Thanksgiving Over the Coffee

As I sit here drinking a big mug of coffee, following a very full Sunday that included a bunch of baptisms, I found it necessary to rewrite the baptismal Thanksgiving over the Water. With a nod to coffee. Enjoy! (or not, it's up to you)

We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of Coffee. Over it the Holy Spirit of Caffeine moved in the beginning of the morning. Through it you led the children of exhaustion out of their bondage in bed into the land of the living. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of Java and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Barista, the Coffee Pot, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of blah into everlasting joy.

We thank you, Father, for the wonder of coffee. Without it, we are buried with Christ in his death. With it, we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by caffeine. Therefore in joyful obedience to your mug, we bring into his fellowship those who come to him with a giant carafe, baptizing them in the name of the Bean, and of the Grinder, and of the Filter.

Now sanctify this coffee, we pray you, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that those who here are cleansed from mediocrity and born again may continue for ever in the risen life of Coffee, our savior.

To him, to you, and to our caffeination, be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen

Clergy, Coffee & Conversation

I'm grateful to Steve Opalenik of The Promethean Project for inviting me onto his Break the Chains podcast. It was a great and wide-ranging conversation! 

Steve is a licensed mental health counselor and, once upon a time, he and Bryna were colleagues at Bay State Community Services, where Bryna is now the Director of Development and Community Relations. He's also a terrific interviewer, basically the Oprah of the Massachusetts mental health podcast universe. 

Seriously, he is good at drawing out his guests and inviting introspection. His passion for physical and mental wellness also comes shining through his conversations.

We spoke about coffee, church, faith, dogs, dog poop, and...Bryna. Listen to the podcast and you'll learn her reaction to my telling her I felt a calling to the priesthood, while we were engaged. Yes, I told her in a public place.

You can listen to our conversation here. Enjoy!

Christmas Blend Controversy!

After last week's Monday Coffee Adventure found me drinking Vietnamese Weasel Poop Coffee,

today I travel to a tiny monastery on the Puget Sound, site of the greatest David vs. Goliath coffee story of all time.

I'll get to that in a moment, but first a word about the All-Merciful Saviour Orthodox Monastery and its holy roaster, Father Tryphon. This Russian Orthodox monastery was established in 1986 and sits on Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle. While it is a contemplative order, they do welcome visitors and have guest accommodations for those seeking to make a pilgrimage. And when I say it's small, I'm not kidding. There are five monks.

According to the bag of coffee (a sample of which was generously shared with me by a parishioner named Cathy Torrey), Father Tryphon discovered the joys of finely roasted coffee while attending graduate school in Berkeley. After joining the monastery and learning to roast coffee himself, he decided to market Monastery Blend Coffee as a fundraiser for the order.

But on to the controversy! (which I write about in Holy Grounds)

Father Tryphon

We've all heard about the ridiculous Starbucks red cup debacle and the fake "war on Christmas" that conservative pundits love to trot out as evidence of the fall of the Western World. But this wasn't the first Christmas coffee controversy involving Starbucks.

In 1997 attorneys for Starbucks contacted the abbot of All-Merciful Saviour with a cease and desist order. The problem? Father Tryphon's Christmas Blend Coffee.

No, this had nothing to do with the fact that it really should be called Advent Blend Coffee, if you're drinking it before December 25th. You see, Starbucks also had a Christmas Blend Coffee and had recently trademarked the term.

Once the David and Goliath story hit the national news, Starbucks backed off, rightly seeing a publicity nightmare in the offing. Thus, you can still purchase Father Tryphon's Christmas Blend from October through December.

As for the coffee itself? If you like darkly roasted coffee, typical of the West Coast roasting style, you'll love it. I'm more of a medium to light roast guy because I love the subtlety of specialty coffee. But even I enjoyed drinking a cup of monastery dark roast since it, in some small way, allowed me to stick it to The Man.

