Autumn re-launch

This Wednesday we held our second open invitation Justice Matters gathering at Coffee Republic in North Finchley. Members were invited to arrive from 7pm to share food and conversation before the meeting proper began and a good number took up this offer. Once the plates had been cleared and the coffee mugs drained, attention turned to the formal part of the gathering.

At our first open gathering at the start of the summer we had changed those present with making a pledge - to identify one small, achievable thing they could do that would make a difference. Pledges had included showing kindness to a neighbour, signing up for a charity's information newsletter and giving a homeless person something to eat. Naturally, we wanted to find out how people had got on with this task, so the first item was to discuss and share stories of what had happened. Of course, there were some newcomers, so they too were invited to share anything they had done over the summer which had made a difference, pledge or no pledge. Needless to say, our wonderful friends and members had been very diligent in rising to this challenge and there were several encouraging stories shared.

All stories being told, Victoria and Sam moved on to present the Justice Matters manifesto. This manifesto is a simple document that outlines the founding members vision for the community, followed by the values and characteristics that we feel the community should embody. After that, there is a brief explanation of what kind of things the community will do - our offer to members - and finally those things what we would ask of members. You can read the full document and learn more about our vision for Justice Matters elsewhere on this blog.

(You will notice that some words have been highlighted in bold italic in this post. These words represent our community rhythm, inspired by our vision statement. They will inform the flavour of our gatherings and this session had been deliberately crafted to include a taste of all of them. In case you were wondering...)

Next up was an interview with Hannah Knight from the Besom in Barnet on the subject of seeking justice through volunteering. Hannah explained what the Besom in Barnet does ("provides a bridge between those who want to give time, money, things or skills, and those in need") and her experience of getting involved in volunteering. One of the ways that Besom delivers on its ambition to bridge resources with need is to organise ad hoc projects where a number of people get together on a Saturday to undertake a project - clearing a garden, decorating a flat, etc. Since one of the things we have committed to as a community is to undertake practical action, we have pencilled in a few dates when Justice Matters will be helping Besom to deliver one of these projects. We hope you can join us.

The final element of the evening was an invitation for those present to read and sign a select number a petitions and campaign postcards at the Defend station and to write a hope or prayer for the community and peg it to the light net on the Plead station. That being done, it was time to grab another drink (too late for coffee if I wanted to get any sleep - I learnt that from last time!) and chat some more before heading for home.

We had a great evening and we hope you did too. The plan is to meet at 7pm every third Wednesday of the month unless otherwise advertised, so see you next time!

PS - Despite abstaining from coffee at 9pm, I still didn't get much sleep...!