$2 a day: April 29th-May 1st

Did you know that more than one half of the world lives on less than $2 a day?

We have planned a three-day spiritual journey to learn more about the issue of global poverty and to bring the HDS and the outside faith community together to stand in solidarity on this topic of global importance. Although the main hosts of this event are the Boston Emergent Cohort and the Crossing (a Christian Episcopal worship service) we envision this event as being ecumenical in nature and hope that these three days can bring people of many diverse traditions together to dialogue about this very important topic.

Why are we calling it $2 a Day?
• As a communal spiritual practice, we be gathering pledges as we eat on less than $2 a day for three days to raise money for Kupenda (www.kupenda.org), a Christian organization that exists to meet the needs of children with disabilities in Kenya.
Each night of the event there will be the opportunity to partake in a simple community meal and discuss together the issues and questions that arise around the issues of faith and global poverty.

• You can get involved! We would love to have you share the $2 a day meals with us. To make this as easy as possible we will be providing sample menu lists with the prices already figured out. We also have pledge sheets so that you and your friends can donate (tax deductible!) to the event. One idea would be to consider donating what you would have spent on food for those three days. We will also have additional space for contributions at the events listed below.

Schedule:
* April 29th, Tuesday
Will Samson (author of Justice in the 'Burbs and member of the Emergent Village Coordinating Group) speaks @ Harvard Divinity School (7pm, Sperry Room, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge) Simple Kenyan meal reception to follow.
Topic: "Global Poverty and our Everyday Lives"
He will be discussing the how consumerism contributes to global poverty and what we can do in our daily lives to make a difference.

* April 30th, Wednesday
Go deeper w/ breakout groups and a community meal @ Belva's Café, (7pm, Harvard Divinity School, 14 Divinity Ave, Cambridge)

* May 1st, Thursday
Social justice themed worship service followed by a celebration potluck @ The Crossing (6:30pm, 138 Tremont St, Boston). For this potluck, bring what is in your fridge or pantry already. No buying allowed!

-for more information or to get pledge sheets and sample menu ideas, contact Anna Gerdeen at agerdeen@hds.harvard.edu or check out bostoncohort.blogspot.com

Will Samson is a PhD student at The University of Kentucky, where his research focuses on the role of religion in the social movement toward environmental sustainability. He has been awarded both the Gilbert Beers and the James S. Brown awards for his research on religious movement seeking to end the practice of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. This fall Will begins a lectureship at Georgetown College, in Georgetown, KY, where he will be teaching in the areas of sociological theory, social problems and social inequalities. He is the co-author of the book, Justice in the Burbs (Baker, 2007), and is the author of two book chapters, including in the upcoming work, An Emergent Manifesto of Justice (Baker, 2009). Will, along with his wife, novelist Lisa Samson, and their family are participants in the life of Communality, a missional Christian community in the city of Lexington, KY. Will serves on the coordinating group of Emergent Village, the Board of Seedleaf, a Lexington-based community gardening initiative, and, he is on the Board of Advisers at Relational Tithe, a group experimenting with alternative models of giving.