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Church and Society
This committee seeks to serve local churches, district councils and synods, ecumenical and appropriate secular bodies, in raising awareness, sharing information and encouraging reflection and action on matters of justice and peace, healing and reconciliation. It seeks to represent the concern of the church for such matters to government and others with power over the life of people in these islands, acting ecumenically wherever possible. It is responsible for Commitment for Life (including the 1% appeal) and will promote such other programmes as will help the above aims.
Committee Members
Convener: Revd Martin Camroux
Secretary: Dr Andrew Bradstock Administrator: Ms Wendy Cooper
Programme Director, Commitment for Life: Mrs Anne Martin
Mr Geoffrey Duncan, Revd Owiny Laber, Mr Simon Loveitt, Revd Alan Paterson, Mrs Catriona Tait, Mrs Helen Warmington
attending by invitation: Mr Graham Handscomb (Free Churches Education Committee), Mr George Morton (CTBI Environmental Issues Network), Revd Brenda Russell (Churches Together for Healing), Revd Neil Thorogood (Churches’ Peace Forum)
1 Iraq
1.1 At the time of writing the military offensive against Iraq, led by the United States with the support of the British Government, is in full swing. The mainstream churches in both the UK and US have been unanimous in condemning the bellicose stance of their governments, and Church and Society and International Relations have been monitoring the situation closely and considering how best the United Reformed Church should respond at every turn. Our response has included (i) a statement issued in September 2002 by the Moderator of General Assembly and General Secretary expressing the Church’s view that a military attack on Iraq at that time would be ‘ill‑advised, unjustified and immoral’; (ii) the adoption by Mission Council in January of a resolution, moved by the Convener of Church and Society, recording our concern that the US administration is officially endorsing a ‘pre‑emptive strike’ policy; (iii) participation by the Moderator of General Assembly in a delegation of US and UK church leaders to see the Prime Minister in February to press the case for an alternative to war; and (iv) a statement issued by the Moderator and General Secretary the day war was declared regretting the British Government's decision to support the United States in its action and reiterating the Church's view that·the use of force at that time was 'morally wrong'. The statement urged Her Majesty's Government to work with the UN, the EU and relief agencies to prepare for humanitarian aid to be made available to the people of Iraq, and stressed that the United Reformed Church did not see the war as a 'conflict between the Christian West and the Muslim world'. It urged 'all Christians and Muslims to recognize the common grounding of their faith in the God of Abraham who calls us all together to seek the peace of nations.'· The statement·also welcomed the news that the US had agreed to the publication of a 'road‑map' to reactivate the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and urged the UK Government to be 'energetic and resourceful in following through on this key development.’
2 Ghana
2.1 Concerned that, within the globalization process, governments, corporations, non‑governmental organisations and international finance institutions so seldom appear to come together to explore common ground, Church and Society facilitated a two‑day seminar at High Leigh in November 2002 around the issue of water sector reform in Ghana. Provision of water in the developing world is a hotly‑debated issue, and in some countries has led to violent unrest; and the aim of the High Leigh event was to create a ‘safe space’ where the main stakeholders in the process in Ghana might listen to and better understand each other and so help that process to advance peacefully and with due attention paid to the interests of all parties. Representatives from the Ghana Trades Union Congress, the World Bank, the Department for International Development, a private company interested in the water franchise in Ghana and leading non‑governmental organisations from Ghana, the UK, the United States and the continent attended; and under the expert moderation of the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Shutt and the journalist Stella Orakwue, a cordial and extremely constructive dialogue took place which enabled the process to move on. The potential for this model to be adopted in other contexts, including by local churches around issues in their community, is well worth exploring.
3 Commitment for Life
3.1 Achievements
3.1.1 Commitment for Life last came before General Assembly in a conspicuous way in 2000 when Christian Aid’s Director, Daleep Mukarji, thanked us for the steady rise in engagement by local churches with the programme. In 2002 we raised £527,000, a remarkable increase over the £445,000 received in 2000. Last year we sent £401,000 to Christian Aid, £52,500 to the World Development Movement, and made significant grants to the Trade Justice Movement, the Jubilee Debt Campaign, the Fairtrade Foundation, One World Week and various organisations engaged in development education. A full list of grants made by the programme is available on request.
3.1.2... The number of participating churches is currently just short of 600, but we continue to increase at the rate of approximately one church per week. We are pleased that the Synod of Scotland plans to launch Commitment for Life in September 2003. The team of Advocates has grown to 53 and we have a further group of Associate Advocates.
