Copy
Jump in and get your feet wet.
 


 

Dear Friends,
I open with the sad news that a much loved local Member of Parliament, Sir David Amess, was stabbed to death on Friday. He died whilst hosting his regular surgery in a local church. Regardless of whether you shared his political views, he was a good and honest guy, who worked very hard for the people of Southend, and was a strong Catholic. At present, the Police are going down the route of it being a terror-related attack. The question going through my mind is "why". I don't understand, and cannot comprehend, why one human being would take away the life of another. We seem to be at war, but without actually being 'at war.' In the News and Comments Section below, I have shared details of a meeting Pope Francis attended with other faith leaders, and at which he denounced fundamentalism. Given this recent news, I thought it important to share.

This will be a shorter e-bulletin than normal as I am virtually attending a Laudato Si' Retreat facilitated by Boarbank Hall this weekend. I have mainly focused on the lead up to COP26, as we are now only a couple of weeks away.


The next e-bulletin will be out around the 31st October. Thanks to everyone who contacts me with articles/events to share. I am more than happy to do that, although usually refrain from advertising requests for money or fundraising opportunities. Please bear that in mind when sending. If you have any feedback for the e-bulletin, that would also be gratefully received.

God bless,
Sharon (Editor)



E-Bulletin Contents: -

***ACTION OF THE WEEK***


News and Comment
1.   Climate, Environment and COP26
2.   Refugees/Migrants
3.   Homelessness
4.   Two-year Synod on the Church
5.   Christian CND AGM
6.   All Religious Traditions Must Resist 'Temptation to Fundamentalism'
7.   NJPN Blog through ICN 

Newsletters
8.   NJPN NW Bulletin mid- October 2021
9.   Church Action for Tax Justice
10.  Afghanistan Peace Project
11.  Boaz Trust Report 2020/21
 
 
Events (***this week marked by ***) 

12. ***15th - 18th October*** - Anti-Slavery Postmark
13.
***18th October*** - Fairtrade Youth in Solidarity
14. ***20th October*** - Young People Post-Lockdown
15
***24th October*** - CND Conference: No new nuclear arms race
16. 7th November - COP26 Church Service 
17. 13th November - NJPN Networking Day
18. 17th November - Anti-Slavery Member and Supporter Conference
19. 17th November - Joy in Enough

20. 20th November - A Change of Era: Covid, Climate and the Missionary Parish
21. 20th November - Church Action on Poverty Annual Conference
22. Columban Schools Media Competition                                


Actions/Appeals/Surveys/E-Petitions
23. No Tech for Apartheid
24. Suspend Covid-19 Patents during the Pandemic
25. Protect Forests before the Climate Conference
26. Protect Bees and Pollinators


The Last Word
27. Church Action on Poverty Cookery Book

See below for: - 
Note on Data Protection
About these E-Bulletins
Donate to NJPN

       

 

***ACTION OF THE WEEK***




WEEK OF ACTION AND RALLY

18th - 24th October 2021

Together with Refugees are gearing up for a Week of Action as MPs return to Parliament after the party conferences, and the Nationality and Borders Bill moves to its next stage. Together With Refugees members can support this in three important ways:


 

1) Rally in London on 20 October

Together With Refugees’ members, Solidarity With Refugees, Sisters Not Strangers, One Strong Voice, Women for Refugee Women and IMIX are organising a rally on the 20th of October in Parliament Square. The aim of the rally is ‘to show the Government that we oppose this Bill, and that we want to live in a humane and welcoming society’.

We’re working closely with them to support this great initiative. We’d love to see many of you from across the Together With Refugees coalition there on the day. You can find more details here.


2) Organise a local Show Your Heart event on 20 October


Over the coming months we want to send a loud and clear message to the government that the public want the UK to offer protection to people forced to flee their homes – and reject the cruel approach of the Bill. We’re asking you to organise Show Your Heart mobilisation events to coincide with the rally on 20 October or, at some point during the Week of Action. This will send a loud message to MPs nationally and locally at a key moment – and help us ramp up our Together With Refugees local mobilisation work as it builds over coming months. For ideas on how to do this see the campaign pack here.


3) Ask your local MP for a meeting to discuss the Border’s Bill

Use the Week of Action and the return of Parliament as a ‘peg’ to write to your MP to raise your deep concerns about the Bill and request a meeting. You can use the guidance and template letter (page 18) in the campaign pack here.

