Joy in Enough continues to feature in Green Christian‘s regional ‘On the road together’ events, the sixth of which took place in Manchester on Saturday the 14th of September.
The event brought people together for a day conference at the URC Dandelion Community in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester. Wythenshawe was designed as a garden city, and is the home of Manchester airport, but now has high numbers of vulnerable households experiencing food poverty.
Green Christian was invited by the minister of the Dandelion Community, Rev Kate Gray, and by Rev John Hughes, Diocesan Environment Officer (DEO) of Manchester Diocese, to join with them in celebrating creation and leading discussions on the Green Christian Way of Life, with its four Disciplines of Prayer/Devotions, Living Gently on the Earth, Public Witness, and Encouragement; and the Green Christian Joy in Enough programme, with its emphasis on social justice. The sessions were led by Deborah Tomkins and Tony Emerson.
Other activities included the making of a magnificent – and joyous – banner, to highlight the joy there is in having enough, rather than too much, with Manchester-based artist Stephen Raw; and an interactive session on non-violent direct action and Christian Climate Action with Hannah Malcolm, the winner of the first Theology Slam earlier this year.
Lunch was provided from food that would otherwise be thrown away, a delicious vegan dal and goulash prepared by Kate Gray and her team of helpers.
A more meditative session was held in which people made “prayer flags” writing on 20×20 squares of coloured material with their prayers, thoughts and feelings on the climate change / species extinction emergency. The flags, along with others from churches and events around the country, will be displayed at the Faith Bridge during the Extinction Rebellion events in October.
“What a wonderful day, with thoughtful and committed Christians grappling with some difficult issues. I have found that each of the days so far has been very different, depending on the local communities and churches. It’s always a privilege to be involved and to offer support and resources.”
Joy in Enough 