3.1.3... In January 2003 Daleep Mukarji wrote to thank us for our continuing support. ‘The programme is the very best way for United Reformed Church congregations to work with Christian Aid, supporting people in our world who are vulnerable and suffering,’ he wrote. ‘The close partnership between Christian Aid and the United Reformed Church is what makes the programme so effective and so important. The Commitment for Life resources we produce together help you to bring your concern for poverty and justice into the life of your congregations all year round, and the focus on just four countries encourages a deeper understanding of the often complicated development issues we deal with. Whether your response is through prayer, action or giving, you are part of a movement for justice, exposing the scandal of poverty, and changing the world.’
3.2 Campaigning
3.2.1 Campaigning has become an increasingly important part of our work. Charity can make a difference but if poverty is to be eradicated, structural change must accompany giving and aid. ‘You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the important things – justice, mercy and faith,’ as Matt. 23:23 puts it. Commitment for Life raises awareness on a number of issues, enabling us all to work to bring about change. We long to see people empowered so that they may have greater control over their destiny, and we join with others in challenging governments, international bodies and corporations when their policies appear harmful to the poor.
3.2.2 Fairtrade is an important part of our campaigning work. It represents an alternative trading system in a world of open markets and lack of protection for the trade of poor countries. The Fairtrade Foundation claims that 24% of the population know about the Fairtrade mark but less than 5% buy fairly‑traded products regularly. We hope that amongst our churches the figure is higher and that not many are still serving Nescafé and other non‑fairly traded products. World coffee prices are at a 30‑year low, resulting in coffee farmers being paid below the cost of production. Not only are 25 million coffee farmers suffering but several countries have been reduced to deeper levels of borrowing and debt. Fairtrade is a part of the answer. Each March we try to ensure that every church is aware of Fairtrade Fortnight and that a statement is made at all Synods. This year we produced a new resource It’s not fair! Exploring fair trade with the children in the churches, co‑branded with some of our ecumenical partners.
3.2.3 The Trade Justice Movement, a coalition of organisations and churches including our own, draws attention to the gross inequalities and injustices in the way trade rules are drawn up. Poor countries are asked to open up their markets and remove protection for their agriculture and other sectors, while we in the richer nations protect our own businesses with a wealth of subsidies and protectionist measures. We are witnessing the impoverishment of producers in poor countries across the world and the growing hold of corporations from the rich nations over the supply of essential services. Dairy farmers in Jamaica pour their milk down the drain as subsidized EU powdered milk becomes the norm; cotton farmers in Mali find prices driven down because US farmers receive huge subsidies; tomato growers in Ghana find local markets flooded with surplus tinned tomatoes from Italy (but yet are required to pay more to water service providers than before).
3.2.4 The World Development Movement has focused on the impact of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), demonstrating how liberalising trading in services, particularly essential ones like water, has a huge impact on the poor as well as diminishing countries’ control over their own economies. The aims of the campaign include: preventing poor countries being forced to open their markets; championing their right to manage their own economies; and preventing the expansion of the World Trade Organisation agenda to include new issues such as investment.
3.2.5 The Jubilee 2000 campaign placed the issue of sovereign debts on the political agendas of the G8 countries and helped bring about the cancellation of $34 billion of debts and the promise of more. Research shows that countries which have received debt relief have spent the money saved on education and health provision. More than twenty of the world’s poorest countries are still going through the process towards greater debt relief but are unlikely to emerge with sustainable levels of debt. The crisis in the price of commodities, such as coffee and cotton, makes it impossible for countries to be free of debt obligations where debt relief is tied to export levels. We continue actively to support the Jubilee Debt Campaign and Jubilee Research.
3.2.6 Other important campaigning issues are poverty and HIV/AIDS, poverty and the environment, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These latter aim to break the cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life for millions of people, especially children, by 2015. We produced a series of leaflets on these topics under the title ‘Going Global’ in conjunction with International Relations. We continue to be active in the Grow Up Free From Poverty (formerly International Action Against Child Poverty) coalition which puts pressure on the signatories to the MDGs to ensure that all the targets are met.
3.3 Partners
3.3.1 Our partners matter. We watch their situations with concern and engage with the issues that confront them. We hear from them and take every opportunity to make our partnerships real. These have become whole church partnerships.
3.3.2 .. Palestine
3.3.2.1 The suffering of the Palestinian people and their subjugation to random acts of wanton violence, intimidation and humiliation have caused us increasing concern during the past year. Not only Palestinians but the Israelis are suffering, particularly young people. But still the settlement building goes on and nothing seems to halt the Israeli government or require it to abide by UN resolutions prohibiting this practice in the occupied territories and the violation of human rights laws. David Lawrence visited Israel/Palestine in October and wrote three strong articles in Reform. Commitment for Life has been producing ‘Moving Stories’, an e‑mail resource containing grassroots stories of despair and courage. We invite churches to understand the reality of life for many Palestinians. We want to move from better awareness to advocacy in alliance with others. Christian Aid’s powerful report Losing Ground: Israel, poverty and the Palestinians documents with accuracy the deteriorating situation in the towns and villages.
