Justice & Peace Link Information sheet on justice & peace issues March 2021 Ongoing to Sunday, 7 March Fair Trade Fortnight Join the Fairtrade Festival here
Thursdays, 4-25 March 7.30pm – 8.30pm Global Healing Lent course hosted by the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM) Laudato Si’ Animators in the UK. You can still join this series of reflective evenings with inspiring speakers, prayer and discussion, using the film-based resource “Global Healing”. These engaging documentaries will inform and challenge people to respond to Pope Francis’ call to Care for Our Common Home. Suitable for all who are concerned about what is happening to our world and who want to take action. Please register here or email [email protected]
The latest issue of the NJPN E-Bulletin is available now. Click here to view. Also NJPN North West Justice & Peace E-Bulletin March 2021
Events Monday, 1 March & the first of each month – Pray and Fast for the Climate. Join people around the world praying & fasting for climate justice. Prayer points are here.
Monday, 1 March 8pm You can also join an on-line prayer time for climate justice and reconciliation of God, humanity and all creation. Click here to register
Wednesday, 3 March 7.00 - 9.30pm Return to the Golden City Workshop following on from the showing of the film and discussion last month. In a non-judgmental and emotionally safe place you will, in small groups, look at your 'other' and see how you can have your ‘cup of coffee'. We will all learn from each other and leave feeling empowered and more able to build bridges. Jo Berry, the founder of Building Bridges for Peace, promotes peace and conflict transformation around the world. Jo began this work when she started speaking publicly with the ex IRA combatant Patrick Magee who planted the bomb that killed her father. To register and receive the zoom link, please email [email protected] Donations for Ammerdown welcome through the Just Giving page at www.ammerdown.org
Wednesday, 3 March 7.30 pm Carbon Cutter or Climate Marcher? Personal and Political Action on Climate Change Arranged by eco-congregation Scotland. A large majority of people in Scotland (79%) think climate change is an “immediate and urgent problem” (Ipsos MORI survey, October 2020). Why doesn’t that concern translate into more action? If we want to take action, what’s going to make the biggest difference? Is it best to focus on political change, or personal behaviour change? Can an individual have any effect? And what about the current situation: has coronavirus actually been good news for the environment/climate change?These are some of the questions Dr Rachel Howell will consider. There will also be plenty of time for you to contribute your own questions and thoughts; Rachel is keen to respond to what you want to know. To register click here
Thursday, 4 March 6.30 - 8.30pm Challenging Militarism in a Pandemic. The Covid pandemic is a reminder that guns and bombs cannot make us safe. It is more vital than ever to challenge militarist assumptions that equate security with preparations for war. Organised by Peace Pledge Union. https://www.ppu.org.uk/events
Thursday, 4 March 8.30 - 9.15pm "The Story of Plastic" Film Night. This is a powerful documentary by international campaigning group 'The Story of Stuff Project'. There is then also the option to join the Plastic Free Minehead, Watchet, Porlock and Exmoor Community Groups for an online discussion afterwards about what we can do help tackle plastic pollution in West Somerset and beyond. Find out how you can get involved and bring along your own ideas for actions and projects! "The Story of Plastic" Film Night | Somerset Wildlife Trust Once you have registered you will receive a link to the film 'The Story of Plastic' which you can watch online at any time up to and including the 4th March. It lasts 1 hr 35 mins. You will also receive a separate ZOOM link for the optional follow up discussion and 'call to action' which will take place between 8.30pm - 9.15pm on the 4th March. We encourage people who wish to attend the discussion to watch the film on the same evening as the discussion meeting (e.g from 6.45pm - 8.20pm) but you can watch it at any time in the days preceding that.
