Faith and Occupation

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 16 November 2011 14:50:03

The Occupy movement has been analysed for its links with faith because of the location of Occupy LSX being outside St. Paul's Cathedral. However, there has been an ongoing and growing story of faith and faith engagement which is being picked up here and there on local levels but which I think needs to be explored further. New York Times did it a few days ago, but more scope for exploration me thinks especially after protests.

That story is the way faith based people have gotten involved not only as protesters but as providers of pastoral care and the way that they have bought their faith to the occupations as something which might give them specific gifts to be used by believer and non-believer alike. Protest Chaplains are an excellent example of this.

Here are a random selection of stories about Christian involvement in the Occupations:

Oakland North clergy involvement

Occupy Spokane

Religious Leaders amongst those arrested at Oakland 

Sojo net has blog post from Christian occupier evicted from Wall Street

NY Times article on this subject from a few days ago

Christian Post has an interesting article showing the diversity of views amongst US Methodists.

By the way the Huffington Post UK, (a good source of alt. info) have just posted this article explaining that eviction notices have been posted onto tents in London, (no suprise that the Corporation are doing this after Wall Street got trashed by the institution).

Protest Chaplains have publised on their site this set of ideas which make interesting reading.

Alot of this stuff is not new if we look at the relationship between faith and the peace movement and faith and the anti-aparthied movement we can see how similar mash-ups between faith and political issues were occuring...or put another way how people of faith were engaging with others who were acting prophetically and helping God's kingdom come on earth as in heaven, but didn't know the God who gave us the blueprint or the cost involved for Him.

What these all seem to be talking about is an invigorating mix of worship, reflecting on the nature of discipleship and pastoral care, (being church? ), which is occuring in community spaces.

Later addition: See Occupy LSX for response to eviction notice