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Friday 23 April 2010

Faiths together for hope not hate

This is my Vicar's letter for the May edition of the Church magazine at St John's Seven Kings:

"This month brings local and national elections and in Redbridge, the British National Party (BNP) is actively seeking the Christian vote by issuing leaflets from supporters which argue that the BNP, although a secular party, supports Christian values because its policies fit with the concerns of some Christians.

These policies are mainly about being opposed to particular groups and legislation; being anti equality, anti immigration, anti-Muslim and anti homosexual. Do we, as Christians want to be known as the 'anti people' associated in the minds of others with bigotry, fundamentalism, and narrow moral agendas or do we want to be known as “good news” people associated with positive action and agendas?

Jesus broke down barriers. He treated all people with respect. As a Jew he talked to the shunned Samaritans. Through the cross he reconciled people to God and to each other. “There is neither Jew nor Greek” (Galatians 3. 28). Christians assert that all human beings are created equally in the image of God. The Christian vision of society is one where each person is treated with dignity and respect, whatever their ethnic group or religion. It is a positive vision of hope not a negative agenda of hate.

The BNP, however it presents itself, is rooted in racist and fascist thinking; its message is one of hate. The BNP believes that white people are genetically superior to black people. The BNP believes that black and Asian people can never be British, even if they were born here. The BNP is a racist party and as such does not share the true Christian values. Therefore I endorse the following statement made by the Bishop of Barking and other church leaders:

” … we call upon all people of goodwill to reject racist politics in the forthcoming General Election and local elections.

We encourage people to vote in the forthcoming elections to prevent racist political parties making any more electoral gains, indeed to out-vote such parties where they have already been elected.

In particular, we urge people to reject the BNP, English Defence League (EDL), National Front (NF) and similar political organisations for the reason that there is no place in mainstream British politics for dividing people on the grounds of ethnicity. The racist ideology of parties like the BNP, who speak of a "traditional British genotype", is not only inaccurate and misguided but is also contrary to the Christian belief that "all people are created as one race, the human race".

As church leaders we do not endorse any particular political party and recognise that there are many social issues today which require much closer attention from elected politicians, not least those of housing, immigration, unemployment and the sheer speed of social change in some of our communities. But we call on everyone to reject the BNP and like-parties as providing solutions to these issues. We all have a responsibility to work for a more just society. This will never be achieved by those who seek to divide our society based on a racist politics.”

I am involved in a "Faiths Together in Barking and Dagenham" initiative in the run up to the 2010 General and Local Council Elections. This project is being taken forward in partnership with the campaign HOPE not hate. The overall project involves a Faiths worker building support among faith communities in Barking and Dagenham to resist the BNP's attempts to divide communities on faith and ethnic lines. This work involves: faith community visits, presentations and voter registration drives; a range of literature targeted at faith communities; and a Gospel concert including literature dissemination and voter registration.

Click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFMcBNweio&feature=channel to see a short film of the Gospel concert that was held as part of this initiative. The concert encouraged church members to join the Day of Action held on 17th April which saw 541 volunteers deliver 91,000 Hope Not Hate newspapers across Barking and Dagenham. Organisers say the event was the biggest political mobilisation of the campaign.

Ekklesia report that the head of political reform campaign Unlock Democracy has said that a vote for the British National Party is "a vote for the abolition of democracy." Peter Facey's verdict comes in the wake of a new report assessing and 'marking' the pledges for democratic change made by a range of the most prominent political parties - not just 'the big three'.

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The Ruts - In A Rut.

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