Chattanooga’s new Justice and Peace Center will open the doors to its fair trade Mercy Store with a grand opening celebration at 6 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a book signing by local author, Judith Pederson-Benn at 7 p.m.
Mercy Junction is a ministry of the Presbytery of East Tennessee that operates the new Justice and Peace Center at St. Andrews on Union Ave in Chattanooga. The Justice and Peace Center is devoted to advancing social justice in Chattanooga and in the South, and organizes with both secular and faith-based organizations and individuals on a broad range of issues such as wage inequality, mass incarceration, food justice, fair housing, and global peace-making.
Co-directors Beth Foster and Rev. Brian Merritt welcome the community of greater Chattanooga to the Mercy Store opening to enjoy a unique selection of artisan gifts and to learn how the sale of each item promotes justice in both the local and global communities. All goods offered are fair-trade items, produced under guarantees of fair wages, safe working conditions and sustainable environmental standards.
Shoppers can expect an eclectic array of goods from all corners of the globe from colorful, Ecuadorian Tagua nut and seed jewelry, to unique, hand-crafted pottery, Mumbai Batik pillows, sweet-grass baskets, fair-trade coffees, and more. The Mercy Store is exceptionally proud to offer the high-quality, natural skin products and gifts of Thistle Farms, an organization that employs and empowers women of Mexico, India, Cambodia, Ghana, Nashville and Milwaukee who have been victims of sex-trafficking and addiction.
Also available at the Mercy Store is the newest work of visionary fiction by local author Judith Pederson-Benn entitled The Turning Chronicles. Pederson Benn will be offering a short talk on her book at 7 p.m, and will be available afterwards to sign copies. Described as “engaging and instructional.” The book offers practical means for applying the principles of community, cooperation, and non-violence in our everyday lives.
“We invite everyone to come out Saturday to browse the Mercy Store, purchase fair-trade gifts that support important local ministries, and meet a brilliant author,” says co-director, Rev. Brian Merritt. “But we also welcome folks to come learn about Mercy Junction and how we operate as a community of faith rooted in justice and peacemaking and how they can become part of that work.”
For more information, contact justice@mercyjunctioncenter.org or (423) 457-2519.