Christian News

The coalition can force its welfare changes through using procedural measures, minor concessions and ‘financial privilege’ to do so. But the long-term political fall-out from all of this could be immense, says Simon Barrow. The warfare over welfare has shown just how powerful citizens’ action and web-based crowd sourcing can be.

When the government’s Welfare Reform Bill first went through the House of Commons last year, signalling a massive overhaul of the benefit system and around £18 billion worth of cuts effecting some of the least well-off in Britain, there were – remarkably – few ruffles at Westminster.

But in January 2012 the balloon went up. That was largely due to a small group of disabled and sick people who were determined not to be ignored by politicians and the mainstream media. They took to the Internet and launched one of the most successful social media awareness campaigns we ever seen.

The ‘Spartacus report’ and campaign (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/responsiblereformDLA) started off using the Freedom of Information Act to reveal a huge level of concern and opposition to the coalition’s plan to take 500,000 people off Disability Living Allowance, replace it with a new payment, cut costs by 20%, and introduce a vague and untested assessment regime. Up to 98% of expert respondents disagreed with key aspects of what was being proposed. As did Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson, it transpired.

Suddenly, three million people started talking about this on Twitter. Thousands began lobbying. Churches and bishops questioned the arbitrary and unfair nature of a one-size-fits all, top-slicing benefit cap. The Institute for Fiscal Studies raised issues about the government’s sums. And charities called for a legislative pause and review of the Bill as a whole, given serious concerns about its impact on disabled youngsters, cancer sufferers, the terminally ill, those in housing need, carers and children in low income or unwaged families.

As a result, the coalition lost an unprecedented seven Welfare Reform Bill amendment votes in the House of Lords, where crossbenchers and independents exerted their power and knowledge to question what was being done to the most vulnerable in society.

“If we are going to rob the poor to pay the rich, then we enter into a different form of morality,” said Lord Patel, responding to arguments that slashing welfare payments was justified by the need for deficit reduction.

Actor and comedian Francesca Martinez, who lives with cerebral palsy, went further. By trying to reform welfare without putting human need and suffering first, government was proving “morally disabled”, she declared.

The coalition can and will force its changes through. It is using procedural measures, minor concessions and ‘financial privilege’ to do so. But the long-term political fall-out from all of this could be immense. Legal challenges are being investigated. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is being invoked. Lords reform will also become more of minefield.

It is ironic that an unelected revising chamber has proved more sensitive to democratic procedure and the need to listen to ordinary people than the elected one. That does not justify the current set up. But it sends out a strong warning about simply cloning the second chamber on the first. The warfare over welfare has also shown just how powerful citizens’ action and web-based crowd sourcing can be. Politics 2.0, anyone?

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© Simon Barrow is co-director of Ekklesia. This article is adapted from his regular column in Third Way, the Christian magazine of social and cultural comment. http://www.thirdwaymagazine.co.uk/

The competitive nature of the top-down, corporate capitalist system means we can never truly be 'all in this together', says Jonathan Bartley. All we do is sacrifice the most vulnerable for the sake of maintaining an unjust order. Economic alternatives are essential, and go well beyond statism.

Ed Miliband has accepted David Cameron's cuts. Ken Livingstone shares Boris Johnson's commitment to business. And according to one-time wannabe Scottish leader Tom Harris, Labour "want you to get rich". Today's party owes little to Methodism, let alone Marx. But if Labour has lost its soul, the Tories never had one and the Lib Dems sold theirs a long time ago.

All three embrace a materialistic commitment to modern capitalism – they just differ in how it might be made a little nicer. It is the Green party that now embodies the natural political expression of the more progressive traditions found in dissenting movements such as Quakerism and radical Catholicism.

Many are asking what the point of Labour is, particularly as the time is ripe for an economic vision that refuses to bow at the altar of growth – one that sees people as fully human, not competitive economic units. The charge of "naivety" that once held back such a perspective rings rather hollow today. It is the free-market narrative that is now discredited. Relentless and largely illusory growth based on credit was unsustainable. Inflation driven by rising commodity prices following the depletion of scarce resources has made a monkey out of monetarism. And this in addition to the huge human, social and environmental cost, seen in rising inequality and pollution. "Responsible capitalism" is an oxymoron akin to "well-mannered war".

An appeal to give up the pursuit of wealth isn't an automatic vote-winner. But the alternative to the pursuit of riches is pursuit of a richer vision: neither austerity nor excessive wealth, but rather "sufficiency plus", where needs are met, and then some, while a fuller understating of human welfare is championed.

