Each day since the April 24 collapse of the building in Bangladesh that housed five garment factories, the death toll has risen. As of this writing, it is over 1100 and may still go up. In one sense, most of us feel far removed from this tragedy, but the work of the people in that building, and many more like them, has made it possible for us to regularly purchase clothing at low prices. This tragedy calls us to think about our responsibility to those on the other side of world who labor under conditions we would not tolerate for ourselves, enabling us to sustain our lifestyle. So that will be the topic of this week’s Adult Education class.

Some of the questions we’ll discuss: To what degree are we, as people who buy foreign-made clothing and benefit from the low prices of those garments, responsible for the conditions under which those garments are made? To what extent are we, by purchasing clothing made there, responsible for increasing the standard of living of those in foreign countries and for creating more opportunities for their children?  What is our obligation — if any — in all of this by virtue of the fact that we are followers of Jesus? Why?