BCAN Introduction
Christians working
together for social
justice in Bristol
"Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the
cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free..."
(Isaiah 58:6-7)
BCAN Forums
The BCAN Forums are a way of bringing like minded people and
groups who work in similar and related fields together, to encourage
best practise, to enable the church to maintain credibility as a
service provider within the third sector and statutory organisations.
Homeless Forum
The BCAN Homeless Forum was established in 2001 to
coordinate the voluntary
homelessness services provided by churches, to provide
training in service delivery and to provide a reference
point for related secular organisations.
Homeless Forum meetings are currently held every two months and
are primarily for networking and training. Active links are
sought with related statutory organisations (like the council) and
other charities in order that we can consider the implications of
their activities and priorities for our work.
Pastoral Care Forum
The Pastoral Care Forum was established in 2006 to provide
high quality training for churches in pastoral care in
response to our finding that churches are often under resourced and
ill-equipped to offer the sort of pastoral support members of
their congregations and communities seek from them.
The Pastoral Care Forum has sought to facilitate 'joined up'
pastoral work among Bristol Churches and is currently
exploring the facilitation of partnership work with the statutory
services, churches and service users in the South West.
If you are interested in participating in this work please
contact info@bcan.org.uk
Global Issues Forum
Global Aware Bristol aims to give the tools and
inspiration to churches to become aware and take action on key
issues of global injustice, to be ambassadors to God's call for
justice and support for the poor.
It also aims to show the local community that the church
is taking a lead on acting for change in key areas of concern such
as Global Poverty, Climate Change, Fairtrade, Human Trafficking and
more. Monthly E-bulletins connect churches to global campaigns,
giving ideas for prayer, practical action and worship, as well as
information on local events to inform, inspire and challenge.
For more details contact Jenny Foster, bglobalaware@googlemail.com
Partnership Development Work
Greater Bristol has enormous social contrasts between
affluence and poverty. This is reflected by the churches in the
area. BCAN recognises and seeks to use this difference in the
promotion of its social justice mandate.
A course is currently being developed to facilitate
intentional multi-denominational Christian social and community
action across the whole of Bristol with a strong theological
element.
The church makes a significant contribution to the economy of
Bristol in volunteer hours. We are seeking to maximise its
effectiveness by increasing capacity in existing projects,
discerning new areas of work and, most importantly, building
community among all the churches in Bristol, of whatever size and
denomination, through relationship at multiple levels.
Working in partnership is becoming key in the third sector and BCAN
will seek to encourage and enable this method of working
within the churches.
Our vision for our city
The Bristol Christian Action Network (BCAN) exists to help
every Christian in Greater Bristol respond to social needs within
the city. The Bible reminds of us of our obligation to serve the
poor but in our complex society it is not always easy to know
who we must serve, how we must serve them, or indeed, whether
anybody else is doing the serving in the name of the church.
BCAN exists as a uniting body for the churches to enable
coordinated Christian social action across Bristol. We are committed
to supporting long term change in Bristol and working with churches
of all denominations, statutory organisations and the voluntary
sector to see relief from injustice happen right here in our city.
We will do this by...
- Finding out what is happening within Greater Bristol with
regard to Christian social action.
- Developing an awareness of what gaps there are in the range of
help which can be given by churches and missions in relation to
the needs of the community.
- Encouraging churches that are richer in resources (skilled
people/manpower/money) to share with those churches that are
harder pressed.
- Providing an umbrella body under which churches are able to
embark on a shared piece of work.
- Enabling churches to have a voice on issues both within
Bristol and nationally around social need.
- Establishing links with statutory bodies and national
organisations.
- Providing an envisioning and training facility for Christians
within the Bristol churches.
Contact
Bristol Christian Action Network
c/o The George Müller Foundation
7 Cotham Park
Cotham
Bristol
BS6 6DA
E: info@bcan.org.uk
W: www.bcan.org.uk
Charity number: 1136458
Other Details
This web site is still in the process of development.
Two earlier versions of the home page are still available:
|
BCAN (Bristol Christian
Action Network)