 

Thank you!


 

NEWS AND COMMENT

1. COP26, Climate and Environment (includes Actions and Events 




Action and Event


 

Don't forget, on Saturday 6 November, we are joining people around the world for a global day of action to demand climate justice at COP26. Join us in Glasgow, in London or your local area.

Footsteps in Birmingham have their own events going on. Click on the link for further details.

 

On the way to COP26

The 5th Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Climate Justice from Poland to Glasgow crossed the English Channel from IJmuiden in the Netherlands to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England on 11 October. They were given a warm welcome on site. 
 

The Pilgrimage began on the 14th August from Zielona Góra, Poland and will end on the 29th October in Glasgow at the World Climate Conference. It is supported by Protestant regional churches, Catholic dioceses and church aid organisations in Germany. Church organisations in Poland, the Netherlands, England and Scotland also support this supra-regional European project. The 5th Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Climate Justice is coordinated by the office in the Institute for Church and Society of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia.

More details about the Pilgrimage, and the welcome they received in Newcastle-upon-Tyne are available through World Council of Churches.

Also, ICN has the added story of a North Shields couple, who have joined with the Group above and will be walking over 100 miles to Glasgow, along the Northumberland Coastal Path. Click here for the details.


Event - Zoom Prayers for COP

Would you set aside ten minutes at the beginning of each day while COP26 is running to join Green Christian's co-chaplain, Andrew Norman, for some simple and contemplative-style prayers? 

At 8am from the 1st to the 12th of November these will be based on our visual presentation Why Faith Matters at COP26 and will follow the particular themes which the participants will be focusing on.  
Register here.




Action - Ask your MP to speak up against fossil fuels

Friends of the Earth write: - Over the next 7 days we have a unique opportunity to challenge the government’s support for climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

Next Thursday, the first and only national debate in the run-up to the Glasgow climate talks will be held in the House of Commons.

Our challenge is to get as many MPs there as possible to speak out on our behalf. The more MPs we can persuade to take part, the harder it will be for the government to keep alive proposals for new oil wells, oil fields, coal mines – and its multi-million pound backing of a massive gas project in Mozambique.


Ask your MP to speak up against Fossil Fuels.


Event - People's Summit for Climate Justice

COP26 Coalition writes: - While world leaders meet to discuss our future at COP26, we'll be building power for system change together. Bringing together the climate justice movement to discuss, learn and strategise for system change. Join in online from anywhere in the world, or in-person in Glasgow. Details and registration here. 
There are also lots of ways that you can get involved by using the link above.


Catholic leaders worldwide urge G20 to 'consign fossil fuels to history'

CAFOD writes: - Senior Catholic leaders have urged world leaders from the G20 group of countries to 'consign fossil fuels to history'.
The plea from more than 70 Church leaders, including cardinals, archbishops and heads of religious congregations, came ahead of the G20 leaders' meeting on 30-31 October.
The call follows a joint statement from Pope Francis and leaders from faith communities worldwide urging negotiators at the COP26 climate talks to agree urgent action to fight the climate crisis.

The full story and copy of the statement is available here.


COP26 - Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales

CBCEW writes: - In our section online we have a useful guide to COP26, produced by CAFOD, with tips to help you get involved. Our response is rooted in prayer and action so in the run-up and during the summit, we invite you to pray that the leaders and negotiators work together for positive outcomes for our common home. You can download our prayer card and poster. Check out our environmental case studies for examples of how parishes, organisations, academic institutions, and other church groups are collaborating to help protect our common home. Click here to access.


Action - Healthy Planet, Healthy People Petition


Two UN conferences. One opportunity for Catholics worldwide to listen to Pope Francis and act out our faith.
At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in October, world leaders can set meaningful targets to protect creation.
In November, at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), countries will announce their plans to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.
Ahead of those meetings, it is our responsibility as Catholics to lift up the voices of the most vulnerable and advocate on their behalf. We must act now.
Sign the petition to political leaders participating in COP15 and COP26 now!


