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Global Reformed Advocacy Platforms for Engagement (Grape)
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), in collaboration with the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI), delivers an advanced training and support programme tailored for the Global Reformed Advocacy Platforms for Engagement (Grape) and their campaigns. This program brings together churches, NGOs and other activists in the field of economic and climate justice.
The WCRC's Accra confession in 2004 identified the unjust economic system as the root cause:
The magnitude and intricacy of the inequitable economic system, coupled with the escalating climate breakdown, necessitate a paradigm shift. The church must transition into proactive agents fostering decisive and tangible change.
The Grape initiative endeavours to tackle the root causes of these challenges, leveraging the distinctive position of the church as a local force and a participant in regional and global communion. Grape is committed to exploring every avenue, leaving no stone unturned, to discover innovative and transformative methods of engagement, aspiring to be prophetic witnesses for positive change.
Under the Grape programme, local WCRC churches are establishing an inclusive platform that bridges ecumenical, interfaith, and civil society realms to participate in an advocacy campaign. The African Communion of Reformed Churches has already initiated this process in two countries, Kenya and South Africa, in 2022.
The Grape programme works from local to global to local (L2G2L):
The WCRC's Accra confession in 2004 identified the unjust economic system as the root cause:
Economic injustice stands as a fundamental cause of human suffering, posing a direct threat to the very existence of our collective humanity. The interplay of racial, gender, and class inequalities, compounded by climate injustice, functions as the driving force behind a system that compels millions to endure lives marked by poverty and precarious conditions. The prevailing system further intensifies ecological destruction, deepening the challenges that threaten the well-being of both people and the planet.
The magnitude and intricacy of the inequitable economic system, coupled with the escalating climate breakdown, necessitate a paradigm shift. The church must transition into proactive agents fostering decisive and tangible change.
The Grape initiative endeavours to tackle the root causes of these challenges, leveraging the distinctive position of the church as a local force and a participant in regional and global communion. Grape is committed to exploring every avenue, leaving no stone unturned, to discover innovative and transformative methods of engagement, aspiring to be prophetic witnesses for positive change.
Under the Grape programme, local WCRC churches are establishing an inclusive platform that bridges ecumenical, interfaith, and civil society realms to participate in an advocacy campaign. The African Communion of Reformed Churches has already initiated this process in two countries, Kenya and South Africa, in 2022.
The Grape programme works from local to global to local (L2G2L):
The Grape programme started in Kenya and South Africa in 2022, where a dedicated teams of five individuals each underwent training to design the national advocacy campaigns. This designer teams passed the reins of the campaign to the second teams in May 2024 for continued implementation. The second teams are part of a 18-month intensive training and support programme through a mix of in-person, hybrid, and online workshops and meetings. They will work with the national Grape platforms to advocate for their campaigns in Kenya and South Africa.