James Jones, Bishop of Livrpool

The Bishop of Liverpool, The Rt Reverend James Jones has used his presidential address to the March synod of the Diocese of Liverpool to call for Anglicans to “accept the diversity of ethical convictions” in the debate on sexual ethics so that “we will let nothing deflect us from mission”

Read the full address here

Politically Correct Nativity

Like me, some of your will be preparing for your Church or School Nativity Play. It’s a time for excited children and proud parents. Sometimes it is hard to find enough characters for those wanting to talk part. One school I know introduced Personal Assistants for the wise men. Still short each PA had a secretary.  Traditionally it is the time for tea towels to come out of the cupboard, along with dressing gowns, fluffy stuffed toys and dolls.

Some would say that we should do away with such “Chocolate Box” ideas of the Nativity because the reality was so different. That may be true but here in the UK that ‘Nativity Play’ could well be the only story the children hear from the Bible all year! However, I do think that as we grow into adulthood we should come to terms with that reality – if we don’t we miss so much of the meaning of Christmas.

Jesus came to a people who were suffering, who were under the yoke of corrupt leaders and an army of occupation – I can think of  more than a few places where that is true today. Jesus too was born in the worst of conditions. My daughter recently gave birth to twins, she was in a nice warm hospital and had teams of health workers on hand as well as all the latest medical equipment. I can’t imagine what that would like in a drafty, dirty stable with none of those facilities; not even a midwife.

So Jesus identifies with the poor and the oppressed and as his disciples we need to do the same. The meaning of Christmas is God With Us in our poverty and our oppression whether that is physically or spiritually true.

One of my favourite hymns during the advent season is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. This version is slightly different but I think the mournfulness and context of the video perhaps gives a truer perspective of the meaning of this Advent season.

It seems to have more in sympathy with King Herod than that of the shepherd and angels.

Blessing of the Gifts

The inspiration for the modern day Father Christmas – St Nicholas of Myra, was turned away at the gate of the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire when he tried to deliver gifts to the children locked up inside.

Jolly Old St Nick brought with him £300 worth of gifts donated by several London churches for the estimated 35 children currently detained. Dressed in a red robe, long white beard, and a bishop’s mitre and crook, and accompanied by Rev’d Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey, they hoped to spread some St Nicholastide cheer among the children of migrants detained for administrative purposes at Yarl’s Wood.

The atmosphere became rather less jolly when the Home Office authorities who run Yarl’s Wood refused permission for St Nicholas to enter the Centre to distribute the gifts to the children. Despite the authorities having agreed to accept the gifts, St Nicholas was met at the gates by a group of unidentified security guards who barred his entry and ordered him to leave the area. They later called the police as St Nicholas blessed the gifts. The gifts were loaded into an unmarked van by staff who refused to provide a name, number or receipt for the gifts. St Nicholas asked one “guard” his name and the man said “write down ‘Father Christmas’”.

St Nick said, “If this is how visitors are treated, I just shudder to imagine what else transpires inside Yarl’s Wood.” While police questioned the St Nicholas team, taxis and delivery lorries made their way in and out of the place with many smiling and stopping to greet the Saint and his companions.

In the afternoon, when St Nicholas returned to make a pre-arranged and approved social visit to two families currently detained, they were informed at the gates that their visit had been cancelled. They were handed letters from Dawn Elaine, the Contracts Manager at Yarl’s Wood, informing them that permission had been revoked because of “concerns about your conduct” when the gifts had been deposited that morning.

The action was organised by the St Nicholas Society and CITIZENS for Sanctuary. The St Nicholas Society exists to increase interest, learning, and appreciation of the tradition of St Nicholas, whose festival falls on December 6th. St Nicholas has previously brought joy to children across the world, including in the USA and Palestine. CITIZENS for Sanctuary is a campaign by CITIZENS UK to implement the recommendations of the Independent Asylum Commission – one of which was to end the detention of children.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary has formed a coalition of 13 national faith organisations representing 7 million people to promote a Sanctuary Pledge at the 2010 General Election. Prospective Parliamentary Candidates across the country will be asked to back the Sanctuary Pledge, which includes a commitment to end the detention of children and families for immigration purposes.

St Nicholas said:
“St Nick has never been turned away from anywhere before. So I was extremely disappointed not be able to hand deliver the gifts to the children detained at Yarl’s Wood today. I hope the kids realize that they will be firmly in my prayers on St Nicholas Day when I preach at the Royal Naval College chapel in Greenwich.”

