The Mocha Mission Contest is possibly the first such challenge issued by this magazine since its inception in 1876. Not surprising then that our readers have been slow to embrace it. We have had several inquiries but no congregation has entered into the draw to get free Fair Trade coffee for a year.
Perhaps the prize wasn’t big enough; or the committees have been slow in responding to session. Perhaps the readers are still shocked the magazine would issue a contest. We can only speculate.
But two individuals have taken initiative on behalf of their congregations: Barbara J. Ormston (top) made this wonderful quilt that tells the story of the “chain of economic slavery which exists in the absence of Fair Trade.” She is a member of St. Paul’s, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Mary A. Johnston (bottom) has been “a volunteer entrepreneur, bookkeeper and delivery person,” selling Fair Trade products to various retail outlets. Her church, St. Andrew’s, Kitchener, Ont., “supports Fair Trade products as a tool to raise awareness of North/South inequities, challenge economic assumptions and provide top grade products.”
The challenge to trade fair is open to every congregation.