The Joys of Weasel Poop Coffee

I spent Monday morning drinking "Weasel coffee." Well, that's what they call it in Vietnam, 

the rough English translation of cà phê Chồn.

The more formal name is Kopi luwak, or civet coffee. It's one of the world's rarest and thus expensive coffees. I mention it in Holy Grounds, my book on coffee and faith, but never had the opportunity to try it. Until this morning. 

Two dear parishioners of mine recently returned from a trip to Vietnam and handed me a small package just before yesterday morning's 8 o'clock service. Frankly, it was even more challenging to say phrases like "innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same" knowing I had some elusive weasel coffee waiting for me in my office. 

What makes civet coffee so coveted? In a nutshell: weasel poop. You see, the Asian palm civet loves to eat coffee cherries. But they can't digest the seeds, or what we know as coffee beans. Rather than the normal process of separating the beans from the cherries -- either drying them on beds or running them through tanks of water -- fermentation occurs as they pass through the civet's intestines. After the beans are pooped out, they are then collected. 

One of the things that makes this coffee special is that civets are selective in which cherries they consume. They only eat the ripe ones, which is the key to harvesting good coffee. And the story surrounding its discovery is an interesting one. It's said that when Indonesia was under Dutch colonial control, the native farmers were forbidden from harvesting coffee for their own use -- it was seen as a form of financial theft. They noticed the indigenous civets would eat the coffee and then leave beans in their poop. They started collecting them and roasting them, finding the coffee was much better than that which was commercially harvested.

Now, I should mention that there is a darker side to this entire process. As the coffee has become more popular, ethical concerns have been raised by animal activists. Many producers keep civets in cages, force-feeding them coffee cherries. Not exactly in keeping with the vision of civets in the wild enjoying breakfast before their mid-morning poop.

Alas, I'm not sure how my weasel coffee was produced -- I can't read the label. But I'm grateful for the opportunity to try this mythical coffee and if you're interested, there are companies out there that sell certified wild luwak coffee.

But how did it taste? A lot of coffee experts feel it's among the most overrated coffees out there, at least for the price. I found it to be very smooth, which is one of the oft-cited characteristics of kopi luwak coffee, with a sweet and citrusy flavor. 

The only real ethical dilemma remaining, is whether to give some to Bryna BEFORE telling her how it was produced. Something tells me this wouldn't go over well...

The Red Cups are Coming! The Red Cups are Coming!

Starbucks announced today that it was releasing five new holiday-themed cups. For many

of us, this triggers an automatic shiver-down-the-spine recoil as we recall the fake "War on Christmas" of a few years ago that continues to rear its ugly my-way-of-faith-is-the-only-way head.

You may remember the vaunted Red Cup Controversy. I wrote about this in Holy Grounds, my book on coffee and faith, in the Starbucks chapter titled The Green Elephant in the Room. Here's what I wrote:

The Red Cup Controversy

Not just any coffee company can so powerfully impact American society that it finds itself in the midst of the political culture wars. But that’s exactly what happened when the famed Red Cup controversy reared its caffeinated head. In 2015, Starbucks changed its annual holiday-themed cup to a plain, festive bright red with the circular green mermaid logo. Red and green—Santa colors. A cute, simple design meant to put everyone in the holiday spirit as they ordered their calorie-laden peppermint latte, right? Not so fast, Christmas hater!

After removing the traditional Christmas symbols like snowmen, trees, ornaments, and snow flakes of past years’ cup designs, suddenly Starbucks was Exhibit A in the War on Christmas. 

One rather unhinged internet evangelist put together a YouTube video in which he commented, “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus . . . SO I PRANKED THEM . . . and they HATE IT!!!!” 

He “pranked” them by ordering a cup of coffee and telling the barista his name was Merry Christmas. So the Starbucks employee dutifully wrote “Merry Christmas” on his cup.

In other words, his prophetic protest meant supporting the company he professed to abhor by buying their product and giving them publicity. And, not for nothing, but it’s not as if Starbucks suddenly removed Christian iconography from their holiday cups. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, et al. weren’t being banished. Generic, non-scriptural snowmen were.

