Feba Zimbabwe

The Accord Coalition for inclusive education will these week break new ground in the faith schools debate when it attends the Church of England’s General Synod.

The Accord Coalition, the country’s leading campaign group seeking to reform state maintained faith schools, is to break new ground next week when it attends for the first time the bi-annual meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod.

In addition to fielding a display stand at the four day meeting, Accord will also be hosting a fringe event examining the role of religion in education and the need for reform.

The event is taking place at the Church of England’s Westminster headquarters in Church House at 19.00 on Wednesday 8 February 2012.

Speakers at the event will include Jonathan Bartley, Co-director of the Christian thinktank Ekklesia; Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE, Minister of the Maidenhead Synagogue and chair of the Accord Coalition; and the Rev Ruth Scott, writer, broadcaster, mediator and Chaplain of Christ’s School in Richmond, London.

Accord's chair, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain commented: ‘'Church schools used to have the mission of serving the community at large, whereas now they are often perceived as serving their own particular constituency. The debate will be a chance to explore if the church has indeed changed its focus, and how inclusive or exclusive it wants its schools to be."

The event is being sponsored by General Synod member, the Rev Hugh Lee, who said: “The Church of England has always been happy to engage on current issues and as a Synod member I agreed to sponsor this fringe event with the Accord Coalition. Synod members, including myself, have a range of views on the challenging points regularly put forward by Accord and no doubt there will be a healthy debate. The Church has a long history of providing inclusive education with a distinctive Christian ethos and I am sure this will form part of the discussion.”

The Accord Coalition was launched in 2008 and brings together both religious and non-religious organisations concerned about the need to reform current faith schools public policy.

It campaigns to end religious discrimination in school staffing and admissions, and for all state maintained schools to provide Personal, Social, Health and Economic education; assemblies and Religious Education that teach about the range of religious and non-religious beliefs in society.

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The Argentine Methodist Church has sent a letter to the Methodist Church in Britain, saying it wants their governments to resolve Falkalnds issues peacefully.

Amid renewed tensions over the Falkland Islands, the Argentinean Methodist Church has sent a letter to the Methodist Church in Britain, expressing its desire for their governments to resolve their issues peacefully.

"A war is always a human failure in the light of God's project that we share his creation and that we all enjoy the resources that He has given us," wrote Bishop Frank de Nully Brown, according to the Latin America and Caribbean Communication Agency.

"The issue of the Malvinas Islands is for the Argentinean people and our church, an extremely sensitive and delicate one, given the claim that our country has made for the sovereignty of the islands for many years," the letter said.

The islands, sitting 250 nautical miles (460 km) off the Argentine coast, are under British rule but have been claimed by both nations. On 2 April 1982, Argentinean forces invaded the islands. Britain responded in kind, taking back the territory in two months. More than 1,000 troops and civilians lost their lives in the conflict.

Recently, the two nations have once again begun lobbing heated rhetoric at each other over the ownership of the islands, which have rich fishing grounds and are thought to posses significant offshore oil reserves.

Brown stressed his letter is written in the spirit of the longstanding relationship of fraternity and companionship with the church of Great Britain. "We should persevere in continuing to grow in the unity of Christ's body as the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians," he said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentine president Cristina Fernandez recently accused each other of "colonial" behavior over the islands, London newspapers have reported.

Great Britain announced 1 February it was sending one of its newest destroyers to the area -- with personnel including Prince William, an RAF helicopter pilot -- for six weeks. Argentina is protesting, calling the deployment near the 30th anniversary of the war a "provocative" act and likening the prince to a "conquistador," The Telegraph newspaper said.

In response, Argentina and other members of the Mercosur trade bloc, which includes Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela, agreed to close ports throughout the region to ships flying the flag of the disputed islands.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]

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A coalition of civil society leaders from UK organisations with more than 12 million members has called on community energy to play a substantial role in meeting Britain''s climate change targets.

A coalition of civil society leaders from UK organisations with more than 12 million members has called on community energy to play a substantial role in meeting Britain''s climate change targets.

