Weekly Newsletter - January 27, 2015
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. Endorsement for "Lent & Learn: Revitalize Your Life, Beginning with Lent"
  2. Activist Feedback / Opportunities
  3. Essay: Advocating for Animals, part 2
  4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Endorsement

I would like to endorse the “Lent & Learn: Revitalize Your Life, Beginning with Lent” daily devotional. It features an overview of reasons to go veg for Lent and beyond, helpful advice on making the transition, and a 40-day devotional guide. For each day, writer Jennifer Nemeth, RN offers on a reason to move to a plant-based diet, provides a prayer, and suggests an action step.

To obtain a Kindle edition this very nice resource for $4.99, go to this page.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

2. Activist Feedback

Rick Hershey leafleted at Winter Jam in St. Louis, MO on 1/22 and Kansas City, MO on 1/23. He writes:

In St. Louis, Tyler and I handed out 2460 CVA booklets at Scottrade Center mostly to kids. This was Tyler’s first CVA event, and he did a great job! In Kansas City, MO, Dave, Sadie, Christian, and I handed out 3000 CVA booklets at the Sprint Center to a huge receptive crowd consisting mainly of kids!

[Great job, Rick and friends! Winter Jam is usually a great venue for leafleting.]

Upcoming Activist Opportunities

02/05/2016 MO, Springfield Jeremy Camp
02/06/2016 GA, Atlanta Winter Jam 2016
02/11/2016 GA, Augusta Winter Jam 2016
02/11/2016 FL, Sunrise Hillsong United Empires Tour 2016
02/12/2016 SC, Greenville Winter Jam 2016
02/12/2016 FL, Orlando Hillsong United Empires Tour 2016
02/12/2016 TX, Dallas Jeremy Camp
02/12-13/16 MO, Kansas City Women of Faith – The Farewell Tour
02/13/2016 FL, Tampa Hillsong United Empires Tour 2016
02/13/2016 TN, Knoxville Winter Jam 2016
02/14/2016 VA, Fairfax Winter Jam 2016
02/14/2016 IN, Indianapolis Jeremy Camp
02/16/2016 TN, Memphis Hillsong United Empires Tour 2016
02/18/2016 LA, Baton Rouge Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
02/19/2016 AL, Birmingham Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
02/19/2016 TX, Dallas Hillsong United Empires Tour 2016
02/19/2016 OH, Cincinnati Winter Jam 2016
02/21/2016 OH, Cleveland Winter Jam 2016
02/25/2016 NC, Raleigh Third Day
02/25/2016 CA, Sacramento Jeremy Camp
02/26/2016 TN, Chattanooga Third Day
02/26/2016 AZ, Phoenix Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
02/27/2016 OH, Canton Third Day
02/28/2016 CA, San Diego Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
03/18/2016 CO, Denver Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
03/18/2016 IN, Indianapolis Winter Jam 2016
03/20/2016 IL, Peoria Winter Jam 2016
04/01/2016 LA, New Orleans Winter Jam 2016
04/02/2016 AR, Little Rock Winter Jam 2016
8/19-20/16 OH, Columbus Belong Tour 2016
9/16-17/16 PA, Philadelphia Belong Tour 2016
9/23-24-16 CO, Denver Belong Tour 2016 (Loveland, CO)
09/30/2016 TX, Dallas Belong Tour 2016
10/01/206 TX, Dallas Belong Tour 2016

Tabling

03/20/2016 FL, Tallahassee North Florida Vegfest
04/02/2016 TX, Austin Vegfest
04/9-10/16 WA, Seattle VegFest
04/23/2016 CA, San Francisco Earth Day 2016
04/26/2016 MI, Novi VegFest
05/01/2016 CA, Los Angeles VegFest L.A.
05/07/2016 OH, Cleveland Vegfest
05/7-8/16 NY, New York NY Vegetarian Food Festival
05/7/2016 LA, New Orleans NOLA Veggiefest
06/4/2016 NY, Albany Vegfest 2016
06/18/2016 WI, Madison Mad City VeganFest
07/6-10/16 PA, Johnstown Vegetarian Summerfest 2016
07/23-24/16 CO, Denver VegFest Colorado 2016
07/23-24/16 IL, Naperville Veggie Fest 2016
10/22-23/16 OR, Portland Portland VegFest

3. Essay: Advocating for Animals, part 2

Read part 1 here.

This is the second in a series of lectures discussing the strategy of incremental improvements in animal treatment (“welfarism”) versus advocating only for abolition if animal abuse (“abolitionism”). Abolitionists often argue that reforms aimed to improve animal welfare (or, more accurately, to reduce animal ill-fare) implicitly endorse animal mistreatment.

It is hard to know what is and what is not implicitly communicated as a “meta-message.” When we speak, our message always has overtones that might or might not be intentional and that depend largely on how our audience receives that message. If I support the Black Lives Matter movement, does that indicate I have less concern for white lives? To the ear of some people the answer is yes, and to others no.

Careful market analysis can help elucidate how our message is being received. Without such analysis, people tend to rely on anecdotes and personal opinions, and I have little confidence in either approach for gauging the effectiveness of a given message.

One problem is that, when seeking legislation to reforms animal abuse industries, advocates are often accused of having a “real agenda” that is much more far-reaching. It is tempting for advocates to say things like, “We’re not trying to shut down animal agribusiness, we’re just trying to improve conditions on farms.” In saying such things, they seem to endorse animal exploitation and abuse, albeit at a level of abuse that is less heinous than current standards. Do such comments set back animal protectionism, as abolitionists often claim? I’ll explore this next week.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

Being United with Christ in Spirit

Archived 2016 Newsletters
See All Newsletter Archives