Protecting Nature: UN Biodiversity Summit gets underway

Ellen Teague writes: - Alongside the climate crisis, biologists estimate that we're driving species to extinction at a rate of 100 to 1,000 times their usual rate. "We have no such right" says Pope Francis in Laudato Si' (#33). The UK is in the bottom 10% of countries for biodiversity loss, having lost nearly 50% on pre-industrial levels.

As well as the UN COP26 Climate Summit in November, the UN's COP15 Biodiversity conference is about to start. It will be in two parts: 11-15 October online and then governments will meet face to face April-May 2022 at Kunming in China. COP15 is shorthand for the 15th meeting of the "conference of the parties" to the Convention on Biological Diversity - a treaty adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. COP26 is supposed to protect the global climate. COP15 has the equally vital task of conserving natural life so it can be used sustainably and fairly.

To read the full article through ICN click here.


Joint Appeal ahead of COP26 from faith leaders and scientists

'We have inherited a garden; we must not leave a desert for our children'

ICN writes; Today (4th October), faith leaders representing the world's major religions joined scientists at the Vatican to call on the international community to raise their ambition and step up their climate action ahead of COP26. Almost 40 faith leaders signed a joint Appeal, which was presented by Pope Francis to COP26 President-Designate, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma, and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Luigi Di Maio.
Details of the Appeal are available through ICN and the CBCEW.




2. Refugees  


Holy See calls for tools and action to fight smuggling of migrants

Vatican News reports: The Holy See has expressed concern over “uncontrolled payments through blockchain platforms and the dangerous role that the unregulated use of cryptocurrencies plays in the smuggling of migrants.”  Yuriy Tykhovlis made the statement on Thursday on behalf of Monsignor Janusz Urbanczyk, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Vienna, Austria, whilst speaking at the 'Working Group on the Smuggling of Migrants.'
For more details and to read their suggestions, click here.



Highest ever number of children cross towards US

UNICEF haver reported that in 2021 the highest ever number of migrant children have crossed the Darien Jungle towards the United States. Nearly 19,000 children walked through the border between Colombia and Panama. Half of these children are under five years of age.
“Each child crossing the Darien Gap on foot is a survivor,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Deep in the jungle, robbery, rape and human trafficking are as dangerous as wild animals, insects and the absolute lack of safe drinking water. Week after week, more children are dying, losing their parents, or getting separated from their relatives while on this perilous journey. It’s appalling that criminal groups are taking advantage of these children when they are the most vulnerable.” 
Go to UNICEF's website to read the full report.





3. Homelessness ends in community

Simon Dwight, who is a former CEO of King’s Arms Project and now an Adviser to the government on how community and faith groups address rough sleeping, talks about how he and colleagues learnt the hard way that finding a way out of homelessness is not only about 'housing and hand-outs.' 
Those of you who have worked with the long-term homeless will be able to identify with this story, which is available to read through Grace + Truth.




4. Two-year Synod on the Church

ICN writes: - Pope Francis formally opened the Synod of Bishops on Sunday with a solemn Mass in St Peter's Basilica. Faithful from around the world, including laymen and women, priests, seminarians, women and men religious, cardinals and bishops, took part in the liturgy, which marked the beginning of a two-year synodal process. 
This will be something that we will all be hearing a lot about in the coming months, and parishes, and organisations such as ourselves, will all be meeting to draft together words and statements as to how we want the Church to move forward into the future. 

When I listen to our parishioners, and the fall in numbers from Covid, the immortal words of Private Frazer in Dad's Army comes to mind..."we're doomed; doomed, I tell you."
Let's make it not about the negatives, but about the positives, and let's bring the light of Jesus into our responses. Watch this space for more details as to how we can all get involved.

Pope Francis said "Let us have a good journey together," and he concluded, expressing the hope that we might be "pilgrims in love with the Gospel and open to the surprises of the Spirit." He urged us not to miss out "on the grace-filled opportunities born of encounter, listening, and discernment."
Read the full article from ICN here.





5. Christian CND AGM



The Christian CND AGM opened with a welcome from CCND co-chair Rebecca Dillon and Rev Alison Wilkinson, Minister of Jesmond Methodist Church. The photograph above shows long-time Exec members Patricia and Michael Pulham presented with an award from the Week of Prayer for World Peace in recognition of their work for peace through Christian CND and working with other organisations and faiths. Very well deserved too, Patricia and Michael!

You can read the report of the AGM here.

