A summer break

Wednesday's cafe session and our community BBQ last night were our final gatherings before the summer break. Thanks to everyone who have come along and taken part in our sessions since January - here's a short reminder of all that we've been up to over the last seven months.

We'll see you again in September for more and better!

Is what you eat a matter of justice or a lifestyle choice?

These days there are many options when buying food: organic, locally grown, soil association certified, rainforest alliance approved. But what does it all actually mean?

In this cafe session (the first of two organised by members of the community itself following our recent crowdsource gathering) we will try to answer this question and discuss whether taking such labels into consideration when filling your grocery basket is important.

In other words, does God care what you eat?

Wednesday 19 June, 7:30-10pm at Coffee Republic, North Finchley.

Green shoots at Easter

Has anyone else got green shoots appearing from the tubs of soil and seeds we planted last week? So often at JM we look at issues that demand concerted engagement over the long haul to bring about meaningful change, so its refreshing to see a tangible outcome from our recent efforts to experiment with growing our own food within mere days of taking action.

It was equally encouraging to hear that our combined efforts to lobby Government to deliver on the commitment to allocate 0.7% of GDP to resource international development. Clearly, this announcement was part of a much wider and long-running campaign to make this pledge a reality, but it was nonetheless exciting to have been engaging with our local MPs on the issue one day and then to have seen it actioned the following week.

The sight of those green shoots sprouting from the dirt reminded me of a video I produced a couple of years ago to accompany a talk I gave at St Bs on the parable of the mustard seed. In the video, as in the parable, the dominant image is of weeds breaking through concrete, reclaiming ruins, bringing new life and colour to abandoned objects and forgotten places. This, says Jesus, is what the Kingdom of God is like - the transformation of our broken and corrupt systems, a restoration of right relationships, the dawn of a new hope.

This is what Christians celebrate at Easter - that through Jesus' death and resurrection, we are restored into right relationship with God, one another and the world. On that first Easter Sunday, the Kingdom of God went from an idea to a reality and it has continued to seed and spread throughout the world ever since.

When the hungry are fed, the poor cared for, prisoners comforted, the lonely befriended, the outcasts included and the stranger welcomed, that is the Kingdom of God.

When slaves are freed, labourers fairly treated, when women are valued as equal, that is the Kingdom of God.

When the thirsty are given access to safe clean water, when farmers don't have to sell their crops for less than they cost to produce, when young girls aren't subjected to mutilation, or forced to sell their bodies for sex, when companies in one part of the world don't exploit workers in another party of the world just because they can, that is the Kingdom of God.

Justice Matters is an expression of that same redemptive insurgency; our small effort to play a role in the creeping global transformation.

If you are around Finchley over the Easter weekend, why not pop into one of the Easter services taking place at St Barnabas Church and find out more about God's heart for social justice and how far He went to make a better world possible. 

Otherwise we'll see you again on the 18th April for our next gathering, at which we'll be hearing about Foodbanks with exciting guest speakers from both the Chipping Barnet Foodbank and the Trussell Trust, creator of the UK's largest Foodbank network. Plus we'll talking about taking up the Live Below the Line challenge again... 

So, lots to look forward to - have a good Easter weekend and see you soon!

Scenes from the potting room floor

Last week, members of Justice Matters looked at the issue of food chains and food miles, before getting their green fingers dirty planting courgette, chillies, salad leaves, tomatoes and beetroot seeds. Good times.

Grow your own

With concerns over the complexity of our food chains and the sad demise of Richard Briers, aka Tom from the Good Life, it seems timely that this month we're looking at growing your own food - whether a simple planter with herbs on the window sill or a more ambitious allotment, everyone can grow something. Come along and discuss the issues and have a go at starting your own kitchen garden.

If you can, bring along a small plastic container (the sort that cheery tomatoes or blueberries come in)...

Wednesday 20th March
19:30-21:30
Coffee Republic, North Finchley

See you there!

Pancakes, Lent and Fairtrade Fortnight

Happy Pancake Day! May you enjoy the very best pre-Lenten treats with your free range eggs, organic lemons and fair-trade sugar!

We had a fascinating discussion on the nature of social justice and the part it plays in our lives at the Bohemia last week. If you missed it, you can read the discussion notes on in the post below. Do share your ideas in the comments!

No gathering this week, but with the start of Lent, we wanted to plug two campaigns that you might choose to get involved with over the next few weeks. Both represent interesting opportunities to interrupt our busy lives and think about how our choices affect others. See below for details – let us know if you take one of them up!

Our next gathering is next Wednesday (20^th) at Coffee Republic and will be about Fairtrade ahead of FT Fortnight the week after. Its sure to be a good one, so get it in your diary now. Get it in your friends' diaries too – the more the merrier!

40 Days of Water

Help provide clean water to people in Africa this Lenten season by making water your only beverage for 40 days!

Give up something this year for Lent that will change the way you think about water and change the life of someone in Africa. While you give up your morning coffee, soda at lunch, glass of wine in the evening, etc. Keep a track of what you would have spent on that drink, and at the end of 40 days, donate the money you saved to Blood:Water (or WaterAid!) and provide clean water to communities in Uganda.

While you give up your morning coffee, soda at lunch, glass of wine in the evening, etc. keep track of what you would have spent on that drink, and at the end of 40 days, donate the money you saved to Blood:Water Mission and provide clean water to communities in Uganda.

Find out more: http://40days.bloodwatermission.com/ 

40 ACTS

Lent is usually about 'giving stuff up', isn't it? What if you could add something transformational to the traditional?

What if you could give up chocolate and give the money to your favourite charity?

What if you could turn the TV off and spend more time helping your neighbour?

What if your Lent, this year, was a preparation for a lifetime of big-heartedness?

Find out more: http://www.40acts.org.uk/

Food, glorious food!

Food plays a huge role in our society. Eating together is a sign of hospitality and friendship, popular (and sometimes colourful) chefs are celebrated in our media, and programmes like Come Dine With Me and the Great British Bake Off are hugely popular.

Food is something that we love and often take for granted. We learnt this week that vast amounts of food is being wasted by consumers in the developed world. Meanwhile, we know that there are many people around the world - 870 million according to the World Food Programme - who go to bed hungry day in, day out. This inequality is truly shocking.

Over the coming few months, we will be looking at food and how it relates to justice. We will be exploring a range of topics - from hunger in the developing world to grow you own in the UK, from Fairtrade and unjust trade barriers, to Foodbanks and poverty closer to home.

Both the Old and New Testament of the Bible speak regularly about the issue of food justice, including guidelines to benefit those in need at harvest time, to strong words for those who seek to cheat the hungry out of their resources and those who embrace religion but lack a heart of compassion for those in need. We will be looking at some of these verses as we learn about the facts and seeing how faith and justice are inextricably linked.

Other charities are also focussing on the issue of food at this time, so we will be looking to get involved with Tearfund's new campaign, the Live Below the Line challenge and other opportunities to make a practical dent in this injustice.

It all begins this Wednesday at Coffee Republic from 7:30pm. We're kicking off the series with a guest speaker from Friends of the Earth and a practical activity to have a go at. As you can probably tell, we're really excited about this new theme and the gatherings we have planned, so we hope to see you at Coffee Republic or the Bohemia soon.

Oh, and to anyone fasting this week as part of the St Bs week of prayer and fasting, you might think its a little inconsiderate of us to be doing all this talk of food while you're trying to avoid it. But just consider this, as God says through the prophet Isaiah (58 v6-7):

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

So there you go. See you on Wednesday!