Prime Minister and main UK political leaders endorse Micah's Challenge
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have all endorsed the new book Micah’s Challenge: The Church’s Responsibility to the Global Poor.
In his foreword, the UK Prime Minister warmly welcomes the book and reflects on the role played by the Christian faith in working towards a more just world, “Micah Challenge is harnessing that faith to unite Christians globally from across church denominations to deepen that commitment to people living in poverty through prayer, service and advocacy. You are already making a huge difference.”
Micah Challenge is a coming together of people in 40 nations across the globe who want to take up the challenge laid down by the Old Testament prophet, Micah, and speak out against the injustice of global poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals are “the most comprehensive and ambitious commitment that the world has ever made to combating the evils of poverty”, according to the former Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, just one of the theologians and activists from around the world that have contributed to the book.
Jim Wallis, author of God’s Politics, in his contribution to the book, alludes to the fact that down the years the Christian faith has been a powerful force behind social movements. “The network of faith communities, non-governmental organisations, celebrities, and millions of people around the world has brought a moral spotlight to the unsustainable indebtedness and the systemic poverty of the world’s poorest countries.” In his foreword, the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, calls for a similar global coalition to “galvanise the action” required to respond to what he describes as “a development emergency”.
With contributions fromTony Campolo, René Padilla, Joel Edwards and others, Micah’s Challenge looks set to be a book that not only calls Christians to think afresh and act decisively, but speaks more broadly to a world that is earnestly seeking solutions to the grave problem of poverty.
The book offers a variety of perspectives on our global responsibility to the poor amongst us. Following an introduction on the history and vision of Micah Challenge, the chapters move from biblical and theological reflections on issues of poverty, through more practical explorations of social ethics, to a corporate and personal call, which asks the question, ‘What are we doing about all this?’
Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, in his commendation of the book, states, “Micah’s Challenge calls us as Christians to live out the kingdom values evident in our faith, to set free those captive to poverty, to release those bound by economic injustice, and to proclaim the abundance of God’s creation for the two-thirds of our world”.
Micah's Challenge - editors Marijke Hoek and Justin Thacker – published April 2008 by Paternoster. CODE/ISBN: 9781842276068
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Press inquiries:
Marijke Hoek (07762 627 568)
Notes to Editors:
- Micah Challenge was founded in 2004 and is a worldwide movement of Christians, churches, church organisations and key individuals across more than 40 countries.
- Micah Challenge is named after the Old Testament prophet Micah. The challenge is based on Chapter 6, verse 8: ‘'What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God....'
- Core members working within Micah Challenge UK include: African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), Alpha International / Holy Trinity Brompton, BMS World Mission, Christian Aid, Christian Medical Fellowship, Christian Today, Evangelical Alliance, Faithworks, Global Connections, New Frontiers, Oasis, Shaftesbury Society, SPEAK, Tearfund, World Vision UK.
- See www.micahchallenge.org.uk
