About Abundance: A Reflection by Grace Shaw
The Clapham Group believes that renewing the culture, confronting injustice and promoting the common good must be undertaken together if anyone is to succeed in shaping the conversation and, ultimately, improving the lives of individuals and families.
Grace during her time at Clapham.
In the Spring of 2019, I opened the “About” section on Clapham’s website to find these words. After having just accepted a full-time Associate position with Clapham, I struggled to explain what unifies all that Clapham does to the onslaught of people asking what I would be doing after graduation from Gordon College. Thus, one afternoon, I found myself on the Clapham website searching for language to explain. The “About” section continued:
. . . confronting injustice and promoting the common good must be undertaken together if anyone is to succeed . . .
This resonated immediately with me on a political level, my own life having been shaped by several communities wounded by division along political lines.
“We do lots of things, but one of our core values is building bi-partisan support for compassion and human rights issues,” became my tagline when people asked what type of consulting I would be doing.
This line, I discovered, garnered immediate affirmations from almost anyone I spoke with. I loved being clapped on the back for joining an organization as a warrior fighting against the polarized climate of American society; confronting reluctance to confront injustice and promoting the promotion of the common good.
Do you hear the combative language in my way of thinking? I do now. It never felt quite right.
. . . confronting injustice and promoting the common good must be undertaken together if anyone is to succeed . . .
A conversation with my co-workers in my first few months at Clapham crystalized a thought that up until then had been only half-formed in my mind about the richness and complexity of this statement.
This statement—like The Clapham Group—isn’t combative, and it’s about so much more than bi-partisanship.
It’s a statement about abundance.
Over the course of my work with Clapham, I have noticed something I’d like to try to put into words: Every one of the Associates, Affiliates, advisors, contractors, experts, and clients I have interacted with share an attitude of partnership—genuine, what’s-mine-is-yours partnership. It is awesome to behold.
The conversation I alluded to with my coworkers was about how often our human tendency to compete with one another wins out over our desperate need for connection. C.S. Lewis writes in the Four Loves that “the typical expression of opening friendship is, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’” Yet, even in the context of friendship, I have more than once felt my internal walls start to go up when I see someone doing something better than I can do it.
What if I trusted there was enough?
Enough work to do that every hand on deck is necessary. Enough ideas to be had that every mind around the table is indispensable. Enough good and justice in the world that it will take all of us together if any of us are to succeed.
That is the attitude I have found at Clapham—amongst my co-workers, our clients, and in the furthest expanses of our network.
Now, in the Spring of 2021, I reflect on this story as I leave my Associate role with Clapham to pursue my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing through Seattle Pacific University. I am invited through my own vocation as a poet in this season to trust that there are abundant hands to continue the good work I have participated in at Clapham.
I hope I will always live as though there is enough.
Observing the way Clapham exists in the world, I have found myself inspired to practice making connections between folks with common passions in my own life. Will there be something in it for me? Not perhaps beyond the joy of watching people I care for confront injustice and promote the common good together, but what a tremendous gift that is.
As we say goodbye to Grace and she moves into an affiliate role with Clapham, we are grateful for the newest additions to the team within the past 6 months. Chris Bullivant joined as a Senior Associate spearheading the latest Clapham-originated campaign focusing on confronting political polarization and building social capital. Trisha Shank, an Associate, serves as a research analyst, organizational manager, and office scheduler. Danielle Neal is the Operations Manager continuing the cultural dynamic within the team along with her general office tasks. Caleb Paxton is our newest contractor bringing his background on Capitol Hill to current work with our Paid Family Leave clientele.