Leading figures from the Co-operative; the National Trust; the National Federation of Women's Institutes, the Church of England and the Campaign to Protect Rural England met the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change last week, to launch their joint 'vision for community energy'.

The coalition supports dramatically scaling up the number of community owned renewable energy projects across the country, and discussed with the Government officials including the Secretary of State, now Mr Ed Davey, can best assist.

"The Church of England has a presence in every community with 16,000 churches nationwide and is engaging with environmental issues through its Shrinking the Footprint campaign. We fully support community energy projects as a way of working together to provide a clean, secure energy supply and to help heat and electricity become more sustainable for all," said David Shreeve, the C of E's adviser in the area.

At the same time, the Co-operative launched its Community Energy Challenge, a competition which will result in six communities across the UK receiving support to set up their own energy projects. The Co-operative is setting aside £1 million in 2012 to support community energy. This will involve everything from mentoring for start-ups through to the underwriting of co-operative share offers in local co-operatives.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Social Goals at The Co-operative, declared: "We want nothing less than a clean energy revolution, with communities controlling and benefiting from their own renewable energy. Talk of a new dash for gas shales, which could see up to 3,000 wells installed across the UK, highlights the choices we face - more and dirtier sources of fossil fuels or clean energy owned and controlled by communities."

Patrick Begg, Director of Rural Enterprise at the National Trust, added: "Many other European countries are way ahead of the UK, as we found out when visiting German communities last year. Germany produces over 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, with communities generating about a quarter of this. In the UK, less than 1 per cent is generated by our communities, a figure this coalition wants to dramatically increase by 2020. Today we are asking the Government to support us in this."

Ruth Bond, Chair of the National Federation of Women's Institutes, said: "The WI has been active on renewable energy since the 1970s. We see community energy as people working together, not having schemes imposed on them. This is a great opportunity for our 7,000 WIs across the UK to tackle climate change and leave a legacy for the next generation."

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Humanist and secularist organizations have accused the European Union of denying them equal treatment compared to the continent's Christian churches.

Humanist and secularist organizations have accused the European Union of denying them equal treatment compared to the continent's Christian churches - writes Jonathan Luxmoore for RNS and ENI.

"The EU shouldn't be holding a dialogue with essentially undemocratic organizations," said David Pollock, president of the Brussels-based European Humanist Federation.

"By engaging with the Roman Catholic Church, it's giving a privileged position in EU councils to a body which doesn't represent its members and holds views way off the margin of general European opinion," he said.

Pollock, a British humanist, was speaking ahead of the first "dialogue seminar" between humanists and EU officials under the EU's 2007 Lisbon Treaty, which commits EU leaders to maintain a dialogue with both religious and non-religious groups.

In an ENInews interview, Pollock said secularists planned to use the seminar to show how non-religious citizens were "treated as inferior and sinful" and denied jobs and services.

Church leaders, however, reject the charges and say churches are "contributing to European integration in a democratic, transparent way."

"We have the same opportunities for promoting ideas as the humanists," said Johanna Touzel, French spokesman for the Commission of European Bishops Conferences. "The difference is that the churches use this tool to organize a fruitful dialogue, and have something to say and offer on challenges facing the EU."

EU officials hold an annual summit with Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim representatives, and held their third annual summit with humanist and secularist organizations last November.

"If the EU wants a fair, equal dialogue with its citizens, it should even give us a privileged position," Pollock said, "since we operate on a voluntary basis and generally receive no taxpayer support."

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]

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Church of Scotland parishes have been asked to raise £100 each to help a charity for homeless Scots in London, following the loss of Scottish Government backing.

The Church of Scotland’s Moderator has written to all 1,450 Kirk congregations asking them to raise at least £100 each to help a charity for homeless Scots, following the loss of Scottish Government backing.

The appeal went out in the middle of January and it is understood that it is going well. But there is still concern for the longer term future of Borderline, the charity for homeless Scots in London, after the Scottish Government slashed its grant.

It withdrew 75 per cent of all its funding from the end of March 2012, after steadily cutting the charity's £107,000 lifeline over the last three years.

Borderline has to raise £100,000 this year to maintain services. The charity has been offering support and advice to homeless and insecurely housed first and second generation Scots in London since 1990.

