Banks

Donna Schaper 5-17-2013
Business man underwater, Minerva Studio / Shutterstock.com

Business man underwater, Minerva Studio / Shutterstock.com

Debt, multitudes think, is bad. It could be good, by helping more people manage the energy of money. The Lord’s Prayer helps the confusion along: some pray to be forgiven debts, others to be forgiven trespasses. Good debt does not trespass. Bad debt is most often done by banks, and trespasses inside people, insidiously, and shames them. Religious institutions help the shame along by mispraying the Lord’s Prayer.

Debt might be good. In his book on Debt: The First 5000 years, David Graeber opens with a story. The story is paradigmatic. A woman tells a man the story about a person who is “under water.”  “But, shouldn’t she have to pay her debt?”  Should. Have. Pay. Debt. Those four words go together. They mispray the Lord’s prayer. Instead we might pray, “forgive the banks their trespasses into our souls first and then our pocketbooks.”   

Beth Newberry 11-27-2012

(Anthony Berenyi / Shutterstock)

WANT TO PUT money to work for the common good? Your congregation—large or small—has more to invest than you might expect. Here are three questions to get you started.

1. Where does our church bank? "Many churches choose a bank based on proximity to the church or the church treasurer's home," Andy Loving says, but it doesn't have to end there. Approach the finance committee and say, "We want to put our money somewhere that has implications for what we value as a church," suggests Loving. Find a bank that empowers economically depressed areas through brick-and-mortar locations and socially responsible loan practices.

2. Does the bank we're considering provide options for the poor? Where are the branches located? Does it loan to people or businesses who typically don't get approved by mainstream lenders? One institution Loving recommends is Self-Help Credit Union in Durham, N.C., which has locations throughout the state—and also a web-based interface convenient for members outside the area. Another place to hunt for justice-oriented banking is the National Community Investment Fund website, www.ncif.org, which allows you to search by location and banking practices.

the Web Editors 7-06-2012

Economists

The Daily Show correspondents weigh in on why economists are more than just nerdy, high-panted economic yodas with no accountability. More inside the blog.

Rose Marie Berger 4-01-2012

What does God's "settlement" look like?

Stacy Mitchell 4-01-2012

Banking used to be an agreement between neighbors, not a transaction between chairmen of the board. It's time for a new set of rules—banking policies for the 99 percent.

Rose Marie Berger 3-01-2012

The bigger the financial corporation, the quicker your dollar exits your community.

Jeremy John 2-23-2012

The question is, are we listening? For God, who hears the prayers of God's people, is calling us to listen as well. God's justice is a collective project.

But when we listen, we hear stories of oppression, corruption, and injustice, in the face of honesty and hard work. But listening is not enough. When we listen, God calls us from the quiet of prayer to be a healing presence in the world.

"She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." - Proverbs 31:27

Andy R. Loving 7-01-2010

While moving money from megabanks (“Time to Move Your Money?” by Jim Wallis, March 2010) is worth doing, where the money is moved to is critical; the “move your money” Web s

Ken Sehested 6-01-2010

I very much appreciate Jim Wallis commentary ("Time to Move Your Money?" March 2010).

Stephen Colbert does the second best interview in recent memory with economist, passionate advocate for consumer protection, and veteran Sunday school teacher Elizabeth Warren. Second best, that is, to Sojourners' interview with her for our April magazine cover story.

100506-elizabeth-warren-stephen-colbert-video

Edith Rasell 5-04-2010
As someone who lives in Cleveland -- which in some years is identified as the poorest city in the U.S.
John Gehring 4-27-2010
As financial reform legislation stalls in the Senate for the moment and embattled Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testifies today before a congressional subcommittee, faith-based organizations an
Jim Wallis 3-01-2010
The banks must be sent a message: We find their behavior unacceptable.
Jim Wallis 2-01-2010

What have we learned from the financial crisis?

Jim Wallis 1-22-2010

Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance law will give a huge boost to the special interests that already exercise a stranglehold on our political system, allowing them to tighten their grip and fu