3.3.2.2 The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is a new initiative of the World Council of Churches. It is a response to a call made by the heads of churches in Jerusalem. Its mission is to accompany local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in their nonviolent efforts to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Accompaniers will serve for three months and monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. They stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling nonviolently against the occupation. Public speaking upon return is part of the commitment.
3.3.3 Zimbabwe
3.3.3.1 In October 2002 we welcomed two colleagues from Silveira House who visited churches in the Wessex and South Western synods. By Christmas famine seemed to be looming in Zimbabwe as food supplies ran out or were distributed only to government supporters. We were able to send £2k to Silveira House to meet some emergency needs. As the crisis deepened Mission Council unanimously resolved to express its concern about the situation to both the Government and Christian Aid. While there are allegations that some food aid in Zimbabwe is being distributed on the basis of political affiliation, Christian Aid partners have continued to operate over the past financial year without political interference. They have spent over £4.5 million on emergency food aid and it continues to reach those for whom it is intended.
3.3.4 Bangladesh
3.3.4.1 Six FURY members visited our partners the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) in January 2003, seeing first hand the emergency distribution of blankets during an exceptionally cold spell. We have invited CCDB staff to visit churches here in the UK during October 2003. CCDB struggles against poverty and a widespread lack of education and resources by providing a range of opportunities for skills training and empowerment. The way women come together in fora to discuss the obstacles to their own betterment is an example to others. Women are in the forefront of the campaign for debt cancellation.
3.3.5 Jamaica
3.3.5.1 The globalising of the economy has meant for Jamaica a huge influx of cheap imports including subsidized EU and American foodstuffs. These include milk powder, which has ruined the livelihoods of many dairy farmers. Violence is becoming more widespread, one consequence of the gross inequalities between rich and poor in the island. We sent £5k in 2002 towards the work of Jamaica Aids Support which has featured large in Christian Aid’s programme on HIV/AIDS. We also sent £7k towards the rebuilding of the toilets at S‑Corner, a clinic and community development project serving thousands of residents in the deprived Bennetland ghetto of Kingston. It is currently functioning with just 2 loos!
3.3.6 We long to see more churches engaging with the programme. Among the new resources we can offer are posters, stories and prayer cards on each partner, as well as materials on ‘Making Commitment for Life Sunday special’, ‘Preaching for Justice’ and ‘Harvest worship’.
4 ¼A Time to Die
4.1 Assembly 2002 welcomed the work on death, dying and bereavement undertaken by our working group, and copies of the resource pack were sent to all churches in the autumn. The pack has been well received, and a number of helpful suggestions as to how it can be improved submitted. It is hoped that the pack will also be widely used outside of the United Reformed Church.
5 Jobcentres
5.1 The report of the research by forty United Reformed churches into the type and quality of work available in local Jobcentres ‑ Worth Working For? Job Opportunities in 21st Century Britain ‑ was launched at a special reception at the House of Commons in January 2002. The event was hosted by David Drew MP and attended by representatives from our ecumenical partners, agencies, and some of the churches involved in the research. A presentation was made by, among others, the Director of the Greater Manchester Low Pay Unit (GMLPU), with whom we collaborated in this project. Copies of the executive summary were sent to all MPs with constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales, and many replied. Fifty MPs signed an Early Day Motion drawing attention to the Report tabled by Huw Edwards MP. The Convener of Church of Society, the Director of the GMLPU and David Drew and Huw Edwards later had a very constructive meeting with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and his officials, to discuss the Report’s findings in detail. The recent computerization of the Jobcentre system, enabling job‑seekers to access vacancies on offer across the country from any Jobcentre, rules out the possibility of a further similar project being undertaken. The new system – which appears to be working to the advantage of job‑seekers – does not lend itself to being monitored in a way that could involve local churches.
6 Education
6.1 The Government’s support for an increase in the number of schools with a distinctly ‘religious’ ethos has sparked a lively debate among educationalists, churches and faith groups; and although the United Reformed Church has a direct interest in only a small number of schools the Church and Society Committee has sought to draw up a statement on the issue on its behalf. The Committee also felt that the Church would welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue, and has accordingly tabled a resolution – to which its statement forms an introduction – to Assembly this year. The Church has two representatives on the Free Church Education Unit, which handles all educational matters on behalf of the free churches.