Canon Professor Nicholas Sagovsky said:
“This was about bringing a moment of joy to kids locked up in a deplorable situation. I can’t help but contrast the smiles and wonderment on the faces of the children that St Nicholas visited at a local primary school this afternoon, with the sad fate of those kids who will be locked up in Yarl’s Wood over Christmas. People of goodwill must make sure that their prospective MPs sign the Sanctuary Pledge at the next election so that next St Nicholas’s Day there will no longer be innocent children detained here at Yarl’s Wood.”

You can watch videos of the event here and here.

Please read and check out the links

Dave

Have you seen the footage of the Metropolitan police tactics during the G20 demonstrations? The police used excessive force on the thousands of peaceful demonstrators instead of isolating a handful of troublemakers. One instance in particular quite possibly led to the death of innocent bystander Ian Tomlinson. 

Flawed police tactics are an attack on our democratic right to peaceful protest. Join the public outcry across Britain, urging the government to fix rules governing the policing of protests:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/fix_british_protest_policing/97.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

You can read more below.

Thanks!

———————————–
Peaceful protests can change the world. Last week’s G20 summit wouldn’t have taken the decisions it did without the non-violent pressure hundreds of thousands of citizens brought to bear — like our peaceful march with thousands of green hard hats the weekend before the G20.[1]

The protests in the City of London immediately before the summit were rowdier than our own, but still overwhelmingly peaceful despite media hysteria, aggressive policing and a handful of troublemakers. Tragically, one man died that day — bystander and newspaper-seller Ian Tomlinson. Now video footage shows that he was struck down by a masked, baton-wielding policeman.[2]

We’ve worked with the police on our own public demonstrations, and they play an essential role in making peaceful protest possible. But not for the first time, the police lost their way at these City protests — using excessive force, starting to criminalise the peaceful majority and creating pressure-cooker confrontations instead of defusing them. Enough is enough — the British tradition of peaceful public protest is too important to lose. Follow this link to watch the video and sign the emergency petition to fix British policing of demonstrations — we’ll deliver it directly to the Home Secretary, Parliament and the Metropolitan Police:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/fix_british_protest_policing

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now investigating Ian Tomlinson’s death minutes after he was struck down — but he was far from the only innocent person injured by violent police tactics on April 1st, as a growing flood of dependable eyewitnesses’ testimonies and videos have begun to reveal.[3] This is not an isolated incident. It points to wider failings in the policing of demonstrations in the UK in recent years.

The policy of “kettling” (penning in people including bystanders, families and those who want to move on, often for ten hours or more) seems to create a pressure-cooker atmosphere of frustration and confrontation. Instead of isolating and removing the handful of troublemakers who wrecked the Royal Bank of Scotland branch, the police responded by cracking down on the peaceful majority, confining them, forcing them to give personal information, and charging them with batons and dogs. This cannot be right.

The separate and wholly-peaceful “climate camp” on Bishopsgate was subject to similar imprisonment and baton-charges. Initial police statements about these events have often turned out to be misleading. As well as constraining rights of assembly, new laws now supposedly prohibit taking the very photos and videos of police officers which have begun to reveal the truth of these events.

We can’t let this slide toward unaccountability continue. Many of those policing this demonstration wore balaclavas or took their identification numbers off. By telling the media before the protests that they were “up for it” if violence ensued, commanding officers were whipping up dangerous hysteria. As Andy Hayman, the former Assistant Commissioner of the Met wrote yesterday: “If left unchecked, we have a more violent crowd in uniform than the crowd demonstrating.”

This is ultimately a question of government policy and accountability — so we’ll deliver the petition to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and the Home Affairs Committee of Parliament as well as the Metropolitan Police, and alert the media to raise wider awareness of this effort.

After Ian Tomlinson’s death, it’s time to fix the policing of demonstrations in Britain. Sign the emergency petition at the link below, and share this message with friends, family and colleagues:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/fix_british_protest_policing

With hope and determination,

Paul, Alice, Iain and the whole Avaaz team

Sources:

[1] Avaaz Flickr photos from London G20 demonstration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/avaaz/sets/72157615805537381/

[2] The Guardian — “New video footage from G20 protests gives fresh angle on attack”:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2009/apr/08/g20-police-assault-ian-tomlinson-video

[3] Chris Abbott, Open Democracy — “Trapped and beaten by police in Climate Camp”:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/ourkingdom/2009/04/09/trapped-and-beaten-by-police-in-climate-camp

No need for me to add further comments