Willie Docherty, Borderline's chief executive, said: "What the Scottish government is saying is that they no longer wish to fund our organisation because we operate outside Scotland."

Mr Docherty said that two of London's best-known homelessness charities, Centrepoint and St Mungo's, regularly referred Scottish clients to Borderline because of its specialist knowledge and experience.

The agency also helps get Scots home again by paying their transport costs. "Once people have come here and realise the streets aren't paved with gold, they have to find help somewhere. We give them travel warrants to get back home and we make sure that there's someone at the other end to meet them," said Mr Docherty.

The Scottish Government says it regrets the "difficult decision", but has to make cuts because of the financial constraints imposed on it by Westminster. Critics say the amount of money involved is tiny compared to the overall budget, but vital for the charity.

The fact that it is based in England has caused extra controversy. Alex Salmond has stressed that an independent Scotland would be good for its neighbours, and that future relations will be based on generosity. But its treatment of Borderline will give ammunition to those who accuse him of parochialism.

The Rt Rev David Arnott, Moderator of the General Assembly of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland, has written to Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, expressing his disappointment about the withdrawal of funding. Mr Arnott is urging him to reconsider the Scottish Government’s decision.

Known to those who use Borderline as the “Scottish Embassy in London” it helps first and second generation Scots who have fallen on hard times, usually homelessness.

Mr Arnott said: “I was moved when I heard of the good work Borderline do for homeless Scots in London. It is crucial that the Scottish community stands together to ensure that no vulnerable Scot in London is without the support they need. The Church of Scotland is willing to what it can, but I urge the First Minister to reconsider the grant allocation.”

The Church of Scotland is already involved in tackling homelessness in Scotland through the Scottish Churches Housing Action initiative. Many individual congregations have helped address homelessness through initiatives such as the Fresh Start scheme, while others have used or plan to use their land on which to build affordable housing.

* More on the work of Borderline: http://www.borderline-uk.org/

* Donate to Borderline: http://www.borderline-uk.org/how-you-can-help

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The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India says that the widening gap between rich and poor is "a matter of serious concern for the church".

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, told the bishops' biennial assembly on 1 February 2012 that the widening of the gap between rich and poor is "a matter of serious concern for the church" - writes Anto Akkara.

"We have two sets of Indians. One section of the people is racing ahead while the majority are limping," Gracias said. Meeting in Bangalore, the assembly runs from 1-8 February and is being attended by 170 bishops.

Gracias, who is also archbishop of Mumbai, said the challenge before the Indian church is to be "conscience keepers to the nation," quoting American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. and he urged his colleagues to "make a difference in the life of the marginalised."

Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, reiterated the concern over the wealth gap in India in an address on 2 February.

Quoting UN figures, Turkson pointed out that despite India emerging as the fourth largest economy in the world, nearly 35 per cent of the Indian population lives on less than US$1.00 a day.

Turkson, who is from Ghana, noted that 80 per cent of the Indian population, more than 800 million people, are surviving on less than US $2.00 a day.

"Our ability to transcend ourselves and to anchor onto Christian values of love and service of our neighbours is the pre-eminent way to social development in India," recommended the Vatican official.

T. K. Oommen, a prominent sociologist in India, challenged the gathering to examine "on whose sides are we -- on the side of the flourishing few or the sinking many?"

Though churches in India are known for their dedicated service in the field of education and healthcare, Oommen said they should also conduct a critical assessment of the number of poor students and beneficiaries in some of the elite Christian institutions.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]

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The time has come for a C of E change in stance on civil partnerships, says the LGB&T Anglican Coalition in its submission to the House of Bishops.

The time has come for a change in stance on civil partnerships, says the LGB&T Anglican Coalition in a submission to the Church of England's House of Bishops review on the subject.

The coalition calls on the Church to allow churches to register civil partnerships, to authorise services of Thanksgiving and Dedication, and to end the ban on bishops entering civil partnerships.