 


6. All religious traditions must resist 'temptation to fundamentalism'

ACI Africa reports: Pope Francis asked leaders of world religions to resist “the temptation to fundamentalism” for the sake of peace at an interreligious gathering on the 7th October, in front of the Colosseum.
Peace “summons us to serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretense, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us,” the pope said. 

“For the sake of peace, please, in every religious tradition let us defuse the temptation to fundamentalism and every tendency to view a brother or sister as an enemy.”

Speaking on a stage together with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu representatives, Pope Francis appealed for peace amid the world’s current conflicts.
You can read the full article here.

As mentioned above, following on from the appalling murder of Sr David Amess, this is a message that most people would wholeheartedly agree on. I have read some wonderful tributes from people of all faiths and none over the past two days.

Peace, dialogue between faiths, and understanding has to be the way forward to making this world a better and safer place.

 


7. NJPN Blog on Independent Catholic News

There are some very good articles to be read from our 'Guest Bloggers' on the ICN website.

5th October - Can climate change become a transformative tool for humans?

Paul Southgate, Chair of the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) and a member of the Justice and Peace Co-ordinating Council in Hexham & Newcastle diocese writes
 a very interesting article about climate change and his thoughts and feelings about COP26.

You can read his blog here.


Thanks go to our friends at Independent Catholic News for providing us with a platform for our articles. You can check out ICN in full here.



Newsletters

8. NW NJPN Bulletin mid-October 2021


Anne O'Connor has got the theme of Hope running through her NW E-bulletin this time around. Lots of interesting positive articles, as well as some very informative ones. You can read it through the NJPN website.

9. Church Action for Tax Justice

An interesting newsletter, but unfortunately no recent ones are available on their website. You can sign up here to receive your own copy, though.

10. Afghanistan Peace Project

Lots of good articles available in their October newsletter, which isn't yet available on their website - but you can read the September edition, which is just as interesting.

11. Boaz Trust Report 2020/21

This report shows what the Boaz Trust have been doing, and has stories about the people they have helped. Click here to read it.




EVENTS (in chronological order where applicable)


12. 15th - 18th October - Anti-Slavery Postmark
 Royal Mail are marking all letters around the 15th - 18th October with the Anti-Slavery logo as a postmark, to mark Anti-Slavery day on the 18th October. Please arrange to send a letter, even if it is to yourself, so that you can show your support.

13. 18th October 5pm - 6.30pm -  Fairtrade
Youth in Solidarity

14. 20th October 7pm - Million Minutes
Understanding the Context of Young People Post-Lockdown

15. 24th October - 11am onwards - Christian CND Conference Open Day

No New Nuclear Arms Race

16. 7th November
COP26 Church Service 

17. 13th November - 11am - 3pm NJPN Networking Meeting
'So What Must Be Done' - to reflect on COP and its outcomes

18. 17th November 3pm - 6pm - Anti-Slavery International
Supporter Conference

19. 17th November - 7pm - Green Christian
Joy in Enough

20. 20th November - 10am - 1.15pm Caritas Diocese of Nottingham
A change of era: Climate, Covid and the Missionary Parish




21. 20th November - 10am - 3pm - Church Action on Poverty
Annual Conference and AGM

22. Columbans Schools Media Competition
Deadline for entries - 11th February 2022






ACTIONS/APPEALS/SURVEYS/E-PETITIONS

 

23. No Tech for Apartheid
 
Palestine Solidarity Campaign writes: - As the Israeli military bombed homes,  clinics, and schools in Gaza and threatened to push Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem this past May, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud executives signed a $1.22 billion contract to provide cloud technology to the Israeli government and military. By doing business with Israeli apartheid, Amazon and Google will make it easier for the Israeli government to surveil Palestinians and force them off their land.

We’re heeding the call from hundreds of Google and Amazon workers to rise up against the contract, known as Project Nimbus.  Technology should be used to bring people together, not enable apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and occupation. 

Following in the footsteps of those who fought to divest from apartheid South Africa and won, it’s our responsibility to rise up in support of Palestinian freedom. The Amazon and Google execs who signed this contract can still choose to be on the right side of history.

Here’s where you come in: Add your name to demand that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian end all ties with Israeli apartheid and cut the Project Nimbus contract. 