This whole absurd episode shed more light upon the state of our divided country—and internet-fueled outrage—than it did on an alleged anti-Christian movement. It does show just how iconic Starbucks has become, however. A coffee shop becoming a catalyst for talk-radio folderol? That’s impressive.

Believe it or not, this contrived controversy wasn’t even the first time a dispute arose over Starbucks Christmas coffee. In 1997, Starbucks attorneys contacted the abbot of a tiny Russian Orthodox monastery (tiny as in five monks in residence) on Vashon Island in Puget Sound. The issue at hand revolved around a coffee-roasting monk at All-Merciful Savior Monastery who raised money for his order by selling a coffee called Christmas Blend. Starbucks had recently trademarked the term and insisted the monk cease and desist his operation. 

Once the David and Goliath story hit the national news, Starbucks backed off, rightly seeing a publicity nightmare in the offing. You can still purchase the holiday Christmas Blend from the monastery from October through December.

In Good Faith: Coffee Connections

My April In Good Faith column doubles as the Holy Grounds book release edition of my monthly article. Why? Because it's an excerpt. So, sit back, relax, pour yourself a nice mug of coffee, and order yourself a copy of Holy Grounds: The Surprising Connection between Coffee and Faith - From Dancing Goats to Satan's Drink (Fortress Press). Bonus: if you can't stand this excerpt, move along, save yourself a few bucks, and make a nice cup of tea instead. 

Coffee Connections

When it comes to coffee, I’m a late adopter. While my college fraternity brothers tossed back

herculean quantities during late-night study sessions, I didn’t touch the stuff. As an army officer, while members of my platoon sucked down coffee with reckless abandon, I remained an outlier. When I managed political campaigns, and coffee was the jet fuel of marathon strategy sessions, I passed. At post-church coffee hour, while everyone drank coffee and critiqued the pastor’s sermon, I drank lemonade. 

Miraculously, I also endured a coffee-drinking wife, seminary, and one child without drinking coffee. The combination of two children under the age of two and full-time work in parish ministry, however, put me over the edge. And once I slipped down the rabbit hole of coffee consumption, a journey of discovery emerged that continues to unfold. 

Coffee often evokes the power of connection through personal narrative. Ask anyone when they first discovered the joys of coffee and prepare to be regaled with glimpses into their life story. Coffee can serve as an entry point into interpersonal relationships and shed light upon a person’s values and most deeply held beliefs. In answering the simple question “When did you become a coffee drinker?” a person shares much of their life journey. 

My parents began every day with freshly brewed coffee. While most Americans still scooped pre-ground coffee out of giant tin cans, they sought out whole-bean coffee from rare specialty shops. The sound of the grinder and the irresistible aroma of coffee in my own kitchen always remind me of the comforts and simplicities of childhood. 

One of my earliest memories of coffee revolves around my late father, a symphony orchestra conductor. He had a special relationship with the owner of the local coffee shop in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood and I often accompanied him on his excursions to what was then a rather seedy side of town and is now one of Baltimore’s hippest areas, chock full of trendy restaurants and coffeehouses. 

At the Coffee Mill, a dazzling variety of whole-bean coffees sat in plastic bins with big scoops while the aroma overwhelmed the senses. Customers shoveled beans into bags, then brought them to the counter for weighing. The regulars, mostly men, were a mix of Baltimore’s intelligentsia, artists, and urban pioneers. It wasn’t a café—you couldn’t actually buy a cup of coffee—but no one seemed hurried as they browsed the bins and chatted with fellow patrons. 

One year, the owner, seeking a catchy, evocative name for a new blend, gave some beans to my dad to sample, asking him to help christen the roast. Which, I recall with great pride, he did. For many years afterwards, you could still show up at the Coffee Mill and pick up a bag of Allegro con Brio. 

