A new global resource from The World Council of Churches and The Clewer Initiative
The World Council of Churches and The Clewer Initiative combine forces to launch a substantial new resource for Lent 2024.
True Freedom, a six-week course for Lent, draws on themes from the book of Galatians, and encourages individuals and churches to respond to modern slavery in their communities.
The resource is part of an ongoing collaboration, which began in March 2020, between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Clewer Initiative. The collaboration has a particular focus on ending child slavery.
The two organisations saw the potential for creating a resource, similar to Woman in the Shadows, Children in the Shadows and Journeys (past Lent devotionals by The Clewer Initiative), but with an international focus.
True Freedom includes:
- a short Bible study on the book of Galatians
- a reflection written by Revd Dr Kenneth Mtata (WCC Programme Director for Public Witness and Diakonia) and Bishop Alastair Redfern (Chair of The Clewer Initiative)
- questions for group discussion or personal reflection
- victim stories
- a prayer
- art work to contemplate and discuss
- case studies from churches in the UK, Italy, Tanzania, Hong Kong,
- Ghana, Uruguay, Jamaica and the Cayman Island.
- information and statistics about modern slavery
- action points that are appropriate for different contexts.
What next?
The season of Lent begins on 14th Feb 2024. We have deliberately made the full resource available from now so you have lots of time to review the content and consider how to use it effectively in your church or community.
We would recommend the following steps:
- Visit the microsite today.
- Download the resource.
- Consider if there is a group of people you could tell about the resource.
- Could it form the basis of a weekly Lent Bible study in your church?
- Ask your church leader to review the material
- Encourage individuals to use the resource on their own throughout
- Lent
- Use our social media assets to promote the resource on your socials or
- share our regular posts
