PLENTY! A SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION RESOURCE for churches on the economic drivers of the current ecological crises, has been produced by Green Christian’s Joy in Enough programme. The launch is on Thursday 24 June at 7pm and will takeplace online on Zoom.
The launch event will include a key-note speech by Eve Poole, author of Buying God. Commenting on the project, Eve said: “I am delighted to support Green Christian’s launch of this fantastic toolkit. We can all build a more Kingdom-shaped economy if we pay attention to the detail of our own transactions. Plenty! helps to explain what has gone wrong with our world, as well as how to start fixing it, and I can’t wait to see this resource blazing a trail throughout the UK and beyond”.
There will also be a panel discussion, chaired by John Daniels from Green Christian. The panel itself will comprise:
* Jeremy Williams, author, activist and editor of Time to Act
* Eve Poole, author and Church Estates Commissioner
* Sue Richardson, a board member of the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility and chair of Church Action for Tax Justice.
John Daniels said of this new initiative: “Green Christian’s Joy in Enough project is excited to be launching Plenty!. It’s an accessible and informative small group resource, which will challenge and encourage those who want to begin to join the dots between the environmental crisis, the global economy’s Great Stagnation, and Christian faith in the one who came that we might live abundantly”. The event will conclude with a presentation on Plenty!, when there will be the opportunity to hear from Katherine Hogg, author and content developer of the resource.
Plenty! can be run online via Zoom, or face to face. Each session is 75 minutes long, and is led by a facilitator. Every week there is some short pre-reading for participants; the sessions themselves begin with a short video clip, which is followed by questions for discussion. The themes for the sessions are:
▪ Plenty! – Inequality.
▪ Just can’t get enough – Consumerism and advertising
▪ Growing pains – The growth imperative and debt
▪ God is in business – Economic justice
▪ Running out of planet – The climate emergency
▪ Joy in Enough – Towards sustainability and wellbeing
The six sessions engage with the social, psychological and theological implications of the current economic system – including the idea that economic growth is essential to human flourishing – and its impact on the environmental crisis we are facing. Participants are encouraged to envision other, better ways of living together well and there is a wealth of signposting to further resources for those who wish to explore these ideas further.
Green Christian is grateful to the following organisations for their financial support and encouragement: The Sisters of the Holy Cross Charitable Trust, the Passionists, St Peter’s Saltley Trust and The Paristamen CIO.
* All the Plenty! materials will be available for downloading after the launch on 24 June here.
* The launch event is free to all, and tickets are available now here.
* Source: Green Christian