Movement Magazine: Issue 160

20,000 Australian students
gather in climate change
protest rally, March 2019
Photo credit:
Holli / Shutterstock.com
A ‘glocal’
approach makes
associations
between efforts
to persuade our
Government to
reduce carbon
emissions and
the need for it
to accept more
unaccompanied
refugee children,
not just from Syria
but from Asia and
Africa too.
sometimes merely to survive. A ‘glocal’
approach makes associations between
efforts to persuade our Government to
reduce carbon emissions and the need
for it to accept more unaccompanied
refugee children, not just from Syria but
from Asia and Africa too. It also means
cajoling financial institutions to not invest
in fossil fuels but in green energy, as well
as encouraging congregations to either
become Churches of Sanctuary that provide
hospitality to asylum seekers and refugees,
or to join a community sponsorship scheme.
The Bible has much to say about justice,
equity and dignity, and it is clear that racist
attitudes and behaviours are both sinful and
incompatible with being a Christian. Christian
organisations like Churches Together in
Britain and Ireland have produced a wealth
of material for Racial Justice Sunday which
explore how best to engage with those who
see things differently. Likewise, we need to
stand alongside those Christian and secular
groups who lobby the authorities to make
our communities and wider society safer,
inclusive and more cohesive.
It goes without saying that students have
long-played a key role in challenging injustice
and inequality, both at home and abroad.
Back in my student days, I spent many an
hour on anti-apartheid demonstrations
outside the South African Embassy/
High Commission or protesting against
any business with financial dealings with
that racist country. Moreover, while I was
Project Director of the Churches Together in
England initiative Set All Free, which focused
on slavery, I liaised with student groups who
were keen to engage in the efforts to raise
awareness and tackle trafficking. It is often
said that the hardest choice or decision is
often the right one, and we need to do the
right thing on racism, bigotry, asylum and
refugees. It is my hope and confidence that
students will continue to be at the heart of
all efforts to do the right thing!
Richard Reddie is a writer and commentator,
and the Director of Justice and Inclusion for
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
Follow him on Twitter @RichRed123
ONE DIAMOND, MANY
FACETS: THE RICHNESS
OF DIVERSITY
Being part of an ecumenical community is an invitation from God to
see our differences as enriching, rather than as an obstacle. A journey to
global love and peace-making, which is what we are called to do in our
Christian life, starts with valuing the differences of those next to us.
Father Tonino Bello highlighted this when he
said, “Peace is conviviality. It is eating bread
with others, without separating. And the other
is a face to discover, contemplate (…). What is
peace? It is the conviviality of differences. It is
sitting together at the same table, within different
people that we are called to serve.”
It is wonderful for me to take part in Mass and
share the wonder of the Eucharist with my
Catholic friends. But it is equally wonderful to take
the experiences of love, awe and amazement for
God that I experience in a Catholic context and
bring them to the ecumenical table. Here, people
bring their own backgrounds and experiences,
creating a jigsaw of love for God that is diverse,
colourful, chaotic, yet harmonious. In our
Chaplaincy community, I am blessed with people
who will listen when I talk about Mary as a
revolutionary and pivotal figure in the Christian
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MOVEMENT Issue 160
MOVEMENT Issue 160
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