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United Reformed Church |
NewsletterVol. 6 no. 4 |
Keynote Address by Gabrielle Cox, |
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The Hideaway is forty years old, growing from a small youth club in the Baptist Church basement to a significant youth project, working with young people on the margins of society. It currently has two major projects. The Big Lottery Fund has given us a grant to work with young women, particularly around issues of sexual violence. The Football Foundation pays 75% of the costs of a project working with young men. There is a lot of racism against our growing Somali community and we want to use sport to bring together Somali and African-Caribbean young men, as well as continuing to try and divert young men from the drugs and gang culture. Money is a big problem. How to find the 25% match for the men’s project? How to fund a young Somali who already voluntarily involves around a hundred young Somali men in football, whom we’ve taken on as a part-time worker in faith that we’ll find the money somewhere? Monday: Discuss how we wilI approach a meeting with potential funder tomorrow. There is a shooting incident on the street which runs behind the Amani Centre. Tuesday: Meeting with the Countryside Agency which is inviting bids from projects to involve people in healthy activity. The deadline for submissions is Friday. Then to the Amani Centre, for a meeting with the Baptist Strategy Fund to discuss a loan the church had years ago to improve the Centre. Behind the Centre the police have taped off another road, where some youths have just engaged in a gun battle, allegedly involving at least one machine gun. I go home, but have to divert because of more police tape, and find there have been two more shooting incidents. Thankfully nobody has apparently been hurt. Wednesday: The police call an urgent meeting with Moss Side councillors (one URC, two Anglican) and community leaders to discuss the shootings. Four in two days. The randomness of some of the shooting is concerning; they feel the public is now at risk. |
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Whilst all this is going on there are young people in the Hideaway painting pictures. They shouldn’t be there. The Hideaway is supposed to be closed for a short summer break. But they have been working on an art project and want to finish it. The pictures are about identity. One boy has painted a young black man on a cross, flanked by two tombstones. A young man talks about how he is frightened if a car slows down as he walks along the street. Sunday: I take the picture of the crucified young man to church. It is a powerful image. It challenges us to look beyond the safety of our worship and connect with the young people who use our building. Monday evening: A young man is shot, and staggers to the house of a young woman, one of our church members. He is seriously wounded, and she looks after him until the ambulance arrives. I get the July unemployment figures for Moss Side: 13.1% for men, the highest in the city (average 5.9%) and up from June. I am reminded of Alexander Pope’s words: “Through worlds unnumbered though the God be known, ‘tis ours to seek him only in our own.” When you pray for the peace of the world, remember the young people of our inner cities, for they need your prayers too. Gabrielle Cox is Secretary and Treasurer of the Hideaway Youth Project. She keeps busy in retirement with (inevitably) all sorts of committees, including a Department for Work and Pensions Ethics Committee, and as a Non-Executive Director of her local Primary Care Trust. |
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Letter to the Editor |
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In the last paragraph of "Letter from the Convenor" (Newsletter July 2006) Andrew Jack suggests there may be those who disagree with his forthright views. I am writing to say I totally agree with every word he has written. I would further assert that the Christian church as a whole has been a complete failure for the last 2000 years as regards promoting peace and preventing war - sometimes the reverse. That the URC has decided to continue investment in Caterpillar is just one small example. In 1983 at the URC General Assembly in Brighton Revd. John Johansen-Berg actually succeeded in persuading Assembly to vote for |
To make any impact I believe the URC Peace Fellowship needs to become much more pro-active and "political" both inside and outside the church. Ways of doing this could perhaps be on the agenda at the AGM in November. Yours faithfully, Eileen E. Brown (Manor Church Centre URC/Methodist Wallasey) |
News of members - Meeting with Bishop |
