Campaigning
ENVIRONMENT | MICAH CHALLENGE | FAIRTRADE | STOP THE TRAFFIK | LOBBY YOUR MP
ENVIRONMENT
Genesis 2:15, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it’. If the world is created by Jesus and for Jesus we should treat it with honour, dignity, respect – there is something sacred about it.
The Bible also tells us to care for the poor, and one of the greatest threats facing the world’s poor is the damage that we are doing to the environment. Climate change always affects poor communities the hardest, bringing droughts, floods, malnutrition, increase in disease, and even death.
Take action now
At HTB we have recently completed an environmental audit of our premises and practices. We have identified a number of opportunities to make changes that will help us to tread more lighty on God's earth. And we were delighted recently to be awarded 'Gold' in Tearfund's Church Climate Change Challenge.
We want to encourage others to do all they can to address these issues. Climate change is already adversely affecting human lives and livelihoods in develping courtries.
Climate change pentathlon game- have a go! As part of Tearfund's climate change campaign, they have created an online game which offers practical ways that you can reduce your personal contribution to climate change: small changes that could help do the world some good. Why not click on the link below to join in the fun, and learn more about how to save the environment!
http://www.tearfund.org/pentathlon
Interested in the environment? Try these links:
A Rocha
http://en.arocha.org/ukmembers/index2.html
A Rocha is an international conservation organisation working to show God's love for all creation with projects in Portugal, France, Lebanon, Kenya, Czech Republic and Canada. It has field centres in some countries. It organises Conservation Sunday in the UK and the A Rocha UK project in London.
The Christian Ecology Link
www.christian-ecology.org.uk
Offers insights into ecology and the environment to Christian people and churches.
The European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN)
http://www.ecen.org
The ECEN was formed in Oct 24 1998. It has links to and descriptions of some Christian Environment Groups or Environment branches of Christian churches in many different countries in Europe. Some of these organisations have some useful sections in English about ideas and activities.
Creation Care
www.creationcare.org
EEN is a unique evangelical ministry whose purpose is to "declare the Lordship of Christ over all creation" (Col. 1:15-20). EEN was formed because we recognize many "environmental" problems are fundamentally spiritual problems.
Eco-Congregation
http://www.ecocongregation.org/
Eco-Congregation is a programme for churches to help them take spiritual and practical steps to care for God's creation. It developed from a partnership between the environmental-awareness charity Encams, formerly Going for Green, and the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
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Justice. Mercy. Humility.
HTB and Alpha International are core members of Micah Challenge UK. Micah Challenge is a global movement of Christians, Christian organisations, and churches united in their concern to fight global poverty. The movement was borne out of the need for a long term commitment to campaign to ensure governments around the world meet eight promises they made in the year 2000 to alleviate poverty by 2015.
Those promises are the Millennium Development Goals and they include halving the number of people who live on less than $1 a day, gaining universal primary school education, and halting the spread of HIV and AIDS.
The inspiration for the movement comes from the Biblical prophet Micah: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah Challenge calls us to ensure justice is done, to embrace mercy in our hearts, and to be obedient to God’s commands regarding the poor.
Micah Challenge is present in 40 countries across the globe. Join Micah Challenge UK to be a part of this growing movement of Christians galvanised to speak out with a common voice against the injustice of global poverty.
How to get involved
Take Five: Five little ways to make a big difference
- Take Five is an exciting new monthly initiative from Micah Challenge. Take Five is designed to help busy people like you make a real difference even if you have five minutes to spare. Each month, Take Five will focus on a specific issue related to the MGDs (October: HIV/AIDS. November: Climate Change) and offer you an opportunity to do one of more of the following: educate yourself, pray about the issue, do something about it, and/ or tell others and invite them to do likewise.
http://www.micahchallenge.org.uk/takefive/
“A wonderful encouragement that anyone can make a difference- we must be Jesus’ hands and feet.” Micah Challenge UK Supporter
“I’m so excited to see Christians stand up for social justice.” Micah Challenge Supporter
“For the first time in human history, world governments have made a promise to the poor, now you can help them deliver it. If you want to reduce poverty by half, see a better world for women, children, and the most vulnerable, then do something about it. Be a part of a growing global movement with God’s passion for the poor. Join Micah Challenge.” Joel Edwards, Evangelical Alliance
New Book!
Micah's Challenge. The Church's Responsibility to the Global Poor
In this new book, the prophetic word of Micah to "act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God" (6:8), is explored for its application to today's church. Drawing together insights from Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Rene Padilla, Joel Edwards, Ron Sider, Njonigonkulu Ndungane, and 
others, Micah's Challenge explores the theological, ethical and practical dimensions of this call to act with justice, mery and humility.