Allegro, an Italian word, indicates a brisk or lively tempo in musical scores. Con brio is another musical direction meaning with vigor. So I can only imagine the newly christened coffee was bright, lively, and strong. Too bad I never got to taste it before the Coffee Mill closed down, after nearly three decades, in 2003. 

My first taste of coffee came after a fancy dinner at a neighbor’s house. The Steinschneiders, an older couple with grown children, occasionally invited our young family over to sit in the dining room for a meal. Mrs. Steinschneider made a big fuss over the after-dinner coffee, and I remember drinking a bit, loaded with milk and sugar, in a china cup. 

I didn’t drink coffee again until I sidled up to the coffee pot one morning as a desperate, newly ordained cleric, dumping in an embarrassing amount of sugar and cream. Basically, my first foray into regular coffee drinking was an experience in warm coffee ice cream. As someone who now drinks his coffee the way he wears his clergy shirts—black—this admission is embarrassing. 

The point is, when we share coffee stories, we offer something of our selves in the process. Ask people you’ve known for a long time or people you’ve just met about their relationship with coffee. You may be surprised at the ensuing revelations and insights into their own life’s journeys.

Sexist Vintage Coffee Ads - Yikes!

Bryna and I are not exactly au Courant in our Netflix viewing. We recently started watching Mad Men (about a decade after it debuted) and I've become fascinated with the lives and culture of early-1960's Madison Avenue advertising executives.

The show is brilliant, from the characters to the costumes to the props, it paints a vivid picture of a very different way of life. The blatant sexism, the day drinking, the infidelity, the manipulative power of advertising  -- and we just started season two!

In light of the Me Too movement, Mad Men reminds us just how far we've come -- and how much further we need to go. The interactions between the women in the secretarial pool and the male executives; the expectations around dress and sex; the power dynamic in the home between the men who held the purse strings and the gilded indentured servitude of the female housewives. It's painful and powerful and revealing.

In the research for my forthcoming book on faith and coffee, Holy Grounds, I encountered a number of coffee ads that reflected the culture out of which they were born. I didn't write about these ads because it was out of the scope of my book, but I share them now as a glimpse into the past. When we talk about returning America back to what it once was, this emerges as a piece of that reality.

In these ads, you'll see several common themes: women are always the ones making the coffee; good coffee is used as a tool to please men; women are the ones who will do the shopping; the wise housewife is a thrifty housewife. You'll also notice the emphasis on the traditional male-female nuclear family and a decided lack of people of color.

Hold onto your coffee mugs, friends!

This ad for Chase & Sanborn has to be one of the worst ads ever produced. Nice to see a subtle quote from Scripture with the "Woe be unto you" line. Ugh.

Right. The "key to a man's heart" is richer coffee.

So many ads were marketed to the thrifty housewife, who would please her husband by saving money at the supermarket. Though it's kind of great to see a young Betty White in the ad for Luzianne Coffee.

Not an ad for coffee, but for the Silex coffee maker. If only you served better coffee, he would  actually pay attention to you.

The two ads above, highlight the real point of serving tasty coffee: pleasing your husband.

Read the copy: "Keeping a man dithering on a ladder while she makes up her mind -- women!" Yikes.

So many of the ads of this era depicted well-coiffed housewives serving coffee to men. In this case, it looks like the boss has come over to the house -- better make a good impression!

Again, the copy: "Jim says it's the biggest thing that's happened to us since the arrival of little Jim." Um...

It's so simple, even a man can make it! Notice he's even wearing his wife's apron as his friends laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Make sure to pass on the sexism from generation to generation. And of course, all of these ads were written by men.

Fair Trade Coffee Resolution - Passed!

This past weekend, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts passed a resolution I offered encouraging

the exclusive use of fair trade coffee at all church events. Shockingly, the bishop allowed me to speak into a live microphone to present the resolution and it passed overwhelmingly.

