Join the Wave for climate justice

On 5 December, Christians from around the UK will come together in London to pray and march for climate justice.

The day begins with an ecumenical service at Westminster Central Hall, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will deliver an address, and the Archbishop of Westminster, the President of the Methodist Conference, and the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance will lead worship. Agency partners from other countries will provide information about climate change's impacts and local activity on climate change in other parts of the world. There will also be activities for children, which are being provided by CAFOD.

After the service, participants are invited to join the Stop Climate Chaos march from Grosvenor Square to Westminster, which will culminate in a human "wave" encircling the Houses of Parliament at 3:00 pm.

CCOW supporters are then invited to join supporters from other agencies for "tea and cakes" at the Mothers' Union building (Mary Sumner House) on Tufton Street.

Large numbers of people from our area are attending "The Wave." CAFOD has organised coaches from Reading/Woodley/Maidenhead and Northampton/Milton Keynes/Luton, and the Coop/Oxfam have organised coaches from Oxford. There are also groups going together on the train. For full details, see the attached "Wave Q and A" sheet or contact CCOW.

DfID is putting together a new White Paper on International Development, and is holding a consultation as part of the process.

The consultation document is available online at http://consultation.dfid.gov.uk and is open for comment until 27 May. There are also regional consultation events, including one in Southampton on 7 May and one in Leicester on 13 May. Click here for more information about these.

The document has an ambitious title: Eliminating World Poverty.  It has five main sections:

• Building our common future
• Global economic growth
• Climate change
• Fragile and conflict-affected countries
• International institutional reform

"Building our common future" is the introduction; each of the remaining sections includes a brief outline of DfID's thinking on the challenges involved in one key area, together with questions about DfID's response to which those taking part in the consultation can add their thoughts.

Downloadable notes on the main presentations at the DfID Consultation in Bristol on 8 April are at the bottom of this post.

As the G20 "comes to town" next week, how can we make sense of the maelstrom of opinions, hopes and fears around the meeting? And what can we do to pray and express our hopes that any outcomes of the meeting will be ones that move the world towards the vision of God's Kingdom, a vision of love and justice?

Praying and Acting

Within a UK context, there are two major opportunities for prayer and action.

• "Put People First" is holding a service, march and rally on Saturday, 28 March. The service , which begins at 10:30 for 11:00 features the Bishop of London; Joel Edwards, International Director of Micah Challenge; Christine Allen, Executive Director of Progressio; and Fr Joe Komakoma, General Secretary of the Episcopal Conference, Zambia. Many other church and agency leaders will also be speaking and reading, and there will be worship music by Andy Flannagan. A tremendous opportunity to gather and pray for wisdom and discernment for those meeting . . . but also more broadly for God's justice, mercy and peace to flow through all deliberations and our own lives.

• Micah Challenge , the international coalition of Christian organisations campaigning on the Millennium Development Goals and seeking to engage the churches in issues of poverty and justice, has prepared the Rise Up resource to help us pray for the G20 meeting and more generally for a better world. This resource will be used by Christians in countries around the globe -- from Australia to Zambia. Join in! There's a special prayer for use this Sunday, 29 March, in churches. Can you see if your church could use it? 

Information and Opinion

Is the G20 legitimate? Or not? Should it be trying to reform the world's financial architecture? Or standing by to allow a more representative UN-based system to do the job? Should it try to relaunch the Doha round of trade talks to fight protectionism? Or would doing so imperil the economies of some of the world's poorest countries? 

I was in prison . . .

It's not too late to send a message of hope and encouragement to someone who is suffering from political or religious persecution this Christmas season.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors, and Amnesty International all have lists of people who would be grateful for letters and cards. Your writing helps to remind the prisoners themselves -- and those holding them -- that those who suffer persecution are not forgotten, and are not alone.

To download Christian Solidarity Worldwide's letter-writing guide, click here .

To download Open Doors letter-writing guide, click here .

To go to the webpage for Amnesty's Greeting Card Campaign 2008, click here .

Don't forget to register!

Two events coming up early in 2009:

• The Big Brew takes place during Fairtrade Fortnight, but the registration deadline is 16 January. Click here for information and a registration form.
• A "Green Faith Day" on 17 January in Tilehurst will help us think about how we as Christians can fulfill our calling as stewards of creation. It's particularly aimed at any churches that may be involved in -- or considering being involved in -- the Eco-Congregations programme. Click here for more information, and to register.

