WE'RE BACK!

University has started for another year. It may be a crazy, slight bizarre year amidst COVID-19 but the fight for justice continues. We are not going anywhere, and we can’t wait for you to partner with us in pursuing God’s vision for Just Love Brum.

This Wednesday the 7th of October we met for our vision night and launched into this academic year with a BANG! Our co-president Adam powerfully communicated the vision and values of Just Love as well as our own personal dream for God’s plan in Birmingham right here, right now.

After that we heard from David Westlake, CEO of IJM UK. International Justice Mission is the largest anti- slavery organisation in the world. They with local justice officials, community partners, advocates and people like YOU to end slavery for good! It is about protecting the vulnerable from brutal, everyday violence throughout the world and throwing a spanner in the well-oiled system of injustice!

He delivered a fire talk which definitely inspired me, reminding us of our mission to live like Jesus. He painted us an incredible picture of how justice is integral to this and stirred our hearts as he described stories of rescue and restoration. It’s all about people showing up to chase after God’s kingdom here on earth! It isn’t always about exciting or attractive acts, it’s about the everyday uncompromising pursuit of justice.

We need people relentlessly showing up to do the work of justice even when it isn't glamourous! – David Westlake

David’s inspirational word equipped and excited us as we turned our thoughts to specific justice issues and areas in our breakout rooms: Global, Local and Theology of Justice.

Global Justice

The global stream focuses on the bigger picture of global injustice pursuing freedom and change through advocacy, action and education. So, in order to reflect on big world events as well as mourn the injustice and celebrate the triumphs we utilised our own online map. Here we could add our own pin drops, read about injustices people had added and comment or add our prayers for the world. We wanted to take the focus off ourselves and off the global pandemic and remind ourselves that there is so much to do!

To view and add to the map more easily click this link: https://padlet.com/beckalayzell/b545hymbd446qb9c

It was so exciting to here from individuals about the justice issues on their hearts and learn something new. As a result of this mini session, I am now aware of injustices in Poland surrounding gender equality and segregation of the LGBTQIA+ community. I can’t wait to see what

comes from this and learn more about our community’s passions!

Local Justice

The local stream digs deep into injustices in our local community, focusing on how and why they exist and, most importantly, what we can do to fight for justice and love in Birmingham. On vision night we ran an interactive session all about injustices in Birmingham. Birmingham is a hugely diverse city which, in turn, illuminates a hugely diverse range of problems. Many of these will be close to our hearts but others you may never have considered affected your neighbours in Birmingham so deeply.

We also had the opportunity to talk about one of the amazing charities that we will be working with this year; Newbigin Community Trust. Newbigin Community Trust is a community-based organisation aiming to provide a place of welcome, inclusion and social cohesion in the Winson Green and Handsworth Area. They really strive to create a connected community through a range of programmes (which hopefully some of you will get involved with this year). In the session we watched a video of one of the crazier programmes they run, this is just something a little fun but will hopefully get you excited for more. Watch the video here:

To end the session we spent time praying for a range of issues that affect Birmingham. Just some of the issues included; Isolation (in the Coronavirus context and beyond), Homelessness, Racism, Mental Health, Refugee Crisis and more. It was a wonderful time to get to know people and to spend time talking about issues that matter so much.

Theology of Justice

In the justice and theology stream we explored the theological concept of ‘the Quartet of the Vulnerable’, and how the consistent references to these four people groups – widows, orphans, foreigners and the poor – throughout the Old Testament highlight God’s passion for justice. We then considered the people groups left vulnerable by our current social structures, and reflected on who we could pray for as our own ‘modern quartet’ by creating a collaborative mood-board.

To view and add to the mood board more easily click this link: https://padlet.com/justlovebrum/vgtzcuthflhgh915

Esther then followed these sessions up with an exciting call to action! We cannot wait for this term and to partner with you in all that we do. We want you to contribute your ideas, inspire us with your passions and lead the fight for Jesus’ love and justice here in Birmingham!

Bring on this term and keep an eye out for key dates coming soon!

Just Love Brum x