The Justice Crew

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This is a blog maintained by Paco Joyce & Jake Madrid.  These are our views and opinions and we welcome honest and factual feedback.

The following is a list of films that we recommend:

White like Me (Racism)

Latinos beyond Reel (Stereotypes)

A Burning Question. Propaganda & the Denial of Climate Change* (Environment)

An Inconvenient Truth (Environment)

Tim Wise: on White Privilege* (Racism)

Racing Extinction (Environment)

Private prisons need customers, customers, meaning inmates. They only make money by locking people up, and the more people they lock up for more time, the more money they make.

Private prisons are morally repugnant, don’t save money and have performance problems. But they persist. Why does this practice continue to grow?

The answer is not the lobbying or the political contributions — though the industry does both. The answer isn’t the contracts that guarantee 90 percent or 100 percent occupancy — though surely they help — or even the industry-financed research that purports to show cost savings when neutral research shows no such thing.

The answer is deeper than that and goes to the very heart of the industry.

Private prisons are filled because they are there. They succeed by being available. Companies build them, and people come.

FINAL PAGE OF REPORT:

We encourage Anglicans everywhere to:

• Join in prayer and fasting for climate justice on the first day of each month as an integral part of life and worship.
• Implement energy conservation measures in church buildings and moving to renewable energy sources as quickly as possible.
• Take measures to conserve recycle and collect water around church buildings and properties.
• Nurture biodiversity on church land by creating safe habitat for indigenous species.
• Support local communities by sharing water, energy and arable land resources for local food production.
• Support sustainable land use initiatives, including a halt to the clearing of native forests.
• Advocate for sustainable water, food, and agricultural practices in our communities. It is imperative to take into account the interwoven relationship of food, water and energy systems.

We call upon political, economic, social and religious leaders in our various constituencies to address the climate change crisis as the most urgent moral issue of our day.  

We urge them to:

• Work with all possible commitment and speed toward fair, ambitious, accountable and binding climate change agreements at national and international levels.
• Develop policies that genuinely assist environmental and climate refugees and promote mechanisms of intergovernmental co-operation that ensure their human rights, safety and resettlement

In conclusion

We affirm our belief with the words of the Creed “We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.” And we affirm that this statement is foundational for the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our declaration is offered in prayer, with thanksgiving to God, creator, sustainer and redeemer of all to whom be glory and praise, now and forever.

Almighty God, You created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. And you created humankind in your own image and it was very good; Grant us the courage to recognize our failure to maintain your creation. And by your grace help us to halt the degradation of our environment. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who came that we might have life in all its fullness. Amen.