When the Network met on April 28th the items on which information was exchanged included inter alia

i) the uptake of CTBI hustings material for the General Election;
ii) the Alcohol Bill and the Criminal Justice Bill which were before the Scottish Parliament;
iii)  Health Care Chaplaincy;
iv) Eco-Congregations;
v) Bio-Ethics;
vi) Afghanistan; and
vii) the Sanctuary Pledge.

The Network agreed to approach the Faith Studies Network to explore the possibility of setting up an ecumenical group to discuss the situation in Afghanistan along with a critique of the “just war” proposition.

The Group, which had taken on the task of planning a Conference on the effects on faith based social agencies of the Concordat between the Scottish Government and the Local Authorities, reported that 26th October had been set as the date for the Conference.  A provisional booking of Easter Road Conference Centre had been made and an invitation to speak had been extended to Alex Neil, Minister for Housing and Communities.

A proposal, brought to the Network by the Scottish Churches' Education Group, to hold a one day Conference in the Autumn for members of Spiritual Care Teams in Further Education Colleges was approved.  It was noted that it was hoped that one of the outcomes of the Conference might be the setting up of an information network which would support Spiritual Care Teams in their work in Scottish Colleges.

When the Network met on January 20th its members exchanged information on, and discussed, a wide variety of topics.  Amongst them were

i) the news that the new Scottish Churches’ Racial Justice Officer, Rev. Francis Alao, had taken up his post just after the New Year;
ii) the introduction of a course, organised by the Church of Scotland, Scripture Union and Glasgow University, for teachers involved in delivering Religious Observance;
iii) the imminent tabling in the Parliament of Margo MacDonald’s Bill on assisted dying;
iv) the Scottish Government’s proposals on alcohol and on “Living and Dying Well”;
v) the Westminster Government’s Equality Bill;
vi) the likely effects on older people if plans to end the use of cheques go ahead;
vii) the arguments for and against increased use of community sentencing in the justice system;
viii) pilot projects in participatory budgeting in local authority areas; and
ix) the publication on the web site of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland of material designed to help ecumenical groups which wished to arrange hustings meetings in the run up to the General Election.

Members also considered two motions for which the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Church in Society Committee was seeking support.  One dealt with the presence of British troops in Afghanistan, questioning whether or not the war there was “a just war” and calling for the announcement of a definite date in 2010 by which British troops would be withdrawn.  The other called on the United Kingdom Government to discontinue the programme to renew Trident and to move towards the decommissioning of the country’s present Trident capability.  Network members felt that they could not agree to support the motions on behalf of their Churches immediately but agreed to ensure that they were discussed in the Churches and that the SEC would be notified of the outcomes of the discussions.

The Network agreed to support a bid from the Scottish Churches’ Education Group for financial support to enable them to hold a one day Conference for Chaplains and members of Spiritual Care Teams in Further Education Colleges.  The Education Group had been asked to do this as a possible first step towards creating a forum in which FE Chaplains could meet regularly to discuss their work.

A sub-committee was set up to plan for a Conference which would examine the effects of the Scottish Government’s Concordat with Local Authorities on the social action organisations run by the Churches and other charitable bodies.

 Church and Society Network 

When the Network met on September 9th the items on its agenda included inter alia

i) WCC World Week (Discussion of the response to the Network’s letter to the Trustees.)
ii) the effects on voluntary bodies of the funding Concordat with Local Authorities (An Outline Bid to support the holding of a one day conference on the topic has been prepared for submission to the Trustees.)
iii) consideration of the problems in obtaining information being faced by some ministers/priests/pastors wishing to visit parishioners who are in hospital. (It was agreed to invite Ewan Kelly of the NHS to speak to an afternoon session of the Network early in 2010 about this problem and about the issue of what faith communities can contribute to the Health Service through their influence on the spiritual health of patients.)
iv) preparation for the forthcoming General Election.

Church Leaders / Representatives contribute to the Scottish Government’s National Conversation
Leaders / representatives of twelve of Scotland’s Churches accepted the invitation of the Scottish Government to contribute to a ‘national conversation’ on choosing the future of Scotland. On Thursday 12 June 2008, eleven of the group were able to meet together in the Scottish Parliament.

Faith in Politics: Elections 2010

Resources and advice for churches to hold hustings meetings with candidates.