In Praise of Goodwill’s Spiritual Mission

Re “From Strip Show to Ski Row,” Opinion, June 26: USC professor Diane Winston is to be commended for her excellent article on Goodwill Industries. Besides not being “your charity,” Goodwill Industries isn’t even “Aunt Beulah’s charity.”

During its formative period in early-1900s Boston by Methodist clergy and laity, the organization’s slogan was “not a charity, but a chance.”

Goodwill’s purpose has always been to provide employment training for individuals, which often leads to the development of a healthy self-esteem and sense of purpose in one’s life.

Winston uplifts this significant spiritual heritage with the example of Gina, the former topless dancer who now manages the Goodwill store in downtown Los Angeles.

At a time when mainline Protestant churches are being chided as “old-line,” it is heartening to see Goodwill Industries and others like it still around after all these years.

It continues to fulfill the religious and spiritual mission of its founders in significant, transformative ways that proponents of contemporary “faith-based” programs are struggling to figure out how to accomplish.

Rev. Mark M. Nakagawa

Senior Minister

Centenary United Methodist

Church, Los Angeles