Mission is Fair & for Sale! The St. Cloud Mission Office is proud to be able to support our global brothers and sisters through selling their goods at a just wage and fair price, as well as to be able to sell beautiful local crafts to support the work of mission. What is for sale at the Mission Office? Although we are primarily an "Office," promoting and supporting mission activity for the St. Cloud Diocese, the Mission Office also has a selection of items for sale. Many of these things for sale are Fair Trade items, such as:
We also carry a variety of cultural artisan crafts, including:
In addition to these great global items, we also carry crafts made right here in our diocese by our many mission groups. These hand-made items include:
And don't forget our resources. We also sell a small selection of mission books, some DVD's and even a few musical CD's. Also check out our mission Education page for more information on these and other resources available on loan through our Mission Office.
Didn't You used to have a second-hand shop? The Mission Office did used to have a second-hand shop in our basement and back rooms in addition to our offices. That shop closed in 2006 in order to focus staff effort and resources more on the promotion and support of mission globally, rather than locally. We no longer carry any used clothing or household items. We, therefore, no longer accept used donations. We were sorry to see the Mission Shop close after so many years, and we sincerely thank all of the volunteers and staff who kept it going for so long! Although the "Mission Shop" closed a few years ago, and therefore we no longer carry the used thrift items, we still have PLENTY of GREAT selection available for sale! (see above for some of our selection) The ministry of the Mission Office and the parish mission groups throughout the Diocese DOES CONTINUE! And through their ministries, we are still able to offer you a great selection of fair trade and hand-made items for sale - so don't forget to stop in to check out our selection still available! For more information on why the Shop closed, read a letter from our director on the Shop Closing.
Why does the Mission Office sell things? Although the work of the Mission Office is first-and-foremost the promotion and support of mission activity, solidarity and involvement for the St. Cloud Diocese, we also strive to live-out mission in our own daily activities. In order to do so, we believe that we must promote just wages and fair labor practices for our brothers and sisters around the world. For this reason, we sell Fair Trade items. In order to do the work of global solidarity we also need support. Through the sale of items made and donated by our mission groups, we are able to raise additional funds for the work of our office and the work of many of our missioners around the globe. The sale of cultural crafts also supports our efforts, in addition to often providing a Fair Trade income for the crafts-people and enhancing a multi-cultural awareness and spirit.
What is Fair Trade? Fair Trade means that the farmer, artisan or crafts-person who grew or made the item for sale is the one getting the profit from its sale. So often numerous middle-men or large factories, plantation owners or corporations make the profit, while those who do the work and initially produced the product are left receiving a pitence for their labors. Over half of the world's coffee is grown by small family farmers. Our fair-trade coffees and chocolates, and our direct mission connection coffees (with places like the San Lucas Mission in Guatemala), are one way of striving to pay a fairer price to the international coffee and cocoa farmers for their product. Fair-trade strives to pay 3 to 5 times more than the going market price paid by large and often unjust international coffee or chocolate companies, not to mention corporations who buy clothing and crafts for less than a just value. Fair Trade also allows people to stay on and work their own land, rather than losing their farms or working on large corporate-run plantations, and to support their families. Through our purchase of coffees and crafts like these, we can build up and support our mission connections. It makes it possible for these farming and crafts-people to raise a cash crop of high quality to meet other human needs and dignity. Our Catholic Social Teachings call us to Fair Trade, and we at the Mission Office are proud to use and sell Fair Trade items. Join us!
Where do you get your Fair Trade coffee and chocolate? We order our Fair Trade coffee from two different sources. The first is through Equal Exchange, a Fair Trade cooperative that supports coffee, tea and cocoa farmers around the world. We carry a variety of their coffees, including decaffinated and flavored. We also carry organic Fair Trade baking cocoa and hot chocolate mix through Equal Exchange, but they have a larger variety of items, including many flavors of chocolate bars and teas. If you're interested in ordering Equal Exchange for your parish or group, view their website for a full list of what they carry and information on how to order. Or stop in the Mission Office first to give it a try. Visit Equal Exchange's website for more information or to order for yourself. The second kind of coffee we carry is "Juan Anna" Coffee from Guatemala. The beans are grown by farmers working as part of a cooperative through the San Lucas Toliman Mission in Guatemala (a place where many parishioners of the diocese have visited). We purchase the green (un-roasted) beans directly from Guatemala. The beans are then shipped to Reality Roasters, a local roaster in Little Falls, who roasts the beans and bags them to be the freshest coffee we can provide. It's a great way to support both the global and the local - all in one bag! And for the coffee lover, there's nothing like fresh coffee, and it's hard to beat fresh AND fair all in one! Another great Fair Trade item we sell are chocolate bars. We purchase our Fair Trade chocolate from "Divine Chocolate," a ministry of Catholic Relief Services and SERRV International Fair Trade. The cocoa comes from farmers in Ghana. We carry both dark and milk chocolate 1.5 oz bars. If you're a chocolate lover, and even if you're not, this is as good as it gets, and as fair too!
Where do your international crafts come from? We have gotten our Fair Trade and international crafts from a variety of sources. Many are purchased by our foreign missioners abroad from artisens they know to be reputable and in need of support for their wares. Others are purchased from organizations doing development and empowerment work in other countries.
The Mission Office also offers a selection of Mission related books and global educational resources from our diocesan mission connections, the Maryknoll Missioners, and local authors, including GeoDeo educational resources on Africa and collections of African Proverbs and stories compiled by Fr. Joe Healey, MM.
What if our parish wants to sell Fair Trade? You can buy and sell fair-trade coffees, teas, chocolates and other items at your own parish or group. Groups can order and sell Fair Trade items themselves through various Fair Trade Co-ops and organizations as a fundraiser for your own group or parish. Or on occasion we will provide items from our Mission Office inventory to groups with booths at various events, such as parish festivals; this is for groups not looking to raise money for themselves, but simply hoping to support and raise awareness of Fair Trade and mission. Contact us if you are interested or have questions about selling Fair Trade. These are GREAT fundraiser or on-going projects for both you and those throughout the world producing these great fair-trade goods!
When can we come shop? Mission Office Hours of Operation are regularly 9am - 4pm, Monday through Thursday. However, due to limited staff and our busy outreach schedule, the building can not always be unlocked during these times. Please call ahead to ensure that we will be available to help you. We apologize for any inconvenience! The Mission Office is located at 11 - 8th Avenue South, in Downtown Saint Cloud. Driving directions and maps are available.
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