World AIDS Day was marked in a variety of ways around the three counties.
St Mary's, Thatcham, posted prayers and a red ribbon on their altar and Hope Tshenkeng, diocesan president of the Mothers' Union in Kimberley and Kuruman, shared in prayer and reflection with local Mothers' Union members. Many churches used material from the prayer resources available for World AIDS Day.

A few weeks earlier, on November 22nd, local AIDS charity ACHIVA held a conference entitled "Restoring Hope: Practical Responses to HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa." Keynote speakers were South African AIDS activist Masi Cowper, who spoke of her own work empowering women living with HIV and AIDS; and Basil Eastwood, chair of Cecily's Fund , who shared lessons learned from that charity's work educating orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. The keynote panel was chaired by the Bishop of Oxford.

Workshops offered further perspectives on particular projects -- among others Charlotte Bannister Parker and Hope Tshenkeng spoke of work in the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman; Glen Williams from Strategies for Hope asked participants to share in an AIDS education activity from one of the charity's Called to Care books; and Paula Clifford from Christian Aid shared reflections on the extent to which understanding the cultural context is key to successfully working on prevention and care . . . and asked what it means to HIV+ in a rapidly changing global situation.

What did you do for World AIDS Day? Please let us know -- the more we share, the stronger our response becomes.

In this section, we'll post articles by and about people who are seeking to "live the Gospel in a global context" through different forms of community.

Daniel Rutland: Following the "Servants" Model in Southall 

"Compelling evidence of violence, intimidation and outright terror; the studied harassment of the leadership of the MDC, including its Presidential candidate, by the security organs of the Zimbabwean government; the arrest and detention of the Secretary-General of the MDC; the banning of MDC public meetings; and denial of access to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, all have convinced us that free and fair elections are not possible in the political environment prevalent in Zimbabwe today." (ANC Statement on Zimbabwe, 23 June 2008)

"'You shall love your neighbour as yourself" (Mt.22:39). Electoral processes and outcomes are not an excuse for breaching God's commandments. The sun will still rise on June 28, 2008, well after the elections. May our present conduct help Zimbabwe rise too to assume its rightful place among the nations of the world." (Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference statement, June 2008)

The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe over the past few weeks has been the subject of immense concern for many. Aware of violent attacks like those described in this article from the New York Times and this video, how can we respond as Christians?

In recent statements, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference have requested our prayers.

Just a quick note on the situation with the DEC Appeal and Burma. The high-profile difficulties regarding aid for Burma following Cyclone Nargis have discouraged many from giving to the DEC appeal. We have heard from one of the DEC agencies, however, that their aid is getting through. Due to the sensitive nature of work in Burma, the agencies are not able to name their partners on the ground, nor can they offer stories, but they say we can be confident that the aid is being effective.

This Month's Action

It's still important to campaign on EPAs. Visit Tearfund's website to read a new report ("Partners under Pressure") which details some of the problems raised by the EU's negotiation strategy . . . or read the summary on Traidcraft's website. Then email your MP to raise questions about the material in the report . . . . .

General Suggestions

1. Pray for justice in international trade. Some suggestions for prayer are on our praying and preaching page . . . or send us your own!

2. Study the Scriptures on trade; you might want to look at the theological papers on the praying and preaching page to guide you.

Some Suggestions for Personal Action

• Commit to regular prayer about the debt issue. Go to our prayer page for suggested materials.
• Investigate the Scriptures surrounding Jubilee -- either on your own or with others. Some suggested guides are in the resources section.
• Join the Jubilee Debt Campaign email list. You'll receive updates and notice of campaigning actions you can take.If there's a local JDC group near you, join it. If not, what about starting one?
• Go to the JDC "Act Now" webpage and take part in an email campaign action.
• Dig deeper! Research some particular aspects of the debt issue. (You can find resources for research on our campaigns and further information pages). The research will make you better able to campaign and lobby.
• Use your information to lobby your MP (or other politicians)
• Write to your local newspaper, reminding people that debt still IS an issue and explaining why. Or . . .
  
• Be dramatic! Debt is an issue that has a dramatic effect on the lives of people in poor countries -- show this with some drama in the streets or in a particular venue. Clear visual statements often get coverage that words alone won't.

Do you have other examples of personal action? Email us at maranda@ccow.org.uk and let us know!