Our dream is that 10 million people will actively promise to remember the poor.
10.10.10 is an opportunity to demonstrate that wherever we may be in the world we are all standing together as Christians recommitting ourselves to the pursuit of justice and encouraging action from our leaders. It’s a global moment which we hope means that a church in rural France, a mega church in Nairobi and a suburban church in Lima are all crying out with one voice.
2010 marks 10 years since nations of the world promised to meet the Millennium Development Goals – we have only 5 years to go to make the eight goals a reality. The task is urgent and we encourage all Christians to take part in the Promise as a solemn personal covenant so that the impact is lasting – not just for one day.
The Promise is simple to organise: the words are given in the box below and the action asks people to raise their hands in promise, then make a special handprint. Hands mean worship, hands pledge support and we use our hands to demonstrate God’s love. The action of using our handprint to confirm our promise is a symbol of faith and action coming together. It can be done by children and adults of all ages and by people who cannot read or write. The five fingers on our hand represent 5 years to go till 2015 and remind us that the task is urgent.
The handprints are also a visible message to pass on to our leaders so that our promise to halve global poverty cannot be forgotten.
We believe the promise will work well in your local church or group and also provides the opportunity for you to link with and reach out to others to encourage them to get involved.
Ways to use the Promise at a Micah 2010 event or service on 10.10.10
- As you all say the Promise, lift up your hands as a sign of commitment, covenanting with our Father to live justly.
- Ways to collect the handprints can vary – dip hand in washable paint or dye then make a print (this is a good way as it reminds us that every hand print is unique – we are all special to God and have a special contribution to make). A simpler way would be to draw round the hands to make an outline.
- You will need paint or ink, fabric or paper for a banner. Make a heading for the banner. Remember that people will need to clean their hands afterwards so provide some bowls of water!
- Print the hands onto a giant piece of cloth so it can be displayed. The outlines could be put straight on to a giant banner or cut out. People can add their name or age or add a prayer to the banners. Remember to have some bowls of water so people can wash their hands.
- The banner could have a heading of “Remember the Poor” or “Promise to Remember the Poor” or “Halve Poverty by 2015”. Put the name of your church, town and postcode.
- The banner is part of our worship so sing and pray about it.
- Have a celebration to go with the Promise action. Take the time to celebrate the ways your church is involved serving the poor. Have a special collection for the work/projects you support, pray for people in your church who serve the poor and thank them
- Take photos of people making and holding the banner which you can send to the local paper or present to your local politician. There is a draft media article that you can adapt at www.micah2010.org
- Invite other churches to join together and take the Promise action collectively as part of a service of worship which is themed around Micah 2010. There is a service outline available at www.micah2010.org
- Join a rally, march or vigil in a prominent location in your town and invite people to take the promise action together
- Count the number of handprints you all make so Micah Challenge can add totals for countries and around the world.
Summary
• Print the promise or display it for everyone to say
• Gather together the materials you need for people to make a handprint
• Use the prayer and promise together on 10.10.10
• Make a display
• Join any large event that may happen in your city
• Use the handprints to take part in the BIG Hand-Over
|
We encourage everyone who makes a Promise and handprint to get involved in the BIG Hand-Over so that our actions can have impact on our leaders. We do not want them to forget the promise to halve global poverty by 2015. See the BIG Hand-Over.
Other ideas for using the BIG Promise Resource:
- Although October 10th (10.10.10) is the focus for Micah 2010, you could encourage the organisers of youth camps, summer festivals and conferences earlier in the year to take part.
- If there are “Stand Up” activities in your community, you might want to join in as a way of uniting with others from all backgrounds. See www.standagainstpoverty.org
- Don’t let your promise be crushed by the pressures of daily life. As a church, take part in the justice evaluation to put the holistic gospel at the heart of your church (you can download the evaluation at www.micah2010.org).
- Other ways you can follow up your promise are: learn more about global poverty issues, speak up by getting involved in the Micah Challenge campaign, take practical action in your community, give money to your favourite Christian charity which is tackling poverty, give your time to make a difference and pray regularly about poverty justice.
Tell the Micah Challenge campaign in your nation how many people took part in the Prayer and Promise. We are aiming for over 10 million people around the world to make a handprint!
The Big Promise
The leader says:
As Christians we want to remember the poor, act with justice and speak up for the voiceless.
We support the promise made ten years ago by world leaders to bring half a billion people out of extreme poverty by 2015. With five years to go we will not forget this commitment to children, women and men whose God given potential is smothered by poverty. We believe there is reason for hope. We want to promise to remind our leaders what they have committed to do.
Today let us join 100 million Christians around the world in prayer and promise to see poverty halved by 2015.
Everyone joins in the Promise:
We promise to remember the poor.
We promise to remind our leaders to keep their commitment to the poor.
As a sign of our promise, we make this handprint.
Together, our hands are a message to our leaders to act with justice and remember the poor.
|
Downloads:
|