With over 47,000 civil partnerships registered in England by the end of 2010, the submission notes that “[a]s social attitudes towards those in same-sex relationships have become increasingly open and accepting, the Church of England is becoming increasingly isolated. This is in turn damaging both our mission and our ability to provide pastoral care to those in our parishes, congregations, and clergy.”

On offering civil partnerships in parish churches, the Coalition says it has already identified 95 churches who want to press ahead. However, the Church of England's General Synod, its governing body, would need to approve the application.

Although negative statements have been made by the Church of England’s press office, says the Coalition, “the fact that there has been no possibility of discussion within the Church about whether individual churches should be allowed to register their for Civil Partnerships is in itself a retrograde position for the Church of England to be in.”

On services of Thanksgiving and Dedication, the LGB&T Anglican Coalition has called for an experimental liturgy to be introduced in the same way that such services were permitted following marriage after divorce in the 1990’s.

It declares: “The present situation where services of blessing are proscribed and the creation of public liturgies deemed to be wrong, is creating pastoral tensions, ecclesiastical ambiguity, and a culture of double standards… As a minimum step, therefore, the Church should permit services of thanksgiving and dedication to take place in pastoral response to the large number of civil partnerships. To refuse to respond in such a way would confirm fears that the present ban is motivated by prejudice rather than theology or religious belief. “

On the current ban on appointments of openly gay clergy to be Bishops the Coalition calls for an immediate end to the moratorium: “One of the most pressing needs is to see an end to the moratorium on appointment of bishops in civil partnerships even if celibate. There is no justification for the current moratorium and it should be repealed immediately.”

The submission also warns against putting up barriers to such appointments: “Furthermore, any attempt to deter or exclude such candidates by singling them out for intrusive questions is not only unjust and hurtful to the individuals concerned but also damaging to mission and ministry.”

In response to the submission, the House of Bishops review group has invited members of the LGB&T Anglican Coalition to meet with them to discuss the issues further.

The Coalition is also organising an Act of Witness at General Synod drawing attention to the many hundreds of LGB&T clergy who minister in the Church of England despite the discrimination and suspicion which they often suffer. This will take place on Thursday 9 February, 8:30-10am in Deans Yard, Westminster, London.

* London clergy petition to allow priests in the Church of England to choose to bless civil partnerships in church: http://tinyurl.com/6mlg6s9

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Some 7,000 clients are being served by Ecumenical Church Loan Fund Philippines, whose seed fund was from Eclof International, a micro-finance NGO.

It is harvest time for strawberries in the northern Philippine town of La Trinidad, so strawberry farmer Alice Rivera will start repaying a loan extended by a Geneva-based ecumenical church loan fund - writes Maurice Malanes.

"This is what we appreciate ... we can start repaying our loans only immediately after the harvest season starts," said Rivera, who is 45. She is just one of 7,000 clients being served by the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund-Philippines (Eclof-Philippines), whose initial seed fund was provided by Eclof International, a non-profit micro-finance organisation.

Rivera, a widow and mother of a nine-year old son, has started harvesting strawberries from a 500-square-metre lot that she leases from the farm of Benguet State University, an agricultural school.

Starting this January up to May 2012, she expects to harvest an average of 20 kilograms every three days. As of 25 January, Rivera said she had retailed her 20-kilogram produce at one hundred pesos (about US$2.35) per kilogram.

"Although retail prices fluctuate ... I can still earn something, enough to send my kid to school and set aside some amount to repay my loan," she said in an interview in late January when ENInews went with four Eclof staff to visit their clients.

Given eight months by Eclof to pay her 20,000-peso (US$467) "agricultural loan," Rivera said she was confident she could pay off her loan before May.

Eclof-Philippines follows what Eclof local branch manager Valentina Tangib describes as a "flexible policy" for agricultural loans. "Before, our policy for small business and agricultural loan repayment was uniform in which we collect loan payments monthly," Tangib said.

Tangib and her staff found that farmers had difficulty repaying their loans since they could only start earning three months after harvest. Since five years ago, they have made it a policy that agricultural loan clients are given eight months to repay their loans.

Meling Telcagan, aged 60, a cut-flower farmer specialising in growing "Malaysian mums" (a species of chrysanthemum), has also been taking out Eclof's small loans since 2005. Most flower growers like Telcagan time their first harvest during February because flowers are more in demand then.

