Printer friendly version Send this to a friend Sign up for email list Become a member

Order the Guide to Fair Trade Guide Get our Fair Trade guide to learn the latest on the expanding universe of Fair Trade products. Get the Guide »

APRIL 2009

Organizing Your Fair Trade Congregation

When it came time to plan a series of Wednesday evening Bible studies during Lent in February and March of 2008, Colleen Shannon knew what she wanted the topic to be.

As a board member at Partners for Just Trade (PJT), Shannon knew that PJT was looking for congregations to test the draft version of their new curriculum for a Fair Trade Bible study, so she volunteered to lead a group at her home church of First Presbyterian in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“I worked for the national offices of the Presbyterian Church for twenty years, much of that time as coordinator of the Presbyterian Hunger Program,” says Shannon. “In that role, I had the opportunity to travel throughout the country and the world, visiting development projects, as well as areas of desperate need. I always brought home items made by artisans in cooperatives. These items always remind me that through the products we purchase we have a connection with our neighbors around the world. Their need is our need, and their success, when we join with them, is our success also.”

The Global Mission Committee at Shannon’s church had already been active in Fair Trade, by selling Fair Trade items at mission festivals and around the holidays, so while the concept of Fair Trade wasn’t entirely new to the study’s participants, Shannon says the diversity of viewpoints at the study made for rich discussion.

Both Shannon and an associate pastor took turns leading the group, which included a group of students from the University of Tennessee and adults of all ages. Some nights focused more on Bible passages about justice, and other nights more on the Fair Trade system itself. Shannon made available Fair Trade products, catalogs, and publications for participants to view and discuss.

“I think having the Fair Trade items on hand was very helpful,” says Shannon. “Everyone was amazed at how much is available, if you just look for it. One woman who had recently moved to town said the study made her think twice about buying items for her new condo. When she needed trash baskets, she decided to forgo Target and go to Ten Thousand Villages instead.”

Shannon says others in the group had a hard time seeing the darker side of conventional supply chains, but that the experiences of the study helped many to better understand the human connections that are embedded in every purchase we make.

“The college students were a real asset to the group,” says Shannon. “A number of the older participants remarked on how much they had learned from the students, who were more attuned to justice issues, and willing to share their perspectives on their buying choices. Several people remarked that they had a much better understanding of the struggle of women in other countries where they shoulder so much of the responsibility for raising families as well as producing income, while having little voice in their communities.”

Shannon encourages everyone, of any background, to get more active on Fair Trade issues and help educate others within their community about what Fair Trade means for workers around the world. Partners for Just Trade now offers the curriculum that Shannon tested as a finished product for others to implement in their own Bible studies. Just visit their Web site to learn more.

And though the Bible study is over, Shannon isn’t finished bringing Fair Trade to First Presbyterian. The church continues to host its twice-a-year Fair Trade Global Market gift fair, and Shannon is working to switch the church’s coffee supply to Fair Trade. She’s encountered some practical hurdles with that particular step, since the church’s current contract provides for conventional coffee supplier Maxwell House to provide and repair the large-sized coffee makers.

“We are still working on the shift, but a certified public accountant who sits on our committee researched the costs involved and determined that it makes sense economically,” says Shannon. “We still have to purchase our own coffee makers, but many of our members who have purchased Fair Trade coffee from our gift fair are eager for the switch because the Fair Trade coffee just tastes better. Others, especially those who participated in the Bible Study, are behind the switch because it’s simply the right thing to do.”