The envelope is biodegradable. In this city that means off to the land fill, not the Blue Box.

Agreed DKS - not cool.   :o(

Hi DKS,

Could you please make the same complaint using a justice framework?  I fear it will not get heard unless it is spoken in a language that is easily understood.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Most people who attend church and receive The Observer are not "online".  Since most of those people would also be the target audience for the catalogue the online catalogue does not exist.  The paper catalogue is a requirement. 

I detect a rush to judge.

Sadly, translation is required to be heard. However, former Moderator Mardi Tindal would understand...

David, aren't YOU the one always dissing the online efforts of the GCO?

It seems this is an acceptable level of waste if hard copy catalogue gets to the people that are interested.

How about just leaving it in the church for non-onliner non-observer  recipients to take home

Did I comment about it being available on line? I simply affirmed that it was on line.

Frankly, for many in rural areas it is a waste to be on line. Leave that for the wired up city folks. Better to have a hard copy out there. But let's see... we have this thing called InfoPac. It could have easily been inserted in that paper enveloped and largely recycleable distribution that arrived last week. But no. Someone decided that it should go into the Observer. Which arrived THIS week.

I wonder why?

The answer is simple. Marketing and Myth. The shrinking audience of The Observer is the hard core of the United Church, so the marketing thinking goes. So why not distribute it to the church keeners? Bypass the InfoPac system, which usually gets stuck on minister's desks, or so the line of thinking goes; it's been a myth which has been around the national office since the 1970's).

But there is a cost. It has to be packaged in a plastic envelope. So what about the environment?

Oh, "that's an accceptable level of waste", say the marketers. Besides, it's "biodegradeable" so it's not a threat to the environment. Define "biodegradeable"

The next line I heard was on Twitter, when I raised the issue. The person on the United Church's Twitter feed (you, Martha?) suggested that it be put out with organic compost. Oh.  We don't have organic compost pickup in this city. Lots of people in  Canada don't have organic compost pickup, unlike the Centre of the Universe. And someone else who did have compost pickup said on the Twitter feed that the wrapper would not be accepted in their city's compost pickup, anyway.

A marketing decision gone horribly wrong, IMHO. The plastic wrappers have to go in the garbage, which, in my city, will end up buried in a landfill. Right now that landfill is in the US.  

"Acceptable level of waste". Right. Sounds just like "collateral damage".

What ever happened to our professed caring for creation? Has it been reduced to an "acceptable level of waste"? May God have mercy.

aaaah, a dks rant.

somehow, it seems appropriate on thanksgiving.

Ructions?

ructionsplural of ruc·tion (Noun)

the joke of the "pack" mailings is that they generally made it to the person who needed the material in them approx 2 months after they needed to be there... unless you were in a church like dks' that ran like a finely tuned machine.

i was thankful when i realized i could download hampack online.

and I'm always annoyed when other WC ers get their Observer  and Canada Post has not delivered mine yet!

BTW only 19% of United Church members get the Observer.

Tabitha - I feel your pain. There was awhile when, for some reason, The Observer never got delivered to my house. I tried several times and then gave up - deciding to read the copies in the church library. I, just this morning, signed up for it again at my church. I have a new address now - maybe it will like this one better!

Which is one of my points...

The Observer was printed for decades at RBW - Transcontinental Printers in Owen Sound, Ont..Members of my congregation proudly and faithfully printed it. The contract changed a couple of years ago to a printer in eastern Ontario. Before that, because it was mailed in Owen Sound and it was local, we got our copies up to a week before everyone else. Today, it arrives somewhere around the first Friday of the month. First Thursday this month.

InfoPac is also available for download on line. We do what we have to do. The church secretary routes everything to the right people. I might or might not see InfoPac intact.

Perhaps I take "caring for creation" from our statement of faith with a touch of seriousness.

True - it's the rant that went with it dks - you seem so happy to crticize - knowing that you bear a grudge regarding the printing decision is enlightening

Grudge? Not at all. I know why the decision to change printers was made and I agree with it. When someone raises a justice issue using justice language, United Church people swoon with ecstasy.When I question a decision in non-justice language, it's called "criticism" and a "rant" and justified as an "acceptable level of waste" (gotta remember that one!). Welcome to the world of the United Church double standard.   

I received my copy of the Observer as well as the catalog.  They ask, in the catalog, that after you are done with it, to "pass it on" to someone else.  In my case, I am a UCC person, but if I were to pass it on to someone it is ulikely that they would be, or at least unlikely that they receive The Observer - so perhaps this is their hope, that the catalog will far outreach the 19% of those who are UCC who receive The Observer.

It was interesting, but if I were going to do Christmas giving in this way, it is probably more likely I would give to M&S - although there were a few that interested me.

Actually, I find that impressive. While I don't have the numbers, I believe far fewer of we in the FEBCC receive our monthly magazine. I know that my own church we get just one copy of the magazine for the 40 or so people in the congregation to share.

Yes, that is a sad choice for the environment. I would have thought better from the UCCanada.

As a side note -- I looked online at the catalog -- there are some good gifts there.

As far as I understand, those gifts with a vision are part of the M&S funds. I really liked the catalogue. Okay, it could have been made a bit less glossy, maybe on recycled paper.

 But the gift suggestions are great, nice mix of Canadian and international projects and especially nice mix of options from $10 up. Showed it to my friend (who hasn't been in a church for a long time,because the local one is so dull and doesn't meet her need for social justice action)- and she wanted to get one, too. Will send her the link, if I find it. Said that she had used World Vision before, but now will switch. Especially good to have the $10 option for teacher's gifts.

I agree that the 19% figure is impressive. Most people don't want serious reading. That's why newspapers give oddles of space to Ann Landers, Miss Manners, sports trivia and guess which celebrities are having birthdays today.

Maybe there's a market for a church magazine of similar quality to our newspapers. But I can't the value in such a thing.

The UC Oberserver is prettty good. I've never seen a better one in its category.