Besides Valentine's Day, when a dozen mums are priced at as much as two hundred fifty pesos (US$5.84) to three hundred pesos (US$7), February is also a flower festival season for neighboring Baguio City during which mums are popular items.

Other flower plots in Telcagan's greenhouse will be harvested in March and April, the season of school graduation, while other plots are planned for June, a wedding month.

"I thank God for giving my family a net income of eighty thousand pesos (US$1,869) during only a month of harvest last year," she said. Telcagan says she plans to repay her 30,000-peso (US$817) Eclof loan by March.

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]

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Disability Rights UK, a membership organisation representing over 500 NGOs across the country, has strongly criticised the government's Welfare Reform Bill.

Disability Rights UK, a membership organisation representing over 500 NGOs across the country, has strongly criticised the coalition government's controversial Welfare Reform Bill.

Neil Coyle, Disability Rights UK Director of Policy and Campaigns, declared yesterday: “The Government’s removal of protections for some disabled people from the Welfare Reform Bill ignores the hundreds of thousands of disabled people directly affected, the hundreds of charities who have highlighted the potential devastating impact for disabled people and their families, the House of Lords who proposed additional protections and the Joint Committee on Human Rights who suggested the Bill will cause destitution.”

Disabled people are disproportionately represented among benefit claimants due to educational attainment issues, higher poverty, lack of accessible work and employer discrimination.

The Bill aims to cut 280,000 disabled people from receiving out of work benefits altogether and 500,000 disabled people to be made ineligible for a benefit designed to help with disabled people’s higher costs of living.

These plans have long term cost implications being ignored by DWP – including a substantial potential increase in (avoidable) NHS use and rise in demand for council social care services - which many disabled people are being made ineligible for due to council budget cuts.

House of Lords amendments had secured protection for some disabled children, disabled adults needing longer than a year to find work and disabled students.

Disabled people believed their fears and concerns had been acknowledged and addressed in the Lords, says Disability Rights UK, but but this hope has been removed in the Commons' demand for short term welfare expenditure cuts which ignore risks of higher future costs.

Huge political awareness has been raised around the WRB debate by the Spartacus Report on DLA and the social media driven Spartacus campaign led by disabled and sick people themselves.

A third of all disabled people already live in poverty, but the Bill will now enforce destitution for some families and individual disabled people, say critics. The amendments would merely have softened the blow of the cumulative impact of the Government’s cuts, they add.

Neil Coyle continued: “Disabled people remain the hardest hit by cuts. But the Government has completely failed to analyse the full cost of proposals. Cuts have consequences for disabled people and their families, but will also mean the NHS and councils experience higher costs through higher health, care and poverty needs. The Government has chosen to ignore long-term needs and costs in the short-term search for departmental savings.”

* Disability Rights UK: http://www.disabilityalliance.org/

* The recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights report on the likely impact of the WRB on disabled people are online at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201012/jtselect/jtrights/233/...

* Spartacus Report and campaign: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/spartacusreport

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SNP Work and Pensions spokeswoman Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP has hit out the ‘compassionless UK coalition’ and its controversial Welfare Reform Bill.

SNP Work and Pensions spokeswoman Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP has hit out the ‘compassionless UK coalition’ after MP’s overturned House of Lords amendments to their Welfare Reform Bill on 1 February 2012.

Dr Whiteford said there was increasing evidence that the welfare system should be devolved and highlighted evidence from the Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty and Rights Advice Scotland who have warned that UK welfare reforms will remove a safety net for hardworking taxpayers and their families.

Dr Whiteford declared: “The UK Government has exposed itself as an out-of-touch and compassionless coalition. It is increasingly clear that the only way we will get a welfare policy that suits Scotland’s needs is by having the powers to set that policy in Scotland."

She continued: “From time limiting contributory Employment and Support Allowance to cuts in the availability and level of crisis loans, it is the most disadvantaged in our communities that are paying the price of the Tories reforms."

