Christian Concern for One World -

Pathways to Prayer on Global Issues

Maranda — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:18:13 +0100

Interested in praying about global issues, but unsure where to begin?

On Saturday 17 July (9:30 for 10:00 am to 1:15 pm) at St Michael the Archangel Church in Warfield (Bracknell), Christian Concern for One World is presenting a free half-day event to explore different ways of praying on the topics that most concern you. We'll be looking at different types of private prayer -- from contemplative prayer to prayer walks to praying with objects or through art. And we'll also be sharing ideas about how to pray with groups, whether that's in a formal service or house group or just a group of friends.

The day will start with a brief introduction to the subject and then most of the remaining time will be spent in workshops -- you'll be able to think about new ways of prayer and then immediately start to apply what you're learning to the topics that interest you.

Want to join in? Email us for further information!

Living Hope: Green Churches, Green Schools

Maranda — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:07:57 +0000

6 March: Great Missenden (St Peter and St Paul Church and Great Missenden Church of England Combined School) from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

A wonderful opportunity for anyone who wants to think about care for creation in their church or school.

Join leading Christian theologians, environmental experts and members of other churches interested in how we live out our call to enjoy and care for Creation . . . and how we respond to the threats that imperil both the natural environment as a whole and, within that, the neighbours whom we are called to love.

The day will also include a Fairtrade "Big Brew," a marketplace and worship.

Keynote speakers include:

Dave Bookless, A Rocha UK and author of "Planetwise"
Paula Clifford, Christian Aid, and author of "Angels with Trumpets: The Church in a Time of Global Warming"
Chris Sunderland, Founder of Earth Abbey and author of "The Dream That Inspired the Bible"
Richard Weaver, Tearfund's senior policy officer on climate change and disasters

Workshops led by experts and practitioners include:

presentations by churches and schools that have installed renewable energy
opportunities for "Eco-Congregations" and "Eco-Schools" to share experiences
a session on working with community groups and initiatives such as Transition Towns
an energy advisor's "clinic" on easy energy saving for homes, churches and schools
Revd. Professor Ian James on the science of climate change and answering questions related to climate
the CEO of Traidcraft on Fair Trade and sustainability
reflection on spirituality, community and reconnecting with the earth
working with children and young people on environmental questions
experiencing and constructing a "green" prayer walk
a practical workshop on creating worship that includes environmental themes
Richard Weaver with an explanation of what happened at Copenhagen and what the "big picture" is on climate change negotiations
a road-map for campaigning on climate change in the year ahead

The marketplace will include stalls from agencies, church and community groups, environmental service providers and Traidcraft.

Paul Chandler, CEO of Traidcraft, will open our "Big Brew" as well as offering his workshop on Fair Trade and Sustainability.

The cost of the conference is £5, payable on the day. The fee includes coffee, tea and all workshop materials. Register using the form (below -- click on the title of this post to get the full post with the forms).

For further information, email maranda@ccow.org.uk or webmaster@grtmissenden.bucks.sch.uk, or ring 01235 850267.

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The Big Brew

Maranda — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:33:12 +0000

Once again, we're encouraging everyone to join in "The Big Brew" during Fairtrade Fortnight. To join "The Big Brew" all you need to do is register and hold an event (called a "Big Brew") at which Fairtrade refreshments are served. Your event can be as simple as a special coffee after services or as elaborate as a village party!

The Big Brew is a great way both to promote Fair Trade and to further the mission of your church. You can use it for outreach, to raise funds for a project or cause, to bring together groups that don't normally get to meet . . . . whatever best fits your interest. When you register, you get a free publicity pack with attractive materials to publicise your event. CCOW can also send you further materials about Fair Trade so that people learn more about its importance while they're having fun. Just let us know what you're doing and what you would like to be able to share with people.

To register, simply email CCOW to indicate your interest. We'll send you a registration form, and you're on your way. Register soon -- if you could let us know of your interest by 15 January, that would help to speed the processing of the materials.

If you'd like some ideas for your Big Brew, below is a list of some of the interesting things churches and schools have done in the past. Send us yours, too!

