Displaying items by tag: faith leaders

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on global faith leaders to take action against the effects of climate change. Speaking at the Global Leaders Faith Summit in Abu Dhabi, Justin Welby emphasised the challenges millions of Christians worldwide face due to the climate crisis. He stressed the importance of caring for the climate and neighbours, especially the poor and vulnerable, and urged faith leaders to lead by example in protecting the planet. The Archbishop's audience included UN secretary-general António Guterres and a Vatican representative. He highlighted that faith leaders represent the majority of people globally and can demonstrate the desire for change and support bold decisions at COP28. The Church of England has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, divesting from fossil fuels. Archbishop Welby's message precedes COP28  in Dubai, which Pope Francis plans to attend - the first time a pope will participate in the UN environmental meeting since its inception in 1995.

Birmingham City Council has announced that it is bankrupt, and all new spending will stop, with the exception of money protecting vulnerable people and legal services. Following the bankruptcy announcement, Birmingham’s faith leaders raised a ‘Call to Prayer for Birmingham’ outside the council house between 6.00 and 6.45 pm on Friday 8 September. Currently, the council's outgoings and legal liabilities are more than it can afford, and Bishop Desmond Jaddoo is calling all faith leaders to come together in prayer and to offer what help they can in this time of need. Bishop Jaddoo said, ‘We've noticed that at times like this, the poor, the vulnerable, families who are struggling with the cost of living, our children will feel the impact this is going to have. It's going to exacerbate pre-existing hardships along with cuts in services. We are in this together, and we've got to come together to deal with this collectively.’

Sir Keir Starmer said that faith leaders are vital in encouraging BAME communities to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Amid low confidence concerning vaccines among ethnic minorities, Labour is partnering with church leaders in its Let's Vaccinate Britain campaign. Sir Keir said, ‘I'm a big believer in the importance of faith. In a pandemic there is a role for faith leadership. Communities will listen to faith leaders in a way that they may not necessarily listen to politicians and others.’ Senior NHS figures have previously expressed concern that people in some BAME communities are reluctant to take the vaccine for religious reasons or concerns about ‘unethical’ experiments carried out in the last century. Also misinformation on the internet about the pandemic and the vaccines is contributing to their distrust.

UK faith group representatives, in an open letter, have urged the Government to centre its economic recovery on the pressing need to reduce the impact of climate change. Signatories include members of the 'Faith for the Climate' network. The opening statements read, ‘Covid-19 has unexpectedly taught us a great deal. Amidst the fear and the grief for loved ones lost, many of us have found consolation in the dramatic reduction of pollution and the restoration of nature. Renewed delight in and contact with the natural world has the capacity to reduce our mental stress and nourish us spiritually. We have rediscovered our sense of how interconnected the world is. The very health and future of humanity depends on our ability to act together, not only with respect to pandemics but also in protecting our global ecosystem.’

Faith leaders and the Government have met virtually and organised a ‘places of worship taskforce’ to determine a timeline for churches coming out of lockdown, including possibly allowing buildings to open at different times depending on their community and practice. Members of the group include the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Imam Asim Yusef, Rajnish Kashyap from the Hindu Council UK, Jasvir Singh from City Sikhs and Daniel Singleton from Faith Action. They will consider whether forms of worship such as individual prayer might be permitted before they fully reopen.

In a recent tweet, Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, said he will be meeting with religious leaders to plan the reopening of places of worship, whether for public worship or individual prayer. He said, ‘We will work together to agree how and when to do so, whilst protecting the public and controlling the virus.’ He said that private prayer could be allowed before buildings are opened up to the public. Currently places of worship in England are not expected to open before 4 July at the earliest. Bishops in Scotland have formed a Coronavirus working group to look at the best way of meeting long-term pastoral needs during the pandemic, but the Church is not expected to return to normal until 2021. They said that even when churches reopen, parish activities will still be greatly restricted. Pastoral working groups will identify and publicise advice or resources to help dioceses and parishes face fresh challenges in a safe manner.

On 10 December over two hundred faith leaders from different traditions will converge on the US-Mexico border in support of the migrant caravans and all those who seek refuge in the US. The event, organised by a Quaker organisation which has worked with migrants and refugees for over a hundred years, will begin a nation-wide week of mass action called Love Knows No Borders, between Human Rights Day (10 December) and International Migrants’ Day (18 December). Participants are calling on the US government to end the detention and deportation of immigrants, respect the human right to migrate, and end the militarisation of border communities. A volunteer helping the migrants said, ‘I met a Mexican family so scared for their lives that they took the next bus out of town, leaving everything else behind.’ The majority of people were fleeing violence or wanting to earn enough to care for their children. See

Sixty-five religious leaders have written a letter to the Times supporting the real Living Wage. They include twenty Catholic and Anglican bishops, a Roman Catholic archbishop, thirty Jewish rabbis, the president and vice-president of the Methodist Church, and the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. The letter cites concern at low pay and in-work poverty 'which is damaging family life and robbing future generations of a secure and stable home'. It comes as celebrations are planned with 4,700 employers accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, which oversees the real Living Wage (currently £8.75) and the London Living Wage (currently £10.20) - set to rise in line with the real cost of living. Research has found that one in five workers is paid less than a real Living Wage, meaning millions are struggling to stay afloat financially as their wages don't meet the real cost of living.