The practice of the common good Jenny Sinclair

Transcription

1 Cathlic Charities Cnference 2015 Wednesday 20 May, Church Huse Westminster Sessin 4 ( ): CCLA sessin - Gd Investment and the pwer f the cmmn gd Seek the peace and prsperity f the place where I have sent yu, because if it prspers s will yu. (Jeremiah 29.7) The practice f the cmmn gd Jenny Sinclair Thank yu fr the privilege f being with yu tday. It really is an hnur t be here, in such, wise and experienced cmpany! I m ging t talk abut what the Church can d, what each f us can d t change the wrld. Frgive me fr sunding idealistic. We re all missinary disciples nw! The Spirit f Vatican II called us all t be missinaries fr Christ - we can reclaim that mandate. Thrugh the practice f recnciliatin fr the cmmn gd. I ve been invited t tell yu abut Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd natinal prject encuraging all peple f gdwill, f faith r n faith, but in particular Christians f different traditins, t wrk tgether as agents f change fr the cmmn gd. We are part f a grwing mvement that is building a new, brad calitin, fr the flurishing f all peple. Befre we talk abut what s t be dne, we need t lk at what s ging n. We are seeing ur sciety becming increasingly fractured with widening, divergent views and circumstances. In ecnmic terms, is the phenmenn f rising in- wrk pverty signalling smething very wrng with ur ecnmy? At the same time the dumbing dwn f ur plitics and media has created a culture f mutual demnisatin, limiting the capability f gd pliticians, alienating the public and making peple feel pwerless, undermining ur demcracy. Where, in this cmplex picture is cnscience and respnsibility? Where are the peple f gdwill? Culd the plitical and business elite d with a bit f help? The gd peple have been t quiet and thse that dare t speak are nt heard amidst the nise. In cultural terms, what we have at the mment is a negative peace. We have a culture f hyper individualism where peple are reluctant t engage with peple different frm themselves. With sme ntable exceptins, a fear f ffending and the plarising language f individual rights has given rise t a culture f mutual cntempt - and dampened dwn the language f respnsibility and cmmunity. Our ability t value ur differences has been erded and when we are n lnger dependent n ne anther, ur sense f cmmunity is lst. Withut a genuinely rbust cnversatin, ur demcracy is weakened. 1

2 As Jean Vanier says, human beings are made fr cmmunity. T be interdependent in diversity, nt independent! And yu will have n illusins abut what living in cmmunity entails yu have much t teach the wrld frm yur experience. Hw then are we ging t find ways t slve ur prblems and live tgether, when ur sciety is s fractured? May I tell yu a abut Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd? We see great ptential in peple f gdwill, in particular Christians f different traditins, wrking tgether as agents f change fr the cmmn gd. Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd is: grunded in a living traditin: rted in the Gspel, drawing inspiratin frm the scial traditins f the Cathlic, Anglican, Free Churches and in particular Cathlic Scial Teaching that famus hidden gem, (CST) intended fr all peple f gdwill! a grwing netwrk f ver 1,200 peple and rganisatins frm acrss different Christian traditins, alng with an increasing number f secular allies and friends frm ther faith cmmunities independent f any church institutin r denminatin, and we re inspired by the legacy f the ecumenical partnership fr the cmmn gd between the late Archbishp Derek Wrlck and my late father, Bishp David Sheppard guided by an ecumenical steering grup f thinkers, activists, practitiners, thelgians, and academics And we encurage the cmmn gd as a practice: we advcate the applicatin f the CST principles at the heart f prblem slving. We encurage peple t apply the principles at all levels and wherever they have agency - in business, the wrkplace, neighburhds, the public and private sectrs, amng legislatrs and plicy makers. We call this Cmmn Gd Thinking. Cllabratin fr recnciliatin: we want t see rdinary peple acrss the Christian traditins wrking tgether, alng with thers f gdwill t make the effrt t build bridges between estranged sectrs, between left and right, faith and secular, marginalised and pwerful, educated and uneducated, urban and rural, ld and yung, business and unins. Befre I g any further, just a wrd n hw Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd started. I grew up in a husehld where faith and plitics weren t separated, where scial justice was the meat and drink f ur kitchen table. I drifted away frm the church in my late teens, but in my late twenties I had a cnversin experience and was eventually received int the Cathlic Church. My faith fr 20 years was private - until 4 years ag I had a sense f the prmpting f the Spirit. I felt very ut f my depth (I still d!) but I had a sense f trust and fllwed a trail - t be hnest I just prayed my way alng. After abut a year n my wn sme like minds gathered arund me and we frmed what is nw Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd. Sme f yu may be familiar with the Sheppard Wrlck years and my father s 20- year ecumenical partnership with Archbishp Wrlck. This partnership demnstrated what happens when yu bring Anglican and Cathlic traditins tgether. This is the guiding spirit behind Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd and it s ur view that the 2