The point of the resolution was not to compel parishes to serve fair trade coffee, but rather to offer a moral imperative based on Christian values to do so. For me, after visiting Central American coffee farms while on sabbatical earlier this year, this has become an issue of economic and social justice.

It was also meant to highlight a partnership between Episcopal Relief & Development and Massachusetts' own Equal Exchange, whereby for every pound of fair trade coffee sold, 15 cents is donated to ER-D.

I've blogged about this issue in the past and shared a list of authentic fair trade coffee companies. This is a complicated issue where some corporations have attempted to use the fair trade label for marketing purposes. There are also independent coffee shops that don't sell coffee labeled as fair trade but, through relationships with farmers, everyone is earning a fair wage for their labor. The key is to ask questions and then use your purchasing power to align with your values.

As I said in presenting the resolution, "Jesus reminds us again and again that small things, like purchasing a cup of coffee that lifts the burden of exploitation, are just as important as grand gestures. It's why he tells his disciples that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains; it's why he washes feet and cooks breakfast and interacts with children. Small gestures serve as windows into our souls, while offering hope to a broken world."

Below is the full text of the resolution. My hope is that other dioceses and denominations across the country will use this resolution in their own context to raise both awareness and the economic conditions for the millions of small farmers in the coffee producing countries of the global south.

If I can help you move this forward in any way, please don't hesitate to be in touch. I'm hoping the resolution we passed is just the start.

The Use of Fair Trade Coffee at All Church Events

Submitted by: The Rev. Tim Schenck, The Rt. Rev. Bud Cederholm, The Very Rev. Amy McCreath, The Rev. Diane Wong, The Rev. Sarah Brockmann, The Rev. Jeff Mello, The Rev. Deborah Warner, The Rev. Phil LaBelle, The Rev. Suzanne Wade, The Rev. Beth Grundy, Mr. Rick Collins, Ms. Dawn Tesorero

Resolved, that the 233rd Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts calls upon all congregations, ministries and diocesan bodies to use fair trade coffee at all church events; and be it further

Resolved, that the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts be encouraged to support goals of the fair trade coffee movement, which include: raising income levels of small-scale farmers

and farm workers; more equitably distributing economic gains across the industry; encouraging environmentally sound and sustainable farming methods; promoting ethical working conditions; and increasing consumer awareness of the economic forces affecting farmers and the exploitation of workers.

Explanation 

Coffee has long been an integral aspect of hospitality and fellowship in our communities and fuels much church business. This resolution encourages parishes, missions, chaplaincies and our diocese to commit to the exclusive use of fairly traded coffee. While fair trade coffee costs slightly more (generally only 3 or 4 cents more per cup), we feel this is an investment in thousands of unseen people in the $100-billion global coffee industry, in which 80% of the world’s coffee is produced by 17.7 million small-scale farmers, often living well below the poverty line.

The goals of the fair trade movement are consistent with the Christian faith, and this resolution reveals a small but impactful way our purchases can better reflect our Christian values in the global economy. Fairly traded products help make our sisters and brothers on the other side of the supply chain more visible to us, connecting us to the people behind the products we enjoy, while rejecting child labor and economic slavery through debt peonage. Fair trade coffee is also organic – grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides – and of higher quality, which improves taste, positively impacting the impression made on visitors and newcomers.

Our denomination has already made access to fair trade coffee both easy and affordable through a partnership between Episcopal Relief & Development and Massachusetts' own Equal Exchange. 

In addition to facilitating easy ordering and providing quality products, when congregations join the partnership (which is free), 15 cents is donated to Episcopal Relief & Development's General Fund for every pound of fairly traded products purchased.

Statements Against

1. Fair trade coffee costs more per pound and would place an undue burden on economically struggling parishes.
2. Navigating the world of fair trade coffee is complicated, and some corporate entities have sought to co-opt and dilute its impact.

Implementation Requirements

The resolution’s submitters are prepared to make resources available, including the results of their research and other information they’ve gathered, as well as to assist diocesan staff in disseminating gathered information to parish vestries and other local ministry leaders who are interested in exploring fair trade coffee options for their particular ministry settings.

