Talking to your MP can help bring about change on the issues you care about

Talking to your MP can help bring about change on the issues you care about

Advocacy, speaking and acting on matters of social justice, peace or the environment, is part of Christian faith and of the church’s mission.

Those of us concerned about climate change, the treatment of people seeking asylum or any number of other important issues want to see positive change.  To achieve that change we are willing to try a lot of different strategies- attending large events, joining in social media campaigns or other forms of mass mobilisation. But in a democracy like ours, a more mundane, but still effective avenue for change is open to us – sharing our views with our local MP.

Part of an MP’s role is to be aware of the concerns of their local constituents. After all, they need our votes to keep their job. And MP’s tell us that hearing from ordinary people, not just the paid up lobbyists or usual advocacy groups, has an impact. It is something they still take seriously.

But not all us within the church community have experience in contacting our MP and some of us might feel nervous about doing so. To help with this, the Uniting Advocacy team has put together two one-hour training modules: Writing to your MP and Meeting with your MP. We want to trial these modules to see if they are of interest and use for church members, congregations and their networks. The training is open to everyone. You don’t have to be experienced in advocacy. In fact we particularly want to engage with people who care about issues but may have never or only seldom raised these issues with their local MP

These modules will be offered by Zoom as follows:

  • Writing to you MP – 1pm, Thursday May 21
  • Writing to your MP – 7pm, Thursday May 21
  • Meeting with your MP – 1pm, Thursday May 26
  • Meeting with your MP – 7pm, Thursday May 26

The training will be led by different members of the Uniting Advocacy Team. Below are the registration links. Please use these as it will assist us in managing the training. You can choose from either time for each type of workshop. One event per type of workshop.

Why not invite a friend or other members of your church, or community group to join in as well?

To obtain the Zoom meeting link and for more information please contact Jon O’Brien in the Uniting Advocacy Team on joobrien@uniting.org

Share

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top