To commemorate the 80th year of publication of Archbishop William Temple’s Christianity and the Social Order, on Thursday 15 December a conference was held in Blackburn on “Rebuilding the Public Square: Religious engagement and the Temple tradition in post-pandemic Britain.” The conference was hosted by the William Temple Foundation, Liverpool Hope University and Blackburn cathedral. Blackburn was chosen because the diocese of Blackburn had been set up by Temple when he was bishop of Manchester. Participants reflected on the call to engage in the public sphere today and the best ways to go about this, on the need for cooperation in an inclusive manner, with particular emphasis on Christian-Muslim cooperation. The conference ended with some profound thoughts shared by three speakers on-line: Dr Tim Winter, the Founder-Director of the Muslim College Cambridge; Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald M.Afr was the last one to respond to a panel on the post secular and models of faith communities’ engagement today. He noted that one of the speakers, Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell, a Temple Foundation fellow doing post-doctoral research, had spoken about curating “spaces of Hope”, not “creating” them, so supposing that they exist already. He went on to propose the Human Fraternity Document, co-signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al’Azhar, as a useful programme for cooperation, not only between Christians and Muslims, but also more widely.
UK aid statistics for 2021 show that total UK bilateral aid to fragile and conflict-affected states fell by 40 per cent in 2021, a cut of £740 million on 2020. The fall reflected the wish by government to reduce spending from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of gross national income as a “temporary measure” in response to the pandemic’s effects on the UK’s public finances and economy.Almost all countries had large reductions in aid in 2021, compared with 2020. Graham Gordon, Cafod head of public policy, told The Tablet: “Conflict continues to devastate countries around the world and now is not the time for the UK to turn its back on those who need support more than ever.” He added: “The answer to saving money cannot be leaving people in desperate situations without proper support. It is time the aid budget is once again prioritised for those who need it most.”
The Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) has published a Christmas Statement, which signposts parishes to a guide on how to help in the cost-of-living crisis from Caritas Salford and a resource from Caritas Westminster inspired by Catholic Social Teaching. CSAN warns that, “more and more people are being dragged into degrading poverty by the cost-of-living crisis” and suggests that Christmas is “a time of solidarity with the poor”. Caritas Shrewbury reported last week on a single mother with three children only eats one meal herself each day and is worried about fuel bills in December. The children are “very understanding and not expecting toys for Christmas” she told the Caritas team. Caritas has arranged a package of help, including delivery of a food hamper and a Caritas Christmas voucher, toys and applied for the Caritas crisis fund. The Trussell Trust delivered a letter to Downing Street last week, alongside the Independent Food Aid Network and the charity Feeding Britain, calling on the Prime Minister to ensure that everyone can afford food and all the essentials needed in life. The government responded by saying that as well as committing to increase benefits in line with inflation in April, it has announced raising the benefit cap and providing further cost of living payments. “We're urging the Government to go further,” says the Trussell Trust, “and provide additional, targeted cash support this winter to reduce the need for charitable food aid.” Many church foodbanks are linked to the Trussell Trust network across the UK and one has reported, “seeing a level of fear in people that we haven’t seen before, in that, literally, they don’t know what they’re going to do to try and pay the bills and feed their families.” There are many reports that food banks are giving out more food than is being donated and Emergency Appeals have been launched. (possible pic in production credit Trussell Trust)
In the weeks before Christmas, members of Christian Climate Action have been lobbying banks not to fund fossil fuels. Christian Aid said on 12 December: “It was good to have an open conversation today with CCA friends about our plans to change banks, and how we do this in a way that supports our programmes and fundraising and safeguards our common home.” On 14 December CCA tweeted its approval that HSBC has become the latest major bank to announce that it will stop lending money to any new oil and gas projects. CCA has carried out prayerful protests in cathedrals across the UK, urging dioceses to divest from fossil fuels. Of 42 Church of England dioceses, 31 have divested from fossil fuels. On penultimate day of the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference, CCA Bristol prayed outside Bristol’s Anglican Cathedral, displaying a banner to raise awareness of the links between the biodiversity and climate crises.
The future of 49 churches, chapels and meeting houses is safer thanks to £421,000 of funding awarded by the National Churches Trust. Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, vice president, said: “Coming just in time for Christmas, the grants awarded will help fund urgent repairs and installing modern community facilities.” He added that this will safeguard unique local heritage and keep churches open and in use for the benefit of local people. Churches benefitting include St Mark’s church in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, which includes Victorian Minton tiles manufactured close by and three terracotta reliefs by renowned English ceramic artist George Tinworth. Also, Crawshawbooth Quaker Meeting House in Lancashire which will install new accessible toilets and a kitchen to enable wider use by the local community.
Aid to the Church in Need is giving 14,000 children in Lebanon warm clothing and a Christmas gift – while in Syria up to 30,000 children will receive much needed winter clothes. In Aleppo – which suffered from almost constant bombardment during the Syrian civil war –1,500 children will join with elderly guests for Christmas celebrations.
Pupils at a Coventry primary school are hoping to provide comfort to local people suffering from Covid-19 after creating more than 30 handmade faith packages.Year five pupils at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, part of the Romero Catholic Academy, have created 32 prayer bags to provide comfort to people suffering from illness in the Wyken area.
A new Learning Centre at CTK St Mary’s after school selected for a Capacity Fund from the Department for Education to expand its teaching and learning facilities, due to increased numbers of students at the over-subscribed Sixth Form. A Coventry secondary school will be the first in the country to offer an alternative qualification worth three GCSEs after the successful launch of a horticulture education course.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has accused the government of “militarising the Channel” and of “performative cruelty towards and scapegoating of refugeees” following the announcement of plans to clear the asylum backlog on 13 December. The prime minister promised to introduce new laws next year to “make unambiguously clear” that any who enter the UK illegally “should not be allowed to remain here”. Megan Knowles of the JRS condemned the proposals: “Finding more ways to criminalise, punish and exclude refugees is a distraction from real issues – and it is a dangerous distraction for which human beings, our sisters and brothers, will pay the price.”
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