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Three years ago a couple of psychologists with no work to do decided to lobby the Christian societies to elect committee members to co-ordinate the social action of their societies.* Meth-Ang was the first to bow to the charms and whiles of Messrs. Nick Macdonald and Nic Tall, this spring Cassoc and the Christian Union followed suit. I recall early last year asking a Cassoc member if they had a social action rep “Errm, we’ve got a social rep” came the reply. Indeed, the title may be misleading, but bar crawls and Pizza Hut trips are not our forté. Unless they are a means of raising money for other causes of course! The Meth-Ang job description of a social action rep suggests that we are the ‘conscience’ of the society. Hopefully we’re not quite that important, but certainly it is our rôle to draw members’ attention to ‘worthy’ issues and causes. This is a busy world where it is so easy to become absorbed only in the immediate concerns of work, and those just around us. It is also our rôle to be passionate and enthusiastic about the need to take some responsibility in this world. Jennie (the other MethAng rep.) and I drew up a newsletter to find out what people were actually concerned about, and one of the questions asked, “What sort of social action are you currently involved in?” — one of our replies read simply “No time.” Is this really true?
‘Good works’ are certainly not the preserve of Christians alone: far from it. Love, moral indignation, a thirst for justice, mercy and peacemaking are impulses which drive women and men to try to right the world regardless of their faith. What makes Christians different is the extra source of strength we are offered in the knowledge of the support and love of a God who has promised a new era of peace and justice; a God who lived on charity among the lowest of society healing and teaching them; a God who declared “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12). The implications of Christ’s words are immense, for not only does faith give us strength to do what He did, but it makes us do what He did (and is still doing). If we truly have faith in Christ we are impelled by an awareness of His love, and by the power of our love responding to that, to emulate His human life. As James so neatly put it, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26). God requires us to work out Her purpose with Her.
The Christian church is so often mocked for its cosy coffee morning ethos, for its implication that Sunday attendance for an hour or so is all that we need to get to heaven (however that may be perceived in the 1990s), with the odd charity raffle thrown in for good measure. And mocked with good reason, for even when church authorities produce reports such as Faith in the City or The Common Good they do not penetrate far into the activities of the rank and file of the institutions. Mocked with good reason for every one of us can list off the petty disputes over flower arrangers and choirs that have riven our home churches. The power struggles and bickering within Christian societies on campus are often as shameful. This is all so far from the radical call of our gospel, of Christianity as opposed to Church; such insularity is a betrayal of Christ.
Admittedly, we’re only small and human and unless we give up being students our time and money are indeed limited, but not to the extent we might wish to believe. CAP, RAG, Third World First, York LEAF, Amnesty International, Conservation Volunteers and others already offer the means of taking action, but I hope I’ve indicated a need for specifically Christian action alongside these (as well as the need for Christians to be involved in these). Social action is also an excellent way for Christians to be able to come together in a common cause, regardless of divisive doctrines and dogmas. Consequently, Week 6 last term all of the social action reps met up for the first time to discuss ways of working together. Our first target is to be Christian Aid week, in association with Third World First (see my other article!). Future plans include a talk by Hugh Bayley on Morality and Politics and a handbook to ethical shopping in York (again both in association with other societies we hope). However, unlike other committee posts, ours is not one in which we are meant to do all the work: we’re just here to stir things up a bit, but initiatives and action come from all our society members (and non-members if you want). So that’s what we’re for. And where are we? Kathy Boadle is the CU’s rep (kgb100@york.ac.uk), Louise Crinnion is Cassoc’s (lcc100@york.ac.uk), and Jennie Dowling and I are MethAng’s (jrd102@york.ac.uk and jlc110@york.ac.uk).
* Or at least that is Nic’s story — a few others may possibly have had a hand in the process too!
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Last modified: 25th November 2005