Having less can be more. Too much choice is not liberating. There is something to be said for rhythms of life, for patience and delayed gratification, where everything isn't available instantaneously. Seasons are enjoyed because they aren't there all year round. Fifty-hour weeks come at the expense of family and friends. That's if we have a job at all.

As well as robbing us of our lives, the system pits us against one another in an endless quest for more, which fuels greater inequality, dissatisfaction and unfulfilment – for both the winners and the losers. We feel left behind our neighbours and other countries if we don't better ourselves economically. We have forgotten who the economy is for.

The alternative is not state socialism. There has always been trade, exchange and barter. But modern capitalism is a relatively late arrival. There are alternative economic models, from mutuals, industrial provident societies and credit unions to small businesses and trading ventures that operate with counter-cultural values. Right now there are more members of co-operatives in the UK (which, the Co-op group points out, have outperformed the British economy by over 21% since the start of the credit crunch) than there are shareholders.

The great leaders of the next few years will not be those who career down another blind alley on the coat tails of outdated and damaging economic models. They will be those who can manage a transition economy, through inevitable de-growth, on to a more sustainable footing. They will need to foster a "wartime spirit", perhaps, but where the common enemy is not the financial crisis. If we see it in those terms, the competitive nature of the system means we can never truly be all in this together. All we do is sacrifice the most vulnerable for the sake of the system. The real foe is capitalism. One way or another we'll wake up to the fact.

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© Jonathan Bartley is co-director of Ekklesia, and the Green candidate for Lambeth and Southwark in the forthcoming Greater London Authority elections. This article is adapted from one that appeared on Guardian Comment-is-Free, with acknowledgments. http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jonathan-bartley

The director of the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh has addressed a meeting at the General Synod of the Church of England, its governing body.

The director of the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh has addressed a meeting at the General Synod of the Church of England, its governing body.

The meeting, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops were present, took place on Tuesday 7 February 2012.

Mr Joyanta Adhikari, director of the Commission, warned of an impending climate catastrophe affecting Bangladesh and the need for urgent action and solidarity.

He told the Anglican gathering that 17 million people faced losing their homes if the predicted 1.5 metre rise in sea levels took place by 2050.

The 60-year-old father-of-two explained how his country was already suffering the devastating impact of climate change.

"All parts of Bangladesh are feeling the effects," he declared. "In the south rising sea level has led to the intrusion of salt water destroying rice paddy fields which are our main source of food."

"In the north there is drought because of unpredictable and reduced rainfall and the middle of the country suffers from river erosion making river banks, where many people live, unstable and dangerous," said Mr Adhikari.

"We already have a large number of climate refugees who have been forced out of their homes and most of them have to live by the side of the road or in shanty towns," he continued.

"People have been forced to move to cities like Dhaka in search of work and in a country of only 147,000 square km and a population of 142 million this leads to social problems," said director of the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh.

He went on:"‘Experts are forecasting that if the world doesn’t change course we will see a rise of 1.5 metres by 2050. If that happens16% of our land will be under water and 17 million people, 15% of the population, will be left homeless. That is the scale of the catastrophe we are facing."

In Bangladesh Christians make up only 0.3% of the 142 million population.

Mr Adhikari said support from Christian Aid and other agencies allows Christians through the CCBD to serve fellow Bangladeshis.

"Christians are a microscopic minority," he explained. "We don’t normally suffer persecution but significant events in the west and the USA can cause us problems. The CCBD works for all people and is an opportunity for us as Christians to not just help fellow believers but serve the rest of Bangladesh."

One way the charity is helping the country adapt to climate change is developing a salt-water tolerant variety of rice paddy.

Other tactics include floating gardens of water hyacinths heaped together, covered with soil and used to grow vegetables.

The CCBD also works to raise houses above sea level, supply energy efficient cooking stoves and improve infrastructure such as submerged water pipes contaminated with seawater.

Mr Adhikari concluded: "This world has enough for our need, but not our greed. We are all God’s creation and we have to live responsibly to ensure God’s world is not destroyed. We cannot solve the problem of climate change alone, we need the help of people in other countries to reduce pollution."

The key role of young people in recent Arab transformations was a recurrent theme for a recent World Council of Churches Christian-Muslim consultation.

The key role played by young people during the transformations in the Arab world throughout the past year was a recurrent theme for the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) Christian-Muslim consultation on “Christian Presence and Witness in the Arab World”.

The consultation was organized by the WCC programmes for Churches in the Middle East and Inter-religious Dialogue and Cooperation in collaboration with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in Antelias, Lebanon.

The consultation took place from 24 to 28 January 2012 and brought together a number of religious leaders, scholars and young activists.