Fair Trade/local meals -- great for showingcasing a wide range of Fair Trade and local foodstuffs . . . and for proving that it's possible for food to be both sustainable and delicious!
A Fair Trade and local foods baking competition (people bring in cakes made with fairly traded and local ingredients)
Offering "Fairtrade cuppas" to local shoppers either in your church or on a stall in a shopping precinct . . . always appreciated on a chilly morning! And you can offer information about Fairtrade and your church on the stall, as well
A "Fairtrade tea dance" -- perhaps with a variety of different teas?
A "Mad Hatter's [Fairtrade] Tea Party" -- with some of the organisers dressed as Alice in Wonderland and her friends
A "Fairtrade Puppet Show" (there is a Punch and Judy show that does Fairtrade themes . . . or you can make up your own!) Great for combining education and fun.
A Fairtrade tasting party with different stalls for different kinds of products -- go beyond coffee, tea and chocolate with different fruits, jams and biscuits. Does your church have a link with a particular area? Why not focus on that area's Fairtrade products!
A favourite film . . . . with Fairtrade refreshments -- you could try showing a film with a Fairtrade theme, such as "Black Gold" . . . or one with an environmental theme, perhaps, to help link Fairtrade and sustainability? One Mothers' Union group even did a sing-alonga to a favourite film, with organisers dressed as old-fashioned cinema refreshment sellers bearing Fairtrade goodies.
A Fairtrade children's tea party (Fairtrade biscuits, juices, fruits)
Fairtrade refreshments at a concert
A book club reading of the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" with Mma Ramotswe's favourite "redbush (rooibos) tea" (fairly traded, of course).

Thank you for joining "The Wave"

Maranda — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:42:14 +0000

Thank you to all our supporters (and others!) who came down to London on Saturday for "The Wave."

It was amazing, at the beginning of the service, to look around Westminster Central Hall and see the place absolutely packed to the rafters with people who had come to pray about climate change with such faith and such a sense of purpose. And then to see the streams of people pouring into Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall and around Parliament.

There are wonderful accounts of local church groups' time at "The Wave" appearing in various places: have a look at the Diocese of Oxford's Copenhagen blog, St John's and St Stephen's "Greening St John's blog and Didcot Methodist's "Didcot Green Team" blog for starters. Stop Climate Chaos's website also has links to the media coverage.

If you didn't get into the service, but would like to know more about it, you can download the order of service at the bottom of the page, get a sense of what CAFOD partner Umme Kulsum said from her video here, listen to the Archbishop of Canterbury's address here, and read the Archbishop of Westminster's address here.

Below some pictures from the day -- some from CCOW supporters and some from agencies. Enjoy!

Left: People came to "The Wave" from near and far. Nikki Smith, a Methodist from Huddersfield, walked to "The Wave"! This shows her with the group that walked alongside her in the Milton Keynes area. (Photo: Bill and Win Kennedy)

Right: The Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury just before the service. (Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk)

Westminster Central Hall was absolutely packed; 2,000 people fit into the hall itself, with another 1,000 in an overflow room, and more outside. It was amazing to see so many people coming together to pray about climate change, and such a range of church leaders on the stage.

(Photos: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk)

Parties went to "The Wave" from churches all over our area. Pictured here is part of the South Bucks contingent. Left: George Thackray from St Mary's, Chesham, with Jo Harrington and Pat Rees from St Michael's Amersham as they set out to join the march. Right: The party from St Michael's outside the Houses of Parliament. (Photos: George Thackray)

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The Wave

Maranda — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:26:21 +0000

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.

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Stand Up and Take Action

Maranda — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:50:13 +0100

On the weekend of October 16th to 18th, your church is invited to join millions of people around the world to ask for urgent action on poverty and climate change.

Stand Up and Take Action is a global movement supported by the United Nations Millennium Campaign, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (the White Band organisation) and Micah Challenge, the international Christian campaign against poverty. Each October since 2004, in locations from Australia to Peru to Zimbabwe, millions of people “stand up” and commit to fight poverty. Then they take action to request that their leaders do the same. Last year over 100 million people took part world wide.

Every person standing up makes a difference locally. And taken together, the millions of people standing make a powerful statement globally. This year, the numbers Standing Up and Taking Action will be given to world leaders at the vital climate negotiations coming up at Copenhagen in December and the Millennium Development Goal review in 2010.

For many Christians, the Stand Up campaign offers an opportunity to live and witness to our faith. To bring the needs of the world to God in prayer. To renew our commitment to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. To stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters around the world. To offer a symbol of Christ's care for the poor. And to strengthen ourselves to keep speaking and acting - not just because the needs of the world demand it, but because a righteous and loving God cries out that his people stand up for justice and peace.