3 key gift f their unlikely friendship, is abut recnciliatin as a methd fr building the cmmn gd. And I am quting frm ne f ur steering grup, Maria Pwer when she says: they placed the needs f thers abve their pints f difference and translated the scial dctrine f the Cmmn Gd int practice.i Recnciliatin between estranged parties lay at the heart f their engagement and was fr them, the key t the creatin f a mre just sciety. In the cntext f the plarised plitics f that time they were seen as hnest brkers, bridge builders between cmmunities and plice, lcal and natinal gvernment; business leaders, wrkers and unins; faith and secular grups. The partnership icnically embdied recnciliatin. While they were bth lyal t their traditins, they learned frm each ther s and put their differences aside t frge a relatinship that fcused n the needs f the city. Because they kept a dialgue ging with gvernment they were mistakenly branded as traitrs by the left. They were als accused f being naïve and statist by the right. They walked a fine line. Their pririty was always t keep listening and keep the cnversatin ging with all parties. They knew that they wuld nt be listened t unless they had built trust first with the peple they hped t persuade. They were well knwn as frmidable allies f the pr and struggling cmmunities, but what is less well knwn is that they were very much pr- business. They appreciated the crucial rle that investrs and emplyers can have in building the cmmn gd if cmmercial decisins are cunter- balanced by human values. They cnvened the Michaelmas Grup, a Chatham Huse Rule mnthly breakfast meeting with majr reginal emplyers and civic leaders, that met ver many years. S while central gvernment was cmmitted t a prcess f the city s managed decline, this grup s cmbined effrts behind the scenes were laying the fundatins fr attracting inward investment t supprt the regeneratin f the city. We might ask urselves what mre the church can d t encurage lay peple in business nw. Althugh we draw inspiratin frm their partnership, times have mved n and while sme issues are the same, the landscape has changed. Tday we see ur culture dminated by adversarial relatinships that drive divisin and mutual demnisatin. 3

4 But - ften the faith- based respnse t this is t jin in that adversarial argument. The churches are a pwerful witness and very gd at listening t the pr and marginalised, but we need t be careful this is nt hijacked by grups whse apprach has the effect f alienating the very peple wh need t be persuaded. Whilst the church must speak truth t pwer, if this nly entrenches divisins further, the vulnerable suffer mre. The inequality gap f wealth and pwer is wider than it s ever been. Perhaps we have t face the fact that the standff hasn t wrked. We need t find a different vcabulary. Let s g back t the Cuncil wh urged us t: guide each ther by sincere dialgue in a spirit f mutual charity (GS 43) and cmmit [ur]selves t humble dialgue and a determinatin t place the cmmn gd abve [ur] wn private interests. (GS 92) Of curse ur righteus anger is justified but it is cunter prductive t assume that being angry is the nly way t change the wrld. It can actually wrk against the interests f the vulnerable and excluded: plarisatin clses dwn dialgue, and mst ften just hardens the ppsitin, and actually blcks the change we want t see. While well meaning, this adversarial apprach can easily disenfranchise significant grups, rdinary peple wh want t cntribute. It wn t wrk if ur apprach is partisan in ppsitin t thers f gdwill wh may feel mre cmfrtable in a different plitical traditin. Of curse we all want justice, but: d we want genuine peace and recnciliatin, r d we want t be right? When we talk abut recnciliatin, we are nt talking abut smthing ver differences. Genuine recnciliatin allws cnflict t surface. Then we negtiate with mutual respect. We need everyne t be invlved, acrss belief and plitical traditins, and wrk tgether fr a cmmn purpse. There is n dubt in my mind that the Spirit is wrking fr recnciliatin and justice thrugh an extrardinary range f peple acrss the wrld, acrss all traditins. We can take curage frm knwing we are nt alne - Jesus didn t abandn us t figure it all ut fr urselves! In the spirit f Pentecst we must speak the language f the heart. The time has cme fr the applicatin f the cmmn gd by each f us wherever we have agency - the practice f the cmmn gd. But we need t knw what steps we can take t effect deep structural change. Part f the slutin can nly be achieved at natinal gvernmental level, and in many cases this will be the crrect utcme f the applicatin f the principle f subsidiarity. But gvernment, the state, the plitical class needs help. D we, the peple f the whle Church realise what we can d? Althugh much has been gained in the prcess f mdernisatin, dependence n the state has weakened civil sciety, thrugh a culture f managerialism, regulatin, targets and efficiency. We say peple in the church can help: re- humanise systems that have lst their sul I am cnscius f the expertise in the rm here - yu in the religius rders are well placed 4

5 t knw hw this shuld be dne. T what extent are we changing ur wrking practices t build back the humanity int the way we supprt, the way we care, the way we educate? The church is well- placed t share its vast experience as it is already deeply invlved and its grassrts knwledge is secnd t nne. But what abut the market? Peple in the churches have mre agency t effect systems change than they realise. We can see where things have gne wrng in big business and banking. But we are all market actrs, and we need t understand that we can re- shape the ecnmy by smart financial chices Regulatin is nt ging t be enugh, and market principles can t be gverned by natinal states alne. Where else des sciety need ur help fr the cmmn gd? I m sure yu ll agree that many f ur lcal traditins and assciatins have been neglected, and in many places, particularly the mst deprived, we see a hllwing ut f institutins that embdied a sense f lcal pride. Over decades civil sciety (nt least the church) has allwed respnsibilities it used t carry t be taken ver by the state and the market, with the result that peple have frgtten hw - and have been frgtten. This lss t the sense f cmmunity is insidius and such a weakening at the lcal level blsters vercentralisatin f pwer. We need t reclaim respnsibility, cmmunity and belnging by cultivating and building bridges between lcal rganisatins. The biggest transfrmatin will cme frm cmmunities finding their resilience thrugh and with each ther, in relatinship. The churches have great experience in this space, and cntinue t d great wrk. They listen t cmmunities when thers are cntemptuus and knw their needs better than any ther institutin. But we can d mre we can build alliances fr the cmmn gd: between universities, ther churches and faith grups, scial enterprise, business, NGO s, unins, and infrmal and frmal lcal grups and assciatins. This is what we will have t d t bring back a sense f belnging n a human scale. Are we prepared t reimagine the way we d things? Hw effectively are we using ur skills, cnnectins and assets? Are we ding things the way they ve always been dne? It desn't take a lt f peple t make a big change: the Quaker mvement was small in membership, but hugely influential in the histry f refrm. But we d need t realise wh ur allies are and jin the dts. T what extent are we engaging with and pen t learning frm and wrking with thers with peple we disagree with and wh disagree with us? And I wnder if yu have cnsidered sharing the hidden gem f CST with thers? It is essentially the applicatin f CST that we are calling the practice f the cmmn gd. We have fund it helps t make it mre accessible we call it Cmmn Gd Thinking and we find it helpful 5

6 t grup the principles like this. This simple layut is just a flavur as time tday is limited, but f curse there is a great wealth f thery and philsphy underpinning this. I can tell yu there is grwing interest abut CST. Just as my father persuaded Archbishp Derek why he shuld share CST utwith the Cathlic fld, we knw Anglicans, Jews, Evangelicals, Muslims and secular friends wh are increasingly cnvinced. We als knw rather a lt f Cathlics wh hadn't been taught it and are discvering it fr the first time! We are encuraging them t see the cmmn gd as a practice, t be engaged with by everyne f gdwill, n matter where r wh they are. Yu and yur rders are practising this every day - in the mst difficult f circumstances. Yu knw what it means in real terms. It s a state f mind. Wh can yu share yur knwledge with? S - What des Cmmn Gd Thinking lk like in practice? We are talking abut re- shaping ur ecnmy, creating healthier pwer relatinships and rehumanising sciety. We re nt starting frm scratch f curse. It is imprtant t highlight and celebrate cmmn gd practice wherever we see it, such as Healthy supply chain and prcurement practices Purpse- driven businesses; emplyees invlved in decisin making Investment relatinships in tune with the cmmn gd Church scial actin prjects supprting cmmunity Scial care where peple are treated with dignity Welfare mdels requiring respnsibilities alngside rights guaranteed Mutual financial mdels: credit unins, scial enterprises Lcal institutins fr cmmunity benefit - land trusts, energy prjects There is n limit t where we can apply the principles. When everyne is able t participate in the market, business is better. Is this, the practice f the cmmn gd, the Gspel cntextualised fr the mdern era? 6

