JUST ‘HOLY
HARDWARE’*:
* The ‘name in the trade’ - items to
celebrate the Christian faith
Before ‘the fall’, Genesis states
that: “The LORD God took
the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it
and take care of it”
(Gen 2:15)
Expulsion from Eden by St. Isaac of Syria Skete (Boscobel, Wisconsin)
God is ‘against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages,
the widow and the orphan’ (Malachi 3:5)
The ‘golden rule’ and work …
‘I never wanted work to
be useful to me while
causing loss to my
brother, for I have this
hope that what helps
my brother will bring
fruit to me…’
(From a collection of sayings of early
Christians known as the ‘Desert Fathers
and Mothers’)
(Recorded 300AD)
http://www.coptic.net/pictures/Icon.StMosesTheBlack.gif
Eight Desert Mothers: http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/Desert_Mothers.jpg
Christian leaders and work in history
‘I absolutely deny all slave-holding to be consistent with
any degree of natural justice’
(John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Slavery - 1774)
‘How many are there in this Christian country, that toil,
and labour, and sweat, and have it not at last, but
struggle with weariness and hunger together?’
(Wesley, Heaviness Through Manifold Temptations)
‘If through necessity or fear of a worse evil the workman
accept harder conditions because an employer or
contractor will afford him no better, he is made the
victim of force and injustice…’
(Pope Leo XIII, 1891)
JUST HOLY HARDWARE
AND BEYOND
INSPIRATION – MATTHEW
25:31-46
"When I was hungry you gave me
something to eat, and when I was
thirsty, you gave me something to
drink. When I was a stranger you
welcomed and when I was naked
you gave me clothes to wear. When
I was sick, you took care of me, and
when I was in jail, you visited me.”
INSPIRATION
THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST JAMES
St. James the Just
“Remember, O Lord, those
who bear fruit, and labour
honourably in the holy
service of Thy Church; and
those who forget not the
poor, the widows, the
orphans, the strangers, and
the needy; and all who have
desired us to remember them
in our prayers.”
HOW ARE THEY FARING TODAY?
• Those who make clothes (and
are not just in need of them) …
• Those who labour in the service
of the church …
‘Together for Adoption’
THOSE
WHO MAKE
STARTING
CLOSE CLOTHES
TO HOME – Cotton workers
Children as young as six are working 10-hour
shifts in 40 degree heat for about 42 cents a
day picking cotton for luxury cotton products.
Photograph:
Robin Hammond, Guardian Newspaper
THOSE
WHO MAKE
CLOTHES
– Home & Sweatshops
STARTING
CLOSE
TO HOME
• There are ‘sweatshops’, here and overseas
… people work for long hours with low pay
(Indonesian apparel workers can earn 10
cents an hour) - in dangerous conditions.
•Homeworkers in Australia - estimates
range from 25,000 to 330,000.
•Homeworkers paid $2.50 for a shirt.
•Some are paid between $2 and $3 an hour –
work very long hours.
‘Sweatshop Workers’
Photo credit:
Ethical Wears
‘Clothing workers’ in
Australia
Photo credit: FairWear
‘THOSE WHO LABOUR IN THE SERVICE OF THE
CHURCH’…
What do these items have in common …
…THEY ARE ITEMS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE CHRISTIAN FAITH…
…SOMEONE MADE THEM…
WHO IS THAT ‘SOMEONE’?:
CROSSES MADE IN CHINA TODAY…
‘JESUS
have mercy on me, I’m dying of
exhaustion’
- a Chinese teenager who had just finished yet another 19-hour shift
producing the crucifixes below (in production phase) for sale in churches
(US National Labour Committee (NLC), Today Worker’s Bear the Cross)
‘Accommodation’ for the workers making the crosses (NLC)
WHAT CAN WE DO? MAKING A START..
FAIR TRADE CHRISTIAN GOODS
‘If Christian communities are to be true to the spirit
of the Gospel, they are obliged to engage in
commercial dealings in a manner consistent with a
Christian understanding of the human person and
creation’
(A Fair Trade in Christian Goods)
Artisans working for Holy Land Handicrafts
(World Fair Trade Organisation movement)
WHAT CAN WE DO? MAKING A START..
FAIR TRADE CHRISTIAN GOODS
responsible corporate conduct
no child labour
no discrimination
care for creation (the environment), health and safety
no forced, compulsory labour and unjust contracts
freedom of association
appropriate hours of work
fair wages
respect for working people.
CHRISTIAN SHOPPERS CAN SUPPORT ITEMS
FAIRLY MADE… A CALLING CARD IN USE IN VICTORIA
Fairtrade cotton &
Ethical Clothing Australia
Qualitops workers, Deputy PM Gillard, TCFUA Secretary Michele O’Neil
Australian home
and sweat shop
workers can be
paid under $5 per
hour!
If a garment is made with Fairtrade cotton in Australia
it has to be made through the Ethical Clothing Australia scheme
e.g. Stop the Traffik shirts
St Leonard's &
Ethical Clothing Australia
St Leonard’s
began sourcing
some of their
uniform garments
from the
No Sweat Shop
label in 2007.
Become a Fairtrade school
or Faith Community
Fair Trade
Communities – Two
Simple Goals
1. Use Fairtrade
Certified
products – tea
and coffee
2. Promote fair
trade!
Fair Trade Association
www.fairtrade.org.au
REGISTER AT:
www.fairtrade.org.au
Fairtrade football counters
child labour in Pakistan
http://www.etiko.com.au/
CONCLUDING PRAYER
‘Icon of Madonna with prayer’
(Dormition Church at Kondopoga)
Photo credit:
Wikimedia
God our Saviour shows the strength of his arm
He scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts
He brings down the powerful from their thrones, lifts up
the lowly, fills the hungry with good things, while
sending the rich away.
Let our souls magnify you, oh Lord
Let our spirits rejoice in God our Saviour
Look with favour on us, lowly servants, so that we may
receive your blessing
Do great things for us so we can speak your holy name
With fear, we ask for your mercy.
Let us find your new and everlasting Covenant written
in our hearts.
May almighty God bless us, Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit Amen