JustChurch – A Gospel of Action
Introduction
JustChurch is a very simple collaboration between a number of ideas and movements that are current in mainstream ecclesiology. The first is a collision between the ‘Fresh Expressions’ movement and the ‘Social Justice’ movement.
The Fresh Expressions movement has been especially active among Anglican and Methodist communities over the last 3 to 5 years, attempting to find new outlets for the expression of spirituality and church, particularly amongst the 18 to 40 age group. Methodist Circuits and Anglican Dioceses have been experimentally appointing Fresh Expression Ministers and Mission Pioneers into a variety of geographical and social settings. The ‘Social Justice’ movement is a direct descendant of the liberation theological movements of the 70s and 80s (as well as more reformist groups) and has also been experimenting on how to influence the mainstream life of churches.
JustChurch began as collaboration between the Fresh Expressions minister appointed to the city centre of Bradford (Rev. Chris Howson) and the regional youth worker at the Christian Aid Leeds office (Alex Jones). It has been running for nearly three years and meets weekly on Tuesday evenings at Desmond Tutu House, former chaplaincy building to the University of Bradford.
Origins of JustChurch
The Base. During my training at Theological College (Cranmer Hall, Durham) I had become quite frustrated at the lack of teaching on current social problems, and the lack of theological material from Latin America, Africa and Asia. I began a collection of liberation theological texts, which soon became the ‘Victor Jara Liberation Theology Library’. More importantly than the books, a weekly group emerged, called ‘The Base’. Which encouraged a regular cycle of ‘action/reflection’ on the issues of the day, and allowed a liberation approach to the interpretation of scripture. This weekly group was immensely inspiring, and laid the foundations for ‘JustChurch’.
White Band Day. The ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign had been going on nationally, and a local expression in Bradford City Centre was the formation of a giant white band in Centenary Square. Over coffee afterwards, The Christian Aid organiser (Alex Jones) and I were thrilled at the number of young people the event had attracted, but were lamenting that so few of them had come from any faith based groups. We began discussions over what a group would look like that encouraged and developed the campaigning skills and enthusiasm of those who were committed to social justice, and how this might embrace a spiritual element.
Biblical Basis. From the Old Testament, the verse from Micah 6 became a very important bedrock for what we are attempting:
‘You have been told what is good and what God requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’
This line continues to challenge us in our fellowship and activities. The beatitudes and the Jesus manifesto of Luke 4 v 18-19 have also been enormously influential. Once a year we have a series of Bible studies, allowing members to express parts of the bible that inspire and uphold them on their journey.
How ‘JustChurch’ is organised
Paulo Freire and Ernesto Cardenal have deeply influenced the style and shape of our work. Our first principle is to employ a dialogical approach in each aspect of our programme. At the start of each meeting all those present are encouraged to share some news, whether campaign news or of a more personal nature. This encourages ‘every voice to be heard’ from the beginning, and shapes the next prayer/meditation stage. After the shared time (normally 20-30 mins) we have 2 minutes silence, to be used to pray, remember and meditate in what ever tradition people are comfortable with. This crucially allows space for Atheists and agnostics to feel at ease with the spiritual practices of the group. An Amnesty International candle is lit for these two minutes.
The rest of our time is taken up directly participating in a campaigning activity (banner making, organising activities, letter writing) or educating ourselves about a particular issue. We invite, at least once a month, a speaker who is directly involved in a campaign, and encourage them to end with an action that we can all participate in. Once every 8 weeks we always have a letter writing session for Amnesty International, Once every 8 weeks we will always have a social event, and 3 times a year we plan as a group what activities and speakers we would like to have. There is always room to respond to immediate campaigns that arise.
After the activity or discussion, there is always fair-trade tea/coffee and goodies, a vital part of every community.
Direct Action for peace
A big part of our community life together has been to campaign on issues of peace. We are a fresh expression that has been born in a time of endless war, therefore it is not surprising that our expression reflects the age. We have always provided training in the art of Non Violent Direct Action, and this we have put into action regarding three vital areas. Firstly the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Secondly, the replacement of this country’s nuclear weapons capacity. Thirdly occasional activities based on Human Rights or environment protection.
Anti-war activities. The first priority was to give a home to the Stop the War Coalition, which now meet monthly prior to JustChurch meetings. Giving groups like these free meeting spaces is a very simple act of solidarity that most churches can offer. JustChurch also provided a core group of people to make anti-war vigils/petitionings to actually work in the centre of the city. During the hostage taking of the CPT team in Iraq, we held a weekly vigil outside the town hall. (It was a very special day when Norman Kember came to talk to us in the room where we had made so many placards and banners for his release)
Crucially, we have taken part in a number of protests and direct action at Menwith Hill, the U.S. Spy base near Harrogate.
Faslane 365. The decision to vote for a replacement of the Trident nuclear submarine system before the end of Blair’s regime (The Blair Legacy) meant that anti nuclear protesters looked at new ways of exerting pressure on the Faslane Nuclear Base where the Trident submarines are based. Faslane 365 was the effort to ‘block the base’ over a year, encouraging groups from around the country to self organise their own mini direct actions. As a church we became convince to have a major part in this campaign, and helped organise on of the biggest blockades of the Base. 18 people connected with our church were arrested at the gates of Faslane, 10 of those caused the longest successful block of the base by being the first people to superglue themselves together. The sense of community and solidarity it takes to undertake such activities has become the glue which has kept the group so strong.
Human rights. When the scenes of Monks in Burma standing up against increases in fuel prices were replaced inevitably with scenes of beatings and a vast government clampdown on protest, JustChurch responded immediately. Over Facebook, we called for a protest outside the local Total petrol station the day after the images came out on the news. The free Burma campaign had asked people to target Total, the largest investor in the Burmese government. We closed it down for an hour, made front page in the local media, and national Christian media coverage.
