wfn.org | We Cannot Shop Our Way to Prosperity, Says UCC Moderator

["Broadhurst, Tom" <tbroadhu@united-church.ca>]

For Immediate Release -- Tuesday, February 24, 2009

We Cannot Shop Our Way to Prosperity, Says United Churc h (of Canada)
Moderator

Toronto: In an open letter to Canadians about the world 's economic
situation, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada,  the Right Rev.
David Giuliano, delivers a message of hope tempered with  resolve.

"These are days of both hardship and opportunity. This  crisis holds the
possibility of being a historic turning point energized b y renewed human
creativity, adaptability, and spirit," writes Giuliano.

It is a crisis that Giuliano is experiencing first-hand  after he and the
citizens of the small town where he lives in northern  Ontario recently
learned that the mill would be closing down.

"Everyone here-builders to bakers, teachers to preachers-work s directly
or indirectly for the mill or the already vanishing min es. A spirit of
dread and anxiety is settling among us. It feels like  a microcosm of
what is happening to the economy across the country and  around the
world," says Giuliano.

The Moderator's letter challenges Canadians to face these  tough economic
times in a manner that is rooted in our history.

"Times of crisis can call out the best in human natur e. During periods
of war and the Great Depression, our grandparents bought  bonds,
rationed, rolled bandages, bundled clothes, helped their ne ighbours, and
learned to distinguish between needs and wants. They pull ed together as
a nation. Solving the current economic crisis will also  require our
best.

"Canadians are hurting. Our global neighbours are reeling.  The economic
situation is the harbinger of discomfort for some and o f catastrophic
suffering for others.

"Canadian families are living with uncertainty, anxiety, an d severe
stresses that fray the bonds of relationships, harm physi cal and
psychological health, and intensify social problems. Debt i s rising.
Savings are shrinking. Line-ups at foodbanks and shelters  are getting
longer.

"We have a moral responsibility to care for those most  affected-here and
around the world. To do otherwise would be a marked d eparture from our
identity as Canadians."

Giuliano's letter also poses the questions, "Will suffering  as a result
of the economic crisis spur us to question the foundati onal values of
our economic system? Will we question a culture that ha s allowed profits
to overtake the basic needs of so many citizens, as t hough stock value
increases were the purpose of the economy?"

He writes, "We need to imagine a financial system that  measures the
worth of a company or institution according to what it  produces and
contributes to society, and then imagine laws and incenti ves that
reflect that value rather than some imagined entitlement  to an economic
free-for-all. We need to be clear that the needs of h ungry children,
homeless families, and the working poor supersede the dem ands of
unfettered commerce. The 'bottom line' needs to reflect v alues like
love, kindness, justice, and care for creation."

Giuliano believes that Canadians have come to recognize t hat protecting
the environment is not a barrier, but the path, to ec onomic recovery.

He writes, "In fact, it has been our stubborn refusal  to acknowledge the
rapid destruction of the planet that has led to our e conomic demise.
More cars, bigger homes, and insatiable consumption are t he cause of,
not the solution to, our economic concerns. We cannot s hop our way to
prosperity. The planet will simply not allow it. That s ystem is a
crumbling pyramid scheme that rewards those at the top  and is devouring
everyone and everything below."

Giuliano also contends that while bailing out failing ind ustries may be
necessary in the short term, this approach will not ser ve as a long-term
cure for our economy. "Stimulus packages that invest in  economic
innovation, in socially just and environmentally adaptive s olutions,
will ultimately accomplish far more down the road," comme nts Giuliano.

He explains that in addition to the United Church doing  its part, he's
also calling on Canadians, in all sectors of society, t o risk truly
taking up leadership at this important moment in history.

"We cannot wait for government, industry, or financial in stitutions
alone to resolve these issues. Every one of us needs  to consider the
part we will play, to consider what we can contribute  to transformation,
possibility, and hope," writes Giuliano.

In a separate pastoral letter to United Church congregati ons, Giuliano
challenges them to respond imaginatively and compassionately  to
Canadians hurt by the economic crisis. "The current econo mic challenge
is calling us to be church in riskier ways than we  are used to. I want
to encourage you to trust your faith and to take thos e risks," writes
Giuliano. He says this is a time for prophetic and cr eative leadership.
"I am praying that we will respond with creativity, rad ical hospitality,
and expansive generosity."

The full text of the Moderator's open letter to Canadia ns, along with
his pastoral letter to United Church congregations, is po sted on The
United Church of Canada's website (www.united-church.ca).

>For more information, please contact:

>Mary-Frances Denis
>Communications Officer
>The United Church of Canada
>416-231-7680 ext. 2016 (office)
>1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016 (toll-free)
>mdenis@united-church.ca

>--30--

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