Social Justice: role of faith organisations (4)

An organisation I had the privilege of being a member of was the Tunbridge Wells Churches' Social Responsibility Group (TWCSRG), a charity with a board of trustees consisting of nominees from churches.  Trustees came from evangelical, liberal and traditional wings of  parishes of the Church of England, Baptist, United Reformed,  Roman Catholic and Methodist churches.  The Salvation Army was represented by the local corps' officer and there was a trustee nominated by Tunbridge Wells Evangelical Fellowship congregation: a cross-section of doctrinal and theological positions united in the pursuit of social justice.  

As a charity TWCSRG was completely independent of all denominations and this eventually led to some friction and the winding up of the charity, its work subsumed in the local Churches Together organisation.  

TWCSRG sought to assist individual churches engaged in, or proposing to engage in, activities to provide assistance to individuals at point of need or to develop community outreach. It supported non-church organisations with a christian ethos and worked in collaboration with secular organisations.  

Church in Society, a venture of the Joint Canterbury and Rochester Diocesan Board of Social Responsibility of the Church of England, provided invaluable advice and counsel.

TWCSRG took upon itself the role of discussing issues with the borough and county councils.  Specific areas of work were:

* Gaining recognition for Tunbridge Wells as a Fairtrade town.

* Campaigning for the establishment of a credit union, eventually set up by the county council with a big injection of seed funding.

*Contributing to the development of the borough Community Plan. TWCSRG succeeded in gaining a place of the steering group charged with publishing the plan and its representative became the chair of the steering group. 

The role of faith organisations in providing resources for the community is underrated by the public and the statutory sector. It is important that churches publicise the range of services they provide and its effects on communities.  I  believe it is vital to have a local directory of services managed by faith groups and use it to impress on statutory bodies in particular the value they represent both financially and to individuals and communities. Where we think the policy of a statutory organisation is misconceived or not working as intended efforts should be made to draw attention to the issues involved and press for change.  In other words we need to engage with those with power and seek to influence them but in a spirit of collaboration and when appropriate compromise.  

Engaging with politicians can be rewarding, but politics is a very rough mileu, not noted for tranquility, and we must be prepared to be tossed about and shaken, but not downtrodden nor dismayed. The pursuit of social justice takes us out of our comfort zone. We need to build resilience and confidence in ourselves and others to engage with those who may not share our values or concerns.