You can participate in this year's Stand Up by:

Joining "The Great Persuasion," a lobby of MPs on climate and poverty issues. Agencies (including CAFOD, CCOW, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Tearfund and World Vision) and local groups are organising lobbies around the country. Contact CCOW to find about those in the three counties (Berks, Bucks and Oxon) or campaigns@bond.org.uk to find out about lobbies being organised in other locations.
Making "Stand Up and Take Action" a part of your church service. Could members of your church "stand up and take action" during your services for the weekend of 16 to 18 October? If so, register your service as a Stand Up event at the global website, http://www.standagainstpoverty.org. Suggested worship materials and actions for a Stand Up service will be available shortly.
Making “Stand Up” a part of your Micah Sunday or One World Week celebrations
Micah Sunday serves as an annual opportunity for churches to renew their commitment to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Many churches will celebrate it on 18 October, and this year's Micah Sunday campaign action is Stand Up. One World Week also begins on the 18th of October: a “Stand Up” would be a great way to stand in solidarity with and show your concern for our “one world.”

How to Stand and Be Counted

(1) To pre-register, go to www.standagainstpoverty.org and click on the button that says “Are you planning an event.” Fill in the registration form.

(2) At the event, ask everyone to stand.*The group, or a leader, can then read a pledge or prayer of commitment, and take whatever action you have decided on. Count the number of participants. If possible, take a picture of everyone involved.

(3) Immediately after the event, go back to the Stand Up website and upload your numbers and any pictures you wish to. Only materials uploaded by the end of 18 October can be counted, so speed is of the essence.

* For those of us for whom the act of physically standing is difficult, if not impossible, the symbolic act of Standing Up is interchangeable with other symbolic gestures such as raising a hand or holding up a banner with the Stand Up and Take Action message on it. It's the shared commitment that matters.

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Of Arks and Kings . . . .

Maranda — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:25:43 +0100

Over the summer, there has been much local activity in preparation for the UN's Climate Summit in Copenhagen. Some of the most original means of focusing attention on climate issues have come from the creative genius of Operation Noah supporters.

On the seventh of July a larger-than-life-sized effigy of King Cnut visited the Baptist Church in Bonn Square, Oxford, on its way to the riverbank of the Thames at Westminster. King Cnut famously (if perhaps apocryphally) learned the limits of human power over the natural world when his command failed to stop the rising tide. The organisers of the event hoped to remind people that "halting climate change means accepting limits to human exploitation of the planet."

“Sea levels are rising and the G8 are in danger of behaving like modern day King Cnuts,” said organiser Simon Topping. “Human arrogance and greed are blinding world leaders to the radical changes needed to the global economy in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Unless they accept that there are limits to consumption and limits to economic growth then we will not find a satisfactory solution to the crisis we all face."

Slightly earlier, on the 5th of July, a "Carnival Ark" filled with children in animal costumes had made its appearance at this year's Cowley Road Carnival, the "Carnival in the Park." Made out of biodegradable cardboard, it proclaimed "Noah had a plan to care for all living creatures. What's yours?" and called on bystanders to help protect the climate.

Arks have been abundant in Reading also: at the Forbury Fever festival in June, festival goers were asked to do origami arks with a petition to Gordon Brown. And Greening St John's author -- and founder member of the Reading CEL Group -- Joanna Laynesmith put together an Ark flower arrangement for the East Reading flower festival at St John's. Her accompanying text read:

"The plants in this display were all organically grown in Reading and transported by bike. Some are wild flowers and some are cultivated. Some are for healing, some for eating and some are simply beautiful. They represent the bounty and generosity of God’s created world.This ark is a fairly traded toy from Sri Lanka belonging to a five-year-old in our congregation.

The windmill represents St John's PCC's recent decision to change our electricity supplier to Ecotricity renewable energy.

Christian Ecology Link have launched the Operation Noah campaign to protect our rich wildlife and the world's poorest people from climate change. If greenhouse gas emissions are not curtailed soon, there will be no summer sea ice on the Arctic before this ark's owner is eighteen, and before he is fifty, the number of climate change refugees . . . will exceed the combined populations of England, Germany and Italy (at the most conservative estimate).

In a time of climate crisis, Noah was 'a man who walked with God,' listened to the warnings and acted. Today we are all called to act as Noah did. "

Have a look at Joanna's blog for a picture of the display . . . and much good information on the journey of an Eco-Congregation.

What Does Fair Trade Do?

Maranda — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:52:02 +0100

On the 20th of April, Witney Area Fair Trade Action Group (WAFTAG) and CCOW co-sponsored a panel entitled "What Does Fair Trade Do?" at High Street Methodist Church in Witney.

