Creation Care workshop: National Council of Churches in Australia

The National Council of Churches in Australia invites you to:

Creation Care workshop: Reframing climate and creation care communications and conversations for Christians

Date: Friday 23 April 2021      Time: 9:30am to 12pm
Location: Online via Zoom

The National Council of Churches in Australia and the Anglican Church Southern Queensland (ACSQ) are co-hosting a workshop for interested clergy, communications staff and church advocates on alternative climate and creation care messaging.

The workshop is also open to church leaders (lay and ordained) and office bearers who are looking for a different approach to engage church members around this issue.

Christians care about God's Creation; however, from experience, the message from many advocates, including us in the Church, can inadvertently come across as out-of-touch, negative, judgmental, problems-focused and even alienating to many Christians.

The workshop will provide participants with an alternative way to reframe climate and creation care communications and conversations among Christians.

This alternative approach is centred around shared values, positive framing and solutions, so that messaging emphasises hope and agency and is communicated in a respectful and effective way.

The suggested reframed messaging has been developed to assist clergy and lay people involved in communications to more effectively engage Christians who are unsure where they stand or may be ambivalent about the issue.

Facilitators:

• Peter Branjerdporn (ACSQ Justice Unit and Uniting Church parishioner)
• Michelle McDonald (anglican focus news editor and Catholic parishioner) and
• The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt (Anglican Dean of Brisbane).

Brief outline of the workshop:

• Facilitators will share their climate advocacy learnings, including theological approaches.
• Examples of current messaging, reframing principles and suggested alternatives will be discussed.
• Participants will work in small groups (with assistance) to rewrite a sample message using the alternative messaging principles.
• Question time.

Register: via this Zoom link by 5 pm AEST Tuesday 20 April 2021

For more information, please contact: Peter Branjerdporn via contact@doingjustice.org.au or 0431606432