Christian Concern for One World - What can I do?

"Sharing the Journey"

Maranda — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:47:58 +0000

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

Praying and Acting for Zimbabwe (click here for more)

Maranda — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:12:45 +0000

"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.

The Catholic bishops noted: "We renew the call to prayer for all our needs, which include a credible electoral process, food and provisions for our families, education for our children, medicines for the sick and respect for every human life and dignity."

The Church leaders have also requested that the SADC (Southern African Development Community) and African Union "work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe. " Prayers for the leadership of the SADC. in particular, would be welcome. A security troika of SADC leaders met yesterday in Swaziland to discuss the crisis. They have urged that the elections scheduled for Friday be postponed. The official SADC mediator for the situation, President Mbeki of South Africa, whose "soft" approach to Mugabe has been widely criticised as ineffective (as per this cartoon), was not invited.

Christian Aid partner the Habakkuk Trust have also requested prayers for strength, hope and the "walk to freedom" "I sense a great feeling of helplessness," their director writes, requesting the prayers for hope.

That same feeling of helplessness has been echoed by many here. But for local Church of England vicar Nigel Hawkes, it is precisely that sense that makes prayer so vital. "We have no physical means of influencing events, and what we are left with is prayer. As a Christian, I believe [praying] is a very powerful thing that we can do." We find, he adds, any power we have "in God's power."

Hawkes has been reminding himself and others to pray by wearing a black dog collar. He was inspired by Archbishop of York John Sentamu's cutting up his dog collar, and by a parishioner who came to prayer wearing a black armband on the day after the Archbishop's action. The black -- which serves, he says, "as a visible sign of our concern," is a constant reminder to "offer to God the troubles of the people in Zimbabwe and pray that there will be a resolution."

Hawkes is encouraging others to join in both the symbolic action and prayer. His hope is that if enough people join in, it will "get the whole dea of prayer for Zimbabwe into the common psyche." And, reflecting on he ways in which some previously intractable-looking problems, such as partheid in South Africa, have been relved, he adds: [sometimes there is] o human answer . . . and [after prayer] suddenly a change came about."

Some suggestions:

Find out more, and pray on what you find out. The Guardian has a good section devoted to Zimbabwe, including a blog with links to Zimbabwean activist websites. Or try following the situation -- and the changing Southern African approach to it -- through Southern African media: From South Africa, for example, the official SABC news, the Independent Online (including this reader poll), Mail and Guardian, Sunday Times and Cape Argus all have extensive coverage of Zimbabwe. Pray for the situations and people mentioned. From inside Zimbabwe itself, there are papers (for example, The Herald), which give a sense of the officially sanctioned press; The Zimbabwean is an independent paper printed outside Zimbabwe but for Zimbabweans. Go here for a discussion of the difficulties involved in reporting from Zimbabwe.

CAFOD, Christian Aid and Tearfund all have sections dedicated to the crisis in Zimbabwe, offering news, prayer points/requests, and opportunities to donate for future work. Read . . . pray . . .give . . . .

The DEC and Burma

Maranda — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:14:08 +0000

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.

What Can I Do?

Maranda — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:18:25 +0000

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.

3. We tend to know where our coffee, tea and chocolate come from . . . but what about our computers, curtains and jewelry? Look at the different ways in which you depend on international trade over the course of a single day/week/month. Then try to find out more about the people and patterns behind that trade. CAFOD has run campaigns on the working conditions behind both computers and gold; go to their website to find out more.

4. If you work for a company that has an international supply chain, try to find out more about it.

5. Visit the TJM website and see what the latest joint campaign actions are. Send an email and/or join in a particular action. Or follow the lead of whichever particular agency you support.

6. To become a more effective campaigner, try to go "wide" and "deep." Stay apprised of trade issues in general by scanning the papers (Larry Elliott in The Guardian and Alan Beattie in the Financial Times are two reporters to look for) or, if you want some more depth, reading the weekly Bridges digest from ICTSD.

Then pick a country and try to find out all you can about its particular trade situation over a period of time. You can

search for studies about that country on ELDIS
check out statistics from UNCTAD and the World Bank
read documents relating to it on the WTO website
search the TJM database for agency documents that are helpful
search the newspapers for stories

Links to all of the above are in our "further information" section. If you have connections with a country through a church link, consider doing this work in conjunction with your link partners -- and then joining together in advocacy. Bringing in specific information and examples helps to ensure that conversations about trade stay "real" and "rooted."