 

24. Suspend Covid-19 Patents during the Pandemic

Global Justice Now writes: We are facing a devastating vaccine apartheid. High-income countries like the UK have ordered many times the number of doses they need, while less than 3% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose.

We are in this situation because big pharma companies hold patents on vaccines, treatments and health technologies and prevent other manufacturers from making more.

But we can change this. Join us in writing to the UK government and the permanent representative of the UK to the World Trade Organisation asking to back the proposal for the suspension of patents during the pandemic.

Add your name here.

 



25. Protect Forests before the Climate Conference

Greenpeace writes:  In a new, urgent push to protect forests, we’re calling on Boris Johnson and his government to close the loopholes in the Environment Bill to properly protect nature at home and abroad. This includes banning all agricultural commodities linked to deforestation from entering the UK.

Current UK government proposals for a deforestation law in the Environment Bill aim only to ban products linked to ‘illegal’ deforestation, defined according to local laws. This leaves the door wide open for products linked to ‘legal’ deforestation and incentivises producer countries to legalise even more.

Sign the petition here.



26. Make sure the Environment Bill protects Bees and Pollinators

Another petition for the Government to do with the Environment Bill. This is to do with adopting the Clause-75 amendment by the House of Lords, which protects pollinators from pesticides.]
Click here to read more about it, and its importance, and to add your name.



 

27.  THE LAST WORD

Our Cookery Book


We don't often add items for sale into the e-bulletin, but as we are coming to the end of Challenge Poverty Week it seemed appropriate!

Church Action on Poverty is delighted to sell copies of Our Cookery Book, an inspirational cookbook compiled by members of the Self-Reliant Groups (SRGs) we support in the North West.

SRG members share favourite recipes, together with stories about what cooking and sharing the food has meant to them in their lives.

All proceeds support Self-Reliant Groups to continue their work. The book is available to purchase here.



Note on Data Protection

Your email address is stored with MailChimp only to allow us to send you these emails, and to track interactions (e.g. open rates). To read more about how MailChimp stores and uses your information, click here for the full 
MailChimp Privacy Policy. Sections referring to Distribution Lists concern your emails.

No sensitive data (such as credit card details) is given to MailChimp because we do not have an e-commerce element.

You can unsubscribe or update your preferences at any time by clicking the links at the bottom of the page.

 

NEWS LINKS

Independent Catholic News
Find Justice and Peace stories at:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/justice-peace-environment
Sign up to receive these regularly.
  
Catholic Communications Network
Find news stories at www.catholicnews.org.uk
 
Latest Zenit Headlines here
 
Vatican News homepage: www.vaticannews.va
 
World Council of Churches
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/
 
UK Parliament News
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/
 
Follow us on Twitter: @NJandPNetwork

Follow us on Facebook: National Justice and Peace Network

 

Registered Office: - NJPN, 39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1BX
Telephone Numbers: - 020 7901 4864 and 07365 838535

 
About these E-BULLETINS
 
The items above are emails received from around the Network which may be of interest to those involved in working for justice and peace.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of NJPN.
To unsubscribe from these mailings, email ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org with “unsubscribe” in the subject box. We also welcome your feedback at the same address.
Forwarding these emails: Please feel free to forward these emails on to your contacts – but please remember to tell them to contact YOU if they want to unsubscribe!
Urgent Actions:
We sometimes receive emails that need immediate action and cannot wait for the weekly bulletin. To receive these items email the same address with “urgent actions” in the subject box.
If you appreciate these bulletins, help to keep them coming by donating to NJPN:
Send cheques payable to NJPN to: NJPN, 39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1BX.
Make a regular donation by standing order: Download standing order/membership forms from http://www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/
(NJPN is a registered charity no: 1114947 Company no: 5036866)
If you shop online, you can support us at no extra cost to yourself by signing up with easyfundraising.org.uk, where lots of companies will make a donation to us when you shop online with them.
As a small charity NJPN relies on donations from its members and friends, as well as grants for specific work or projects, if you feel you are able to make a contribution you can either:
make a bacs payment to our account: Sort code 16-31-15 account 10089516 reference Donation with your surname or our CAF donate page: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/8130#!/DonationDetails


 


 

 
 
 
   

 

 

 















 








 

 

 


 

 






 

 
 
Copyright © 2021 National Justice & Peace Network, All rights reserved.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp