This month we look at the ECFC value of Justice featuring Rachael Bee.
Blogs 1 & 2 focused on the ECFC values of Welcome and Connection. This time we reflect on how we are involved in acts of justice within our own context and congregation at ECFC. We hear from Rachael Bee who came to ECFC in 2010 and saw a real need for justice in our own church community and beyond.
Rachael’s intentional acts of solidarity are inspired by the character of Christ. As well as permeating her whole life, this has positively impacted many people at the margins. During the week, Rachael left a voice note on this subject recalling some of her personal stories about the importance of Justice being lived out:
“The value of Justice is embodied, it is something that is done. Justice is active, not passive. This is most expressed at ECFC in the Welcome and opportunity for Connection we give to refugees and asylum seekers.”
In 2015, Bristol Hospitality Network (BHN) was looking to start a drop-in. Rachael (at time the director of BHN) recalls these exciting beginnings at the invitation of the Vicar Philip Nott. As they walked around the Centre together, they’d find the things they needed, “…first the pool table with no balls, then go into a cupboard and find two boxes of balls and some chalks and a little triangle thing, and three cues and some cue tips just randomly in a cupboard…and it was all possible.” BHN and its Monday morning drop-in is still going strong at ECFC and contributes much to the life of our building during the week time.
As Rachael says, “Enacting of justice is our YES to the nudge of the Spirit in the world, in whatever context we are in. For us at ECFC our context is the welcoming of our community and the standing in solidarity with people experiencing unjust systems. The asylum system is among the most unjust systems in our nation at the moment. Our expression of welcome in this current context is a counter-cultural, essential act of solidarity.”
Rachael explains how in the past at ECFC, “We’ve talked about the ancient right of sanctuary in the church – in places like Durham Cathedral there used to be big knocker you could knock if you had been unfairly pursued for a crime. There’s something about that for the Church now – are we a place where people can find sanctuary? Sanctuary from unjust law and unjust political rhetoric. Are we able to be that?”
And Rachael reflects on protests a week or so ago in central Bristol, opposite one of the asylum hotels which houses ECFC people, “It was really difficult because they were forced to remain locked in the hotel and not able to come [to Church]. I walked over to the windows and there were people I knew holding up signs saying things like ‘You give us hope’, ‘We love you, You love us’. And there was ‘Refugees Welcome’ on the pavement’. That part of the protest was extraordinarily beautiful, so that’s what justice looks like too. That’s what justice looks like in our context.”
Rachael also mentions climate and trade injustice as linked global problems but brings it all back to how each of us are being called in our own context, “Not looking away but standing in solidarity even when there is a risk to do so. Making sure we do this in the character of Christ which I think means loving our enemies as well as our friends.”
The truly visionary and distinctive work we are all involved in at ECFC and stories like this from Rachael this week and Jan Pike last week and the many other stories over years are inspirational to encourage us to learn, press on and say thank you to God and each other as we continue building the story together. This brings to mind the well known verse in Micah 6:8 encapsulating God’s core call to action for humanity:
“Seek Justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.“
What is it to seek justice? It is to actively work to create a world around us where people are treated fairly and with respect, not remaining silent in the face of mistreatment and exploitation but seeking restorative justice and standing in solidarity.