Friday, 5 March Women’s World Day of Prayer (with the women of Vanuatu). For information click here
Sunday, 7 March 6 pm Countryfile, BBC 1. Mary Colwell will be speaking about her campaign to introduce a Natural History GCSE
Monday, 8 March International Women’s Day This year’s theme ‘Choose to Challenge’
Monday, 8 March 7pm Celebrating Nonviolence and Women Peacemakers Pax Christi E&W invites you to an International Women’s Day ZOOM gathering. Panelists: Mary T Yelenick, Pax Christi International UN-NGO, New York and Sr Katrina Alton CSJP, peace activist and member of Pax Christi. Register here
Wednesday, 10 March 7pm Green and ethical investment with Bokani Tshidzu. A Green Christian Workshop via Zoom
Thursday, 11 March Sacred People, Sacred Earth a global interfaith day of climate action At 10am, Footsteps - Faiths for a Low Carbon Future are holding a webinar, "Local to Global: the power of interfaith action for the climate - an example from Birmingham". The webinar will give an example of how members of different faiths can join together in climate action in a big city, in particular in influencing the city council to fulfil its climate emergency commitments. Speakers include Chris Martin, Footsteps representative on Birmingham City Council’s climate emergency task force and a Quaker, amongst others. Register here. At noon, Christian Climate Action are encouraging the ringing of church bells (if permitted in your location). People can also go to their doorsteps to make a noise - clap, bang on drums or pans, or ring bells. There's a flyer that you can put in your window - do download the front and reverse sides. CCA are asking for church prayers that week to include "those suffering from the worst effects of climate change, ecological destruction and social injustice; especially the most vulnerable in the Global South". For more information, contact Ruth Urbanowicz. At 2.30pm, Brahma Kumaris UK in collaboration with Faith for the Climate will offer an hour's online meditation with visuals, and silent reflective spaces. According to the Brahma Kumaris, "By honouring our inner sanctity we can become a loving presence on the Earth, caring for and nurturing our environment, and all living creatures." Register here. Whether you're attending any of these events or actions or are interested in taking individual action - the Sacred People Sacred Earth website has Covid-safe suggestions - do remember to post on social media.
Friday, 12 March 5 pm Webinar: Addressing the Climate Crisis Digitally: The Power of Imagery to Communicate the Urgency of Acting Now – Join a conversation with Toby Smith, Visuals and Media Programme Lead at Climate Outreach in the UK. He will discuss how Climate Visuals, a program of Climate Outreach, translated research insights into 7 accessible Core Principles and created a popular reference library of hundreds of photographs illustrating the principles. The focus of Climate Visuals is on how images can motivate action – emphasizing digital media. Hosted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. To register click here
Friday, 12 to Monday, 15 March Living Laudato Si’: REPEAT - Your Parish and Your Planet... (led from Boarbank Hall, Cumbria) led by Sr Margaret Atkins with contributions from Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark and Bishop Peter Brignall of Wrexham. Sessions will be on Friday evening, Saturday morning and evening, Sunday afternoon and evening and Monday evening (leaving people free during the day on Monday). Allow yourself to be energised by the enthusiasm of our speakers! " Ffi click here (The weekend will be repeated, 16th-19th April, with Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham and Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds)
Saturday 13 March 11.00 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. Bristol Quakers Annual Peace lecture: Can War be Abolished? Britain's Role in working for World Peace. The event will take the form of 4 dialogues between Fabian Hamilton, Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, and Paul Ingram, Quaker and ex-Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC). The subjects for discussion will be: Nuclear disarmament; Britain's role in the world; British-American relations; What Quakers can do to promote peace. Participation is free but please register via Eventbrite here For more information email [email protected]
Saturday 13 March 10.15am - 5pm Building Peace from the Ground Up A day conference of talks, workshops and worship exploring how to respond to hate, and how to build the church up as a place active for peace. It will be held via zoom and is organised by Church and Peace and the Fellowship of Reconciliation UK. Click here for more details and to register.
Saturday, 13 March 11am Let us Dream: Unmasking a Post-Covid future with St Oscar Romero This year's ecumenical service at St Martin-in-the-Fields is will be live-streamed from the church via the Romero Trust YouTube channel at youtube.com/RomeroTrust. The presider will be Revd Richard Carter, one of the trustees of the Romero Trust. The address will be given by Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ. Gemma is a sister of the Congregation of Jesus. She is a Senior Research Fellow of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge, where she is director of the Religious Life Institute. After a career in secondary teaching and missionary work in Brazil, she was chaplain in the Universities of Cambridge and London before taking up a lectureship in pastoral theology at Heythrop College, University of London. She was a chaplaincy volunteer in Holloway Prison for 26 years and is an honorary fellow of Durham University.