The panel offered a chance to hear three people with first-hand experience of working on Fair Trade talk about how they saw Fair Trade working, and what it does to assist producers in developing countries.

The first speaker was Alex Nicholls, University Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Skoll Centre of Oxford University, author of Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption and non-executive director of Fair Trade fashion company People Tree.

The second speaker was David Bowman, non-executive director of Traidcraft, one of the UK's largest and best-known Fair Trade organisation.

Wendy Foster, the third speaker, then shared thoughts based on her years spent as a project consultant for the Kwetu Training Centre in Kenya, which produced Fairtrade honey and other sustainably developed and fairly traded products. A copy of Wendy's powerpoint presentation, which introduces the Kwetu project, can be found at the bottom of this post.

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DfID Consultations

Maranda — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:00:46 +0100

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.

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Initial responses to the G20 (Click for full post)

Maranda — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:35:40 +0100

For the past few weeks, Christians have been praying -- and advocating -- for the G20 to strive for justice.

More than 1,500 Christians attended the "Put People First" church service on 28 March at Central Hall, Westminster, where the Bishop of London, Chri stine Allen (speech on the Progress io website, see below), Joel Edwards, and F r Joe Komakoma offered much food for thought.
Micah Challenge and the Church of England, among others, offered prayer resou rces, and in Micah's case, a prayer blog.
The Pope sent a letter to Gordon Brown;
The Archbishop of Canterbury offered a request for an economics that took account of both limits to material resources and environmental costs,
A large group of UK religious leaders offered a general call to remember the moral basis of economics and to pay attention to the needs of the poor;
Many of the UK churches offered quite a detailed submission "towards a sustainable and equitable reordering of global economic relationships," and
The development agencies CAFOD, Progressio and Tearfund offered a joint theological rationale for their policy requests around global justice.

Now, as the "London Summit" finishes, what has happened?

In a sense it's too early to say. The key to any agreement always lies in its implementation.

But even allowing for that, two broad shifts seem to have emerged:

The G20, with its inclusion of emerging economies such as Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, is in the ascendant over the G8. The emerging economies are finally recognised as being necessary parties to any global economic discussions.
The initiative has shifted from those who favour the type of unregulated free-market capitalism promoted under the Washington Consensus. The shift may not be quite as dramatic as was suggested by the Prime Minister in his address at St Paul's on Tuesday -- "this old world of the old Washington consensus is over" -- but the shift in the tone of discussions is mirrored in a new willingness to consider regulation which would have been unthinkable a few years ago

In terms of particulars, there's a general sense that some progress was made -- particularly in the way the group finally began to address the issue of tax havens, in the commitment to begin reform of the governance structures of the IMF and World Bank, and in the amount of funding made available for low-income countries. But there were some critical omissions -- most notably around climate issues and the role of the UN -- and there are some quite serious reservations about the ways in which the funding for low-income countries will be administered through the IMF and the extent of the action on tax havens. So please continue to pray as the process moves on to the next stage.

We'll hope to offer links to some theological reflections and more detailed policy analyses later. But in the meantime, below are some links to the communique and to various organisations' and individuals' responses to it, highlighting those that focus on particular areas.

The Communique itself: http://www.londonsummit.gov.uk/resources/en/news/15766232/communique-020409

Three general responses:

An initial response (with more to follow) from the Put People First coalition: http://www.putpeoplefirst.org.uk/2009/04/put-people-first-reaction-to-the-london-summit/

An initial, and then a fuller response from Duncan Green, Oxfam GB's Head of Research: http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/

An initial response from Progressio, which we can't link to because (for some reason) our email rejects it as spam . . . but which you can find on their website, which is just their name.org.uk

A response from Tearfund that focuses on the lack of any commitments on climate issues and the need for a low-carbon economy: http://www.tearfund.org/News/Press+releases/G20+fumbles+chance+to+help+poor+and+climate.htm

A first response from Eurodad that focuses on the funding and governance issues: http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=3539

A response from Christian Aid which notes the need for the new IMF funding to be free of economic policy conditionality, and asks for further progress on tax havens: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/april2009/g20-summit-response.aspx

A fairly detailed response to the tax haven proposals by Richard Murphy, a specialist in this area: http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/

A short paper from the Bretton Woods Project which explains Special Drawing Rights, a key element of the new IMF package: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-564135

A response from the Trade Justice Movement that argues that the "commitment" of the G20 to restarting the Doha round is misguided, which can be read in concert with ODI's assessment of why the Doha Round should actually be a low priority and the FT's assessment that the "commitment" should not be taken particularly seriously.