Matthew 22:37 – 40 sets out the commandments that we are to live by, namely, love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbour as ourselves. If these were diagrammatically shown as three intersecting circles it can be seen that there is an equilibrium point. It has been said that if a person of faith dwells too much on God they “become of no earthly use”. Socially concerned people can overlook the place of faith and anyone who concentrates on themselves become hedonistic and narcissistic.
Synod encourages us all to balance the concerns of personal faith with the needs of the world outside the Church. Churches are encouraged to:
- Explore social issues by bringing the Gospel to bear on political issues facing our society.
- Support the Commitment for Life programme.
- Campaign on issues of Racial Justice.
- Become Fairtrade churches.
- Become, as individuals and churches, involved in climate change and other environmental issues which affect their daily living.
- Campaign to reduce poverty within our society and lessen the gap between the rich and poor.
- Receive ideas and concerns from local congregations and to facilitate their development.
- Liaise with national bodies to disseminate information and resources to local churches through Synod/United Areas.
- Liaise with the Synod’s World Church and Mission Committee
These initiatives are now embedded in other work – including the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) supported by the URC
Page updated 15/2/2022