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Bishop Peter focused on our theology. What right do we have to contemplate using Trident missiles to kill people? Senior military personnel had approached him with their anxieties about the matter knowing that they were not well equipped enough for Afghanistan. When proposals were made for Jim Wallis of Sojourners and himself to tackle Gordon Brown it was thought better for Bishop Peter to do the job. Archbishop Rowan Williams was waiting in the wings before declaring himself. Of course it was possible that the renewal of Trident might be put off. We were given copies of Countering Terrorism: Power, Violence and Democracy Post 9/11: a Report by a Working Group of the Church of England's House of Bishops in September 2005 with a preface by the Rt Revd Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford. Bishop Peter was arranging a Conference at Ammerdown in June 2007 on The Language of Terror. At this point I told him about the play Margaret and I had seen last year at Salisbury Playhouse called Talking to Terrorists by Robin Soans. The play is based on real life stories of people who have been involved in terrorism. The starting point was to discover what made ordinary people do extreme things – often at a shockingly early age. The theatre company |
As we sat in the heart of the Diocese of Bath and Wells the consensus was that Middle England was shifting in our favour. Our job was to work on non-violence for an age of terrorism and to condemn the taking of life. Bishop Peter remembered being in Omar with Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley, each wondering whether they had gone too far or were in it for the long haul. Another insight was Bishop Peter's having invited the Paisleys to tea in the Palace when they were on holiday in Somerset and already contemplating his next approach to them. The alternative to a resumption of direct rule in the North of Ireland might be a sharper carrot involving the minor parties. Bishop Peter quoted Thomas Merton on the root of war being fear. Our fear of fear is the issue. He also told us about Paul Farmer who waged a war against TB knowing he was facing a long defeat. He quoted Oscar Romero's instruction for us to do something and let the Lord do the rest. We decided that we needed the full list of supporting bishops and to go forward from there. I told Bishop Peter about the Campaign to stop Hinkley C Nuclear Power station being built. As we left we were offered plums from the garden. We were invited to walk round and look at the sculptures by Philip Jackson. As we did so we picked up a ripe mulberry each. In the shop I bought a card, Philip Jackson's Pope Joan and a copy of Peter Price's book "Undersong". Revd Hazel Barkham |
IMPORTANT - Proposals for Annual Conference |
1. That the following revised statement be adopted by the Fellowship:- “The United Reformed Church Peace Fellowship is a group of United Reformed Church People who share a common understanding of God’s call to human beings to live in peace and who are committed to discerning and obeying the urgent call of God to pursue peace with justice in the world.” 2. That the Committee be authorized to issue urgent Press Statements on Peace Related issues. Only members attending Conference can vote on these proposals. Comments received by the Convenor beforehand will be brought to the attention of attenders during discussion. |
Letter from the Convenor |
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Whatever the reason I have now reached the stage where I am questioning whether those who claim that the killing of innocent people is a way to achieve peace really are seeking to discern and obey the urgent call of God to pursue peace with justice in the world. I have been around long enough in the United Reformed Church to recognise in the Peace Fellowship the principle that under no circumstances must we have division. Unity is more important than doing right. The question that comes to my mind is, “Did Jesus not divide by insisting that there was only one way – his way.” He, time and time again, set out a very clear path and made it clear that whilst there was always the chance to come back onto the path, the only way to be a follower of his was to stay on that path. At a very early stage in my life from the age of 9 to 14 I regretted I was too young and could not get involved in killing Germans. I saw no problem in the bombing of German cities and the resultant deaths of thousands of civilians. I believed then that that was the only way to achieve peace. I point this out to show that I have some understanding of views put forward by those who continue to hold that view. |
All the Christian people I have spoken to on their return from Russia and other Eastern European countries have all commented on how the Churches survived in a situation where they were banned. Have we so little faith in God that we would not have survived whatever regime was in power? It is in some ways a pointless exercise in trying to re-write history but look at the martyrs of the early Christian church, they were killed. They did not kill! You have probably gathered that I am unhappy with the present Fellowship Statement and believe it should be changed to being more specific in the definition of ‘peace with justice’ All members of the Peace Fellowship have agreed the statement and by changing it to make sure it follows Jesus’ path, we take the risk that some might leave the fellowship. On the other hand those that will be left will be able to speak out and act knowing that the peace they seek is the one Jesus taught. I hope that at this year’s Annual General Meeting we can discuss the statement (above) and consider revising it — maybe not as drastically as I would want but to make it more relevant to those who are members. My challenge this time is to come to the AGM, have your say and try to convince me that any violence, whether internationally, nationally or personally can be justified in light of the very clear instruction by Jesus to love all. I look forward to seeing you at the AGM. Andrew Jack |