Once you feel comfortable with the issues, don't hesitate to write to your MP when matters related to your country's trading situation arise. Write to the newspaper, too, if that's an option.

What Can I Do?

Maranda — Sun, 06 May 2007 06:58:03 +0000

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!

What Can I / My Church Do

Maranda — Fri, 04 May 2007 08:01:45 +0000

God made the world in all its splendour, power and diversity out of love. The Earth and all its creatures and humankind are bound to each other in a web of interrelationship with God, who gave the responsibility to care for His created works to humans.

In our eagerness to "progress" and "develop" have we lost sight of the finite and delicate nature of the Earth and humanity's place in it? Do we recognise that we are but part of God's great plan. You can reduce your own carbon footprint by:

Switching to renewable energy
Eliminating waste
Rethinking your transport
Considering your Air travel requirements
Adapting your lifestyle (eg food choices, water usage ,and waste recycling)

Testing Your Footprint

The following websites offer information on your carbon footprint:

www.imeasure.org.uk is a tool designed by the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University which enables you to monitor and learn about your domestic energy use and carbon emissions.

www.carboncalculator.org enables you to calculate the impact of your flight, and your car journeys by adding the carbon cost and the price if offsetting.

www.coinet.org.uk is the Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN), based at Oxford University. In particular, COIN invites you to accept the carbon challenge to live within the personal limit of 2.5 tonnes of CO² at www.coinet.org.uk/projects/challenge/measure

Select the link labelled 'Church Action' to download information on lighting, heating and church transport as well as 'green' energy suppliers which you may use to help reduce your church's carbon footprint.

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What Can I Do?

Maranda — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:41:52 +0000

Some suggestions for personal action . . . .

Pray for Fair Trade. Give thanks for its successes: the benefits it has brought producers, the lives transformed and saved, the chance it offers consumers to live ethically, the inspiration given to those who would like to see a fairer world in which God's commandments of love and justice are obeyed. Pray for wisdom for those who guide the movement, strength for those who have to take hard decisions about choosing ethics over profits, strength and discernment for consumers as they make their choices, and the growth of the movement to allow more and more producers to take part.

Make a decision that when you are purchasing goods, you will go for the fairly traded option wherever it's appropriate and you are able. With more than 2,500 FAIRTRADE-Marked products in a wide variety of categories and an ever-growing range of fairly traded clothing, home furnishings, stationery and crafts, there are more options than ever.

Help to convert others. If your church isn't already a Fairtrade Church, encourage it to become one. Join the Fairtrade Foundation's "Fairtrade at Work" or Fairtrade Schools or Fairtrade Universities campaigns and convert your workplace/school/university. If your town is a Fairtrade Town, find out how you can join in the Fairtrade activities; if it isn't, join or form a group to further this goal. A listing of local groups with websites is in our "finding out more" section; contact us for details of other groups.

Ask for Fair Trade. If your supermarket isn't stocking all the Fairtrade goods that their parent company carries, request that they do so. If your local shop isn't carrying Fairtrade goods, see if you can work with them to enable them to do so (contact CCOW for more details). Just make sure, though, that if you do this, you follow through by buying the products yourself and encouraging others to do so -- no store will keep stocking goods they can't sell.

Make Fair Trade fun. Follow Fairtrade Man's challenge and eat only fairly traded products for a period of time -- and write about your experiences. Or (slightly easier!) hold a Fairtrade recipe contest, in which people submit recipes with a minimum number of fairly traded ingredients. . . . .

Find out firsthand about the benefits of Fair Trade. Each year, the Fairtrade Foundation and various Fair Trade companies arrange producer visits during Fairtrade Fortnight. Attend one of their talks, ask questions, and find out what it's all about. Or, if you feel you could make the benefits justify the carbon involved, visit producers via Traidcraft's People to People tours.

Make a donation to further Fair Trade. Traidcraft is a company, but it also has a charitable wing that provides services -- such as market advice -- for people who want to break into the Fair Trade market. To find out more and donate, go to the Traidcraft website.

Photographs courtesy of the Fairtrade Foundation, www.fairtrade.org.uk