Fair Trade Coffee Companies: A List

Yesterday, I shared some information and background about a convention resolution I'm submitting to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts encouraging parishes and the diocese to use fair trade coffee at all church events. Today I'm sharing links to fair trade coffee companies that are making a difference in the world.

The thing about the fair trade world, is that it's confusing to navigate. There are various labels out there (Fairtrade International (FLO), the World Fair Trade Organization, Fair Trade Federation, and Fair TradeUSA, etc), but many have been coopted by corporations using this as little more than a marketing scheme. Perhaps a small percentage of their coffee is fairly traded -- enough to garner a label -- but the vast majority is not. That's not in the spirit of the initial fair trade movement and it's why it's critical to support companies that engage in what we'd call "authentic" fair trade.

As Daniel Jaffee puts it in his book Brewing Justice, the primary goal of the authentic fair trade movement is "to create more direct, socially just, and environmentally responsible trade relations — mainly between disadvantaged farmers in the global South and concerned consumers in the North…In practical terms, the fair-trade system accomplishes this objective by cutting out many of the intermediaries or middlemen, such as exporters, importers, and brokers, who typically take a cut at each step along the route from tree, field, or farm to the coffee shop or grocery shelf.”

Here are some of the mostly commonly used criteria for determining whether products are produced under authentic fair trade conditions:

·      Guaranteed minimum (floor) prices to producers; 

·      Fair wages to laborers; social development premium

·      Advance credit or payment to producers

·      Democratically run producer cooperatives or workplaces

·      Long-term contracts and trading relationships

·      Environmentally sustainable production practices

·      Public accountability and financial transparency

·      Financial and technical assistance to producers

·      Safe, nonexploitative working conditions. 

Finally, here's a list of such companies compiled by Susan Sklar, Interfaith Manager at Equal Exchange, from the Fair Trade Federation and the Fair World Project. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Susan and her team and continue to be impressed by their passion for justice in the coffee world.

Bongo Java Roasting Company (Nashville, TN)
Café Campesino/Sweetwater Organic Coffee Company (Americus, GA)
Conscious Coffee (Boulder, CO)
Dean's Beans (Orange, MA)
Desert Sun Coffee (Durango, CO)
Earth Friendly Coffee (Denver, CO)
Equal Exchange (West Bridgewater, MA)
Just Coffee Co-Op (Madison, WI)
Larry's Coffee (Raleigh, NC)
Peace Coffee (Minneapolis, MN)
Mt. Meru Coffee Project (West Bend, WI)
Sustainable Harvest Coffee (Portland, OR)
Twin Engine Coffee (Malden, MO)

I encourage you to support these companies who continue to keep economic equality and the interests of small farmers in the global marketplace as a key part of their mission. Again, it makes a difference.

Talkin' Bout a (Fair Trade Coffee Hour) Revolution

I'm about to do something I swore I'd never do. For the first time in 18 years of ordained ministry, I’m submitting a Diocesan Convention resolution. When the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts gathers on November 3rd, it will consider an issue about which I am passionate, as it has now become personal. 

Based on my sabbatical experiences, I’m offering a resolution encouraging the diocese and parishes to commit to using fair trade coffee at all church events. To me this is an issue of economic and social justice and an easy way for churches to use their purchasing power to better align with our Christian values. 

While fair trade coffee costs slightly more (generally only 3 or 4 cents per cup), this is an investment in thousands of unseen people in the $100 billion global coffee industry, where 80% of the world’s coffee is produced by 17.7 million small-scale farmers, often living well below the poverty line. I met a few of these folks on my travels to Nicaragua and El Salvador this past spring and I've seen first-hand the effects of unfettered globalization.

