Invested in Faith - Week 1
Musical interlude - You can do this hard thing
The 500-year old Anabaptist-Christian faith tradition, which provides a foundation for the Praxis Mutual Funds® Stewardship Investing Philosophy and Values, is rooted in stories of persecution, conviction and global migration. So it isn’t surprising that an emphasis on perseverance, faithfulness, and hope for a better future are common as well. Our tradition reminds us that, even when faced with the greatest of difficulties, we never walk alone.
These thoughts are echoed in Carrie Newcomer’s ballad, You can do this hard thing from The Beautiful Not Yet on Available Light Records.
Watch the music video (via YouTube)
Words to ponder
An intrinsic part of Praxis’s Stewardship Investing philosophy is an ever-present mindfulness that the hardships of world are most often visited on the most vulnerable and voiceless among us. This calls us to reflection – and gratitude – and action.
Prayer for a Pandemic (A Prayer for the World’s Most Vulnerable)
By Cameron Wiggins Belim
May we who are merely inconvenienced
remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
remember those who must choose between preserving their
health or making the rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when
their schools close
remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of
the economic market
remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
Let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms
around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God
to our neighbors.
Amen.
Stories of hope and action
We must always remember that amid all of the challenges, people and communities are coming together to meet the daunting realities we face.
- Medical Credit Fund supports health care in low-income areas
- Small-business owners financed by Opportunity Finance Network
- Comcast CEO donates full salary to charity, company sets up $500M employee fund
For further reflection
Excerpt from Creating Positive Change: Impact Investing, Community Development and the Rethinking of Returns
By Mark A. Regier
From Faithful Investing: The Power of Decisive Action and Incremental Change
In times like these, many faith-based and values-driven investors lean into the potential for their investments to be a source of positive impact and change in a needy world. This is indeed possible if we approach the investment task with an open heart, mindful of the values we are trying to reflect, and with a deepened understanding of the returns we are seeking – and for whom.
- Read the excerpt (PDF)
If you like what you read, you can learn more about the book and order online using the link below. Receive a 20% discount by using the code PRAXIS20 at checkout.
Order Faithful Investing: The Power of Decisive Action and Incremental Change
Be well, be renewed, be at peace.
From all of us at Praxis Mutual Funds