Fall, 2007
Previous Issues of Newsletters
CONTENTS
* Hope for the Next Generation
* Farewell
* Search Update
* Let's Reach Out to Colleges & Seminaries
* It's Time!
* LIFE Profiles
Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson, San Marcos, TX
Mel Luetchens, Murdock, NE
Ella Hartzell, Belleville, IL
Cathy Brechtelsbauer, Sioux Falls, SD
* Coming Soon on SimpleLiving.org
* Ways You CAN Help
Hope for the Next Generation
Thanks to the generosity of our members and donors, we have accomplished four of the five goals of our Young Adult Initiative.
Our web site, Resources Guide and Whose Birthday? annual booklet all now have a new, young-adult friendly look.
Over half the members of our board of directors are under 40.
I have met face-to-face with thousands of members and new friends in over 40 states in three years. These speaking tours have included colleges and seminaries. Thanks to the wonderful hospitality of hundreds of hosts, we have spent under $500 on room & board.
We have produced our first resource especially for young adults - the DVD - Simple Enough: Straight talk from Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne on simpler, just living.
Now we need your help to accomplish the fifth goal, the Next Generation appeal.
Please help us meet our goal of $20,000 to provide the infrastructure that the new leader will need to keep Alternatives moving forward in a time when more and more people are seeing the connection between our lifestyles and global warming. We're confident that new leadership can give people hope and an 'attitude adjustment' that simple living is about joy, not deprivation.
Use the reply in this newsletter or call 800-821-6153. Your donations are tax deductible. Nice Thank You gifts to use and share.
Gerald Iversen
National Coordinator since 1995
* * *
Farewell. . .
. . . to board member Chris Gannon. . . to Business Manager Sharene Schwarz who served for eight year. Notes of appreciation may be sent to Alternatives' office. We will forward them to Sharene.
* * *
Search Update
We've been blessed with many inquiries about our National Coordinator opening. The search committee is following up on applications, conducting telephone and then face-to-face interviews in October. The hope is that a candidate will be confirmed at the next board of directors conference call in mid-November. The new leader is scheduled to take over between January and May.Let's Reach Out to Colleges & Seminaries
Reach out to Young Adults this fall by gifting 100 copies of Whose Birthday? to a church-related college or seminary or campus ministry in your area or denomination. How about your alma mater? Here's how it works. You let us know which institution(s) you want to gift. We (or you) contact the chaplain (or campus minister) to confirm that s/he will judiciously distribute the copies to students. We ship the copies. You pay $100 (including shipping). You can select the ecumenical or catholic version, or one of the customized versions: ELCA Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian (USA), American Baptist or Episcopal.It's Time!
Before the end of the year, send an item for Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? 2008, our Advent/Christmas magazine and most widely read resource. We especially need practical, how-we-simplified-Christmas stories. We get many of our best ideas from you! Consider leading a fall workshop, such as Unplug the Christmas Machine, or an event like an Alternative Giving Fair or a simplifying Christmas class. We can help. Take Dick Haid's 'No Cost Gifts' Tele-workshop at SimpleLivingWroks.org >> Volunteers >> Activities >>#9.People a Lot Like You: LIFE Member Profiles
Wouldn't you like to be a LIFE member?
Dear community of Alternatives,
I give this membership with appreciation for your vision, leadership and work!
Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson of San Marcos, Texas has sent us many notes of encouragement.
Your resources challenge and support.
Jerry. . .Thank YOU for the visit in our home on your trip. It was encouraging and informative to spend time with you, and we'll carry on.
Spirit of Simplicity: Quotes &Art arrived and was a big hit so am ordering two more sets!!!
Mary Gail is a former nurse, now a parish nurse who writes newsletter articles.
Husband Ray has a sense of humor and is a volunteer in the United Methodist Army.
To read more, scroll to post #147.
Mel Luetchens of Murdock NE served on Alternatives' board of directors as the representative of UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) until he retired in 2005.
Mel's pastoral career has included Campus ministry in Lincoln, NE; head of CROP Walks for Church World Service (CWS) in Elkhart, IN; and assistant to the bishop of the Nebraska Conference. Mel served as Interim Nebraska Conference Connectional Minister in 2006.
One way to build an endowment is to ask donors to change the beneficiary on a life insurance policy. Donors like the privacy, says Mel.
Mel's wife Nancy is a social worker.
A typical Mel-ism: Thanks for what you all do!
To read more, visit Post #73.
Ella Hartzell lives in Belleville, IL. She has three sisters. She worked for the government before retiring.
She's given bonds to her nephews for Christmas, now gifts to Heifer International.
Her priority is to feed hungry kids.
Her family gets together on Saturday before Christmas for a spaghetti supper. She reads a children's book. Her adult nephews have gotten caught up in this tradition.
