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CHURCH AND SOCIETY NETWORK HOTLINE 47 - 10 November 2005

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CHURCH AND SOCIETY DIARY

Attached is a first listing of dates with web links. This will be added to our web pages and updated when necessary. 

PREVENTING EXTREMISM

The United Reformed Church has criticised a Home Office proposal which would give government the power to close churches and other places of worship, if extremist behaviour occurs on the premises. If the proposal becomes law, those controlling the place of worship could also be guilty of an offence. The URC says it recognises and supports government’s need to prevent terrorism. However, the closure of a church or mosque undermines the opportunity for worship by believers who have not engaged in any such incitement, and who may be voices for moderation.

The URC response to the consultation paper ‘Preventing Extremism Together - Places of Worship’ has been prepared by Inter-Faith Relations and Church and Society committees. It says people who attend United Reformed churches, and most Christian churches, are likely to be among those most active in working for peace and harmony within local communities, and church premises are an important resource for community-building.

It adds that the URC is sensitive to any suggestion that freedom to worship might be curtailed, and places of worship closed, because of the history of members of its predecessor denominations - Congregationalists and Presbyterians and other dissenters - who suffered persecution in the Seventeenth Century, when the state sought to control what could be preached, and where it could be preached.
 

The full text is available at Latest Initiatives

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

A briefing paper by NCH on anti-social behaviour suggests that where young people are concerned, there is too much emphasis on enforcement, to the neglect of prevention. It quotes figures showing that during an eight month period last year, more than 600 Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were issued to young people aged 10-17, compared with only seven Individual Support Orders (ISOs), which address the underlying causes of anti-social behaviour. The paper ‘Tackling anti-social behaviour - have we got it right?’ describes the impact of measures used to tackle anti-social behaviour and details some of the work of NCH in this field. It can be downloaded from www.nch.org.uk

ACTION CARDS 2006
 

- are now available from us at £3.00 per set (please make cheques payable ‘United Reformed Church’). This ecumenical scheme invites people to use the information in the monthly briefings to send a message of support or challenge to a designated recipient. It requires a little more than just signing a pre-printed card but we know how much the personal messages are appreciated.

Click here for action card briefings

LIVING GHOSTS
 

- is Church Action on Poverty’s campaign to change Government policies that are leaving asylum seekers destitute. A free pack is available, containing details of the advent endurance challenge, resources for worship on the weekend of 3-4 December, ideas for lobbying your MP, background to the campaign and personal stories. For a copy, email: livingghosts@church-poverty.org.uk or ring 0161 236 9321.

SET ALL FREE : Act to End Slavery
 

Set All Free is a project of Churches Together in England to commemorate the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 2007, aiming to highlight how the abolitionists’ values can transform relationships at individual, community and society level. The project challenges the church, and society, to be prophetic in tackling both the legacies of transatlantic slavery and slavery in its contemporary forms. It will facilitate honest dialogue on healing, reconciliation and reparations. A 16-page introductory booklet, ‘Set all free - setting the scene for 2007’, is available from Set All Free, Churches Together in England, 27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH (020 7529 8146); single copies £1.50 (inc. p&p), 5 or more £1.00 each (cheques payable ‘Churches Together in England’).

Email info@setallfree.net to receive ‘2007’, the email bulletin of the project. We also commend the website www.setallfree.net

‘BUILD HAPPINESS’ - HOMELESSNESS SUNDAY, 29 January 2006
 

We encourage you to order the excellent resource pack containing worship ideas, material for use with children and young people, prayer card, facts, stories and poster: £5.50 (cheques payable ‘HS Partnership’) from Housing Justice, 209 Old Marylebone Road, London NW1 5QT. Flyer/order form can be downloaded from www.homelessness-sunday.org.uk

WEEKEND OF SERVICES FOR PEACE AND DISARMAMENT - 27-29 January 2006
 

Annual initiative of the World Disarmament Campaign’s Churches and Inter-faith Work. Resource pack available from: Peace Services, WDC, PO Box 28209 (£5.00 - cheques payable ‘World Disarmament Campaign’).

L’ARCHE COMMUNITY
 

- are seeking Assistants to work in their community houses, sharing life with people with learning disabilities. To find out more, visit the website: www.larche.org.uk, ring 0800 917 1337 or write to L’Arche UK, 10 Briggate, Silsden, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 9JT.

EVENTS AND MEETINGS:

VOICES IN EXILE
 

Wednesday 16 November, 6.30 pm at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL; an evening of poetry and music with artists in exile from around the world and speakers from campaigns on global justice. For tickets, ring 020 7250 1315 or email info@therefugeeproject.org

(£5/£3 concessions - free for asylum seekers).

STAMP OUT POVERTY (formerly Tobin Tax Network) ‘Progress and Action’ Conference
 

Saturday 19 November, 10.00 am - 4.30 pm at Camden Town Hall, Euston Road, London (opposite St Pancras Station). With contributions from specialists in the field of innovative sources of development finance, this promises to be an exceptionally interesting event. Steve Pryor will be attending on behalf of FURY and Church and Society, but there are still places available. Please contact Steve for further information (s.r.pryor@gmail.com or 07886 624569). He says you don’t have to be a finance or economics expert to go …!

JOHN RAY INITIATIVE COMMUNITY DAY - Connecting Environment, Science and Christianity
 

Saturday 26 November, 1.45 - 4.15 pm (AGM 12.15 - 1.00 pm, lunch 12.45) at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, St Peter’s, Vere Street, London W1. Coffee House style talks and discussion. See www.jri.org.uk for further details. Cost £10.50 (including lunch and tea). To book, send a cheque payable ‘The John Ray Initiative’ to: JRI, Room QW212, Francis Close Hall, University of Gloucestershire, Swindon Road, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ.

LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT ON PALESTINE
 

Tuesday 29 November, 3.00 - 6.00 pm at the House of Commons, followed by Palestine Solidarity Campaign Public Meeting, 7.00 pm in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House. Marking the UN’s International Day for Palestine, the Lobby has been arranged by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) with support from the Joint Committee for Palestine, the Amos Trust and the Palestine Forum. Further details from Gillian Watt (CAABU) on 0207 832 1310 or

email: lobby@caabu.org .

CLIMATE MARCH - International Day of Climate Protest marking UN Climate Talks in Montreal
 

Saturday 3 December, in London; assemble 12.00 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (Holborn tube), march via ExxonMobil offices and Australian embassy to US embassy; 2.00 pm: speeches at US embassy. Organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change, supported by key environmental agencies. For full details, visit www.campaigncc.org or ring 020 7549 0395.

Stuart Dew stuart.dew@urc.org.uk

Wendy Cooper wendy.cooper@urc.org.uk

Church and Society

United Reformed Church

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