Craftivists create anti-war messages

South Bedfordshire Craftivists are a group of Methodists who use their craft skills for social justice, engaging in a gentle form of activism that still intends to create positive change.

For their most recent project they have created four large collages depicting a war zone. Entitled 'From Devastation to Hope’ each picture shows the dove of peace ever present as a sign of hope.

“Our aim is to promote the stopping of wars and urge peace at a time when war seems to be filling the news' headlines. We want to encourage those with power and authority to change things for the better of all,” says organiser, Jenny Spouge.

"We used collage for this project as it enabled a number of people to be involved who don't necessarily believe they are artists, but the works have recently been included in an international art magazine! They were also used for a service on Remembrance Day and were on view at a meeting with one of the 6 constituency MPs covered by the members of the group."

Jenny came across the Leeds Craftivists group during the Covid pandemic and contributed to their work. She explored working with people local to her who were interested in forming a similar group. The new group, South Bedfordshire Craftivists, is currently only made up of members from the South Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit.

Christian faith and denominational commitment to social justice is at the heart of the work the group undertakes. The group are people from the circuit, among them a lay pastor, a hospice nurse and a retired headteacher. As a Christian, Catherine Roots has tried to support peace using the skills and logic she developed as a street pastor. “I never felt that marching or ' sit-ins ' were quite in my nature, but The Craftivist group has allowed me to use my creative skills to express to others what I feel strongly about and also to raise awareness of the issues.”

“This is for those people who don’t feel they can march or demonstrate. It can involve a wide range of people with a variety of skills. The collaborative process is encouraging and enables the best results for what we aim to do,” says Jenny.

The group have contributed to a panel of the Stitches for Survival Project that created a gigantic ‘ scarf’ that wrapped around an area of Glasgow during COP26 in 2021. The panels were made into quilts and blankets for people who are homeless or displaced.

Model houses and tents were made to create a townscape that became part of an open-air service focussing on housing issues. Green hearts have been sent to MPs to register concerns about climate change, and the travelling 'Tent of Hope' prayer tent (see www.southbedsmethodist.org.uk/creationcare.htm) was made of woven hoops created by all ages, also to raise awareness of the issue. This has been much used in church and circuit services. Last Lent, tote bags were made for foodbanks and the issue of food poverty raised with MPs.

The group's next project will focus on water, a huge topic starting with the use and misuse of water and the pollution of watercourses.

Jenny sees God and Methodism at the heart of what the group do. “God is a God of justice and Methodism is a justice-seeking Church so we seek to use this work to engage in social justice, not ‘just’ social action. We all feel committed to assisting to change the world for the better as part of our Christian faith.”

“God has given us the craft skills we possess - so why should we not use them in commitment to the Kingdom and its work?