Year: 2023

On 18 July 2023, the government’s Illegal Migration Bill passed its final parliamentary stages and will shortly pass into law. Church leaders from JPIT’s denominations have joined with civil society groups and charities in a solidarity statement to mark this moment, and express their concern about the impact the Bill will have on people seeking asylum in the UK. The statement reads:

“We all deserve to live safe from harm. But this senselessly cruel Act will have a devastating impact on people’s lives. It turns our country’s back on people seeking safety, blocking them from protection, support, and justice at a time they need it most.

In abandoning the UK’s moral and legal obligations, the Act risks breaching multiple international human rights treaties including the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights while shielding the Government from accountability. The UK Government has admitted that it cannot confirm if the Act is compatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Act will force people into situations that threaten their lives – whether by placing children in detention or sending people off to countries where their lives might be at grave risk. Moreover, the Act attacks the very core of human rights, which is the principle that we all have them regardless of who we are or where we are from. In stripping the most basic rights from people seeking safety and a better life, the Act dismantles human rights protections for all of us.

Either all of us have human rights, or none of us do. While the UK Government’s plans will harm those seeking safety the most, this is an attack on all of us and the values we hold dear.

The government has rushed through this law despite broad and deep opposition. But our fight is not over. As caring people, we will continue to fight for the right for people to seek safety and a better life without being forced to take dangerous journeys and without being punished for how they enter the UK. We will keep holding those in power to account for upholding the UK’s international obligations. We will strive for an asylum and immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect. We will stand in solidarity with and fight alongside everyone who makes the UK their home and build a society that treats everyone with compassion.”

Click here to read the statement with the full list of signatories.

Pam in Perth is again offering to place an order for the new Prayer Handbook (becoming available during August) for all the circuit’s congregations.  Those in Dundee wishing to order a copy are asked to let Jenny E know by the end of July if possible and she will then liaise with Pam.

Cost (for 10+ orders) £4.15

Large print order – £4.50

Will be provided this week by Revs Phil and Marian Taylor.

The Methodist Conference, which met recently in Birmingham this week, voted overwhelmingly  to recommit the Methodist Church to being a Justice-seeking Church.
The report received by the Conference hopes to encourage more Methodists in acting for justice, along with their local communities, and to focus efforts on contributing to change in key areas including poverty, refugees, the environment, discrimination and peace.
The report is the result of a two-year process of conversation and listening. This involved looking at how Methodists have worked for justice throughout their history and what is being done now, as well as hearing people’s experiences of injustice. The report involved churches, young people, communities and schools sharing their visions of what a just world looks like.

More information, and a link to the report.

Just launched –  a new Bible animation made in Lego!  For a limited time you can download it completely free.

This short animation of the Good Samaritan would be ideal to use in church services, groups, schools or for personal/family use.

You can download it free either in 1) English with a Scottish accent or 2) Scottish Gaelic.

There’s also helpful teachers notes and a Lego schema to accompany the video.

Download free from this link: https://gochattervideos.com/the-good-samaritan-cos/

Massive thanks to Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Church of Scotland for making this project possible.

From Dan Rackham and the rest of the Go Chatter team 
(We had the pleasure of creating the animation!)

The Learning Network is offering two possibilities.

1. A 5-hour Mental Health Aware Day – 4-hour session (plus breaks so more like 5 hours) at a cost of £20 per person (about 15% of publicised cost to cover resources .  This has no licence applied to it so is relevant across the nations. Become Mental Health Aware · MHFA England
2. A 2-day Mental Health First Aid (Adults) course – 8 hours per day (no pre-work) at a cost of £50 per person (again a fraction of the cost and includes access to an app for 3 years plus all the learning materials). Become a Mental Health First Aider · MHFA England

Both of these are delivered online so it could be offered across our districts. For more information – please contact Lorraine.

The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church provide the following response to the publication on 27 April of the UK Government’s Gambling White Paper.

The Government’s White Paper, High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age, is a combination of welcome changes, disappointing delay in some important areas, and missed opportunities.

The Government has indicated that it will consult on the introduction of a number of measures that Churches have been calling for, which we believe are needed to prevent the harm caused by gambling.

Gambling costs in physical and mental health, relationships, jobs, families and has an impact on wider communities, and tragically, in extreme cases, it can lead to suicide.  Churches have long supported a statutory levy on gambling companies to contribute towards treatment and the prevention of harm.  The industry’s voluntary financial contribution has been inadequate so we welcome the Government’s decision to introduce a statutory levy.

In our submission to the Government’s consultation on the White Paper we highlighted evidence that young people aged 18-24 routinely have the highest rates of problem gambling. We are therefore encouraged to see that the Government will be consulting on additional protections for younger adults through some enhanced checks and limits on online stakes.  The Churches have for several decades campaigned in support of the principle that gambling is an adult activity, and so we welcome the plans at long last to legislate to ban children from Category D cash slot machines.

Recently a number of gambling companies have been fined for failing to carry out checks and allowing people to gamble and lose enormous amounts of money.  Many more will have simply lost more than they can afford, leading to cycles of debt, addiction and gambling harm.  The Government’s decision to consult on the introduction of financial risk checks to address binge gambling is welcome.

At the moment there are no statutory limits on stakes for online gambling.  Given the amount that people can lose online in a short space of time, the consultation on introducing a limit on stakes is welcome. However, this has to go hand in hand with other ways of making online gambling safer by design, looking at features such as the speed and volatility of play and the illusion of player control.

This white paper has sadly missed an opportunity to significantly strengthen controls on advertising.  Advertising is a powerful tool for normalizing gambling, particularly around sport.  Many young people who have a susceptibility to gambling say that advertising has affected their decisions to gamble.  By only offering limited consultation on marketing and voluntary codes, the Government is missing an opportunity to do much more to minimise the harm that gambling is causing particularly to young adults but also to those whose circumstances make them vulnerable.

The direction of travel within the White Paper is largely encouraging and responds to various concerns that Churches have raised over many years.  However, after waiting three years for this White Paper, it is frustrating to see how many of the changes will now be going out again to consultation, risking further delay and dilution.  We cannot afford further delay, and encourage the Government to ensure that gambling is indeed a public health priority.

• Revd Fiona E Bennett, Moderator of General Assembly, United Reformed Church
• Revd Karen Hendry, Convener pro tem, Faith Impact Forum, Church of Scotland
• Revd Graham Thompson, President of the Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church in Britain
• Revd Hayley Young, President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain