Faiths in London’s Economy (FiLE) has facilitated a process for preparing a shared faiths response to the credit crunch which calls for: non-interest bearing transactions; mutual societies; business accountability to a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders alone; transparent and ethical business practices; and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth.
FiLE's 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' can be read by clicking here.
The overall process that has produced this shared faiths response is one that has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations.
We hope that our modest efforts will be a small part of a much wider process of reflection and restructuring needed to genuinely respond to the issues raised by the credit crunch.
People of faith form a huge constituency, can motivate people to action and are also part of rooted communities which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience.
As such, FiLE believes that people of faith should make their contribution to the current search for means of ameliorating the financial and environmental misery experienced around the world, in part because of the effects of the credit crunch.
Our wider hope is that London will lead in adaptations and changes to a restructuring of the global economy that will in future become focussed on a broader understanding of wealth than monetary gain and economic growth alone and do so in a way that maintains and develops it’s social, ethnic and faith diversity.
The 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' originated in the ‘Ethics in a global economy’ seminar held at St Ethelberga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace and organised by FiLE in October 2008. A call for a shared faiths perspective on the credit crunch to be developed emerged clearly from the seminar and FiLE undertook to try to facilitate that process.
Two meetings to discuss a shared faiths response were held and two draft documents circulated to a group of interested people for comment. The overall process has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations. One organisation making specific contributions to the document was Green Equity.
FiLE aims to work with the range of faith communities across London in order to create coordinated faith-community responses to the issues facing London's economy.
As a new network, our first initiative has been to begin to map faith-based business organisations across London and to share the information we have found with others through listing faith-based business organisations and resources on our webpage at http://www.mile.org.uk/file.htm. As this listing grows, it will offer employers and employees a one-stop shop for faith-based business organisations and resources available in London.
Secondly, as part of raising awareness and removing misconceptions about faith-based business initiatives, we have begun a seminar series on faith and workplace issues. This series began by considering ‘Ethics in a global economy’ in a seminar held at the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace on 29th October 2008.
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Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life.
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