The participants' a passion and longing for political and religious freedom, human dignity and rights, and social and economic justice for all people of the Arab world marked the event.

The importance of equal citizenship for all was reiterated frequently. The politics and relationships between the values of citizenship and its links to religious institutions were debated.

Short but vivid sketches highlighted recent events, problems and signs of hope in a wide range of countries. It was acknowledged that in some parts of the Arab world, Christians and Muslims were afraid of the uncertainties that the future might bring.

However, it was also noted that the people of God must not deal in the currency of fear. It was important that the religions themselves were willing to become part of the process of transformation.

As one participant put it, “We need religious leaders who are willing to play a prophetic role, and to be people of vision and wisdom.”

A number of specific proposals and suggestions were put forward in the final communiqué of the meeting.

This consultation was in one of a series of meetings being held in preparation of a major international ecumenical gathering on the Christian presence in the Middle East. This meeting is being planned by the WCC in partnership with the MECC, and is due to take place in December 2012.

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The astonishing failure of humanity and empathy apparent in the content of the Welfare Reform Bill and in the conduct of much of the parliamentary debate around it, reflects poorly on our politicians, says Jill Segger. She suggests that our adversarial and excessively partisan politics creates a culture in which MPs thrive by denying their better selves.

Empathy and compassion are possessed, albeit in in differing degrees, by most human beings and their total absence is usually taken as evidence of a personality disorder. The attitude of the government over the damage that will be done to so many people by the Welfare Reform Bill has shown such a level of dissociation from from those qualities which enable us to relate and cohere, that there is a strong temptation to attribute strange pathologies to some of our elected representatives.

The misrepresentation of fact and the failure of consultation exposed by the Spartacus Report, the ignorance of, and indifference to, the plight of extremely vulnerable individuals and families and the collusion with right-wing papers in stirring up animosity through the false and mean-spirited rhetoric of “scroungers” and “hard working families”, was recognised by a majority in the Lords. Members of the revising chamber, listening to reasoned arguments and accessing the innate compassion which one hopes to find in the majority of people, made seven amendments to the Bill ahead of its return to the Commons.

During this process, there were a few moments which revealed the complete failure of some wealthy and privileged politicians to comprehend the realities of life for less fortunate citizens. Most notable was the view expressed by Lord Freud, the Welfare Minister, that the proposed loss of £1500 for some families with disabled children was “not a heavy cut”. Astonishing though this may be, it can be seen as an index of limited life experience rather than of moral disorder.

It is not possible to say the same of some of the behaviour which was on display during the Commons debate on 1 February when MPs overturned all the humane amendments of the second chamber. This made for difficult watching. MPs supporting the amendments referred to the experiences of their own disabled constituents and the manner in which they would be affected by measures such as the cutting of payments for disabled children, and the requirement for terminally ill cancer sufferers on chemotherapy to undergo work capability assessments. As they did so, members on the government benches jeered and sniggered.

This is so far removed from the usages of decency that I would like to posit at least the possibility that these individuals had fallen victim to the twin deformities of group-think and of a distorted view of masculinity.

Group-think - a phenomenon identified by the sociologist Irving Janis in the 1970s - has a dramatic effect on moral judgement. Members of the group become so convinced of the rightness of their beliefs that they no longer consider the consequences of their decisions. They will also tend to exclude and belittle evidence contradicting or calling into question the collective opinion. Any colleagues who do question the dominant mindset are likely to find themselves treated with derision or suspicion. Neither is comfortable; both are likely to be deleterious to promotion within the group.

Some of the worst and most juvenile aspects of maleness contribute to this damaging conformity. Women make up six of the 29-strong cabinet and 22 per cent of all MPs. The predominant culture is male and, as some of the recent jibes coming from the Prime Minister have revealed, an outmoded male culture at that. The desire to appear 'tough' and resistant to the ameliorating attributes of reason, compassion and discernment such as those displayed by the unelected house, has become the unpleasant norm of much green bench conduct.

If some of those who exhibited boorish and callous behaviour during the debate on 1 February could have been taken out of that bear-pit of testosterone and rowdy conformity and into quiet conversation from which they could neither gain advantage nor be humiliated, I would like to think that they might have been brought to a better frame of mind. The alternative is to believe that a significant number of our legislators really do have personality disorders.

A joint statement issued by the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the United Reformed Church and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) says: “the benefit cap will make the UK a darker, less humane place for us all”. The manner in which our adversarial and excessively partisan politics makes it almost mandatory for MPs to crush whatever might be thoughtful and compassionate in their make-up, seems both a cause and forerunner of this prophecy.