7 The cmmn gd cunters the language f divisin and it transcends partisan psitins. S rather than the hllw language f hard- wrking families, it appeals t the ptential f peple- pwered change, and the pssibility f realising a genuinely public purpse which transcends shrt- term self- interest. S hw d we build a life tgether in a diverse sciety with the cmmn gd at its heart? The structural change needed t tackle pverty and inequality at its rt will nly be challenged if we challenge the pwer relatinships in ur ecnmy, nt by imptent prtest but by making smart decisins, and encuraging thse with leverage t practice the cmmn gd. A big part f this is building bridges and making unlikely friends. We have t create pprtunities t bring peple wh perceive each ther t be n ppsing sides int encunter with each ther. Perhaps the Church can ffer a ministry f hspitality and recnciliatin here. The Christian Church des nt knw what it is capable f - there is huge untapped ptential. Isn t part f ur vcatin as Christians t practice recnciliatin? Can we see this as a methd fr building the cmmn gd, s that cllabratin rather than cnfrntatin is the nrm? The laity must be encuraged nt t leave their faith at hme. Can they see that a way t put their faith int practice is t apply the principles f the cmmn gd? In the wrkplace, in the cmmunity, as sharehlders, as emplyers, wherever they have agency? The chices we make and actins we take will help t make the change As sharehlders fr example, it s nt just what yu d with yur mney, it s hw that mney is made. And we need t be bthered t ask the right questins Is this supprting human dignity? Des this serve the cmmn gd? Is anyne being left behind? The chices we make and actins we take will help t build back the human cnnectedness that has been lst. This includes re- thinking the meaning f charity. As Ppe Francis says: Yu explit the parents and then buy pencils fr their children in schl? Charity can be devastatingly inefficient if the mney that funds the grants has been made in questinable investments. Often we find the meaning f the wrd charity has been emasculated. We knw that true charity is abut lve, friendship, relatinship. Once we see the ecnmy as a set f relatinships, then we have t ask urselves if these relatinships are just. We then can set abut making smart chices abut where we put ur mney, what we buy, where we invest. Let s make sure the chices we make with ur mney dn t mean we re part f the prblem. Let s think abut ur faith and what mtivates us. Why ur rganisatins were set up in the first place, cnnecting ur values t ur actins. All f this needs t be underpinned by a cnstant dialgue with the Spirit wh is driving this whle thing: the strength f ur prayer life is key. 7

8 As Archbishp Justin Welby said last year, Prayer = Jesus is present Jesus = hpe Hpe = actin that changes the wrld S t tell yu a bit abut the wrk f Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd. Frm that idea in 2011, ur steering grup frmed in 2012 and in 2013 we began talking abut cmmn gd thinking. We ran a research prcess, we started a website and a newsletter, and held a majr cnference, with activists, pliticians, clergy, thelgians and plicy makers, where we assembled 170 peple, many f them leaders, frm acrss the denminatins t discuss the cmmn gd. Sme say the cnference was an influence n the recent Bishps Letter frm the C f E which is sht thrugh with the rich cncept f the cmmn gd. Over we cultivated a cmmunity f strategic relatinships thrugh hundreds f cnversatins, practively seeking unlikely friends acrss different traditins and sectrs. We have facilitated 3 crss party events in Parliament, including Jean Vanier this January t speak t MPs and Peers We ve published a serius bk f 13 essays n the cmmn gd by leading thinkers and thelgians frm different faith and plitical traditins ( Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd: twards a natinal cnversatin ), accmpanied by a study guide 8

9 We ve shared infrmatin acrss ur grwing netwrk via a website resurce and a mnthly newsletter In partnership we ve held 2 public debates fcusing n the cmmn gd in the run up t the electin and designed and pilted ur new Cmmn Gd Cnversatin mdel - a prblem- slving tl t tackle difficult scial prblems. This prblem- slving tl brings tgether peple with divergent views and backgrunds t apply Cmmn Gd Thinking t a pressing issue and create slutins. The T4CG Cmmn Gd Cnversatin mdel invlves the intentinal applicatin f the CST principles by rdinary peple and leads t actin. It infuses prblem- slving f difficult scial challenges with a humanity fcused language f hpe and aims t help peple regain a sense f respnsibility and wnership in their wn cntexts by making change happen in incremental steps. It brings tgether peple wh dn t usually meet, frm different backgrunds and traditins, and views. We pilted the mdel in Octber last year and we are nw wrking n a tlkit and given the resurces we plan t ffer training fr rganisers. It may be useful in a sectr, a wrkplace, an rganisatin, r a lcal neighburhd. It s designed t assist with any issue and we have been apprached by several grups interested in using it s far street drinking, scial care, pay inequality. It can als be used t recncile rganisatinal relatinships and rehumanise institutinal structures. T4CG s Cmmn Gd Cnversatin mdel a prblem slving tl The mdel has six essential features. 9

