Bargains, More Importantly Blessings at Fair Trade Christmas Sale

I helped with our fair trade/direct trade Christmas sale at church Saturday. We didn't have nearly the traffic we had last year, but weather was treacherous and cold. I'm hoping that's the reason. And not that people prefer junk stuff produced by slave labor in exploited countries. Sorry, I get ranty about fair trade. And I admit, it's not easy. That's why I felt so good about this sale.   Bargains and Blessings at Our Fair Trade Christmas Sale

Lenten Rice Bowl Devotional and Lesson Planner

Catholic Relief Services is the single largest non-governmental relief agency in the world. Each year at Lent CRS initiates what is called 'Operation Rice Bowl'. Operation Rice Bowl is a program which focuses our attention on the cardinal aims of the Lenten season: prayer, fasting and alms-giving.
The Rice Bowl project consists of a cardboard box which when assembled, looks very much like the take out boxes that rice comes in. The Rice Bowl is a box which families set up in their homes during Lent to collect loose change and offerings for the poor and hungry of the world. Operation Rice bowl also includes a Lenten prayer calendar with devotional activities, feast days and stations of the cross. Each calendar day has a prayer focus. Specific information about world poverty statistics and needs from around the world are listed also.  Lenten Rice Bowl Devotional and Lesson Planner