“Reform of the benefits system is necessary but the Tory/LibDem Coalition Government’s plan looks increasingly like an assault on the most disadvantaged. We must not have cuts for the sake of cuts. Not only would that risk forcing the most vulnerable in society into a perilous position, it also takes vital capital out of the economy without consideration of the impact," said Dr Whiteford.

“While reform is necessary, it must be done carefully and decisions on entitlements based on medical need – not government spin," she said.

“The welfare system should maximise the potential for all people to work and live free from poverty, however, this cannot be achieved through cuts in support for disadvantaged people," Dr Whiteford added.

“This issue shows yet again the different stance Scotland would take if we had the power to legislate on this issue and it is our clear view that it is the Scottish Parliament, not the UK Parliament, that should decide on welfare policy for Scotland – as would be the case if Scotland was independent,” the Scottish National Party Work and Pensions spokeswoman at Westminster concluded.

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The Church of England’s decisions about women bishops are likely to have a major impact on its mission as well as its ministry, says Savi Hensman. If the church appears to be reluctant to accept and fully use women’s gifts, attempts to attract and involve more people across a wide age-range may be undermined.

The Church of England’s decisions about women bishops are likely to have a major impact on its mission as well as its ministry. If the church appears to be reluctant to accept and fully use women’s gifts, attempts to attract and involve more people across a wide age-range may be undermined.

Research findings: cause for concern

Findings from the 28th British Social Attitudes survey were published in December 2011. It showed a serious decline in religious belief and practice in recent decades. 31per cent in 1983 did not belong to a religion, compared to 50 per cent now (64 per cent of those aged 18-24).

There are various reasons for this. But evidence suggests that the widespread perception that Christianity treats women as inferior is one of the factors.

For instance in 2008, Women and Religion in the West: Challenging Secularization, edited by social scientist Kristin Aune of the University of Derby and two others, was published by Ashgate. This revealed that, in England, Christian churches had lost over a million women worshippers since 1989, in part because of their perceived attitudes.

“Because of its focus on female empowerment, young women are attracted by Wicca, popularised by the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Dr Aune observed. “Young women tend to express egalitarian values and dislike the traditionalism and hierarchies they imagine are integral to the church.”

In contrast, there is evidence valuing women’s gifts has a positive effect on mission. For instance, a 2010 University of Warwick paper, 'Statistics for evidence-based policy in the Church of England: Predicting diocesan performance', by Leslie J Francis and colleagues, examined the factors linked to differences in diocesan performance during the Decade of Evangelism, from 1991-2000. In dioceses with a higher proportion of women clergy, the Church of England tended to enjoy more growth or slower decline.

Taking into account the fall in church membership and involvement, and even nominal Christianity, such findings deserve serious consideration.

The debate over women bishops

There is wide public support for allowing women to be bishops in the Church of England. A YouGov online survey in July 2010 of Britons aged 18 or over found that 63 per cent were in favour and only 10 per cent against, while the remaining 27 per cent expressed no opinion. By the end of 2011, after dioceses had discussed the issue, it had become apparent that there was overwhelming support among churchgoers too.

Moving forward on this matter would greatly assist the church in mission and ministry in England today. The decision on whether women should be eligible to be bishops in the Church of England (or senior clergy or elders in other churches) does not simply affect potential candidates, but has far wider implications.

The role of bishops is not merely administrative: they are there to nurture and support other clergy in their calling and, most importantly, to enable the priesthood of all believers, in all their diversity, so that the whole people of God in each locality can witness in word and deed to the good news of Christ.

The exclusion of any section of the Christian community from being even considered as bishops can have a demoralising effect on those who, at parish level, are seeking to live out their faith within an often sceptical society, and to help to build God’s realm of justice and peace in an deeply unequal and sometimes harsh world.

There has been growing recognition that both men and women are made in God’s image and that, in Christ, barriers are broken down: in the words of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Yet the church has often failed to communicate this effectively to the wider world, in part because this is not fully reflected in its own life. Some churches seem unsure how to respond when the Holy Spirit calls and empowers women.

