I recently attended the Harvest service of one of Micah’s supporting churches. I am frequently humbled by the kindness of supporters from a whole range of organisations and friendship groups. The invitation was an honour. The faithfulness of supporters in the church is inspiring. I focussed, perhaps unsurprisingly, on Micah’s foundation verse, Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God”. I acknowledged that many of the congregation already knew a fair bit about acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly. I suspect that may be the case for others who read this article. That said, I hope it is helpful to readers for me to share my sermon, much edited, as a blog.
Sometimes mercy is translated as “kindness”. The amount of food donated to Micah, just in my time alone, is testament to that. I believe the donations, food or otherwise, received at Harvest, Christmas and throughout the year required some sacrifice. To consider the Micah verse as a key for social justice seems reasonable as it provides some key principles to help communities thrive. It echoes other Old Testament prophets like Isaiah. Chapter 61 concludes by saying that the people of God “shall build up the ancient ruins, raise up the former devastations; repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations.” Micah Liverpool is a faith-based organisation, working with people of all faiths and none. This is reflected across our staff and volunteer team. Biblical principles echo those of other faiths and those of people who want to make a difference in the community. Times are challenging for so many. Some streets look devastated. Poverty levels and associated injustices sometimes feel Dickensian.
For me, I want to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly in a meaningful way. Not for myself, but for others. I believe that our humanity is tied up with one another. Life expectancy across our city currently varies by 15 years. That is unjust. Micah’s focus on justice, fairness and wellbeing through its focus on food poverty, child bed poverty and supporting people into employment offers some respite but something far greater is broken in society. I’m reminded of another key verse which has impacted my life in Jeremiah 29. Verse 11 reads “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Welfare concerns justice, mercy and humility of those in power.
I struggle with power and don’t like hierarchy. I never really intended to be the CEO of Micah. I still don’t often say it. I’m part of the Micah team. As I consider donations of others whether food, money or time, I see partnership. A lightbulb moment came in my early days at Micah, helping out on a ‘temporary’ basis almost 18 months ago! I heard a member of the Micah team presenting our work celebrating the fact that we distributed over 500 food parcels each week. Whilst this is an incredible achievement and kindness of donors is definitely worth celebrating and honouring, I struggled to see social justice. I could see the mercy element and plenty of humility, but I couldn’t see the justice in so many people experiencing such extreme poverty where they could no longer choose their own food.
Whilst food poverty levels continue to increase, it is important to recognise that faithfully donating to Micah’s foodbanks without wanting to be named as an individual is an act of humility and mercy. Donors are full of humility. The flow of donations throughout the year evidences that. I frequently say that Micah could not operate without volunteers and the generosity of others. Volunteers and donors care. They show mercy and walk humbly. Some walk humbly with God, some with Allah and others just walk humbly. We celebrate our diversity.
As we reflect on the words of Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, I wonder whether others, like me, see justice in the restoration of the streets, in one another’s welfare, in the healing of society. The principle of ubuntu teaches us that our humanity is tied up with one another. There is no selfishness, there’s a generosity, those on the margins are welcomed. That is justice.
I have a strong value in recognising everyone’s uniqueness and not trying to be anyone else. We need each other to bring justice, and we need to be our unique selves. Justice means everyone having enough money to buy their own food. I’d like to see foodbanks closing for that reason. Instead, I’d like to see a greater number of people having £2 to attend one of Micah’s community food markets. To me, there’s more justice there. People can choose the food they take. There’s dignity. The crisis moments of food poverty are averted. It’s good stewardship of surplus food, the majority of which would go to landfill. We recently started a cafe area alongside St Bride’s foodbank. We’ll always need each other, so the community spaces can remain. It offers the opportunity for conversations and connection. I’d like to see an end to child bed poverty. The impact of a child not getting a good night’s sleep has such a negative impact on their education, mental and emotional wellbeing that it doesn’t bear thinking about. Micah’s Recruitability programme offers justice in terms of supporting people into work. People want to feel useful, so being helped into work, volunteering or training is key.
It feels like we are just touching the surface. May we see more justice, mercy and humility.