PhoebeE's blog

This year we worked with SCM communities across Britain on a National Campaign. 

Pensions! I can’t say that before my recent team up with the JustMoney Movement that pensions are something I regularly thought about, and definitely not something I thought I could use in my social justice actions. Being 23 and only recently-ish joining the real world, pensions came up on my radar as something I should probably know about… but didn’t. It was also not necessarily something I was going to spend my time learning about because, well honestly, I thought it was for real adults to concern themselves with (we can debate on whether or not I’m a real adult at another point).

As we enter into Holy Week, my news feed, TikTok FYP and Instagram are covered in the same images. All eyes are on Gaza. This week the bombing has continued, this time destroying Al Ahli hospital on Palm Sunday. Al Ahli hospital is an Anglican run hospital in Gaza, and the last major hospital providing critical healthcare in northern Gaza. The evacuation prior to the bombing caused the death of yet another child in the conflict, as the bombing has caused even more global condemnation. 

Happy Advent! The time of getting ready…  

For Christians, Advent is a time of spiritual preparation before celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  If you’re looking for tips to help with that I can recommend lots of other blogs on the topic that you can find here.  

I can’t believe it has already been a year since my first ‘Creative Protest’ blog. I thought as we come to the end of this series it was worth taking a moment to reflect on what my year protesting creatively has looked like, and what has stood out to me. At first, I thought this would be a quick task, but looking back at the year and all the many different forms of protest we have looked at, I feel this may be a more difficult task than initially expected… 

First a quick summary of the forms of protest we have looked at: 

It’s the Olympics! And so this month’s Creative Protest is looking at those times when sports and protest have walked hand in hand.  From competing in sports being a protest itself, to sports being a platform we use to get messages across- there is no denying that the sporting world gets a lot of attention, and so it’s only right we use it for promoting peace, love and justice… 

sat·ire

[ˈsatʌɪə]

noun

the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues:

This week is Refugee Week, and it so happens that this year it is falling right in the middle of the general election campaigns. So, here is your call to action: write to your local candidates!  Using the email template attached, write to your local candidates and encourage them to prioritise the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in their campaign. This email template was created from a workshop we ran with Exeter SCM, on the themes of standing up for refugees and asylum seekers. The discussions we had informed the creation of this template for you to use.

TW: infant death, racism 

boy·cott 

[ˈbɔɪkɒt] 

verb 

withdraw from commercial or social relations with (a country, organisation, or person) as a punishment or protest: 

If we ask you to imagine a meeting aimed at ending poverty, what comes to mind, and where are you?

Perhaps you’re thinking of a gathering of professionals in a formal meeting room, discussing strategies and policies. (Exciting? No?)

Perhaps you’re imagining something more dynamic and grounded in community: people bouncing ideas around and seeking to reclaim power.

It’s maybe less likely you’re imaging yourself at an art exhibition, or a live gig, or a poetry reading.