There is an understandable wish in church circles to accommodate the small minority of churchgoers who still do not accept women’s ordained ministry, and proposals have allowed generous provision to enable them to be ministered to by solely male clergy, including the delegation of pastoral functions to male bishops.

Some are uneasy with this but have accepted it because of the desire to move forward together. However there is a risk that concessions could be extended so far that the role of women bishops was seriously undermined, and ordination of women to the episcopate might become unworkable. This would be a tragedy, not only for the Church of England but also for Christian witness nationally.

However, a positive decision by the Church of England to open up all orders of ministry to women as well as men could promote mission, especially if used as an opportunity to share the theological reasoning behind the move. For, now as much as two thousand years ago, Christians believe that the living Christ continues to invite men and women, people of different ages, ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds, to follow, be transformed, join in changing the world and become inheritors of eternal life.

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© Savi Hensman is a respected Christian commentator on religion, politics, theology and social policy. She is an Ekklesia associate.

The government's overturning of House of Lords amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill was “totally wrong”, says the National Housing Federation.

The government's decision to overturn House of Lords amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill was “totally wrong”, says the National Housing Federation.

The organisation has pledged to "keep fighting" against the coalition's “unfair” proposals, it said today (2 February 2012).

Among the controversial measures in the WRB is the decision to cut housing benefits for social tenants who are deemed to under-occupy their homes as well as a £26,000-a-year benefits cap - which has been heavily criticised or questioned by charities, churches and more recently the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

National Housing Federation Chief Executive David Orr said: "The decision by MPs to reject the Lords' Bedroom Tax compromise is a blow to thousands of families in social housing across the country, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet."

He continued: "That over 70 organisations, from disabled charities to mortgage lenders, came together in support of this change to the Welfare Reform Bill shows just how important this issue is. It is unjust to penalise people for under-occupying their homes when they have nowhere else to move to."

"Given the level of opposition in the Lords to these proposals and their potential impact, it is totally wrong for the Government to shut down discussion by claiming financial privilege," said Mr Orr.

'We will continue to campaign against these unfair proposals," he declared.

The government has reaffirmed its commitment to "transitional arrangements" and promised a nine-month "grace period" for tenants hit by the overall benefit cap after losing their job.

The National Housing Federation said it welcomed the new arrangements but warned that they are insufficient on their own and will do little to protect families.

"We remain concerned that this crude measure will lead to a rise in rent arrears, homelessness and child poverty," said NHF chief Orr.

* National Housing Federation: http://www.housing.org.uk/

* See also: Unfair to tenants and taxpayers: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16225

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People living with cancer have warned MPs that the Westminster government's welfare changes could push patients and their families into poverty.

People living with cancer in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have warned MPs that the Westminster government's welfare changes could push patients and their families into poverty.

Groups of disabled, sick and other people have been making similar points, but yesterday the coalition government voted down amendments that would have ameliorated what critics say are some of the worst aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill.

Writing in the Herald newspaper based in Glasgow, Elspeth Atkinson, director of Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales declared: "Cancer patients want to work. They haven't chosen to give up the safety of employment. The assertion that providing hard-earned benefits at a time of greatest need encourages a dependency by seriously ill cancer patients on benefits is simply not based on fact."

She continued: "The Government's plan to cut Employment Support Allowance after one year will leave around 7,000 cancer patients up to £94 worse off each week, simply because they have not recovered quickly enough. These are people who have paid into the system all their working lives and it is wrong to put them under further financial and emotional distress on top of recovering from a life-threatening illness."

"In our experience of treating and supporting cancer patients, one year is not long enough for many people to recover from cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be highly debilitating. The ongoing and severe side-effects can leave patients struggling for years. Although there is clear evidence that one year is not long enough for patients to recover, the Government seems determined to press ahead with the changes," said Ms Atkinson.

She concluded: "We accept the benefits system is in need of reform. However, cutting help for cancer patients will only succeed in causing stress and worry to people going through an already difficult time."

Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland offers practical, emotional and financial help to people affected by cancer. It provides trained medical professionals to the NHS and have cancer centres throughout the country where people receive expert care in a specially-designed environment.

It also campaigns to improve the lives of people in Scotland living with cancer.

