God is ‘against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan’ (Malachi 3:5)

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 inhistory ‘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 “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.” St. James the Just

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 CLOTHES – Cotton workers STARTING CLOSE TO HOME 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 • Use Fairtrade Certified products – tea and coffee • Promote fair trade! Fair Trade Communities – Two Simple Goals 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 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 SpiritAmen ‘Icon of Madonna with prayer’ (Dormition Church at Kondopoga) Photo credit: Wikimedia

God is ‘against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan’ (Malachi 3:5)