The Jubilee Centre in Cambridge recently held a five day online conference called Seeds of Change: Institutional reform and human flourishing post Covid-19. Together for the Common Good was an endorsing partner along with Bible Society, CARE, Christians in Politics, Evangelical Alliance, EEA, Faith in Business, Good Faith Partnership, KLICE, LICC, Sallux and Theos.

Here we share a video of session five Creating a new story in which our director Jenny Sinclair was the respondent to presentations by Craig Bartholomew (Theologian and Director, KLICE) and David Lee (co-author of Confederal Europe). The discussion was chaired by John Coffey (Professor of History, University of Leicester). Scroll down to play the video.

The purpose of the conference was to cast a vision for human flourishing in the post-Covid context, explore what institutional reform could look like in practice, and mobilise people to get involved in local and national initiatives. Throughout the conference, there were two overarching questions driving the agenda and shaping the conversation:

What kinds of institutional reforms can we imagine and promote following the Covid-19 pandemic? Some reforms will be urgently needed because responses to the pandemic (as well as Covid itself) are accelerating poverty, inequality and many more social ills. Other reforms perhaps seemed like impossible dreams until the upheavals of 2020, which have brought them into the realm of possibility for now. In this context we are seeking reforms which promote human flourishing, and we define ‘institutional reform’ broadly, to include institutions of the state, of civil society (including business), and wider cultural ones like the family.

What part can Christianity play in this movement for social reform? I use the word Christianity because we want to consider Christian values, ideas, individuals and communities/churches. The consensus that thinks faith should be excluded from public debate and relegated to the private realm is crumbling. How is the pandemic influencing the public narrative around religion and what distinctive contribution can Christians make, individually and corporately, at this pivotal moment in history?

Session 5: Creating a new story – play video below.

Sessions 1-4 from the Jubilee Centre conference can be found here and feature Archbishop Angaelos, Patrick Dixon, Sue Halliday, Peter Heslam, David McIlroy, Paul Mills, Elizabeth Oldfield, Sung-Hyui Park, Eve Poole, Russell Rook, Marietta van der Tol, Chris Watkin, Paul Williams.

This is an extract from our winter 2020 mailing. To access the full newsletter click here.v