Transition Update

Welcome to 2015!

Micah Network and Micah Challenge have officially merged to form the new Micah. Look out for a new-look newsletter in the coming months.

Between now and September, there will be a process of transition as we develop and apply our new identity.

We invite you to continue with us on this journey so that we can build upon the strengths and assets of the past and have a stronger voice to advocate for holistic transformation. You can contribute now and invest in the change we long to see.

Learn more about our transition process by reading our transition progress updates and downloading our 2015 strategy document Micah: A Way Forward.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Thank You


As Micah undergoes a period of transition, an interim governance Board made up of the combined former Boards of Micah Network and Micah Challenge has been set in place.

At the time of creation of this Interim Board a number of Board members stepped down having served for many years. We want to say a special thanks to them for their amazing contribution.

Tehmina Arora: is the General Secretary of the Christian Legal Association in India and served on the Micah Challenge Board.

Andrew Ryskamp: is the International Director of World Renew and has served on the Micah Network Board.

Paul Cook: is the Advocacy Director at Tearfund UK and served on the Micah Challenge Board.

Loida Carriel: is the Director of Paz y Esperanza in Ecuador and has served on the Micah Network Board.

Grace Kasio: is the General Secretary of the Council of African Provinces and is based in Uganda. He served on the Micah Challenge Board.

Ken Morgan: who served as the Micah Challenge Treasurer and is based in the UK.
 

Post 2015 Update


This year draws to an end the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In September 2000 world leaders committed their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty by September 2015. Fifteen years were dedicated to action the quantified targets outlined under the 8 MDGs.

Celebrate: we acknowledge that much progress has been made and we celebrate the successes and affirm the actions and decisions taken by leaders that have resulted in this progress.

Sorrow: we take note that progress has been far from uniform across the world and across the 8 MDGs.

The questions we ask are 'what has worked and why?'; 'what has not worked and why?'

For example:
MDG 1: Eradicating extreme poverty – we still have 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty (less than $ 1.25 / day). By 2008 the global poverty rate fell from 44% to 23% - but now it has slowed down. Why? One of the reasons is that we have perhaps picked the low hanging fruit of dealing with poverty and have failed to tackle the systemic injustices that exacerbate poverty, to reach people in conflict areas and to tackle the challenges posed by ever-increasing city slums. We will need to go much further and deeper in our initiatives.

2015 Agenda
Over the last few year’s discussions, consultations and drafting of the post 2015 agenda has been taking place. The final stages of deliberation and drafting of the new global action plan is about to be released. Read the road map here.

The post 2015 development agenda has been drawn up to show:

17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): download the current draft here.

6 essential elements for delivering these SDGs:
• Dignity: to end poverty and fight inequalities
• Prosperity: to grow a strong inclusive and transformative economy
• Justice: tom promote safe and peaceful societies and strong institutions]
• Partnership: to catalyse global solidarity for sustainable development
• Planet: tom protect our ecosystems for all societies and our children
• People: to ensure healthy lives, knowledge and the inclusion of women and children

Micah Response
We currently have almost 50 national Micah expressions around the world. As we have members in 89 countries, we hope that we will have further national expressions developing in the coming years.

January to September 2015: Actions
We have invited each of these national expressions to facilitate a celebration and sorrow event which creates a transition bridge to the post 2015 agenda:

1. Evaluates the MDG status of their country
2. Invites their leaders to respond to this outcome
3. Celebrate the gains and lament the shortfalls
4. Advocate and encourage their government and local church leaders to give a massive push to MDGs not met
5. Introduce the post 2015 agenda (17 SDGs and 6 essential elements) and invite response

The feedback from each of these meetings will be gathered and presented to us at our Global Consultation (14th to 18th September 2015)

Outcomes:

Nationally: we anticipate that each Micah national expression will be able to confirm their national action plan for: awareness raising, training and equipping, lobbying and campaigning to tackle the SDGs.