I've pasted in the resolution below -- this wasn't written in isolation and I'm grateful to a number of folks who helped me craft this (did I mention I've never done this before?). If you're a convention delegate in Massachusetts and you have questions, please be in touch. Or let me know if you'd like to co-sponsor this resolution. If you would like to present a similar resolution in your own diocese or denomination, please feel free to use this language. I would love to see a fair trade movement blow through the Church!

And in the end, I’ll just be happy if this resolution raises awareness and encourages a bunch of parishes to look in the mirror and start using fair trade coffee (did you know there's a fair trade partnership you can join through Episcopal Relief & Development?). 

Buying fair trade coffee is a small act that makes a huge difference. And it really doesn't cost you much more. Check out this incredibly helpful chart from the folks at Equal Exchange.

A Resolution Calling for the Use of Fair Trade Coffee at All Church Events submitted by the Rev. Tim Schenck, the Rt. Rev. Bud Cedarholm, the Very Rev. Amy McCreath, the Rev. Diane Wong, the Rev. Jeff Mello, the Rev. Deborah Warner, the Rev. Sarah Brockman, the Rev. Phil LaBelle, the Rev. Suzanne Wade, the Rev. Beth Grundy, Mr. Rick Collins, Ms. Dawn Tesoraro.

Resolved, that the 233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts calls upon all congregations, ministries, and diocesan bodies, to use fair trade coffee at all church events; and be it further

Resolved, that the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts aligns itself with the goals of the fair trade coffee movement, which include: raising income levels of small-scale farmers and farm workers; more equitably distributing economic gains across the industry; encouraging environmentally sound and sustainable farming methods; promoting ethical working conditions; and increasing consumer awareness of the economic forces affecting farmers and the exploitation of workers.

Explanation: 

Coffee has long been an integral aspect of hospitality and fellowship in our communities and fuels much church business. This resolution encourages parishes, missions, chaplaincies, and the diocese to commit to the exclusive use of fairly traded coffee. While fair trade coffee costs slightly more (generally only 3 or 4 cents per cup), we feel this is an investment in thousands of unseen people in the $100 billion global coffee industry, where 80% of the world’s coffee is produced by 17.7 million small-scale farmers, often living well below the poverty line. 

The goals of the fair trade movement are consistent with the Christian faith, and this resolution reveals a small but impactful way our purchases can better reflect our Christian values in the global economy. Fairly traded products help make our sisters and brothers on the other side of the supply chain more visible to us, connecting us to the people behind the products we enjoy. Fair trade coffee is also organic – grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides – and of higher quality, which improves taste, positively impacting the impression made on visitors and newcomers.

Our denomination has already made access to fair trade coffee both easy and affordable through a partnership between Episcopal Relief & Development and Massachusetts' own Equal Exchange. In addition to facilitating easy ordering and providing quality products, when congregations join the partnership (which is free), 15 cents is donated to Episcopal Relief & Development's General Fund for every pound of fairly traded products purchased. The sponsors of this resolution are happy to provide a list of other fair trade coffee organizations upon request. 

Statements Against

·         Fair Trade coffee costs more per pound and would place an undue burden on economically struggling parishes.

·         Navigating the world of fair trade coffee is complicated, and some corporate entities have sought to coopt and dilute its impact.

Implementation Requirements

·         Diocesan staff, parish vestries, and other local ministry leaders will be required to spend time exploring fair trade coffee options for their particular ministry settings.

·         Oversight of the implementation of this resolution will rest with the bishops of our diocese, in their ministries of parish visitation and oversight of diocesan staff.

Upcoming Sabbatical!

As you may know, I'm taking a four-month sabbatical from March through June. Which means I'll be hitting the pause button on parish ministry six weeks from now. I'm excited about this upcoming time of spiritual renewal and thought I'd share a bit about what I'll be doing while I'm away -- especially since many of you will be subjected to the ensuing social media posts. 