Micah's Challenge looks set to be a book that not only calls Christians to think afresh and act redemptively as individuals and as communities, but speaks prophetically into a culture asking what can be done in a world of great need.
Micah's Challenge - editors Marikje Hoek and Justin Thacker - published April 2008. £9.99 - Paperback - Paternoster Press - 9781842276068 -
Available at the HTB Bookshop: 0845 644-7533 or Email: bookshop@htb.org.uk
If you’re interested in Micah Challenge UK and would like to know more, contact:
Phone: 020 7207 2130
Email: info@micahchallenge.org.uk
Web: www.micahchallenge.org.uk
HTB is now officially a Fairtrade church. Fairtrade is a really simple way to ensure that trade is working for farmers and workers in developing countries. More of us want to know where our shopping comes from and that the people who have produced it have received a fair deal. Millions of farmers depend on selling their crops to survive, but if they earn less than it costs to run the farm, they face hardship – ultimately they may lose their land and their livelihood.
The rules and practices of international trade are biased and in favour of rich countries and powerful companies, often to the cost of poor producers (see Micah Challenge above). Fair trade encourages more direct trading relationships so that producers get a bigger share of the export price.
The Fairtrade price includes a premium which is set aside for farmers and workers to spend on social and environmental projects or to strengthen their organisations. This ensures communities have the power and resources to invest in long term improvement.
Fairtrade difference |
Sugar cane growers in Malawi have used the premium to drill bore holes for clean water. Women and children no longer have to collect water from the crocodile-infested Shire river |
Buying Fairtrade certified products changes the lives of millions of people worldwide and shows how trade can be made to work in favour of poor people and the environment. Extra income from Fairtrade means that farmers can invest in sound agricultural practices. |
Fairtrade difference |
By cutting weeds instead of using herbicides, 1,900 organic coffee farmers in Sumatra, Indonesia are helping to protect local endangered species, including the Sumatran tiger |
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that the producers got a fair price for their products and covered their costs. Today, more than 5 million farmers, workers and their families across 49 developing countries benefit from the International Fairtrade system.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is awarded by The Fairtrade Foundation, an independent body, to products which meet international Fairtrade standards.
What you can do...
Fairtrade your day!
- Wake up to Fairtrade coffee, tea, fruit juice or muesli
- Put on a T-shirt made from Fairtrade certified cotton
- Snack on a Fairtrade biscuit or fresh fruit
- Give Fairtrade flowers, chocolates or wine to someone you love
- Wind down at the end of the day with a cup of Fairtrade cocoa or a glass of Fairtrade wine
- Ask for Fairtrade products in your workplace, favourite café, restaurant and bar. Look for the Fairtrade Mark on cotton clothes
- If your local store doesn’t stock the Fairtrade product you are looking for, ask the manager
- Check out www.fairtrade.org.uk for campaign news, supporter events and information on the farmers and workers behind Fairtrade
- Keep up to date with the latest information by signing up to receive the Fairtrade newsletter or campaign email, see www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved_stay_informed.htm
- Ethical Consumer publishes lists of high street chains rated according to their ethical trading practices. The 2006 high street buyers guide is available for £3.75 through their website. Ethicstore.org is another great website where you can view lists of clothing manufacturers rated according to their ethical practices. Once you know which shops and brands to avoid, and which have sound ethical policies, you can always look for their stuff second hand. People Tree, a fair trade company, do collections at Topshop and Urban Outfitters which are pretty reasonable, and Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer both do fair trade lines that are a bit cheaper than average.
- Check out fairtrade wholesalers and retailers at http://www.tradingfairly.co.uk/
BREATHE website
Breathe is a Christian network aimed to inspire us to live well for Christ in a consumer culture. Breathe grew out of a sense of feeling isolated and trapped in consumer culture, and feeling hunger for change, but little inspiration about what to do. It is about encouraging us to change the way we live; about dethroning money, shunning the rushed and shallow lives we get locked into, and detoxing our souls from consumerism, and launching into radical, blessed, sacrificial and fruitful lives. It provides opportunities to connect with others who care about these issues, and contemplate change in a consumer-obsessed society.
Why not get inspiration by visiting the website www.ibreathe.org.uk.
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Easter Egg Campaign
EASTER EGGS
Before you buy your Easter Eggs this year, you might want to give a thought to where that chocolate came from. Much of the chocolate that finds its way into our shops and homes is made with cocoa from Ivory Coast plantations that use trafficked children. To find out what you can do to end this sickening practice visit the STOP THE TRAFFIK website. There are resources there to help you lobby the chocolate industry and to raise awareness of the issues with others. And, when you are buying chocolate, why not sick to Fairtrade? Click here to find a list of 'good chocolate'.