She is trying to downsize her antiques.
The food pantry's been going at her church since 1993.
To read more, scroll to Post #115.
Cathy Brechtelsbauer, Sioux Falls, SD, writes Advent haikus.
Christ takes no pleasure
In off'rings and rituals,
'Til we DO God's will.
(based on Hebrews 10:5-10)
What then should we do?
How can we be satisfied
with only one coat?
(based on Luke 3:7-18 - The Proclamation of John the Baptist - And the crowds asked John, What then should we do? He replied, Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.
She supports Alternatives 'for a better, saner, world for all.'
Cathy's been an advocate from Bread for the World for many years. Currently Bread is promoting the ONE campaign, know internationally as the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. It's based on the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, involving 180 countries, by 2015.
She leads six workshops throughout South Dakota every two years, alternating with Bread Days lobbying in Pierre, the state capital.
The federal goal is to get 1% of the US budget to poverty focused aid -- $25 billion. That's a $5 billion increase per year; now it's $1 billion.
She and her husband Dave, a medical doctor, have two sons -- 27 and 32 -- who've never owned a car. She has no TV in her house. She uses a solar oven.
She funded Alternatives' Sing Justice! Do Justice! music collection.
To read more, scroll to Post #129.
UPDATE: The following information is obsolete.
Coming Soon on SimpleLiving.org - Something new everyday on our dynamic home page!
Window #1 - New Resources
Window #2 - Celebrating
Window #3 - Blog: Faces of Simpler Living in the Northeast (If you missed CA, NC, KS, OK, CO, TX, NE, MO, MI, OH, IL, ID, WA, OR, UT & WY, they're waiting for you in the Blog archives.)
Window #4 - Your Daily Simple Living Calendar
Window #5 - Your Comments
Window #6 - Friend of Alternatives: Simple Living LIFERS
Window #7 - Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? 2007
Get a free update weekly (or monthly if you prefer) by giving us your email address. Our Simply :60 eNewsletter is meant to be read in under a minute. * * *
Ways You CAN Help!
Send referrals! Be proactive. Sharing names and contact information of anyone who shows interest in simpler living.
Be a volunteer for Alternatives in your community. Visit SimpleLiving.org >> Volunteers >> Activities.
Pledge a LIFE membership.
Donate regularly, each month or quarter. We're tax deductible!
Lower taxes through Alternatives' Endowment.
Give someone a simpler living nudge. Share Alternatives' resources, give gift memberships.
Read about membership BENEFITS at SimpleLiving.org >> Membership or at eStore >> Membership.
Member/Volunteer Reply [9/07]
Donations
___ I want to support the Young Adults Initiative, including Tony & Shane's DVD!
$5000 / $2500 / $1000 / $500 /$250 / $100 / $75/ $50 / $35 / $25 -- all levels tax deductible
___ I want to pledge per __ month / __ quarter.
___ I want to be a dues-paying member, or renew.
___ I want to be a charter member of Alternatives' endowment. I'm pledging at least $500.
___ Send me information about including Alternatives in my will and about planned giving.
Volunteers
___ Yes, I want to become/continue as a member of the Simpler Living Community Network (incorporating SLOW Down Network).
___ No thanks, I'm no longer interested in volunteering.
___ Contact me about hosting a speaker in my area.
___ I will distribute Alternatives' free Whose Birthday? flyers. Send me __ copies of the half-sheet. Send me __ copies of past Whose Birthday? (I'll pay the shipping for the booklets.)
___ I will distribute Alternatives' free Resources Guide. Send me __ copies of the full master catalog. Send me __ copies of the current mini-catalog.
Thank You's -- for yourself and to share with others
___ I'm giving $100 or more by check or credit card (include numbers and expiration date). Send me one of the following free resources for each $100 . . .
___ Audio CD Alternative Christmas Trilogy
___ Audio CD Living Simply & Loving It!
___ CD-rom Simply the Best: 30 Years of Alternatives.
___ Unplug the Christmas Machine Workshop-on-a-CD
___ Living More-with-Less Study/Action Guide
___ Spirit of Simplicity: Quotes & Art book
___ Spirit of Simplicity: Quotes & Art CD-rom
___ Break Forth into Joy: Beyond a Consumer Lifestyle video (VHS tape)
___ Stories & Songs of Simple Living book
___ Stories & Songs of Simple Living CD
___ Worship Alternatives CD-rom
___ Sing Justice! Do Justice! Music CD
For more choices visit SimpleLiving.org >> eStore >> Misc. >> Premiums. For donations under $100, claim FREEBIES at Misc. >> Freebies.
___ For $250 Simply Enough, Tony & Shane's DVD
___ For $500 Simply Enough DVD and an autographed copy of Shane's book The Irresistible Revolution
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Page updated 20 February 2013
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