| 5c. | Achieve Fair Trade status |
More than 60 people from parishes across the Diocese of London gathered at St Mary-le-Bow Church on Saturday 10th January 2009 for ‘a conference to inspire and equip our churches’ organised by the London Fairtrade Diocese Campaign.
Barbara Crowther, Head of Communications at the Fairtrade Foundation gave an informative and inspiring key note talk,outlining the vision of the Foundation to expand Fairtrade until it becomes mainstream so that increasing numbers of producers can benefit from the Fairtrade guaranteed minimum price and the Fairtrade premium. As she said, consumer choice will tip the balance and we can all make it happen simply by shopping for products, for home, church and work, carrying the Fairtrade mark.
The Conference also provided plenty of campaign materials and ideas for churches in preparation for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009, of which one highlight will be a global banana eating event which it is hoped will go into the Guinness Book of Records. The Bishop of London was unable to attend but sent a message which can be viewed here and the Revd George Bush, Rector of St Mary le Bow, described how the City of London had acheived Fairtrade status and encouraged churches across the diocese to do likewise.
Three different workshops were held to help churches at different stages in their Fairtrade engagement to progress further, and there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share experiences with people from neighbouring churches. There was also plenty of Fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate (for which we thank Divine chocolate and the team of volunteers who served refreshments), and a Traidcraft stall showing the huge range of Fairtrade products now available. Sheenagh Burrell concluded the event with many ideas for including Fairtrade in the worship, prayer and events of the church and there was a distinct buzz of renewed energy as delegates departed.
For more information about Fairtrade, visit www.fairtrade.org. For more information about the London Fairtrade Diocese Campaign and how your church can become more involved, visit http://fairtrade.london.anglican.org
