My name is Florence, and I am one of the new JPIT interns for 2024/25. My primary role is to support the Constituency Action Network (CAN), helping churches engage relationally with their MPs. I will also be doing public policy research and various other tasks within the JPIT team.
I grew up in North London with three older sisters, instilling a sense of right and wrong in me from a young age where many arguments ended “but that’s not fair!” I’ve heard it said that older siblings want to rule the world whilst younger siblings want to change it, this is something I resonate with.
When I was about 17, I really started to take justice seriously. Inspired like many of my generation by Greta Thunberg I became involved in climate justice organising. I was vegan, plastic free, obsessed with individual action and persuaded my family to have a nut roast at Christmas. I took a year out during lockdown, and this turned out to be formative. Joining the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) enabled me to understand how the justice issues I cared about connected to my faith. My local church didn’t talk much about creation care and justice growing up. As a result, I began to see the Bible in a whole new light and became much more excited about Jesus’ message.
My passion for environmental justice and creation care has remained but how I engage in seeking justice has changed. I have learned about the power of prayerfully engaging and challenging unjust systems collectively, and knowing and trusting a loving God who ultimately cares more deeply than I do, yet invites us to play a part.
I studied Psychology and Geography at Durham University, an unusual combination that allowed me to look at the environment from a psychological point of view. I wrote my final project on environmental values and climate anxiety, and left university with a strong sense of the importance of equal access to green spaces. Also, I took part in student activism and organising, particularly through ‘Just Love’ which aims to equip Christian students in biblical social justice. Just Love was like a family to me and forms a large part of why I wanted to work at JPIT as I saw a glimpse of what it’s like striving for justice from a Christian perspective. We felt compelled to not just fundraise and volunteer for charities but to try our hand at campaigning. Most notably we worked on the successful living wage campaign at our university which was a real encouragement in the potential to change structures through community and a testament to the power of prayer. This is something that really excites me about JPIT, if the Church really wants to demonstrate God’s love, then we shouldn’t just provide warm spaces overnight, but we should work to prevent homelessness occurring first place.
My Church background is Anglican, but I have a strong connection to Methodism through my Grandma, who still preaches in her local circuit in South Wales at the age of 87. Journeying with groups like YCCN and Just Love and attending Greenbelt, I find a sense of belonging and comfortability in working in ecumenical spaces, and I really look forward to getting to know more about the Methodists, Baptists and URC over the next year as we work together to seek peace and justice.