Thursday 18th March 10:00-11:00 Net Zero: The need for joint action on adaptation a webinar to discuss the need for joint action to adapt to climate change alongside action to reduce emissions to Net Zero. Chaired by Baroness Brown, Chair of the Adaptation Committee, and with contributions from the Climate Change Committee’s Chief Economist, Mike Thompson, and Head of Adaptation, Kathryn Brown, this webinar promises to explore the cross-overs outlined in our Sixth Carbon Budget advice where action to reduce emissions further benefits action to adapt to a changing climate and vice versa. This year is of great importance for both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change globally. The CCC will be playing a key part in that - publishing a joint progress report on mitigation and adaptation in June and producing the Third Climate Change Risk Assessment later this year. With progress expected from the UK Government on a strategy to achieve Net Zero, the response to our Sixth Carbon Budget, and COP26 in November, this webinar will help consider where actions on both are mutually beneficial. Register here
Monday, 22 March World Water Day Ffi see the World Water Day website
Wednesday, 24 March Anniversary of the murder of St. Oscar Romero For further information see The Archbishop Romero Trust |website.
Thursday, 25 March 11.00 What is the best way for campaigners to engage the public around COP26? Building on our Britain Talks Climate research, join Climate Outreach for a webinar including what different segments of the UK population might think about some of the major talking points at the conference. Register here Thursday, 25 March 7.30pm What you should know about polar climate change? Barely a week goes by without a story about collapsing ice sheets, climate turmoil as the polar oceans unfreeze, and resident species are catastrophically impacted by things like giant rogue icebergs crashing into defenceless islands. It’s a story of almost constant gloom backed by the narrative that the poles are an untouched wilderness. As a polar researcher with extensive field experience University, UK) will discuss his own and others’ research to identify the pressing polar issues. Mark is a polar oceanographer who has spent almost three years in Antarctica and the Arctic, pioneering the use of robots beneath sea ice. He has worked extensively on large broadcast projects including Frozen Planet and Blue Planet II. In 2012 he was awarded the Times Higher Education Most Innovative Teacher of the Year, and in 2020 was awarded an MBE for Services to Polar Science. A BRSLI event: Visitors £5, Members & Students £2. Book Here
Friday, 26 March UK Banner Drop and Twitter Storm The second reading of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill has, once again, been cancelled. But with record global temperatures, wildfires and floods, nothing is slowing down the Climate Emergency. So, on this date on which the CEE Bill should have been re-presented, we are going into action. Joining with other interest groups, church members and anyone else that might like to join us, we are planning to drop banners across the UK bearing the message "Back the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill". We are also encouraging members to contribute to a Twitter storm, calling on our MPs to seriously address climate change and back the Bill. Find out more
Saturday, 27 March 12.30pm St George's Cathedral, Southwark Archbishop John Wilson will celebrate Mass in his cathedral, which houses the diocesan shrine to St Oscar Romero, on the Saturday after Romero's feast day. He will preach on 'Unchanging Truth in Changing Times'. A limited congregation is able to gather in the cathedral, and it will also be streamed live HERE.
Saturday, 27 March Earth Hour ‘Our first-ever Earth Hour "Virtual Spotlight". Over the years, the lights-off moment saw entire streets, buildings, landmarks, and city skylines go dark - an unmissable sight that drew public attention to nature loss and the climate crisis. This year - amidst the current global circumstances - we invite you to raise awareness and create the same unmissable sight online, so that the world sees our planet, the issues we face, and our place within it, in a new light.’ Ffi www.earthhour.org
If you would like to publicise an event, please send details to the Secretary, Clifton Diocese Justice and Peace Commission [email protected]. The items above are included as they may be of interest because of their relevance to peace and justice issues. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Justice and Peace Commission.