and invigorate our spiritual practices. Jubilee Economics Ministries resonates with this initiative for a new economy for life of Earth and all inhabitants.
The Greatest Delusion of All:
Exceeding the Limits of Our Planet Has No Consequences We Can’t Handle
Living in the U.S. right now, we hear one delusion after another coming from those who want to be in the ruling elite and force themselves on the majority. Truth lives elsewhere from these delusional spaces. By definition, delusion lives separately from truth. A whole world of delusion is continually under construction with the hope of drowning truth.
Delusion also lives in the world of religion and no place more than the religious right. And alongside those delusions in religions lives deep truth able to do more than we imagine. All life depends on truth about Creation. Sacred Creation is at her limits from our human abuses. Denying or ignoring it in any way is the greatest delusion of all.
There is a startling statement in Scripture, I John 2:4, “Whoever says, ‘I have come to know him,’ but does not obey his commandments is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist.” The Creator has written within Creation that there are limits which we cannot continually exceed without being on the way of death.
More on delusion, ecology, and moral economy at the November 1 Jubilee Forum, 9 am Pacific Time. See the blogs on OneEarth Connections on Substack, https://leevanham.substack.com/. Register for this free Forum by contacting lee@jubilee-economics.org.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
New Subscribers Are Happening; You Can Help
Collaboration between Jubilee Economics Ministries (JEM) and Simpler Living Works! (SLW!) has resulted in over 30 new subscribers to this newsletter. You can also help others find the JEM newsletter. How? Whomever you believe resonates with our OneEarth Jubilee message, give them a link to our website. If they like what they see, they can subscribe (free) on the website and they’ll receive the newsletters. Just that simple. If someone you invite subscribes, Lee Van Ham will send you FREE a copy of one of his books. You choose which one:
- Blinded by Progress: Breaking Out of the Illusion That Holds Us
- From Egos to Eden: Our Heroic Journey to Keep Earth Livable
- The Liberating Birth of Jesus: A Birth Story Able to Reverse Our Planet’s Perils
Encouragement
Thank you for all of your great work! —Lisa Wagner-Carollo, Founder and Executive Director, Still Point Theatre Collective, Chicago
Fall celebrations – Halloween, Thanksgiving
To reduce stress and overconsumption for FALL celebrations, visit Alternatives’ classic Treasury of Celebrations:
https://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archives/TreasCeleb/TOCSepDec.php
Planning ahead for Advent, visit
https://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archives/TreasCeleb/TOCAdvent.php
And for Christmas, visit
https://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archives/TreasCeleb/TOCxmas.php
For year-round resources, visit
https://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archivesThemes.php
Since SLW! blogs and podcasts have been retired in 2025, JEM has invited me to have a regular column in the OneEarth Jubilee newsletter. I have invited all of my readers to subscribe and some have. I plan to communicate with my readers on an occasional basis. Legally, I cannot give my email list to JEM.
I hope that JEM readers will acquaint themselves with SLW! many free resources for themselves, their church or organization and then share the ones that fit. Visit simplelivingworks.org and acquaint yourself with the links on the homepage. Yes, it’s retro and extensive. (SLW! is 52 years old!) I will point to some pertinent resources – text and art – through this column.
I hope SLW! readers will acquaint themselves with JEM’s many free resources and share them – Lee Van Ham’s thought-provoking blogs, monthly online Forums, and more. Visit OneEarthJubilee.com to learn more about JEM’s mission.
25th Anniversary Special Fund: “Path into the Future”
As our Circles have assessed where their ministries are in Jubilee’s 25th Anniversary year, two things stand out: (1) the achievements of our various ministries, and (2) what we need to be strong going into the next years. Your donations have sparkled in the achievements of the past 25 years. A special fund, beyond these regular donations, is needed to be a strong Jubilee ministries in the coming years.
This Special 25th Anniversary Fund: “Path into the Future” has three categories: (1) facilities, (2) leadership, (3) programming. All of them together say one thing: advancing the ministry of Jubilee that Jesus taught in his preferred phrase, the Kingdom of God.
Growth of ministries, especially in the past ten years, means current facilities have become inadequate. San Mateo’s Dan Swanson Community Center needs repairs ($5,000). Space for vital youth ministry that will double as living space for two people ($24,500). San Cristobal has moved from one place to another as rents rise. They need a space where they can stabilize their ministries ($90,000). A huge part of Jubilee leadership that has been volunteered is aging out. We’d be thrilled with strong volunteer leadership going forward, but it seems unlikely. So leadership with modest pay is our plan. A three-year part-time position wages plus ministry funds ($198,000). We will be seeking $323,500 over the next three years through personal donations and grants. If you can be part of this “Path into the Future,” please be in touch.
How to Be Good Stewards of Money You Don’t Donate or Spend
When congregations speak of “stewardship,” it’s usually connected with raising money for the coming year’s budget. So briefly, the question here is, “What is good stewardship of all the money we don’t donate?”
It’s possible that the money we don’t donate does more harm than our donations do good. For example, the five largest banks—JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, U.S. Bank, and many others— finance equity funds and fossil fuels that do not have the well-being of life or planet as their primary aim. Making profits for shareholders is very different from helping your neighborhood be stronger. To make sure that your money is doing what you want it to, check this website https://www.betterbankingoptions.com/ for the best place to bank in our respective regions. Then let’s move as much of our money to those banks as we reasonably can.
In line with this idea, JEM has two accounts, one with a credit union, Self Help Federal, that leads the way on making their neighborhood stronger by funding local projects. The other is a community development financial institution (CDFI) chartered for the same purpose. Your donations are working aligned with Jubilee’s mission the moment we donate them and as they await redistribution to the Jubilee Circles.
Final Note: Mexico Trip Underway
By the time you read this newsletter seven people in our 25th Anniversary Year Delegation will be in Mexico. Dates are October 19-26. The next newsletter will report to you some of our experiences while there with our colleagues in OneEarth Jubilee.
