Welcome to Occupy Faith UK

Occupy Faith UK wishes to champion faith as something by the people, for the people. Taking ownership of the Self and entering a space in which the corruption of society has no power and no jurisdiction. We wish to facilitate community minded initiatives and actions motivated from this place. We all walk our own paths, and many of the paths carved from faith values are converging with the the global Occupy movement. We wish to provide a route that allows anarchists and Anglicans to walk together in solidarity. We also will raise a dissenting voice if religious institutions stray from the path.

Occupy Faith exists to swing the iron sword of justice across the collars of the corrupt, to shine a prophetic light on the collusion of establishment religious bodies with power and corrosive political influence. We catch ecclesial power with its pants down, we out the pretence of religion as mere ritualised hypocrisy at sub-zero temperatures, and a startled world finds itself in the headlights of truth-seeking and justice.  When the intercourse of church and state shudders to its toxic climax, our pen of truth-telling flashes out of its scabbard.  If you have been mis-sold a heavenly life insurance policy you could be entitled to compensation, or if you’ve been touched inappropriately by one of God’s alleged representatives, show us where.  Truth in tablet form.  Throw the moneychangers out of the temple, the only gems on our collection plate are your opinions.  We want to hear from you.

If you are involved in community building and would like our help organising events, if you are interested in our events, or if you would like us to talk to your parish about the shared values of faith and Occupy, we would love to hear from you. Unfortunately religious bodies are not above immorality or coercion from business and political interests. Funding bodies are more generous to some faiths than others, funding for faith events can be squandered or misappropriated, and the piety of the cloth can often veil violent or sexual abuse.

If you, or anyone you know, are aware of victimisation or abuse of, or by, a religious institution, and would like our legal, emotional, or ethical support, please write to us, via the e-mail address below.

Write to us at:  info [at] occupyfaith.org.uk (substituting an @ sign in place of the [at])

INITIAL STATEMENT

Occupy Faith UK is an autonomous organisation that has an affinity with the global Occupy movement. We engage with the values that faith communities and those with other spiritual and political faith share in order to raise awareness of issues of social, economic and environmental justice as they affect communities across the UK. We welcome collaboration and are proud that the Pilgrimage for Justice is also supported by many organisations, including faith organisations working on social and economic justice.

We are of diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities, dis/abilities and faiths, standing together in engaged, transformative action for:

• An open democracy, with fairness and justice in a balanced system, encouraging public conversations that respect every person’s voice in determining the quality and future of our lives.
• Economic policies which create social equality and justice and through an equitable shared responsibility create a common public good.
• A generous society that provides high quality education, affordable housing, adequate income, meaningful work, and universal access to health care and quality of life.
• Fighting cuts in welfare services that are neither necessary nor inevitable, seeking an end to tax injustice and the undemocratic representation of corporations over people.
• The safeguarding and well-being of our shared planet through strong environmental policies, sustainable energies and business regulation.
• An end to oppression, and in standing in solidarity with the oppressed, call for the termination of all governments actions in causing this oppression.
• Peace among people and nations based on human rights, compassion for all who suffer, religious liberty, mutual respect, and civil rights.
• Socially fair policies based on hospitality, generosity and respect for the vast diversity of all human beings regardless of our social identity.
• Solidarity with the Occupy movement, because our values have been betrayed by an economic and political elite who have proven indifferent to the common good and their moral obligations to the public welfare.
• A faith in a better, more spiritually fulfilling future; and being active in bringing about this change, because we all have an obligation to continue to challenge this economic and political elite, until systemic, compassionate change is actively in place.

Disseminate our media channels:

https:www.facebook.com/occupyfaithuk

https://twitter.com/#!/OccupyFaith_UK

Write to us at:  info [at] occupyfaith.org.uk (substituting an @ sign in place of [at])

 

The Webmasters for this site are:  Alan Bolwell, Kit Klarenberg

Occupy Faith is led by a Board consisting of:  Danny Diskin (Chair), Alan Bolwell, Kit Klarenberg, George Barda, Steve Burak, and the Chaplain is Revd Kevin Snyman

 

Spread the word!  Peace.