10 Participants frm divergent perspectives, traditins, plitical views Each participant has a vested interest in the prblem being slved Prblem is framed by neutral partner t ensure a nn biased apprach Requires a prfessinal facilitatr cnversant in CST Central feature is a fishbwl cnversatin with divergent perspectives Participants wrk tgether applying CST principles t the prblem Cncrete actin- fcused utput, encurages cllabratin It is embedded in lcal sustainable prcesses and relatinships Dialgue acrss difference designed t release new appraches Althugh the cnversatin mdel is fr a ne- day planned event, it is f curse pssible t draw n the cncept and apply it mre infrmally. The Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd prject hasn t really been planned, it has unflded in an rganic, pretty extrardinary way. Everything we d is led by prayer and amazingly, mst f ur wrk has been n a pr bn basis plus a handful f small grants and lts f help in kind frm ur friends, nt least the generus cmmitment f CCLA. We re nt a membership rganisatin; we want t remain small and agile, able t be spntaneus. We are just a grup f peple, nt wanting t lead but t catalyse. Having very limited resurces has frced us t depend n thers, and this has been fruitful it has prduced a patchwrk f active relatinships. This interdependence and being pen t learning frm thers seems t characterise the spirit f Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd. Our vulnerability has been a strength. Our giveaway eths attracts requests fr advice and invitatins t cllabrate and we are pleased when thers cpy us! We always ask: what are yu ging t d? Over the cming mnths we will cntinue wrking in partnership with ther cmmn gd players, brker intrductins acrss different sectrs and traditins, and lk fr mre allies. We plan t requests fr cmmn gd frmatin materials fr CfE clergy and evangelical huse grups and publish ur research findings int ecumenical scial actin, and if resurces permit we will prduce a shrt film, build n ur crss party wrk in Parliament, and hld issue- fcused discussin events bringing peple frm different perspectives tgether. A mvement fr the cmmn gd has been building fr a few years nw, and the leadership f Ppe Francis is speeding this up. There are nw several key grups active in this cuntry. One is Cathlic, there is a secular grup, there are evangelical Christians entering, alng with Anglicans, Quakers, Free churches and thers frm fellw faith cmmunities. There are new financial mdels appearing, there are cmmn gd plitical thinkers emerging n bth left and right. We are being tld that Tgether fr the Cmmn Gd s rle is significant in this fast evlving scene s we will cntinue t play ur part as lng as we are useful - it will be vital t keep it nn- partisan and have a missin fcused presence. 10

11 S, t cnclude. In what way will the church, its peple and institutins, be part f the slutin, rather than be seen as part f the prblem? We will have t prvide reassurances t ur secular friends that we are nt abut prselytising r judging, that urs is nt a fundamentalist religin. We will have t be clear abut recnciliatin as a methdlgy fr the cmmn gd. The Spirit is calling each f us and giving us a missin. Hw effectively are we using ur skills, cnnectins and assets? Why bther making the effrt t reach ut t ther Christians? Because if we mdel bridge building, thers will see we are serius abut lking beynd ur wn self- interest. Because by virtue f ur cmbined netwrks, cmplementary gifts and cnnectins, and ur shared cmmitment t human dignity, tgether we can d mre. There will be resistance frm peple wh cannt give grund, wh cannt be nn- partisan. But we need t take curage, make unlikely friends, learn frm each ther, allwing ur bjectins t surface and negtiate. We must put ur principles int actins that will nt just challenge the unjust pwer relatinships but actually begin t be part f the slutin that creates deep structural change. The patient prcess f recnciliatin between estranged interests thrugh cmmn purpse will build trust, a genuine, psitive peace. This is what we mean by being agents f change fr the Cmmn Gd. Thanks fr listening! Jenny Sinclair 20 May 2015 Get invlved! Keep in tuch with T4CG - subscribe t the mnthly newsletter, read earlier newsletters here Explre the T4CG website resurce, packed full f articles, case studies, dwnlads, vides and further reading: Read the T4CG bk - find ut mre here Fllw us n i These ftntes refer t extracts frm an article by Dr Maria Pwer fund at 11