What Can My Church Do?
- Pray
Your church can pray for justice in trade as part of its prayers for justice throughout the world. Some suggestions for prayers can be found on our "praying and preaching on trade issues" page.
- Study
Think about the theology of trade. You might want to take the Church of England report on trade justice, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance papers on trade, or the trade section of Christian Aid's "Act Justly" resource as a starting point. Or go back a little and take a look at some Christian theologians: does what Thomas Aquinas says about just prices have any relevance for us today? Or read Wesley's sermon on the use of money, which contains much meat for discussion. Do you agree with it? Or not?
Find out more about the practice of trade today. It is probably good to focus on a particular area, as the issues at stake are so complex that finding out about "trade" is rather a tall order! You might want to look at the EPAs negotiations, for example, or to follow the trading patterns and difficulties of a particular country. Use the resources in our "resources" page to help you, or contact CCOW for more. And don't forget the expertise within your congregation! You may well have people who have considerable understanding -- either through their work or their life experience -- of trade issues related to development. You could perhaps ask some of these people whether they would be willing to share their thoughts and reflections.
- Find out more about trade in a country where you have a church link
One very good way of immersing yourself in trade issues is to find out more about a country with which you have links. Seek out resources and news items that discuss the issues particular to that country (CCOW can help) and speak with the people in the link to find out more from them. You might even want to undertake some shared advocacy and/or prayer! The Diocese of Bath and Wells has done this very successfully with Christian partners in Zambia, and the Diocese of Oxford is looking at ways to link up with Kimberley and Kuruman.
- Take a second look at your refreshments . . .
Trade issues are complex and not always easy to understand. Some churches find it helpful to begin from something more familiar, like the Fair Trade refreshments they serve. You might, for example, use Fairtrade coffee as the launching point to discuss some of the issues around trade in commodities. Or a packet of Fairtrade sugar could help you to look at some of the problems with protectionist set-ups like the EU sugar regime. And don't forget to add the milk! That's a call to look at both some of the issues surrounding the prices farmers in this country get for their goods, the concept of food miles, the power of multiple supermarkets and also at export subsidies, seeing whom they harm and asking whom they actually help. If you'd like help making these connections, get in touch with CCOW.
- Take a campaign action
If you feel that this is the right thing to do, ask members of your church to take a campaign action. CAFOD, Tearfund and Traidcraft have some good ideas on their campaign pages.