Editorial - challenge or offence? |
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the red variety, the colour of the blood spilled on Flanders fields, by long tradition worn, carried in procession and hung from memorials to remember the fallen in two World Wars (and several others now); or the white, worn for peace, to show opposition to all war. Recently, the British Legion voted unanimously not to accept the white poppy. The reason, as explained by a friend well up in the organization, is that they find it offensive, implying that wearers of the red poppy do not want peace. There is also a feeling, which may be justified, that white poppy wearers despise the Legion and by extension, though not at all justified, the memory of those who gave their lives. Apart from their exemplary charitable and social work, the public face of the British Legion has not helped. Until recently, and only after the prompting of a peace activist, the statement ‘there will always be wars’ appeared on their website. Association in parades with military pomp, marching cadets and medal-wearing veterans has given an undeniable impression of heroism-worship, with undertones that because it leads to comradeship, acts of incredible individual courage and the enhancement of our nation’s status in the world, war is good, or at least acceptable. This may not be the intention nowadays, but it is certainly the perception. It has led many to wear the white poppy, to remember and confront the reasons why so many die in war, rather than only to mourn and celebrate their deaths. It is good to mourn and celebrate heroic firemen killed in a collapsing building, but we do not regard such collapses as acceptable at any time. We regard them as wrong and try to prevent them. How can we challenge the militaristic ethos, which still exists in the popular media and in much of the nation’s consciousness, even if it is waning within the Legion? Is it right to give offence, by wearing a symbol that many insist diminishes the dead? It is a conundrum, of course. We must, as peacemakers, challenge the attitudes which continue to lead to war. We must keep in mind the horrors and also show there are alternatives which have worked, in South Africa, in the Philippines and in many other places to achieve justice. But if we give offence, we provide comfort to those who do not wish for change - tabloid owners and editors, who know that wars sell newspapers, arms manufacturers, politicians who see their own status bound up in maintaining conflict. All will point the finger with glee at any insensitivity on our part. |
Because of all this, if war is outlawed it will not be because we want it. It won’t even be because the British Legion wants it, though if they said so more loudly it would help. It will only come when most people in the country, including Mail, Express and Sun readers, want it and have confidence that as a result it could happen. And they will only want it if they feel they are joining a groundswell of opinion for it. The tabloids will follow, and the politicians will follow the tabloids – and just for once it would be a good thing. But for this to happen, current attitudes must be challenged, yet giving offence will hinder our efforts. Our task is to walk this tight-rope. It’s said there are three attitudes to discovery. The first is ‘it’s not true’. The second is ‘OK it’s true but not important’. The third is ‘OK it’s true and important but we knew it already’. When war follows slavery and apartheid into the limbo of unacceptability, it will be because people feel they wanted it already. The peace movement may not even get the credit, however hard we work! Returning to the poppies: in Hitchin, a few years ago, two Quakers met the local British Legion. They found they had much in common and as a result, both colours of poppy were available from the same stall in the marketplace. It turned out that the Legion was mainly concerned that if white poppies were sold, it would reduce its charitable income. But the white poppies were, as always, given away. What will your editor do? I’m afraid that as usual I will probably cop out and wear neither. One day, when the British Legion comes out strongly against war and the white poppy becomes redundant, I will wear a red one. I hope it happens soon. T.C. |
Peacemaking Resource |
In the NewsContact the editor if you would like more details on any item |