* Source: Poverty Truth Commission, Scotland - http://povertytruthcommission.blogspot.com/

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Mental health charity Mind says that it "will continue to fight for improvements to the welfare and benefits system", despite yesterday's disappointing votes.

Mental health charity Mind says that it "will continue to fight for improvements to the welfare and benefits system", despite the Welfare Reform Bill vote in the House of Commons on 1 February 2012.

The message was echoed by thousands of people on social networking sites this morning, as questions were also raised about the legality of government cuts to essential provision for sick, disabled and vulnerable people.

There is also anger in the House of Lords at the government's use of 'financial privilege' to deny the second chamber its constitutional revising role, and at other "sleights of hand" as one critic put it - referring back to Lord Freud's earlier attempt to use a procedural motion to overthrow the will of the House, which has voted an unprecedented seven times against the government on the WRB.

Despite the enormous campaigning efforts of people across the disability world, MPs have now voted to overturn the House of Lords' amendments to extend the time limit on contributory Employment & Support Allowance to two years.

332 MPs voted in favour of keeping the time limit to one year, beating the 266 who voted against by 66 votes.

MPs also overturned six other amendments made by the Lords, reinstating plans to cap the amount of benefits a person can receive to £26,000 annually, and preventing young disabled people who have never worked from claiming ESA.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, commented: "We are bitterly disappointed that the House of Commons has chosen to implement this arbitrary one year time limit."

He continued: "The Government’s own figures clearly show that the vast majority of people on Employment and Support Allowance need the help to remain in place for more than a year."

"Forcing someone with a mental health problem to look for work before he or she is well enough to do so risks seriously undermining their recovery, and could even make them more unwell," said Mr Farmer.

"This is a short-sighted move which could in the long run incur huge health and social care bill, and we urge the Government to reconsider," he said.

"Mind will continue to fight for improvements to the welfare and benefits system, and to the Welfare Reform Bill in particular," the Mind Chief Executive concluded.

The charity also thaned the 467 people who used its cyber-facilities to urge their MPs to support the Lords’ amendments.

* Mind: for better mental health - http://www.mind.org.uk/

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A group of theologically conservative American Christian leaders is joining with animal rights defenders to advocate against cockfighting.

A group of theologically conservative American Christian leaders is joining with animal rights defenders to advocate against cockfighting, calling the practice of watching and betting on roosters who fight to the death antithetical to biblical values - writes Chris Herlinger.

"Christians should stand up and speak out against this barbaric practice which horrendously abuses God's creatures," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in a 24 January 2012 statement.

Concern about cockfighting is focused on the state of South Carolina, where critics of the practice are trying to strengthen the state's laws against it. Though cockfighting is illegal in all 50 US states, it remains a misdemeanour in 11 of them, including South Carolina.

The Humane Society of the United States describes cockfighting as "a lucrative crime, with gambling winnings offsetting even the maximum misdemeanour fines," and is working with such groups as the South Carolina-based Palmetto Family Council, a Christian advocacy group with ties to national pro-family Christian organisations, to toughen legislation against what some describe as a "blood-sport."

Oran Smith, the Palmetto Family Council's executive director, said that South Carolina is increasingly attracting people interested in watching cockfighting and betting on the outcome.

"As a matter of state pride, we must strengthen our laws now," he said. Smith's organisation has produced a video that has drawn praise from the Humane Society for its strong stance against cockfighting.

The video argues that cockfighting is antithetical to biblical principles, citing Genesis 9:9-10, in which God speaks of establishing a covenant with both humans and animals. "Wanton cruelty toward animals is frankly unbiblical and unChristian," Smith says in the video, which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/palmettofamily.

In the video, Land says humans are called to "respect every living thing... Cockfighting is a pornography of violence. People who watch it are going to be brutalised by it."

"Religious leaders had a founding role in the humane movement in the 19th century. Today in the 21st century, they remind us of our solemn responsibilities to other creatures," said Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society, praising the work of Christian leaders for working against cockfighting.

"Their voices can help guide the nation toward better decision-making and behaviour when it comes to our treatment of animals."

[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]

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