Living Faith for the Future - Revised - Making a difference in the world

This is about recognising that in a holistic understanding of God's action in the world, there is no mission without social justice; that social justice and prophetic witness cannot be put in a box as a specialism or an extra, but is at the heart of the calling of every Christian community in its own context.

In a parish/benefice this could mean:

• Conducting an audit of local needs and looking for partnerships through which to address them.
• Identifying issues which require a more prophetic voice in the locality.
• Link with a parish in Kimberly and Kuruman.
• Supporting a young person through school or in learning a trade.
• Becoming a Fair Trade church.

In a deanery this could mean:

• Integrating social responsibility thinking more fully into deanery mission plans, parish profiles, deanery-based training, discipleship programmes etc.
• Encouraging joined-up thinking in specific areas of concern where live issues can be tackled, as they arise, through task groups eg sex-trafficking, tourism, alcohol and drug addiction, SCOP (Spiritual Care of Older People).
• Co-operating with the Bishop of Dorchester's work on assessing the churches'contribution to the welfare and well-being of the wider community with a view to building more constructive partnerships and co-funding.
• Co-ordinating letter-writing through Amnesty
• Supporting the farming community through farm shops and the agricultural seasons.

In the diocese this could mean:

• Resourcing the Diocesan Environment Group as it co-ordinates diocesan and parish action on climate change and environmental degradation, recognizing that this is one of the most definitive tasks of this and future generations.
• Advocating stronger rural policies in the face of major changes in the countryside and in rural ministry.
• Reaffirming our commitment to areas of disadvantage and deprivation, and co-ordinating our policies for supporting urban areas as the work of the Church Urban Fund changes.
• Embracing PACT (Parents and Children Together), Mothers'Union, Oxford Diocesan Council for the Deaf and other diocesan-associated bodies as major deliverers of social care, and enhancing our ownership of their work.