Our hope is to act in solidarity with oppressed groups and work with those who are trying to change to way the world deals with poverty. Two of our most enjoyable Tuesday nights were in the company of visiting speakers from Cuba and Venezuela
Bradford Street Angels. Non Violent Direct Action can take many forms, and one of the simplest forms is on your doorstep. Our Church initiated the Bradford Street Angels Scheme, which provides a Christian presence on the streets of Bradford on a Friday and Saturday night. This project has seen a reduction in drink related violence of 22%.
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
When we asked our members what would be the first thing that they would like to tackle as a group, the answer immediately came back: supporting local Asylum Seekers. It is with these people that the problems of global capitalism and conflict are most apparent. People from Iraq, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Philippines make clear the issues of the world in a very concrete way. We have expressed our support for these people in a number of ways:
Friendship Evenings. We gave over our café space over to Asylum Seekers on Monday evenings. These were a chance for people to make friends with people already living in Bradford, and to improve their language skills. It is a space to share their worries and concerns, and for us to provide any support that we can.
Anti-deportation campaigns. Our biggest role has been to campaign and support several families who have been at risk of deportation. We have visited MPs, threatened civil disobedience, and pushed for proper legal support for those who had been let down by the system. This has been the most rewarding, but most exhausting aspect of our work.
Care and Advocacy. We have supported local Christians building mechanisms to help asylum seekers, whether at the local Asylum Tribunal courts, or supporting the ‘City of Sanctuary’ campaign.
Local Campaigning
There are many occasions when people will approach our church to help with a local campaign, recognising that we have the skills to help organise and run such campaigns. Here are two examples:
Support for the local market. When Morrisons Supermarket announced they were leaving their city centre site, the fate of the adjoining market looked very uncertain. Alongside the local community radio station, JustChurch launched a broadside against Morrisons, quickly gathering 6000 names on a petition and gaining widespread publicity along the way. It made Morrisons withdrawal extremely difficult in its home city. 2 years later, they are still open.
Anti-regeneration! JustChurch was approached by a local campaign group to help with its activities in trying to save a local landmark from property development. We helped organise the 1000 people strong ‘hugging the Odeon’ event, with effective TV media coverage. It is unlikely that we will win the battle, but we have put a big dent in the plans to ‘yuppiefy’ Bradford City Centre.
Environmental Justice
A first step for us was to run a bike repair service from our garage for the first year at Desmond Tutu House. The scheme has gone on to a better location, but it marked our commitment to green living. JustChurch pioneered two well promoted schemes in our area:
E-Fasting. A simple event over Lent, where members lived at least one day a week without electricity. All appliances that could be turned off (not fridges) were off limits for 24 hours at a time. Time in local countryside, using public transport to get there, was a wonderful Church activity.
Street Recycling. At various points in the year, we provide a weekly garden clean up scheme, helping neighbourly interaction, and encouraging recycling.
Anti-poverty campaigning.
We have hosted and participated in two major events to look at the causes of poverty in Bradford. Firstly the ‘In Debt In Bradford’ conference, done in conjunction with the local university, which looked at the paralysing consequences of indebtedness in the area. We held it during the Provident’s AGM week (their national offices are based in Bradford.)
We also helped organise the Poverty Hearings at the beginning of 2008 alongside many other groups who campaign for social justice in the Bradford area. Our Samba band also has organised protests outside the Provident’s H.Q. and outside Debt based furniture and electrical outlets.
Interfaith Activity.
We have endlessly tried to support the very limited Interfaith activity in the area. We especially support the only Interfaith prayer activity, which takes place on the 11th of every month, and have established good links with the local Mosque.
Faith and Spirituality
Throughout all this hectic activity, we constantly interject it with pauses for prayer, meditation and reflection. We have invited Christian, Buddhist and Muslim speakers to try to underpin our campaigning work with a long term spiritual base, recognising the strong multicultural nature of our particular area. 3 times a year, we also run an Enneagram course, which tries to help people understand the reasons for why they behave as they do. The Enneagram courses are very popular and often alert people for the first time to their spiritual needs.
What is so encouraging, is watching so many young people, initially hostile to the Church, moving from social activism to an engagement with their own faith journey. Perhaps as many a 50% of those who attend our regular Christian Sunday Service (called SoulSpace) have emerged through contact with JustChurch.
Conclusions
This type of ministry is prophetic, inspiring, difficult and exhausting. It is trying to shape a new way of being Church which listens to young people, and explores the needs of the local community in conjunction with the realities of the globalised world.
It is an experiment that has sometimes shone brightly, and has sometimes fallen flat on its face. JustChurch stands for space within our denominations for protest and resistance to all that oppresses and destroys life. We demand a space for a Christ who seeks to liberate.
We attempt to be open and inclusive, remembering that it is not just what we do in the name of Jesus and our faith, but how we do it.
We have been threatened by the B.N.P, we have been locked up, we have been beaten by the police, we have been under intense security surveillance (the M.O.D. officer at Menwith Hill freely admits to reading our emails.) We have been temporarily ‘silenced’ by the Diocese, we have had complaints from fellow clergy, we have cried together when friends have been led away to Yarlswood Detention Centre.
In all this, the spirit of hope and light and love has remained strong and persistent. Remarkable and resilient faith has been stirred in the hundreds of young people who have been through the doors of Desmond Tutu house over the last three years. JustChurch is now set for a new period in its life, a fresh name – JustSpace, and a whole new set of activists. May God continue to bless its life and community.
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