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Missiles, bombs and grenades do not solve anything; they only bring about destruction and death. War does not lead to peace. War is often the mother of other wars. These wars create more terrorists than the ones that are eliminated. War is always a defeat; it is the defeat of humanity, the downfall of hope and of peace expectations. (source: www.zenit.org) The Vatican has backed the opposition of Scotland’s Catholic bishops to the replacement of Trident. Bishops along with many other Scots church leaders walked from Faslane to Edinburgh during September, Scotland’s Long Walk for Peace. (source: www.zenit.org 4th Sept) Church leaders in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Middle East have strongly condemned the teachings of Christian Zionism (source www.zenit.org 30th Aug). Note about www.zenit.org: this is the Vatican website, which may seem a strange choice for a URC newsletter. However, a kind Catholic friend in Scotland always forwards peace-oriented material to me and, of course, the Vatican does have considerable influence on a large number of people. So when it does support a cause close to our hearts it is worth knowing about. The Methodist/URC Environmental Network issues an electronic newsletter called Creation Challenge. Visit www.methodist.org.uk/static/econetwork/enbackground.htm for more details of the network. During an ‘Army Teambuilding’ exercise for 11-year olds in Falkirk, undertaken without parental consent or even prior knowledge, children were bullied and told in one case that ‘we’re having more trouble from you lot than from Iraqi terrorists’. One parent has made a formal complaint to the authorities, though we have no information as to their response. (source: Universities against War) |
A website to launch a national debate on Trident has been set up, called www.bigtridentdebate.org.uk. It includes a statement which can be signed and is part of the campaign to ensure a full debate on the issue. The Government has made assurances that this will take place, but seems to be lukewarm about taking any steps itself. The Ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence has identified as priorities for 2007: · Human trafficking · Youth and violence · Migration · Militarization · Domestic and interpersonal violence · Human security · the Environment · Violence in the church · a Theology of Just Peace (source: URCPF committee minutes) |
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Dates for your Diary: |
URCPF Committee notes |
16 Oct: CAAT Shut DESO action day, London. 27-29 Oct: Fellowship of Reconciliation youth conference: Religious Rights and Wrongs in Contemporary Conflicts; e-mail or phone 01865 748796. 25th Nov: URCPF Annual Conference, 11 a.m.—4 p.m. at Carrs Lane URC, Birmingham. Keynote speaker Revd John Reardon. Contact the office to book. See agenda proposals also. |
Regret was expressed that there had been no time for discussion of Peacemaking: A Christian Vocation at Annual Assembly and that there was little explicit reference to peace in the worship and Bible study. The Peace Fellowship was represented on the Church and Society stall. Ann Martin has reviewed the film Lord of War for Reform. Andrew and Hazel had attended the 5th August Stop the War demonstration and were disappointed in the lack of coverage by the media. See under ‘In the News’ for Decade to Overcome Violence priorities. FURY is no longer a campaigning organization but encourages youth to take more part in URC activities. The URCPF is to have a display and run a workshop at the next FURY Assembly. Two proposals were made, to be brought to Annual Conference. The next committee meeting is on 7th December. If you wish to raise any issue, address your comment or question to Andrew Jack c/o the Church and Society office (contact details below). |
Newsletter online |
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www.compeldes.co.uk/urcpfnewslettervol6no2.html (for April), and www.compeldes.co.uk/urcpfnewslettervol6no3.html (for July). Please let the editor know if you have problems viewing the pages. |
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Church and Society Hotline reports |
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Your contribution to the newsletter is needed! Letters, book reviews, devotional pieces, poems, reports, cartoons, all are welcome. Also please let us know of any peace actions, vigils, correspondence with MPs etc you have been involved in. Deadline for the next issue: |
Letters and other material for the newsletter can be sent to the editor (Tony Compton):
On paper: via Church and Society, United Reformed Church, 86 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT
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United Reformed Church Peace Fellowship — part of Church and Society. |
Revd. Kate Compston Ms Gabrielle Cox Revd John Johansen-Berg Revd. Dr. Fred Kaan Revd. John Reardon Revd. Roberta Rominger |
Convenor and Secretary: Mr Andrew Jack Treasurer: Ms Wendy Cooper NCPO representative: Revd. Hazel Barkham Revd Sîan Collins Mrs Anne Lewitt Mrs Anne Parker Revd Diana Townsend |
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Opinions expressed in articles in this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the United Reformed Church or its constituent parts. |