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YOU ARE PART OF A MILLION - YOU MADE IT COUNT
Your text message, your signed postcard, your freedom wall, your facebook sign up, your web sign up, your hand raised and committment ALL COUNT.
THANK YOU!
STOP THE TRAFFIK is taking over a million declarations to the UNITED NATIONS on 13 February 2008.
They will present the STOP THE TRAFFIK global declaration at the opening ceremony of the first GLOBAL UN GIFT (Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking) conference and will be launching the STOP THE TRAFFIK Global Fund (more details to follow in March).
The million is the beginning of so much more.
For further information: http://www.stopthetraffik.org/
STOP THE TRAFFIK Coordinating Team
Enquiries: info@stopthetraffik.org, 1 Kennington Road, London. SE1 &QP. +44 (0)20 7921 4258
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Human trafficking is a contemporary form of slavery. It is now the third largest source of income for organised crime, exceeded only by arms and drug trafficking.HTB is a founding member of the STOP THE TRAFFIK, a global coalition which aims to:
- Expose people trafficking
- Lead governments to action
- Unlock freedom
Part of our Social Transformation mission is to "speak up, for the needy and marginalised, and challenge injustice". This reflects our theological belief that our role, as Christians/the Church, is prophetic as well as pastoral - that we are called not just to care for the disadvantaged, but also to question and challenge the systems that cause disadvantage.
STOP THE TRAFFIK is committed to calling on the United Nations to help ensure better education and vocation training for people most vulnerable to be traffiked.
On 25 March 2007, community events were held around the world to mark Freedom Day – the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. From this, many have become aware of people trafficking, which is a great first step.
At the heart of the STOP THE TRAFFIK campaign is the Global Declaration Card, thousands of cards signed worldwide will be delivered to the United Nations; these aim to pressurise the U.N and individual governments to bring about a change in legislation and policies, resulting in protection from people trafficking.
CANDY WAS 15. HER PARENTS WERE PERSUADED, TRICKED, TO LET HER BE TAKEN FROM HER WEST AFRICAN HOME TO A NEW LIFE IN ENGLAND.
She was sold—‘Trafficked.’ When she arrived, she was taken to a brothel and abused every hour, every day. Stories like Candy’s are happening all the time, making People Trafficking the world’s fastest growing illegal trade. We have to act now to stop it.
Get Involved:
- Everyone can get the UN to stop children like Candy being trafficked. Simply go to www.stopthetraffik.org/declaration and you will join a one million name declaration to be presented to the United Nations in February, in Vienna. We'll use it as an opportunity to get donors to give millions of dollars to set up a global fund to fight people trafficking.
Other ways to get involved with Stop The Traffic:
- WATCH THIS VIDEO and forward link to friends
The Disappearance of a Child 
Please follow this link to view the new STOP THE TRAFFIK viral film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KykpiFiBjc8
- Support the STOP THE TRAFFIK chocolate campaign
"Boycott chocolate that's not Fairtrade says Archbishop"
The Archbishop of York has called for a boycott of all chocolate that is not certified by Fairtrade.
The Archbishop, who has recently returned from a visit to Jamaica, one of the countries worst hit by the slave trade of more than two centuries ago, was delivering a public lecture to hundreds of church and other community members in Hull, constituency of abolitionist William Wilberforce.
Citing research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, he said that although child labour is prohibited in the UK, there is a connection with the UK, chocolate manufacturing and child labour because of the conditions under which cocoa is produced. According to the Stop the Traffik campaign for an end to modern slavery, more than 12,000 trafficked children are working on Ivory Coast plantations to produce 43 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans.
For more on this article, go to http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2773683.ece
Thousands of trafficked children are being forced to work on cocoa plantations this Christmas.
What do these children want for Christmas?
They want to go home.
In the UK we will spend over a billion pounds this Christmas on chocolate.
We like to eat chocolate.
These children are slaves.
Something is terribly wrong.
STOP THE TRAFFIK Chocolate Christmas Campaign is about ACTION and CHANGE.
The customer needs to know who picked the cocoa beans that make chocolate.
The retailer needs to know that their customers will change what they buy to force the chocolate industry to change their practices.
The chocolate manufacturers need to realise that this is the time to:
SIGN THE CHOCOLATE PLEDGE
KEEP THEIR ORIGINAL PROMISES
And GIVE US TRAFFIK FREE CHOCOLATE NOW
Drown your town in coupons! Download the coupon by following this link. Give this to the retailer when you pay for your chocolate. Carry the coupons around in your wallet, purse or bag and every time you buy chocolate—give it in. Let all the chocolate retailers in your neighbourhood know why you are buying fair trade chocolate and encourage them to sign the pledge, join the campaign and provide chocolate that is TRAFFIK FREE.
