Have your say

Tomorrow, members of the Justice Matters core team are having an away day to think about a plan for Justice Matters over the coming year. In light of this, we'd like to invite any comments you might have on the experience of being part of our network up to now.

What have been the highlights? 
Where could we improve?
Do we communicate what's happening well enough? 
Do you like the website, the Facebook page, the email updates? 
How do you find the different sessions - those in the pub and those at Coffee Republic? 

You don't need to answer all those questions, or any for that matter, but if you have an opinion or an idea about how we can make the network better than it already is, to be more engaging, welcoming and empowering, then please let us know.

Thanks for coming on this journey with us thus far. We'll share our discussions from the away day here on our website soon.

See you next Wednesday for the session on the Persecuted Church. Don't forget its at Guy Chester House, not Coffee Republic as usual...

Volunteering opportunity: Volunteer Centre Barnet

Any of our members interested in helping at the Barnet Older People's Assembly? You'll need to be available during the day...

"Looking for enthusiastic, friendly volunteers to volunteer at an event organised by Barnet Older People's assembly, on 17th April at Hendon, from 9.45 am onwards. Voluntary roles include helping out with registration, serving refreshments, facilitating during workshops etc. For further information & to register please call us on 0208 3648400 ext 223, 222 by 13th April."

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

50 Ways to Avoid 'Slacktivism'

"Are you a slacktivist? 50 ways to make a meaningful difference..."

Despite being well intentioned, not everything we do on the internet to help make a difference in the world does. Awareness raising and passing on encouragement and support ARE all important, but we must also take real action ourselves and encourage it in others. 50 tips for avoiding 'slacktivism' !

http://nextstarfish.com/?p=5924

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

The Persecuted Church

Around the world, millions of people are imprisoned, persecuted and killed for their faith. In this month's main session, Justice Matters will be learning about the situation for Christians in different parts of the world and the organisations working to support believers in the face of persecution.

Please note that this session will not be taking place at our usual meeting place but at the Guy Chester Centre on Pages Lane in Muswell Hill (N10 1PR). We hope you can join us!

A well-earned break

We've has sessions on Fairtrade, on domestic violence, on water and sanitation. We've had discussions on Occupy and FGM. We've painted someone's flat and we've hosted a film screening. After all the hard work, we figured it was time for a night off just enjoying each others' company. So, for our first Wednesday in the month gathering in April, we'll just be hanging out at The Griffin pub in Whetstone. Whether you're a regular or you've not yet made it along to a gathering, please come along and join us for a few drinks. We'll be there (probably in the side room) from 7:30pm this coming Wednesday (4th April).

Our third Wednesday in the month will be focussing on the persecuted Church. More details to follow. ..

Blood in the Mobile

Free film screening

7:30pm, Wednesday 7th March

St Barnabas Church, Holden Road, Woodside Park

This Fairtrade Fortnight, joins us as we explore the next challenge for ethical consumers - conflict free minerals.

We love our mobiles but the production of phones has a dark, bloody side.

Many of the minerals used to produce mobile  phones come from mines in the Eastern DR Congo. In buying these conflict minerals, the West is financing  a civil war that, according to human rights organisations, has been the bloodiest conflict since the  Second World War.

With footage from inside Congo’s mines and interviews with mobile giant Nokia, Blood in Mobile is a film about conflict, consumerism and collective responsibility. 

As well as the film, there will be Fairtrade nibbles and market stalls with merchandise from ethical and Fairtrade jewellery companies. 

It's going to be a great evening, so we hope you can join us!

For more information

http://tinyurl.com/jmbloodmobile

Screened with permission of Dogwoof Documentary.

Ending violence against women

"In the UK, 25% of women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Both women and men need to stand together to end this horrific and all pervasive reality that affects so many women and children."

In January, Justice Matters were honoured to have Nathalie from Restored visit and share her story with us. Through her own painful life experiences she now works to raise awareness of domestic violence, equipping groups like ours to be better prepared to spot and support those suffering in this way. Her presentation was frank and unflinching in its details, provoking some lively discussion from members and practical responses for many.

We heard about the First Man Standing campaign which calls men everywhere to be the first in their family, club, church or workplace to stand up and speak out about ending violence against women. By signing up to be a First Man Standing, men are committing to:

1. Respect all women everywhere and demonstrate love and support for women and children in your family.
2. Challenge other men by speaking out to their friends and colleagues about ending violence and negative attitudes towards women.
3. Join the cause and make a personal pledge; “never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women”

More information on the campaign can be found here.

Continuing the theme of ending violence against women, our pub chat in early February looked at the link between glamazon culture, cosmetic surgery and FGM. Labiaplasty is on the rise in the UK (inspired in no small part by the influence of the pornography industry on public perceptions of female beauty), but women from FGM practising countries are banned from having this type of surgery, begging the question: how can the same medical procedure be considered mutilation for some and fashionable for others? We learnt about the origins of FGM as a practise to identify female slaves and considered the parallels with the objectification of women in pornography, and we explored practical ways to empower teachers and others to protect children who they suspect may be at risk of being taken abroad to undergo FGM.

Thanks to those who came and shared in the discussions. More information on the issues around FGM can be found on the 28toomany website, which is run by Justice Matters leader Ann-Marie.