Janie Oliver, ECCR’s Executive Director, reflects on last week’s Away Day, where the Board and staff team had the privilege to plan and dream about the future of Money Makes Change.
Last week, we took part in a stimulating exercise, ably led by Andy Schofield of the TI Group. Andy led us through the Transformational Index Workshop whittling down 56 words to just 5 that we would use to describe our ambitions for Money Makes Change. This led to lively discussion and debate, but in the end, we all agreed on our top 5. In no particular order, they are:
- Justice: The bedrock of ECCR and what we’re all about! Our foundational verse is Micah 6 v8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
We hope Money Makes Change inspires Christians to join us in seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly, when it comes to how we relate to our money. - Diversity: We want our resources to be diverse, ensuring relevance across denominations, ethnicities, generations and socio-economic groups. We want our resources to speak to people where they are at. To do this well, we can’t deliver a “one-size-fits-all approach.” We are committed to a diverse staff and Board and believe our message is not reserved for the privileged few.
- Collaboration: While individually we may have little, we still have the power to make positive things happen with our money. When we act together, our power increases dramatically. We are much stronger when we work together and we want to work closely with partner organisations, churches and a community of believers to spread our message.
- Tangibility: We don’t want to just have some interesting conversations about money and faith. Rather, we hope those who’ve engaged with Money Makes Change will be inspired to take tangible action. If we act together, we really do have the power to change the world. We will ensure our resources focus on ways to take action and communicate the stories of those who’ve done so.
- Creative Disruption: We’re here to speak truth to power and disrupt the status quo that has led to societal and economic breakdown and a climate emergency. It is imperative we act now and we’ll wear our constructive troublemakers badge with pride (emphasis on constructive!)
If you want to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly when it comes to your finances, why not check out our Money Makes Change programme and see how you can make a difference.