A couple of weeks ago I was helping to plant fruit trees in a community mini-orchard down the road. It was a lot of work to clear and prepare the ground and dig the holes. But to be honest, when we stood back and admired our work, there wasn’t much to see. Our saplings are leafless and twiggy, sticking out of the bare earth. It will be months before most people even notice the trees, and years before they really start to produce a harvest. At the moment, seeing the orchard takes an act of imagination.
We’re in a similar place with Joy in Enough. The groundwork has been going on for a couple of years, as a growing number of people recognise that so many of our social and environmental problems are bound up in economics, and that the church could make a prophetic response. Generous funders have dug in some start-up compost. But the campaign, this website included, are in that leafless and twiggy phase. There’s not a whole lot to see just yet.
2018 is the year that Joy in Enough will start to grow and take root. We want to build out a network of interested people, start a conversation about the economy and how the church might influence it. We want to demonstrate how Christians can live differently in response to a consumer society. And we need your help to do that.
Could you write for the website? We’re looking for commentary on economics, theology and consumerism; book reviews and recommendations; personal experiences of trying to live differently – and your own ideas. Email Jeremy if you’d to find out more.
Can you spread the word? Follow us on Twitter or Facebook, and use the #JoyinEnough hashtag to draw our attention to things we should be aware of.
Can you help out practically? We need support with event planning, managing volunteers and speakers, admin, and much more besides. Get in touch if you’re interested.
Later this year we will be launching a learning programme for churches, a series of guided discussions that anyone will be able to run locally. Could you organise that in your community? Keep an eye out for updates in the coming months.
Joy in Enough is a little quiet at the moment. But Spring is coming. There will be blossom.
Joy in Enough 