7 Environment
7.1 The agenda of the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (EIN), on which Church and Society is represented, was dominated last year by the World Summit for Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in August. The Summit marked ten years since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro which set an agenda for the concept of sustainable development. Before the Johannesburg Summit EIN discussed the role of the churches and, with other Christian environmental organisations, prepared a briefing paper and a prayer. It also had input into related initiatives in Scotland, Wales and Europe. The United Reformed Church published What a World, edited by Geoffrey Duncan and Pamela Pavitt, with appropriate timing. Through CTBI a letter was sent to the Prime Minister urging action on the aims of the Summit. Some consider the outcome of the Summit disappointing, though it was valuable in so far as it kept sustainable development on the international agenda. Church representatives who attended found helpful the grassroots events organised by the South African Council of Churches, including worship in the townships.
7.2 EIN has specifically challenged churches not only to encourage their local congregations to consider the environment but to ensure that their own church offices improve their environmental performance. Within the United Reformed Church this has been brought to the attention of the Church House Management Group. Eco‑Congregation, a government‑supported programme to stimulate environmental action by the churches, has had a slow response from congregations, and churches are urged to engage with the project. Its website www.encams.org/ecocongregation is recommended.
8 JustShare
8.1 The JustShare coalition of churches and Christian agencies, of which the United Reformed Church was a founding member, continues to develop a constructive dialogue with institutions in the City of London about globalisation, poverty and economic justice. In 2003 it again organised events in the City on May Day and in the weeks leading up to it, including debates involving senior figures from Government, banking, the church and the agencies, and fair trade stalls outside City churches.
9 Peace Fellowship
9.1 The United Reformed Church Peace Fellowship has a membership of 111 individuals and two churches. It welcomed Mission Council’s resolutions on Iraq and the international situation and Thames North Synod’s initiative enabling United Reformed Church people to march together in London on 15 February against a war in Iraq. The Fellowship joined the lobby of Parliament on 12 March calling on the government to ensure that any military action against Iraq was in accordance with international law. The Fellowship commends ‘Why Violence? Why Not Peace?’, a World Council of Churches’ study guide to help individuals and groups in the churches to reflect and act in the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001‑2010). Copies are available from the World Council of Churches (or download from www2.wcc‑coe.org/dov). Instead of simply condemning violence, churches could make non‑violence the distinctive mark of following Christ’s way.
10 AIDS Working Group
10.1 The group has sought to clarify its aims to enable it to work more effectively. It agreed that, since the United Reformed Church has limited resources and expertise, it should not seek to duplicate the excellent work already being done by other churches and agencies but be selective and concentrate on what it can do well. Its overall aim is to encourage ministers and congregations to have a greater awareness of the local and global effects of the HIV/AIDS virus. More specifically it hopes to (a) provide information about the causes and effects of the virus on human beings at a UK and global level; (b) encourage churches to make a pastoral response and take appropriate campaign action; and (c) regularly research resources already used by other agencies and churches and invite people with specialist expertise to give advice.
10.2 The group has communicated mainly through the pages of Reform and the United Reformed Church website, and by circulating materials to enable congregations to observe World Aids Day. All churches received the Christian Aid liturgy ‘Together in Hope and Prayer’ and the Oxford churches’ Red Ribbon Group resource leaflet. The group will maintain regular contact with those responsible for ministerial training and the Commitment for Life programme.
10.3 It is with profound sadness that we report the death of Phyllis Mortimer. We miss her from our meetings and her invaluable contribution.
Assembly views with concern the Government’s commitment to increasing the number of ‘faith schools’ in England and Wales.
While affirming the right of local communities to decide the nature of their school, and regretting the lack of ‘faith input’ and promotion of a religious worldview to be found in some state schools, Assembly’s concern is that schools promoting a particular faith position may contribute to an erosion of our multi‑cultural experience at a time when greater understanding and dialogue between faith communities is more vital than ever.
Welcoming the affirmation given by OFSTED to the teaching of Religious Education in schools, Assembly calls upon churches to support people teaching RE in state schools and encourage others to consider it as a vocation.
1.1 The issue of ‘faith schools’ has been much in the news. The Government has publicly stated its desire to see more established, and while in some quarters this is welcomed because of the emphasis such schools place on promoting a religious worldview, others see these schools as contributing to existing divisions within society. Some have a fear that they will help to erode our multi‑cultural experience at a time when greater understanding and dialogue between different faith communities is more vital than ever. How is the United Reformed Church to respond to this development?