Use the Christmas chocolate campaign powerpoint resource for your school, college or community group. Use it as it is or be creative and develop your own ideas and action around it.
Contact your local newspaper and radio station and get this issue out there. Advertise the coupons and ask the local paper to print it in support of the Christmas Chocolate Campaign and promote it.
Remember to check the STOP THE TRAFFIK Good Chocolate Guide to know where and what to buy.
Lobby Your MP
Feel strongly about an issue? Why not lobby your MP?
The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (http://www.ccfon.org and www.lawcf.org) has produced a very useful guide:
HOW TO LOBBY MPS
Visits to the MP’s constituency surgery.
Face to face visits are the most effective way of communicating the strength of feeling that Christians may have about an issue. Every Christian lives in a constituency which has an MP and every MP has a ‘surgery’ once or twice a week (almost always Fridays and/or Saturdays). Surgeries are meetings which usually last between 20 and 30 minutes and are intended as an opportunity for constituents to raise any issues or concerns they have with their MP.
Many people shy away from the thought of attending an MP’s surgery, but Christians should strongly be encouraged that the very job of an MP is to listen to the views of constituents and represent them in Parliament. Equally, it is for Christians to stand up for what they believe to be true and not to let unchristian policies and behaviour go unchallenged. We should not be ashamed of confronting MPs in this way.
Some Christians are put off by the fear that they will simply have their arguments defeated by a clever MP. Although it may be that an MP tries to do this, anyone who visits an MP with a genuine issue should put their view across and stand firm based on their principles, even if they may not be able to ‘win’ the argument. This will still be of far more benefit than not putting your views to an MP out of concerns which are probably unfounded. Also, the assistance and support provided by Christian organisations (including the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship) should enable people to feel more confident of their arguments.
The following starter information should be helpful in the process of contacting and lobbying your MP.
a) Confirm who your local MP is. The Parliament website’s ‘Constituency Locata’ is a simple way of doing this: http://www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/. Alternatively, look up the details in your local phone book, or phone the House of Commons switchboard (020 7219 3000) and ask them for the information. It is important to know who your MP is because it is only your local MP who is allowed to represent your view on an issue in Parliament.
b) See how your MP has voted on issues affecting Christians in the past. You can do this by using the helpful Christian Institute service at http://www.christian.org.uk/mpvotes.php.
A similar helpful service is available from http://theyworkforyou.com.
Very often, how an MP thinks and votes on an issue is dictated by the ‘Party line’ i.e. what they have been told to do by their central party leadership. Therefore it may also be worth looking at the websites of the three main parties, as well as newspaper websites, to find out what their policy is on a given issue – this will give you an idea of how easy/difficult it will be to convince your MP and what arguments will be most appropriate. It is worth mentioning the importance of thanking our MPs when they act in accordance with Christian values, particularly if this is in response to a request that they do so.
c) Find out when your MP’s surgery is held and contact them to arrange a meeting. From the Parliament website, contact details can be found for all the constituency MPs at http://www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm in order to find out what day of the week their surgery is held, and then make an appointment. Alternatively, phone the Commons switchboard (020 7219 3000) or look at your MP’s website (these can be found by using a search engine like Google).
d) Before going to see an MP: gather as much factual information as possible. Utilise the resources of Christian organisations. Many Christian organisations prepare briefing sheets and lobbying material which can be accessed on the internet or by post. Contact or speak to any Christians you know who are knowledgeable about the area in question.
Writing to MPs
This can be done by post, by e-mail, or by fax. Again, gather as much factual information as possible before writing to your MP. Any correspondence with an MP should be factually accurate, present a clear argument, and show consideration of the issues involved. Christian lobbying organisations will often provide an example letter to give you an idea of the sort of approach to take. However, always try to make letters individual by focussing on the aspects of the issue you personally feel most strongly about. It is especially powerful to include any examples from your own experience if an issue or piece of legislation has affected you, a friend or a family member personally.
The following websites may be of help:
a) The http://www.parliament.uk/directories/directories.cfm site can be used to find the postal and e-mail addresses for MPs in their constituencies. All MPs can be reached in Westminster by addressing hem in the following format: Mr. Smith MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
b) MPs can be messaged through www.writetothem.com
Information provided by Lawyers' Christian Fellowship.
Contact: Andrea Minichiello Williams, LCF Public Policy Officer, 0771 2591164, andrea@williamsa.force9.co.uk