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© Jill Segger is an Associate Director of Ekklesia with particular involvement in editorial issues. She is a freelance writer who contributes to the Church Times, Catholic Herald, Tribune, Reform and The Friend, among other publications. Jill is an active Quaker. See: http://www.journalistdirectory.com/journalist/TQig/Jill-Segger You can follow Jill on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/quakerpen

A group of clergy, academics, and church-related figures have written to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, asking them to make clear their opposition to a forcible eviction of Occupy supporters from outside the Cathedral.

Research by Barnardo's reveals that the poorest young people have been hit hard by the government's decision to scrap Educational Maintenance Allowance.

Research published today (7 February) by Barnardo's reveals that the poorest young people have been hit hard by the government's decision to scrap Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for 16-19-year-olds.

The charity said that the government's new Bursary Fund is failing to adequately support disadvantaged teenagers to cover the everyday costs of studying or training.

They say that lower levels of money and a lack of access to the fund - which is awarded partly on a discretionary basis - are both key factors which are forcing many young people to consider dropping out of education and training altogether, due to financial hardship.

The situation was described as “an absolute disgrace” by Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Anne Marie Carrie.

She said that some students are now being forced to skip meals in order to afford the bus to college.

“The government has a moral duty to urgently invest in adequate help for 16-19 year-olds from poorer backgrounds to stay the course and complete their education or training,” said Carrie, “The alternative is to risk losing a whole generation to the trap of long-term unemployment because they don’t have any qualifications”.

The organisation called for immediate improvements to the way the Bursary Fund is targeted and administered.

Barnardo’s are recommending that funding should be available to all young people who have received free school meals, with each student receiving £30 per week. This is the same basis on which the Pupil Premium is calculated. This would still cost less than half the price of the EMA.

Researchers found evidence of flaws in the way the new discretionary Bursary Fund is run. They say there is minimal guidance given on how to appropriately distribute the funds available. Varying payment criteria are being used by different learning and training providers, which is leading to inequalities between students studying at different colleges.

The charity's findings were described as “truly shocking” by the University and College Union (UCU), which represents academic and teaching staff. The UCU's Sally Hunt accused the government of consigning an “ever-increasing number of young people to the dole queue”.

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London Mayor Boris Johnson has been accused of “complete hypocrisy” by saying that he supports a campaign to make roads safer for cyclists.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has been accused of “complete hypocrisy” by saying that he supports a campaign to make roads safer for cyclists.

Responding to a safety campaign launched by the Times newspaper last week, the Conservative mayor said he applauds “the objectives of the campaign”.

But Bikes Alive, a recently-formed network of cyclists who are taking non-violent direct action, pointed out that Johnson has failed to act in response to calls from London Assembly members and local councillors for safety improvements in the Kings Cross area.

They insist that the safety standards set by Transport for London (TfL) – which is overseen by Johnson - are not adequate. They also argue that many busy junctions do not even conform to these “inadequate” standards.

Albert Beale of Bikes Alive said that the mayor had spent “more than three years setting the policy of the organisation which consistently relegates the safety and health of cyclists, and of other non-motorised road users, below the inhuman demands for ever-increasing traffic volumes”.

The controversy broke out in the run-up to a third direct action by Bikes Alive, who enforced another "go-slow" of traffic at the dangerous road junction outside Kings Cross station yesterday (6 February). A number of cyclists have been killed or injured at the junction.

In addition to cyclists, the protests have so far attracted a number of pedestrians, particularly disability rights campaigners.

The mayor's alleged refusal to address road safety has been highlighted by the direct action. At the first such protest last month, the Christian environmental activist Tamsin Omond led participants in a chant of "Where is Boris?".

The group say they are “pledged to continue to take action until the balance of power on London's roads is changed”.

They argue that TfL's current policies prioritise the speed and volume of motor traffic over all else. They point out that many people who drive in London could easily use public transport instead.

The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) last week refused to back direct action and publicly criticised Bikes Alive for using “forceful language”. In response, Bikes Alive said that the would be happy to discuss the issue with LCC, but that the organisation had not approached them directly.

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Durung Lent, Christian Ecology Link is asking supporters to think and act on food sourcing in their local church communities and further afield.

Throughout Lent, which begins on 22 February, Christian Ecology Link (CEL) is asking supporters to think and act on food sourcing in their local church communities and further afield. They have launched a leaflet on the 'LOAF programme principles' in time for Shrove Tuesday on 21 February. The key LOAF principles are that food should where possible be: L- Locally produced; O- Organically grown; A- Animal friendly; and F- Fairly traded

CEL's Secretary, Barbara Echlin said: "Start the LOAF ball rolling in your own church by serving pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and make them with local free range eggs, organic milk and Fair Trade sugar."

