From the Ground Up: Workshops

Choose from ten exciting, engaging and interactive workshops designed to inspire hope and equip you to seek justice in your own context.  

You’ll choose from two kinds of workshops: 

Unearthing Hope workshops explore a particular social justice issue and its contexts. They look more closely at the chosen issue, listen to experience and ask where we can find hope and opportunities for change. Facilitated by experts in their field. 

Seeking Justice Workshops focus on different ways we can take action. You will be equipped with new ways to seek justice in your own context, by engaging with different levels of the changemaking process and learning a new skill. Facilitated by practitioners.  

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Unearthing hope…

…in racial justice

Gather together to explore the consequences of racial injustice, and how our churches might be part of declaring our shared hope by pursuing racial justice in our communities and beyond. Where does racial justice intersect with our other concerns, and how can we be allies and agents for change? Facilitated by Richard Reddie, Director of Justice and Inclusion at CTBI. 

…in our theology

Where is our theology a tool for hope in hard times? How might it enable us to shape a distinctive voice for change? This workshop will explore what our theology can offer into conversations about hope in our communities. Facilitated by Revd Simon Woodman, Bloomsbury Baptist Church.  

…in healthcare

How can healthcare be part of the picture of peace and justice in our communities in the wake of the pandemic? This workshop will explore the state of healthcare in the UK in the wake of the pandemic, and ask how we might find hope in a clinical context. Facilitated by Revd Fran Kissack, URC Hospital Chaplain 

…in housing

During the pandemic, we managed to get ‘everyone in’. Yet affordable, good quality housing is increasingly hard to find. This workshop will explore how churches might respond to the housing crisis, thinking creatively about how housing initiatives could respond to the need for sustainable and affordable community housing. Facilitated by Housing Justice.  

Seeking justice…

…through community organising

How can community organising play a part in building change from the ground up. This workshop will hear from community organising practitioners to look at specific community organising techniques, and how churches can get involved in organising within their local context. Facilitated by Citizens UK.  

…building peace through our pensions

How can our finance be a force for peace in the world? Explore JPIT’s Investing in Change campaign, and other campaigns which call on banks and pension providers to divest from the international arms trade. Get equipped to lobby your pension provider or bank effectively. Facilitated by JPIT and ECCR. 

…offering sanctuary

In recent months, thousands of families have welcomed people from Ukraine, and yet the Nationality & Borders Bill means our nation has become more hostile towards those seeking sanctuary. What does it mean to build communities of hope who welcome those seeking sanctuary? This workshop will explore community sponsorship opportunities and other ways of providing support to those seeking sanctuary. Facilitated by Reset UK.

…through fair tax

The tax system, around the world and in the UK, is undermined by abuse and unjust policies. How can we be part of reshaping this? This workshop will look at the call for local councils to be Fair Tax Councils, and equip you to campaign effectively for fair tax systems. Facilitated by Church Action for Tax Justice.  

…alongside experts by experience

What might change if we bring lived experience to the centre of our decision making? This workshop will explore how Poverty Truth Commissions model a different way of bringing about change, which puts experts by experience at the centre. Facilitated by the Poverty Truth Network and JPIT. 

…in the climate crisis

The journey to net-zero is going to take change at every level. So what does it mean for our local communities? This workshop will look at how engagement with our local authorities is part of seeking a just response to the climate crisis. We’ll tap into JPIT’s new campaign to engage local authorities with net zero. Facilitated by JPIT.  

Timetable

These workshops will be run once for online attendees, and once for on-site attendees.