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hotline 53 CHURCH AND SOCIETY NETWORK HOTLINE 5316 June 2006
WHO SHOULD I CHEER FOR? WORLD CUP GUIDANCE If you are not a football fan, or your team is eliminated, how do you choose who to support while the World Cup is on, and everyone else is cheering for somebody? Many people will go for the underdog - Togo has never qualified before. But perhaps you would prefer to use political criteria, perhaps by not supporting countries involved in the Iraq war in or with a bad human rights record? Or how about supporting the team that gives the most aid to poor countries? Or the country that spends most on healthcare? The World Development Movement has produced an ingenious tool to help you choose. Go to http://www.wdm.org.uk/whoshouldicheerfor/ and click on the teams playing in a particular match. But note the WDM disclaimer!
FAITHFUL CITIES Twenty years after the Church of England produced its controversial Faith In the City report, a fresh inquiry identifies some cause for optimism, but still sees much that is of great concern. Faithful Cities: a call for celebration, vision and justice was again a Church of England initiative, but was produced by a Commission on Urban Life and Faith, which included representatives of other faith groups.
The inquiry found that our cities and towns are now home to a religious and cultural diversity that was unimaginable twenty years ago. Multi-million pound regeneration schemes have brought riches and new opportunities to many localities, but this growth has forced many people to the margins, and dramatised the gap between the super rich and the poorest. We live, it says, in one of the most economically unequal countries in Europe.
The Commission says government must do more to tackle inequalities, and asks it to consider implementing a “living wage” rather than a “minimum wage”. However, it also issues a call to churches. It says they “have a duty to challenge the thoughtless accumulation of wealth which ignores the needs of the poor, both globally and locally. Churches must not hold back from confronting selfish lifestyles either in their own membership or in the wider population”.
Faithful Cities: A call for celebration, vision and justice is published jointly by Methodist Publishing House and Church House Publishing; it is available from booksellers or can be ordered online at www.mph.org.uk. ISBN 1-85852-315-X. A summary and other resources are available from the Faithful Cities website www.culf.org.uk. The Revd Graham Cook, former Moderator of General Assembly and Mersey Synod served as a Commission member.
ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK The environmental network formed by the United Reformed Church and the Methodist Church has been launched with its own website and e-newsletter - although the network does not yet have a name. (Creation Challenge is one possibility; other suggestions would be welcome). It seeks to inspire churches and churchgoers to make a commitment to care for the environment, and to take direct action on climate change. The website will eventually have its own domain, but is temporarily at www.methodist.org.uk/static/econetwork/. The e-newsletter can be subscribed to via the website.
REFUGEE WEEK - 19-25 JUNE Refugee Week provides an opportunity for the positive focus that is needed so much at the present time, to challenge stereotypes and promote greater understanding of why people seek asylum. Events are planned around the country to celebrate the contributions refugees and asylum seekers make to the UK. For details and resources see www.refugeeweek.org.uk
IS FAIRTRADE REALLY FAIR? - JUSTSHARE DEBATE - TUESDAY 4 JULY 1.05 - 1.55 pm at St Mary le Bow Church, Cheapside, London, EC2 (nearest tube stations: Bank, St Paul’s, Mansion House). Thousands of producers around the world have benefited from the Fairtrade movement which ensures that they are given a fair wage and their communities sustain long term benefits. The debate will examine the overall impact of Fairtrade on the cocoa growing sector where a relatively tiny minority of producers benefit from the Fairtrade initiative. Can ‘free trade’ also have a positive impact? Speakers: Philip Sigley, Chief Executive of the Federation of Cocoa Commerce and Ian Bretman, Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. www.justshare.org.uk
ACCOMPANYING TRAFFICKED WOMEN - MONDAY 24 JULY A training day organised by CHASTE for chaplains, church workers, health professionals and others who are working with women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation. 10am - 5pm at County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1. Cost £60. For further information or to book contact 0845 4569335 or admin@chaste.org.uk. For programme details see www.chaste.org.uk
COFFEE SHOP FACILITATION DAY - THURSDAY 27 JULY Due to popular demand a second event is being mounted, for those thinking about starting a church coffee shop or restaurant, those wanting to improve their service, and those who can inspire others with their story. An event in May was over-subscribed, with many URC representatives attending. Venue is Baptist Church House, Didcot, Oxfordshire. 10.15am - 3pm. Cost is £10, which includes a three course lunch (with coffee, no doubt!). For details of the programme and booking form contact: Fiona Pollock 01235 517716 or fpollock@baptist.org.uk or Terry Jones 01235 517712 tjones@baptist.org.uk
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY - 10 SEPTEMBER Opportunity to learn, think and pray about racial justice; celebrate human dignity and diversity; make a commitment to work for racial justice and to raise money for the Racial Justice fund which supports projects around Britain and Ireland. For a free copy of the resource pack, contact the Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry office at URC House 020 7916 8655; racial.justice.mm@urc.org.uk
THE CLIMATE OF POVERTY - CHRISTIAN AID CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT Climate change is now threatening development goals for billions of the world’s poorest people - with a clear danger that recent gains in reducing poverty will be thrown into reverse in coming decades. The report offers the vision of a different future - a revolution in thinking that could see poor regions using renewable energy to power a new, and clean, era of prosperity. Download or read the report at www.christianaid.org.uk/indepth/605caweek/index.htm
VOLUNTARY SECTOR RESPONSIBILITY The most recent government re-shuffle saw responsibility for the voluntary and community sector and social enterprise being brought together in the Cabinet Office, under the former chief whip, Hilary Armstrong. Social exclusion issues also now fall to the Cabinet Office. More details from http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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