What do you do when you see something in society that is unjust or immoral? I know that too often my response is to shake my head in frustration or disgust, or make a cynical remark, but not to speak up or take any action. It feels like I wouldn't be able to make a difference any way.
And yet, during the dark days of apartheid, The Methodist Church of Southern Africa was vocal and active, even when it seemed that this evil system would never be overcome. Since 1994, our church has found it harder to "speak truth to power" because many of those who were our allies in the fight against apartheid were now in government. But abuses of power continue and injustice remains; we need to find our voice again.
Recently I had conversations with colleagues about the scourge of online gambling in our society, and the increasingly well-documented dangers of social media exposure to the very young. What can we do? Well, as a first step, we hope to bring resolutions to our synod in May to escalate the issues to national level in our church and propose specific action in each case. It's a start.
In the last few days, I received a document from the SACC calling all local churches to sign an anti-corruption covenant - to speak out against corruption and stand with whistle-blowers. Maybe a small gesture, but it's a start.
What makes your blood boil? What can we say and do together to make a difference?