Be part of the solution
We’re glad about that, because we don’t want this course to be something
that we engage with as a purely intellectual exercise - the type of
course where we explore theology and the notion of social justice within
the comfort of the four walls of our church or homegroup. We have to
look at the needs of our community and then be prepared to be part of
the solution. If we are serious about our prayers for God to answer
intervene and transform the lives of those living in our neighbourhood,
surely we have to be prepared to be part of the answer?
Context and connections
It’s vital that you consider your current context and relationships when
you plan your action starter - which could be a single activity or
anumber of activities. It also works best if you have given some
thought, together with the church leadership, to what you want the
course to achieve and what you want to come out of it. The important
thing is that everyone does something. Do you have close relationships
with a local school or care home? Are you well connected to a local
charity or a campaigning group you could all volunteer with? If you can
serve existing relationships and assist the work that they are already
doing then it works so much better. It might be that some of group
would like to get involved with things already happening in your church
or feel ready to start something new, so take time to find out what will
work best for your group and where the passions are.
Response to a challenge
Don’t be put off by people being negative – you may find that the
practical aspects will bring all sorts of excuses and criticisms,
especially if you decide to do something particularly challenging. Try
to inject as much enthusiasm and empathy as possible. These will make a
huge difference.
Catalyst for the long term
It’s almost inevitable that a course like this might lead some people
to feel as though they are just making token efforts to change things.
That’s OK, but we’d suggest that you try to minimise this by ensuring
the project is as useful - and needed - as possible. It would be great
if this experience might be a taster for something longer term and more
sustainable. Also it’s important to remember that the main point of the
activity is to get people on their feet doing something. In our
experience nothing helps a group’s collective learning and reflection
quite like a day of challenging and physically demanding, team work. It
won’t change the world but it might just change them.
Ideas for ‘action starters’ from churches that have already run the course
Christ Church, New Malden, Surrey ran an open coffee morning
along with a ‘Stop the Traffik’ event on their high street on a Saturday
morning. They put ‘For Sale’ signs on children of church members to
highlight the terrible trafficking of children that goes on and asked
people to sign up to the campaign. Through the coffee morning they spoke
with many local people and filled in questionnaires asking what could
build community in the local area. Alongside this they also organised a
house clearance for a young woman within the church who had moved into a
drug rehabilitation centre.
In West Streatham, South London, three churches combined to run
the course over Lent, holding their day of action on a Sunday morning.
They got permission to close the road between two of the churches and,
after a brief outdoor ‘commissioning’ service, five different teams went
out to local schools and care homes to do practical jobs such as
gardening and painting. They returned to have a Fairtrade lunch - called
‘Food for Thought’ - to which local people were invited, along with
local and national charities who had stalls to promote their work for
compassion and justice.
Bloomsbury Baptist Church in central London decided to do a night
of action and sleep rough in central London along with a homeless
person who regularly attends their church. This involved six members of
the small group who were doing the course, plus the minister, bedding
down for the night and then reflecting on their experiences. They
described this as an act of ‘radical listening’ in order to understand
better the situation faced by the homeless. This action led to a series
of events which resulted in the church meeting the local council and a
change in their policy towards homeless people.