Gone shopping?

Gone shopping?
Or has no new shoes changed our habits?

Thursday 29 March 2007

On a more serious note...

In the year of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, it already feels as if the term 'modern-day slavery' is being over used. But I think that in all this stuff about whether we should apologise for slavery, there is a danger that we forget what's staring us in the face.

West African child labour still feeds the world's insatiable hunger for chocolate
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2401700.ece

no new shoes has been a bit of fun really (although slightly painful at times), but these kinds of stories remind me that we have a responsibility as consumers. We can't pretend that the way we spend our money has no effect on other people - and I am more guilty of this than most people I know. This project has made me more aware of the issue of stewardship - not just giving money to charity etc, but actually being aware of the impact of the way we use the resources God has given us.

5 comments:

MethodistCouncilWatcher said...

A fine, precise, post so I think I need to learn from you.

Every strength for this last week or so to come!

Regards ever
John

Anonymous said...

As a chocoholic, I was aware of the Cocoa Protocol, but I didn't know until now that it wasn't being honored. Thank you for the link, and for the call to justice. Now that we know, we can do something about it.

What are the plans for the "no new shoes" blog after Lent is over? It's been so thought (and discipline) provoking.

In Christ,
Mark

Anonymous said...

Yes, I was wondering what would become of 'No New Shoes' after Easter. I for one would be sorry to see it vanish into the blogosphere.

Anna D said...

That's a good question - one that we're only just beginning to think about. It would be great to continue blogging in some form or another. Although the focus will shift away from the Lent project, it would still be about daily life, current issues and Christianity. So, yes there should be something, but we're not sure yet what it will be.

Any suggestions?

xxxxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Spiritual disciplines and temptations aren't exclusive to Lent. Perhaps you could blog about keeping disciplines in the face of year-round temptations.

In Christ,
Mark