FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
There is now a movement to eliminate the penny. For who needs a penny? The case against that simple coin seems airtight. It is just weight in our pocket and it even costs more to make than it is worth. With the economy moving more to the electronic cash, the penny is just a waste of effort and time.
Yet…
I owe the lowly penny so very much. My son, who was born with a tumor condition, got help from the Spokane Guilds’ School. During his last year at the school, they asked him to be the face of the place in their annual penny drive. There we met so many people in the community who also owed the Guild School a huge debt of gratitude. We all rallied around the yearly penny drive and still do. I think of all those teenagers over the years that gave up a Saturday to collect those loose pennies and change. All their hard work added up to the help my son and so many others. Decade and after decade those loving professionals at the Guild School gave their time to help children like my son, like the neighbor kid down the road. Tomorrow (April 22), when you pull up to an intersection in Spokane and Spokane Valley and you see a bunch of teenagers and families asking for your pennies know this year Penny Drive encompasses the whole of all the children and kids the Guild School in a circle of love. Know that you are doing more than helping the school, you are helping in the creation of love and hope.
What is a penny worth? A lifetime of love.
Art, says Ernesto Tinajero, comes from the border of what has come before and what is coming next. Tinajero uses his experience studying poetry and theology to write about the intersecting borders of art, poetry and religion.
