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In this week's blog for Justice and Peace Scotland, Dr Lisa Curtice, director of the Craighead Institute of Life and Faith, shares an insight into the Institute’s work.

The past few weeks have not been easy for many reasons, and most people agree that making decisions before entering the ballot box was harder than ever. People who attended ‘Craighead Conversations’, a series of public dialogues organised by the Craighead Institute of Life and Faith may, however, have found the process less difficult.

These conversations have asked ‘what’s faith got to do with it?’ and the first series, ‘Crossing Boundaries’ has been held with a range of partners including GRAMNET, the Poverty Truth Commission, the Electoral Reform Society Scotland and the Iona Community. Issues on the agenda have included the experiences of refugees and people in poverty, attitudes to social justice in Scotland, and Glasgow’s health divide.

The sessions have confirmed the importance of providing a forum for people with and without a faith commitment to hear about current public issues and to take part in debates about achieving social justice., and the Institute is committed to a participatory approach, engaging with people who struggle to retain their human dignity in times of austerity. 

The Institute’s history is rooted in the needs of lay people, especially those from communities under social and economic pressures, to be inspired and sustained by their faith and to continue to struggle for social justice in the midst of their day-to-day reality. Founded in 1987 by Sister Christine Anderson (FCJ), it has been based in Glasgow, having grown out of the Craighead Retreat House in Bothwell. It continues in the tradition of Ignatian Spirituality.

We are ecumenical in reach and seek to exemplify a ‘Faith that Does Justice’. Our educational programmes aim to be accessible, experiential and transformative.
One participant on our core course, ‘Integrating Life and Faith’, summed up the impact: ‘I think this module, this course, has been about...showing ways to make the Word of God alive and active in our world... I have discovered a new approach to living in faith and working for peace and justice with others.’ 

It is encouraging to hear similar comments about the Institute’s courses echoed by participants from Easterhouse to Eastern Europe, Glasgow’s schemes to Eldoret in Kenya. Perhaps this enthusiasm stems from our commitment to a participatory approach and to engaging with people who struggle to retain their human dignity in times of austerity.

Although based in Glasgow, our work covers a wide geographical area. In Fife, for example, we are working alongside a peer researcher from Glasgow Homelessness Network to build the capacity of a group of people in long term unemployment to conduct an enquiry into how employment support in their communities can be improved and their potential and wellbeing nurtured.

We have just completed the successful pilot of a new course, ‘Inspiring Unity’, developed with the Ignatian Spirituality Centre Glasgow and funded through the Scottish Government’s Tackling Sectarianism Initiative.  Members from a Catholic parish and from a Church of Scotland parish in North Motherwell worked together through seven sessions that led them deeper into sharing their faith and the desire to commit further to shared local activity.  One participant said: ‘We are all equal in God’s eyes and good is in everyone, an acceptance and understanding of others’ problems and traditions.’

A film of this work will be available soon on the Faith in Community Scotland website.

The future? Pope Francis has set out the urgent relevance of living out an active faith in the world. The requirement to equip lay people for ministry in their communities, to bridge any gulf between faith and the everyday, to be alongside those who experience poverty and stigma - these are the calls to Christians today. The Craighead Institute is ecumenical in outreach and continues to seek to partner with others, developing and celebrating the contribution of faith communities to work for justice for all people in Scotland.  

For more information: email lisa@craighead.org.uk. Follow us on twitter @CraigheadUK web: www.craighead.org.uk New website coming soon!

Our latest blog is a personal reflection by Alex Holmes on his time living in the West Bank and volunteering as an Ecumenical Accompanier, seeking to help facilitate a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Positive communication is the way to achieve justice and peace, as Peter Kearney, director of the Catholic Media Office in Scotland reflects ahead of Communications Sunday.

On Sunday 28th May 2017, the church will mark World Communications Day for the 51st time. It provides an opportunity for the universal church to consider how and why we communicate, with one another and with the world beyond the catholic community.
 
Communication is at the heart of all that we do.  We share information, emotion, ideas and experiences every day. Our faith is based on the communication of God’s message to humanity, namely that God is love.   It is not a coincidence that St John refers to Jesus as the “Word” made flesh. (John: 1,14).
 
In his message for World Communication Day this year, the Pope Francis asks us to focus on our everyday communication.   He says: “I would like to encourage everyone to engage in constructive forms of communication that reject prejudice towards others and foster a culture of encounter, helping all of us to view the world around us with realism and trust.”
 
It would be easy to see that message as directed primarily at “others”.    But the Pope does not address it only to politicians or journalists or webmasters or broadcasters … he directs it to every member of the Church….to you and to me.
 
He asks us to consider these questions:
 
Do I engage with other people constructively?
 
Do I reject prejudice?   Really reject it?   Not tolerating it even a little?
 
Do I try to promote encounter and dialogue?   How?
 
Do I help others to see the world with realism and trust?
 
The Church calls us to be active in shaping our culture for the better. One of the most important ways the Church tries to do this is through its engagement with the media – both the traditional means of newspapers, radio and TV, and through the web-based media. In recent years, the Church has used social media to communicate ever more effectively both to those within the Church and to those beyond its formal membership. Never in history has it been easier for Catholics to keep up with the activities, homilies and addresses of the Holy Father and of the bishops;  to find out what’s happening locally;  and to share information about new initiatives or inspiring words and thoughts.
 
The Church needs to be present in the life of our society and She communicates largely through the various forms of media. I hope you will help us keep our presence strong and effective by supporting the second collection for Communications Sunday on 27 & 28 May, which funds the work of the Catholic Media Office, which represents the Church in a challenging media context and with moderate resources.
 
In all of this, let us act with hope and trust. As Pope Francis reminds us: “Confidence in the seed of God’s Kingdom and in the mystery of Easter should shape the way we communicate.   This confidence enables us to carry out our work – in all the different ways that communication takes place nowadays – with the conviction that it is possible to recognize and highlight the good news present in every story and in the face of each person.”