Guidance for LOAF campaigners includes the suggestion to send the campaign letter to local church leaders and regional church administrators; and asking cathedrals, conference centres, educational venues and large churches with a refectory or cafe to take part.

CEL's Information and Analysis Officer, Jo Abbess said: "Good food is holy food - and good food comes from well-treated plants, animals and workers."

Green Christians are being encouraged to order free copies of the new LOAF leaflet to distribute during Fair Trade Fortnight, which runs from 27 February to 11 March 2012, by sending an e-mail to : jill-publications@christian-ecology.org.uk The leaflet can also be downloaded from http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/use-your-loaf.pdf

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Amnesty International says Cuba must reform an arbitrary exit permit scheme affecting all Cubans, after a prominent blogger was again blocked from travelling abroad.

The Cuban government must reform an arbitrary exit permit scheme that affects all Cubans and is used to punish freedom of expression, Amnesty International said yesterday (6 February) after a prominent blogger was again blocked from travelling abroad.

On 4 February, Cuba’s migration authorities denied blogger and activist Yoani Sánchez an exit permit (white card or tarjeta blanca) for the 19th time in four years. As on previous occasions, no reason was given for the decision.

The well-known author of Generación Y had been invited to speak in Brazil’s Bahía state on 10 February at the premiere screening of a documentary on freedom of expression in Cuba and Honduras. Brazil had already issued her a visa to enter the country.

Javier Zúñiga, Special Advisor to Amnesty International, said: “The Cuban government’s repeated denial of exit permits to critics like Yoani Sánchez can only be seen as retaliation for the expression of their legitimate political views and activism.

“Those fighting for freedom of expression, association, and movement must be authorised to leave and re-enter the country without arbitrary restrictions, and the Cuban authorities must end other tactics used to clamp down on peaceful dissent.”

Cuban President Raúl Castro has yet to follow through on changes to migration policies promised as part of a series of reforms announced in 2011.

Yoaní Sánchez’s blog covers daily life on the island and the many restrictions placed on Cubans’ enjoyment of political and civil rights.

Her peaceful political activism is highlighted in Brazilian filmmaker Dado Galvão’s new documentary, Connection Cuba Honduras.

After the Cuban authorities’ most recent decision to prevent her from travelling, Yoani Sánchez expressed her frustration via Twitter:

“I feel like a hostage kidnapped by someone who won’t listen or give explanations. If all this effort helps to shine a light on the migratory absurdity we Cubans are trapped in, then it was worth it.”

The blogger’s work has earned her numerous prizes overseas, but the Cuban authorities have repeatedly blocked her from attending the award ceremonies.

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MPs in the UK have tabled a motion calling on the Indian Government to close the llegal road through the Jarawa tribe's reserve in the Andaman Islands.

The ‘human safaris’ scandal in the Andaman Islands has reached the UK Parliament, with MPs tabling a motion calling on India to close the illegal road that cuts through the Jarawa tribe’s reserve.

Presented to the House of Commons by Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, it calls for an end to recently contacted Jarawa being treated like attractions in a "human safari park".

It also appeals to the Indian government "to take immediate action to close the Andaman Trunk Road", which has been operating illegally since the Supreme Court ordered it closed in 2002.

It comes as the Observer newspaper released new videos proving police and army officials have been involved in ‘human safaris’ – despite the denials of the Andamans’ police chief.

One clip shows half naked girls being ordered to dance for a seated Indian police officer. An off-camera voice tells the girls to "move back a little, a little more". They are then told to "Do it", and they start dancing.

Survival International, the NGO which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, first exposed the scandal of human safaris in 2010, but international condemnation has grown in recent months, prompting India’s Home Minister to order an investigation.

The outcry has also reached members of the European Parliament in Brussels.

MEP Sir Graham Watson, Chair of the Parliament’s Delegation to India, has described the Jarawa’s exploitation as a "disgrace", and vowed to keep pursuing the issue with Indian officials.

Similarly, MEP Julie Girling has made her position clear by tweeting, ‘@Survival campaign to end Human Safaris and close The Andaman Trunk Road which currently cuts through the Jarawa Reserve.’

Survival International today (6 February) called on the public to write emails through its website urging the Indian government to take immediate action to stop the human safaris.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, "This new video released by the Observer shows current precautions by the Andaman authorities are not working. It’s time the government got to the root of the problem, which is the road: it must be closed."

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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.]

[Ekk/3]