Christian Community Projects in a Time of Cuts

Image by Travis S. via FlickrA swift post today as I'm short of time.  This is from this month's edition of Community Mission eNewsletter.

In response to requests for help in dealing with decreasing funding, Livability is running Thriving, not just surviving – Christian community projects in a time of cuts in Bradford on 21 September and London on 9 November. This day is designed to help projects review their assets and re-imagine the future. The cost is £20 per person, including lunch. In this time of financial pressure, we know that good volunteers become more important than ever. With that in mind, all those who book onto Thriving, not just surviving will get a half-price place on Livability's popular training event about recruiting and managing volunteers which will take place in London and the North in early 2012. For more information, email Jill Clark, phone 020 7452 2018 or book online for Bradford or London.

Harvest and the Environment

Community Mission this month features news of material for the creation time season.  I've covered some of this before but here there is more information about Creation Time and the work of A Rocha.  This is what Community Mission says:

Those looking to celebrate harvest and the environment in a new way this autumn should visit Arocha and Churches Together. Produced by Arocha, Just Food? is a resource pack designed to reclaim a biblical understanding of food and explore ways to bring God’s kingdom values of justice and restored relationships into our lives. The pack cost £11.50 inc p&p and can be purchased online. For more ideas to promote the environment around Creation Time (1 September to mid-October) check out Arocha’s Living Lightly initiative.

There is a wealth of information in these links, here are a couple of highlights:

The Second Ecumenical European Assembly adopted the following resolution: "We recommend that the churches consider and promote the preservation of Creation as part of church life at all levels. One way would be to observe a common creation day, such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrates each year. Rationale: The seriousness of the ecological dilemma for the future of the human race means that churches' consciousness of it must be raised. Commitment to preservation of the creation is not an issue among many others but an essential dimension of all church life.'"  (From the 'Creation Time' site)

The proposal on the 'Creation Time' site is for a period from 1 September through to the second Sunday in October.   This can be an opportunity for environmental concerns to be expressed during the harvest season.  

The Churches Together in Britain and Ireland site offers resources, 'Our Daily Bread - Food in God's Creation'.

'What's the food like?', 'Who is providing the food?', 'Is there enough food to go round?' Our everyday talk constantly makes reference to food, which is no surprise, as food and drink are essentials for life and survival.

When we pray "Give us our daily bread" we are both acknowledging our dependence on God's generosity and our realisation that the answer to that prayer needs to include agriculture, commerce, sharing, trade-justice, animal welfare, diet and a host of other considerations.

Our Creation Time resources, which encourage and assist churches, groups and individuals to observe a Time for Creation each year between 1 September and 4 October for the protection of creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, focus this year on Food in God's creation. May God make us more aware of his generosity and our responsibilities as we pray for our daily bread.

Related articles

• Creation Time 2011 (ecumenicalissues.blogspot.com)

Community Mission

Not all ecumenism involves collaboration between churches.  Christians often get together to provide services or campaign on issues and some are listed on the Methodist Church website. 

One such group is Community Mission.  I have subscribed to their newsletter for some time.  It arrives in my inbox at the start of each month and is full of useful information about funding, training and events, stories and resources.  If you are involved with local mission, it is worth subscribing. 

Here is an excerpt from their website that describes their aims:

Community Mission is a partnership started by Tearfund and Livability .

We believe in faith in action and that a commitment to integral mission is at the heart of the gospel. Community mission is the outworking of that commitment.

Both organisations have decades of experience of working alongside people affected by poverty, and pursuing justice in the UK and across the world and both are passionate about the unique role that the local church plays in continuing Jesus’ mission to bring good news to the poor.

We have come together in partnership to help churches and Christian groups grapple with issues of injustice and poverty, and see how they are key to a biblical understanding of mission.

The partnership is committed to:

• promoting integrated theology
• providing practical guidance and support
• sharing real stories that inspire and envision