1.2 One way forward in the debate might be to separate the fact that Roman Catholic, Church of England and Methodist schools exist (and have a rich heritage) from the issue of whether further such schools should be established. It appears to be the question of increasing the number of church schools that is proving divisive, rather than whether such schools should exist at all. One compelling argument in favour of allowing the number of faith schools to increase is that putting a block on their development would be an act of discrimination against minority faith groups, which currently have only a mere handful of schools. Withdrawing the right of parents to educate their children according to their religious beliefs would also raise questions about the kind of society we live in, a point made by the former Secretary of State for Education, Estelle Morris, in her presentation to the General Synod of the Church of England in March 2002. Thus the question would seem to be whether the new schools will continue the trend adopted by many existing church schools of welcoming pupils of different traditions and faiths, for then the argument that they will foster divisiveness will be seen to have less weight.
1.3 But there are other issues to be taken into account. What signal would be given to schools with no faith basis if, as a result of the popularity of denominational schools, more of the latter were to be given the go‑ahead? Might this not suggest that, as a society, we were giving up on non‑faith schools? We might remember that, such was the commitment of the free churches to the principle of state education in the last century, they gave up many of their own schools. And given that church schools tend, at least as a consequence of the exercise of parental choice, to be selective, would not the move to develop more such schools be a worryingly retrogressive one? The danger is that, by placing so much emphasis on the importance of the ‘faith dimension’ in schools, we lose sight of the fact that education is primarily about setting children off on the path of lifelong learning. If schools should primarily be places where young people are stimulated to study, ask questions and pursue knowledge and understanding, and not to be nurtured in the faith, state schools might be better able to provide a ‘good’ education than religious ones. Ofsted has encouraged the teaching of Religious Education in schools, so should we not call upon churches to support people teaching RE in state schools, not to see their contribution as just supporting church schools.
1.4 That being said, the role of the local community in deciding the nature of their school must be underlined. The type of school found in any community will clearly depend upon the local context – for example, whether it is rural or urban – and the religious and ethnic composition of the community. If schools are genuinely to reflect their local community then we must recognize that some, especially in inner‑city and urban areas, will be predominantly of one faith or of one race. We affirm, however, that the best form of education is a school for the whole community.
1.5 While acknowledging the demands this places on the teacher‑training process, we continue to hold to the ideal of state schools providing high quality education, including religious teaching appropriate to a society in which many different faith positions are held. However, where local communities and congregations consider that these demands can be met within the context of a school of a particular faith tradition, the right of that community so to act should be fully respected. We acknowledge the many opportunities that exist for Christians to influence education, not least as school governors or through the Standing Advisory Committees for Religious Education, and encourage Christians of all ages to consider seriously the vocation of teaching.
Resolution 17 Millennium Development Goals (2015 targets)
General Assembly:
i) welcomes and endorses the Millennium Development Goals;
ii) pledges itself to work, with others, to see that they are achieved by the year 2015;
iii) reaffirms its commitment to the Trade Justice Movement and encourages congregations to support the campaign actively by writing to their MP and taking other relevant actions.
1.1 Two‑thirds of the world’s children still live in abject poverty. 183 million are malnourished. 113 million, two‑thirds of them girls, receive no schooling. 30,000 die unnecessarily every day. Child poverty is the morally unacceptable result of our failure to overcome injustice in our world.
1.2 To tackle the worst excesses of poverty, governments across the world, including the UK’s, together with the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, non‑governmental organisations, churches and faith groups have signed up to the Millennium Development Goals. These goals provide a benchmark by which efforts to overcome poverty and improve the quality of life for the world’s poorest people can be measured. The need for more debt relief for the poorest countries is seen as essential if the targets are to be realised, while the Trade Justice Movement campaigns to enable poor producers to have the opportunity to trade their way out of poverty.
1.3 Specifically the Millennium Development Goals aim to:
a. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by halving, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger;
b. achieve universal primary education in all countries;
c. promote gender equality and empowering women by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015;
d. reduce by two‑thirds the mortality rates for infants and children under five;
e. reduce by three‑quarters maternal mortality;
f. combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
g. ensure environmental sustainability, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and by 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers; and
h. develop a global partnership for development.
1.4 As a church with a long record of campaigning for justice through Commitment for Life and other programmes, the United Reformed Church should publicly endorse these goals. We should pledge ourselves, with other faith groups and non‑governmental organisations, to see these goals achieved through campaigning, lobbying, awareness raising and monitoring. Specifically we should campaign actively for trade rules to work in the interests of poor countries as a vital step towards the achievement of the first Millennium Development Goal.
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