Blessed are the Cheese-makers & Opposite Black Friday

Jean-Marc Champagne is the co-owner of Fromagerie Bothwell. 
He came up with Opposite Black Friday (Submitted by Jean-Marc Champagne )

Ah yes, Black Friday, the orgy of buying, buying, buying which has taken on a religious significance around the world. This shopping day began in the United States following Thanksgiving Thursday and the concept it that retailers move into "the black" for the year as a result of sales. There is a great irony for me that the Christian solemn Good Friday is referred to as Black Friday in a number of countries, and that in the States Good Friday is not a holiday (holy day) but today is for millions. Now Canada worships at the altar of Black Friday and everyone wants a bargain on items they may not need or even want -- ya gotta buy if it seems like a great deal.

Not everyone is willing to buy in, literally or figuratively, to the frenzy. There is a movement called Buy Nothing Day as an antidote of sorts to Black Friday and over consumption. It was founded in Vancouver by artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Adbusters, based in Canada. 

Others have made their own choices about what to do on this day, including the owner of a fromagerie or cheese shop in Winnipeg who has come up with Opposite Black Friday. The CBC reports: 

Jean-Marc Champagne, the co-owner of the shop, told CBC News on Tuesday he'd heard a number of customers asking about Black Friday deals. That got him thinking. "You see these videos of people getting elbowed in the face for the third TV they don't need. I thought, you know, let's do the opposite of Black Friday," he said.

"Let's sell some products for a good cause. Instead of ... consumerism and sales, let's do something for community and for other people." Fromagerie Bothwell is donating 20 per cent of each purchase on Friday to Morberg House, a transitional residence in St. Boniface that helps people overcome homelessness, addictions and mental health challenges...

This is really impressive and should give "cause for pause" about our consumerism. Blessed are the cheese-makers! 

Decades ago celebrated author and Christian, the late Madeleine L'Engle, challenged the notion of Homo Consumeris, feeling that the term "consumer" which we have blindly accepted speaks of destruction, akin to a devastating fire. L'Engle offered this thought long before the climate emergency contributed to conditions in which wildfires literally consume communities and landscape. 

The old adage of "reduce, reuse, and recycle" invites us to "reconsider" what is enough as we crucify the body of God, which is the planet on which we live and move and have our being. 

Thoughts?