Globally: we will have selected the global campaign initiatives we will be taking forward through 2015 – 2017.

Core business of Micah
There are a number of themes which we want to address as ongoing core business initiatives in Micah. These themes cover issues which - if unadressed - form barriers to transformation:

• Understanding and application of integral mission / holistic transformation
• Addressing causes of poverty
• Healing wounds of ethnic conflict and facilitating reconciliation
• Addressing gender inequalities including domestic violence, trafficking and exploitation; and promoting inclusion, access to education and health care, protection of children.
• Seeking the welfare of our cities through urban mission
Missional training for an integrated response (aid and missions, local churches, businesses and colleges working together for holistic transformation)

Exciting year ahead
It feels daunting, however looking through the gifts of our members around the world we are confident that together we can make a difference.

United in Him

Sheryl Haw
Interim International Director

COP20 response from A Rocha

COP20


Last month, we asked Micah members to pray for the COP20 climate change talks taking place in Lima, Peru. The talks became a period of intense debate over the differing roles and responsibilitieis of developing and developed nations. The outcome has been criticised as weak and leaves a lot of work to be done between now and the Paris meetings in December 2015.

We asked A Rocha, a member of Micah, to write a summary report of the meeting and its outcomes. You can read the article here.

You can read the final outcome document from the COP 20  here.

Job Vacancy: Tearfund

Tearfund

Global Resilience Lead (UK-Based)

Tearfund is looking for a UK-based Global Resilience Lead to further develop capacity in Resilience within their international relief and development work.

The role will facilitate good practice and improvement to ensure Tearfund’s work builds the resilience of the most marginalised and vulnerable, assisting the organisation in identifying and replicating good practice.

Full details and application information can be found on the Tearfund website.

Micah Events


Pakistan
Courage for Change: transforming church, transforming community
An Integral Mission Conversation
January 13-15, 2015
Lahore

Kenya
SAVE THE DATES: March 5 - 6, 2015

Tanzania
Transformation: an Integrated Response
SAVE THE DATES: March 10 - 11, 2015

Germany
Die Millenniumsziele - ein Resümee
"Celebration and Sorrow" event in response to the MDGs
April 24-26, 2015
Kassel

Jordan
Courage for Change: Being Salt and Light
May 15 – 16, 2015
Amman

South Africa
SAVE THE DATES: May 20 - 22, 2015

6th Global Triennial Consultation
Integral Mission and Shalom: justice, peace, joy
September 14 - 18, 2015
Huampani Convention Centre, Lima, Peru

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More information about all of these events is available at: www.micahnetwork.org/events

Other Events of Interest


Environment Conference

Redcliffe College are hosting the annual Environment Conference on March 7th, 2015 in cooperation with A Rocha and the John Ray Initiative in the UK. 

This will be an opportunity for Christians to explore the challenges presented by climate changes and discuss opportunities for response.

For full details and to register, click here.

Missions Interlink Member Care Conference

The first South Pacific Region Member Care Conference

An opportunity to come together, learn and share on how we can do member care well.

Date: September 7-11, 015

Venue: Sydney, Australia

Full details: here.

Global Connections IM Forum

Can We Measure Transformation? How do we know if we have made progress in mission?

Come along to hear answers to these questions and more.

Date: March 17, 2015

Venue: Christian Medical Fellowship, London, UK

Full details: here.

Resources

Resources


Misión Integral
René Padilla

This third edition of “Misión Integral” is now available in Spanish. It was previosuly published in English under the name "Mission Between the Times".

L'Espoir est un pouvoir (film - Hope is Power)

In this film, Angélique (Congo) describes how she found the courage to speak openly to her family, the members of her church and the wider community about her HIV-positive status.

Spotlight - highlighting quality papers from the Micah resource library:

The Local Church and Wholistic Development
Danladi Musa

Christian Wholistic Development
Christian Rural Development Association of Nigeria