Justice, Dignity and Solidarity

 Strategy for Justice, Dignity, and Solidarity:

 This is a strategy adopted by the 2021 Conference that aims to:

• "celebrate the rich diversity of people within the Methodist Church."
• "eradicate all discrimination; to treat all people justly and with dignity across the breadth of the Methodist Church."
• "support profound change in the culture, practices, and attitudes of the Methodist Church so that all Methodists are able to be full participants in the Church’s life."

  Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion within the Methodist Church:

• EDI is a part of the JDS strategy.
• EDI seeks to treat people fairly, promote and welcome diversity, and enable greater inclusion (belonging, participation, etc.).
• It is one mechanism to enable the JDS strategy. 
• This includes, in part, the mandatory training (EDI and Unconscious Bias), our Equality Impact Assessments and more.

• Theologically, it is the idea that we are all called to be a part of the body of Christ and that there are many different ways of being part of that body.
• There are also many different ways in which we join in with that body.
• This means we need to find ways to enable this as best we can within the Church. 
• There are also other theological ways of understanding this.

• Another point is that when we make changes to include people, this can exclude others;
• e.g., a service that is energetic, loud, and stimulating can be exactly what one person needs, but another person may find it overwhelming and need a quieter service. 
• Individually, we cannot be all things to all people, but as a community of Christ, we can begin to offer, include and build up!

  Equality Impact Assessments:

  All Methodists (and Methodist staff) are encouraged to use this Methodist Equality Impact Assessment as one way of asking ourselves relevant questions about how we do things now and how we might do them differently in the future, so that we can help a bigger diversity of people to grow in our discipleship together.

  As part of our Christian response to the commandment of Jesus to ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ we encourage every Methodist, to get into the habit of thinking who we are leaving out, or ignoring, or hurting, by the way we do things.

  You might want to use this Equality Impact Assessment as a formal record of the work that you’ve done and review it to help you see how you are being changed by God. Watch the video below for a real-life example of how it can inform inclusive thinking for your upcoming events!

  The EIA form has a preamble which reminds us that EIAs have been developed because the Methodist Church believes that God’s love is “for all” and that we are called to live this out in our ministry and mission. The Justice, Dignity and Solidarity Strategy is aiming for a profound change in the culture, practices and attitude of the Methodist Church so all Methodists (and others) are able to be full participants in the Church’s life and to attempt to eradicate discrimination.

  The preamble also lists the “protected characteristics” that the Equality Act 2010 asks for specific consideration of e.g. age, disability, sex, religion and belief. It would be good to also take into account socio-economic and other factors like checking that an event would be affordable for all. I encourage you to consider any factors that are relevant in your own context that might make the experience of an event/policy different.

  The form lists five steps to complete a Methodist Church EIA. This relates more to the introduction of a new procedure or policy. Stuart provides a simplified version in his video training above:

1. Identify the clear and agreed purpose of the policy, guideline or service (or the new event).
2. Identify the different groups of people who will be affected by it. You may need to seek input.
3. Assess the likely impact of it on identified groups.
4. Take (reasonable) steps to mitigate any negative impacts.