The First Rule of Casserole Club Is...

Have you heard about Casserole Club - a great way to support older people in your area simply by cooking one extra portion of your supper? Find out more at Finchley Youth Theatre on 15th Sept.

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Local volunteering opportunity

Help out at an event for older people – Monday 13th May Barnet Older Persons Forum (BOPA) is holding an important event on Monday 13th May for people aged 50+ in the local community. They would like two or three volunteers to help out on the day by serving Starbucks tea and coffee to around 100 people, directing people as they arrive to meeting rooms, toilets, refreshments and generally helping any older person requiring assistance

BOPA would particularly welcome younger volunteers on this occasion. A full briefing will be provided to all volunteers on the day.

 If you may be interested please contact Sue Packman on 020 8447 0379 or email suepackman@madasafish.com

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page (via Barnet Volunteer Centre)

This week at Justice Matters

Thanks to all who came along to our gathering at the Bohemia this week - we had a great session hearing about Ann-Marie's trip to the UN, from our guest speaker Grace about the work of the Trussell Trust foodbank network and from Beth Stone about how to get involved with the recently launched Chipping Barnet foodbank.

Research shows that one in five UK mums have skipped meals in order to have enough food to feed their children. Since 2000, the Trussell Trust has helped local churches to establish over 330 foodbanks to support and serve people in urgent need, with three new centres opening every week to meet rising demand. Importantly, foodbanks do not only offer food, but also valuable signposting to information and services that might help clients get things back under control.

We had an interesting discussion about the positive fact that so many local churches have responded to the needs of their neighbours by setting up foodbanks, but lamented that such need exists so widely and reflected on the Trussell Trust's clear intention not to allow foodbanks to become another arm of the welfare state. If you're interesting in finding out more about the local foodbank - how to help, or how to refer someone for support - you can contact them via their website.

After that Victoria talked about Live Below the Line, an anti-poverty campaign in which participants sign up to feed themselves on just £1 a day for five days to raise awareness of the many people around the world living on less than $1 a day. Members of JM took part in this a couple of years ago (you can read about our experiences here) and we're going to be taking part again this year from 29 April to 3 May. We'll post some more information and tips shortly - we hope lots of you will be up for taking part.

That's more than enough from me for now - have a great week and see you on 1st May for another exciting session...

Chipping Barnet Foodbank

Chipping Barnet foodbank opened on the 10th November last year. Situated in the Salvation Army premises in Albert Road, New Barnet, they have fed more than 136 people (including children) in the area since opening.

The foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust, an organisation that pioneered foodbanks in this country.  The Trust has provided resources to facilitate the set up and operation of the local foodbank.

Chipping Barnet foodbank has been inundated with donations of food - more than 1,500 kg so far - and has had to find additional storage space away from the Salvation Army, expanding into a garage owned by the church of Mary Immaculate and St. Peter in New Barnet. Donations have been provided by individuals, churches and schools. Two food collection have also taken place at the Whetstone branch of Waitrose.

Donated food must be non-perishable (tins or packets) and have a long ‘sell by’ date on it. The foodbank is not allowed to hand out food that is out of date (nowadays even tins have ‘sell by’ dates on them). Every item is checked when it comes into the foodbank and food that has the nearest ‘sell by’ date to the current day is put into the parcels first (ie. food that has a date of April 2013 will be given out before items that have a date of July 2013). This is to ensure the health of recipients as well as provide some stock items for them.

The foodbank is currently open from 10 am – 12 noon on Saturdays and 12 noon - 2pm on Tuesdays. When a client comes into the foodbank, they can sit down and have a cup of coffee or tea and a chat with a volunteer while their parcel is being made up. We can also provide leaflets and information about charities and organisations that may be able to give help and guidance to people in difficult circumstances.

Clients must present a voucher for a parcel that has been issued by a professional (eg: social worker, doctor, community worker) who knows them and is familiar with their family circumstances.  Volunteers at the foodbank are not trained as counsellors or advisers, able to make judgements about individual circumstances and needs. Vouchers have been issued to 50 different local agencies so far, including the Children, Young People and Family Network, the Jobcentre, Barnet Homes, as well as various churches and doctor’s surgeries. The vouchers are numbered and must be signed by the professional to be valid. A record of signatories is kept in the foodbank for referral and vouchers are checked before food parcels are made up.  This system allows the ensure that the foodbank helps people in genuine need.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering to help with the running of the foodbank can contact us through the website to obtain a volunteer application form.

Next week's gathering: Foodbanks

We have now confirmed our venue for next week's gathering - we will be meeting in the new function space at the back of the Bohemia (762-764 High Road, North Finchley). Come to the back of the pub and down the stairs to find us...

As previously trailed, Grace from the Trussell Trust will be sharing about the emergence of the Foodbank Network, and also about how to get involved with the newly established Chipping Barnet Foodbank from Karen and Teresa. Bring along a non-perishable food item to donate to get in!

We'll also be chatting about taking the Live Below the Line Challenge. Every year this gets more media coverage, so its a great opportunity to talk to others about the realities of poverty and perhaps change a few peoples' habits for the better. But don't take my word for it, here's Wallander / Avenger's star, Tom Hiddleston talking about why he's taking part in LBTL on This Morning. Nice.

With the rise of Foodbanks and the recent attention on welfare changes, we think that this will be a popular session, so do think about inviting someone along - we're always keen to welcome new members. See you at the Bohemia next Wednesday (17th April) from 7:30pm.

Don't forget to bring a friend and a tin of beans to donate!

Volunteering opportunity - Besom

Last year, several members of JM spent a Saturday painting the home of a single dad and his son with the help of the Besom in Barnet.

Now Besom are looking for volunteers to help deliver donated household items to those in need on Saturday mornings (approx 9:30-12:30). Why not join the a van team for some fun and (hopefully) sunshine filled Besom days this summer!

The Saturday summer van dates are:
April 13th and 27th
May 11th, and 25th
June 8th and 22nd
July 6th and 20th

Post a comment below if you're interested in helping out on one of those dates and we'll hook you up with the team. Remember, being part of JM isn't just about learning to do right, but also putting that learning into action, so do grab this opportunity to get involved...

"We act as a bridge between those who want to give and those in need in our community. We believe that by getting actively involved, our eyes and hearts are opened, and we understand more of God's heart for those in need."

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

A busy weekend

What a busy weekend!

A number of us went to visit Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, on Saturday morning to discuss the IF campaign. We meet someone else in the waiting room who was also there to talk to her about the campaign, so we made friends and went in together - always networking and recruiting new members!

Theresa was familiar with much of what the campaign is trying to achieve and made positive noises about the issues we raised. Perhaps most pleasingly, when we raised the matter of the Government committing to allocate 0.7% of GDP to international aid, she smiled and told us that the first person into her surgery that morning had been complaining loudly about the amount of money Britain gives away in aid to developing nations, so it was encouraging to hear the five of us voicing our support for ongoing generosity.

On Monday morning Lizzie and Dave went to have a similar conversation with Mile Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, which sounds to have been equally productive.

In addition to that, Elaine hosted the Sing for Water concert at St Bs in Saturday night, where several local choirs performed in support of the work of WaterAid. It was a great evening, with some memorable performances, including an appearance by our own Victoria and Mr Mike Dore. Thanks to all who came along and supported.

This week is a second Wednesday week, so if you have a 2to4 Group, you might want to meet up with them. If you don't, why not invite someone else from the community over for a drink and a natter?

Oh, and don't forget to hang on to plastic trays in preparation for a week Wednesday, when we'll be looking at food chains and grow your own.

That's all for now. Enjoy your week and see you soon!

Sing for Water!

Before Christmas, some of us spent a day dressed up a toilets in Brent Cross shopping centre to raise awareness and funds for the water and sanitation charity, WaterAid (who themselves came to speak to Justice Matters in one of our very early gatherings in November 2011). 

In March, Elaine has organised another fantastic opportunity to support this great charity and this important cause. Details in the poster below - we hope to see lots of you there!

Festive cheer

Justice Matters is excited to be partnering with Finchley's favourite new watering hole, The Bohemia, to provide gifts and a Christmas dinner for isolated older people in the Finchley area.

The idea is simple: buy a gift for an older lady or gent (recommended £10 max) and then bring it along to The Bohemia on the 5th December where we will gather from 8pm to wrap the gifts together. If you aren't able to buy a gift, you can pay for a meal ticket (£7 each). Simpls.

We are also waiting to hear back from Wandsworth Prison about the option of sending gifts to the children of prisoners through Prison Fellowship. We'll confirm this option and further details ASAP.

Rough Guide to being an Ordinary Radical (Part 3)

Why would someone leave comfortable suburbia to move onto a run-down local estate? Come along and hear Ash from Hope House explain why he moved into one of Barnet's most disadvantaged neighbourhoods and what happened next...

This is the last session in our Autumn series, so don't miss out!

Charity concert

If you like a spot of classical music and raising money for good local causes, then why not pop along to Henrietta Barnett School tomorrow evening and enjoy both! Tickets are available on the door.

Thanks to Ian for sharing this - let us know if you go along or if you have anything else you'd like to promote...

Consultation in relation to Sex Entertainment Venues

Barnet Council is currently consulting on whether it should embrace new powers to regulate lap dancing clubs. What do you think?

Following various JM sessions in which we have lifted the lid on the world of sex trafficking and other abuses of women by men with messed up perspectives, I felt compelled to encourage our local authority to take up powers to regulate and limit these kind of establishments in our neighbourhood. If you feel the same way, don't forget to tell them so.

Have your say on this and other local issues via the council's Engage Space consultation portal: http://engage.barnet.gov.uk/

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Open Day at Homeless Action in Barnet

See below a flyer for the open day at Homeless Action in Barnet which takes place this Saturday 30 June. All are welcome to go and see the venue and what is being done by HAB for the homeless of Barnet. Eddy, the centre manager, would be delighted to answer any questions you may have. If you wish to email him with any queries his email is eddy@habcentre.org.  The centre is open all day from 11am-3pm so you can just drop in.

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Pop with a Twist

Friends of Justice Matters, the awesome Feltoe's Folk, are playing a charity gig at the Elephant Pub in North Finchley on the 6th July. Admission is free and all donations go towards the North London Hospice. Our very own Mike Dore will be on bass, along with Lizzie's husband Andy (after whom the ensemble is named).

Promises to be a great evening - see you there!

Where next for Communities?

At my church, St Barnabas in Woodside Park, we’ve embarked on a programme to remodel the organisation of the church, away from small Barnabas Groups to larger Communities (as discussed in this previous blog). This post is an effort to outline three possible ways to achieve this aspiration – from the conservative to the unreservedly ambitious.

The community rhythm model
One way to transition to the Communities structure would be the adoption of a community rhythm. This is perhaps the most accessible model for more conservative BGs to transition gently towards a different model.

If a number of groups implemented a common or pattern to their gatherings, individuals BGs could continue to meet in their traditional format for several weeks a month but join with another group on a regular basis to engage in an activity that perhaps one group along could not. As the rhythm played out across the month and relationships developed across the groups involved, the comings together would cease to be an imposition (or ‘week off’) and become instead a valued element in the diary. Once in full flow, the rhythm might look something like this: Meeting as individual groups for prayer breakfasts in week one, pairing up with another group to undertake charitable or voluntary action in week two, engaging in a more traditional bible studies in week three and gather several pairs of groups together to hold a worship celebration in week four. Rinse and repeat. With any luck, employing this model should help transform even the most conservative groups into a more active, outward-looking network.

The Christians with a common passion model
Another model for Communities would be one based on 20-40 people who are already Christians joining together around a common passion or theme (such as the homeless or the public sector). Being centred on a passion would make such a Community more tightly focused than traditional BGs or the community rhythm model described above. In this model, the Community either exists to support members in bespoke expressions of mission (eg. holding dinner parties where non-Christian work colleagues come into contact with a selection of Christians from the Community) or to deliver event-based mission / action (eg. running a soup kitchen).

This model is excellent for delivering ministries and building community amongst those Christians involved in that ministry, but not so effective at drawing non-Christians into the fold. The leadership might meet regularly to pray for those coming into contact with the Community and there may be some opportunities to welcome new or non-Christians into the Community as ‘core’ members (as exemplified by attending the monthly ‘micro-Church’ gathering). However, in reality the Community’s membership and those at the receiving end of its good works are likely to remain largely distinct in this model.

The Community with soft edges model
The third model is one characterised by a core leadership and/or scaffolding team and a radically inclusive approach to not-yet-Christian members. Like the common passion model above, this group may well find a common cause to champion, but would explicitly include non-believers in the shaping and pursuit of that passion. In other words, rather than having ‘go’ weeks (which are public events and deliberately accessible to non-Christians) and ‘churchy’ weeks (which are essentially traditional celebrations, and are less so), Communities pursuing this model would seek to develop gatherings and spaces which are accessible and welcoming to non-Christians whilst at the same time unashamedly reflective of the Community’s Christian inspiration. Clearly this is a challenge but it should not be beyond our collective power of imagination.

Examples of this model might include a Community designed to enable networking and relationship building among new arrivals to the area, or one that seeks to attract individuals (Christian and otherwise) around the issue of social justice. To encourage genuine relationships and ownership, all members would be encouraged to play an active role in the Community. It is even conceivable that non-Christian members might eventually be invited to join the core leadership, although only with the express understanding that the Community’s Christian foundation must be respected in any decisions.

Reflection
Personally, it is this final model which is most exciting. Clearly there are several issues that remain to be ironed out. If you have any ideas, do get in touch. I hope that the discussion of each of the three models is useful to other leaders grappling with this transition. If you’d like to discuss anything I raised here, drop me a note…