All We Can Lent Devotional
Week Two:
Understanding Our Communities
Bible Study
By Hannah Fremont-Brown
Hannah Fremont-Brown is the Campaigns and Church Engagement Officer
for the Joint Public Issues Team. Her role involves thinking about how
churches can most effectively speak and act for justice and peace.
John 1:46
yet, it is Nazareth that God has chosen to be
Jesus’s home. To be Jesus’s community.
There’s so much of Jesus’s early life that we
don’t get to witness through the Bible. I wonder
how much of it would show him being shaped
by the community he grew up in. In Luke’s
Gospel, we hear about Jesus going to Nazareth
to read in the synagogue. Here, he announces
that he has come to fulfil God’s promises. But
what do his community do? They chase him out
of town! They know him so well that perhaps
they too cannot believe that anything so good,
so Godly, could come out of Nazareth.
But right beneath their noses, God has been
dwelling in the midst of them. How many times
has Nazareth missed the good news amongst
them? Sometimes, the stories other people
tell about our communities can affect what
we see. As we hear in Nathanael’s response,
our own experience of our communities might
be overshadowed by the presumptions and
dismissals of others. We can come to believe
that these things might really be true of the
places we live. Perhaps we close our eyes and
miss the chance to see God among us.
There’s an invitation to us in Jesus, from
Nazareth. When Nathanael raises his voice in
disbelief, Philip simply responds ‘Come and
See’. With Nathanael, we are invited to open
our eyes and to notice. When Nathanael meets
Jesus, he meets a man who notices him too –
Jesus sees who Nathanael really is, and what
he can be.
We are invited to notice the good news in our
communities. Whether it’s the tin of biscuits on
Christmas eve, or the community café always
open for a warm meal. Perhaps it’s the gentle
smile of the local shopkeeper or the stable
support of the debt centre advisors. In each of
these things, we find the good news of God’s
love present between us.
Questions for discussion/reflection
What do you most value about your
community, and why?
Are there stories that other people
tell about your community? How
have they shaped your perspective?
What will you do to open your
eyes to God’s presence in your
community this week?
Story
from All We Can
‘You have to carry out a process that brings the entire community
together: the wisdom of the elders, the energy of the young and the
brilliance of the women who are there’.
Victor Mughogho, Director of Eagles is
passionate about putting people in charge
of their own development and equipping the
communities Eagles work with to enable them
to respond to the challenges they face.
As Victor likes to say, ‘everything local is
sustainable’ – because he understands that the
people Eagles work with have a significantly
better understanding of their local community
than his team ever can, and a much better
understanding than any of us here in the UK.
Then, if local people are empowered, enabled
and equipped to come up with solutions to
the challenges they face, they will own those
solutions and ensure the good work continues
on into the future. This process begins with
what Eagles call ‘Community Mapping’, which is
an exercise in getting to know, understand and
appreciate the community, the resources they
currently have, the story of the community’s
history, and the potential for how things could
look different in the future.
Victor continues: ‘We start with a map of the
past: how was life before? And that brings in the
elders of the community – they know the past.
Stories of the past will energise people in the
present: it gives them hope - it was good before!
You learn from the past, in order to transform your
present, and therefore redesign the future.’
Traditional approaches to development, where
a Western agency may arrive, do some initial
scoping, and then decide what infrastructure
project is required, miss out on all this local
wisdom, and have left many communities
trapped with so-called ‘white elephants’ that
they cannot use. All We Can, with Eagles’ help
and expertise, is working to break this cycle of
dependency and neo-colonial ways of doing
development. That’s what community mapping
is all about.
In Chikwawa District, Malawi, a group from
William Village took part in a community
mapping exercise last year. This very practical,
hands-on way of engaging with the story,
context, and potential of their community
has helped them to own their own future
and to work together to see everyone
in their community’s potential fulfilled.
Perhaps you can relate this story to your
own community, church, or neighbourhood?
Have you had projects or proposals forced
on you ‘from above’? How does that compare
to locally-owned, grassroots programmes?
If you are in a group setting, why not try
doing a mini community mapping exercise
yourselves? Through drawing pictures or
writing words, answer the questions: What
was our community like before? What
problems is it facing now? What would we
like it to look like?
Challenge
By Hannah Fremont-Brown
Hannah Fremont-Brown is the Campaigns and Church Engagement Officer for the Joint
Public Issues Team. Her role involves thinking about how churches can most effectively
speak and act for justice and peace.
In a small village in Buckinghamshire, the local residents had noticed a problem.
Because the bus routes didn’t connect up the local villages, parents were having
to drive their kids to school every day. Concerned about what that meant for their
climate impact and keen to find ways to reduce emissions, they began to lobby their
local council to introduce new bus routes. After many conversations, their voices
were heard, and a new bus route was opened.
It might not seem like much. But this story is
a great example of why understanding our
communities matters in our journey towards
climate justice. The good news is, there are
connections like this in communities across the
UK, as churches are rooted in local networks.
85% of local councils have set a target to get
their carbon emissions to Net-Zero by at
least 2050. Churches are well placed in their
neighbourhoods to advocate for a journey to
Net-Zero which truly represents the needs and
opportunities of the local community.
That’s why we’re inviting Churches in the UK
to partner with their local councils in the ‘Net-
Zero in My Neighbourhood’ project. Working
locally to achieve climate justice is a tangible
way to impact our neighbourhoods and our
global family.
Could you find out what targets your local
council has and think about how you could
offer to support them?
If you’ve got 5 minutes
Visit councilclimatescorecards.uk and
search for your council to see how far
they’ve got.
If you’ve got longer
Reflect on some of the areas your council
could improve their action for climate
justice, and how your church could offer
to help. What changes would benefit
your community, and the planet? Visit
jpit.uk/net-zero-in-my-neighbourhood
to find our toolkit and get started.
Prayer
By Deacon Tracey Hume
Deacon Tracey Hume is a Methodist Minister serving as the Newcastle
District Community Engagement Enabler and she facilitates the Gateshead
Poverty Truth Commission.
Loving God,
In you we have an example of one who listens,
Who hears the deepest cries of our hearts.
For the times we have failed to listen to the cries
of those in our communities,
Our neighbours, near and far,
When we have assumed need and solutions,
When we have failed to see and hear.
We are deeply sorry.
Spend a few moments now asking God to help
you be more attentive to those around you, to
give you new ears and eyes.
Forgiving Lord,
We lament the systems and structures which
lock people into poverty.
For the choices so many in our communities,
here and overseas, are denied on a daily basis.
Choices which would allow people dignity, selfworth
and value. Choices which would enable
them to make appropriate decisions for their
family and their community
Spend a few moments asking God to open your
eyes to the injustices experienced by people in
your community.
Transforming God,
We pray that you will renew our hearts, minds,
our communities, and our understanding of
your mission.
Help us to seek to give power away rather
than hold on to it, to empower others, and
humble ourselves.
In your name we pray,
Amen.