What is a clergy sabbatical?
Unless you're in a profession that routinely offers sabbaticals (and I wish every industry did), you may not know why clergy are offered the opportunity to take time away. Here in the Diocese of Massachusetts, our bishops recommend full-time clergy take sabbaticals every five years. They view them as "an opportunity for a time of sabbath [hence the word sabbatical], for a renewal of spirit and a reaffirmation of life with God." Being a priest requires full engagement with heart, mind, body, and soul and renewal is critical to effective and long-term ministry. At various points in his own ministry, even Jesus took time away for prayer and reflection. He returned with renewed energy and perspective and that is the hope for a clergy sabbatical.

When did you last take one?

It's been a decade since I last took one. I was rector of All Saints' Church in Briarcliff Manor, New York (20 miles up the Hudson from New York City) at the time. It was for two and a half months and I referred to it as my "sabbatical on training wheels." We had young kids at home and when people would ask, "Where are you going on sabbatical?" I'd answer, "Um, where exactly would I go? And who would tell Bryna I left?" Basically I spent the time at Coffee Labs Roasters in Tarrytown, drinking coffee and writing my first book What Size Are God's Shoes: Kids, Chaos, and the Spiritual Life. It was helpful to have a short break and I think it's healthy for both priest and congregation to spend some time apart occasionally. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

Who's paying for this?
For my upcoming sabbatical, I applied for, and received, a coveted Lilly Clergy Renewal Grant to help fund some of my time away. In addition to the monetary award, the lengthy application process demanded that I give some serious, prayerful, and intentional thought to how I would structure my sabbatical. The question at the core of the application encourages applicants to ask the question, "What makes your heart sing?" Thus, in planning my time away, I focused on three of my passions: faith, family, and coffee. The first two were rather obvious. I will tie in the third through another passion of mine: writing.

What will you be doing?
Maybe some people can spend several months navel gazing or star gazing, but I need a project to focus on. So I'll be writing a book on the intersection of faith and coffee titled, naturally, Holy Grounds. This project, a mixture of coffee history (it was discovered by 9th century Ethiopian Muslims and used to fuel their night prayers!) and personal narrative, will be published by Fortress Press in early 2019.

In support of this, I will be traveling to coffee farms in Nicaragua and El Salvador during harvest
season, spending time soaking in coffee culture in Seattle (and catching up with a childhood friend whose lived there for 25 years), and visiting an Orthodox monastery in Pennsylvania where the monks roast and sell their own coffee under the name Burning Bush Coffee.

I'm particularly excited to visit a coffee farm for the first time -- it feels very much like planning a pilgrimage to a sacred site. My guide will be Mike Love, the owner of Coffee Labs (see above) who's a pretty big deal himself in the coffee industry. I reached out to Mike and his wife (and business parter) Alicia asking if they knew of any farms I could visit and they invited me to tag along with Mike on one of his regular visits to Central America. I'm still amazed this will actually happen!

The family portion is important to me as this often gets sacrificed in parish ministry. I will be spending some time with both my boys individually (including a trip to Florida for Spring Training with Ben and a jaunt to Chicago to attend a gaming convention with Zak), with just Bryna, and then we will be taking a 10-day family trip to Europe in June. We'll be going to Rome (touring religious and historical sites) and Amsterdam (pursuing Schenck family history) and soaking in European coffee culture.

For all of these mini-trips, I will be spending the majority of my time in Hingham writing, reflecting, playing, praying, and (obviously) drinking coffee.

What about Lent Madness?
Oh, relax, Lent Madness fans. There is no such thing as a sabbatical from Lent Madness -- the penitential show must go on. With Easter falling on April 1, my sabbatical will overlap with the season of Lent for about a month. It may be challenging to run the world's most popular online Lenten devotion while slogging around the mountains of El Salvador but we'll figure it out. 

So that's the deal. I'm excited about this and immensely grateful to everyone who has and will help make this sabbatical happen. This is a unique opportunity and I'm still, frankly, stunned that this is actually happening. And while it will be hard to be away from people I love, I will look forward to returning with renewed passion for ministry at St. John's and a rekindled and caffeinated relationship with our Lord.