Tell the government how great the Church is
Have your say - a brilliant chance to show the government the invaluable contribution of the Church
We’ve got a great opportunity to persuade the government to work with Christians more – and we need your help.
Next Tuesday (2 July), parliament will debate co-operation between local government and faith groups.
Earlier this month we produced the
Faith in the Community report for Christians in Parliament. It shows the thriving relationship between faith groups and local authorities and the huge contribution churches and other groups bring to their local communities.
Next week's debate is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the contribution churches make and show that without them society would be a far poorer place. We want to show that churches and Christian organisations are committed to their communities, passionate about serving them, and determined to stand on the side of the poorest and the most vulnerable.
The government has said lots of warm words about working with faith groups – just this week the Prime Minister said: “It is encouraging that Christianity still plays such a vital role in our national life”. It does, and we want this to be backed up with action. We want local government to increase their partnerships with faith groups, and we want to combat some of the myths that can restrict this vital relationship.
What you can do:
1. Contact your local MP as soon as you can. If you don't know who they are
you can
find out here, where you can also follow a link to send them a message.
2. Ask them to attend the Westminster Hall debate on 'Cooperation between local
government and faith communities' on Tuesday 2 July 2.30-4pm.
3. Let them know about the Faith in the Community report published by Christians in
Parliament. All the documents are available at
www.eauk.org/faithinthecommunity
4. Let them know what your church or other churches and Christian organisations are
doing in your area. Tell them about food banks or debt advice centres, tell them
about youth clubs picking up after local authority cut backs, and tell them about what
else you are doing to serve your community.
Wouldn't it be incredible next week to hear MPs from across the UK, from every different party, discussing the invaluable contribution churches and Christian organisations bring to our society? They can only do this if we take the time to tell them – this will only take a few minutes.
Please let us know if you get in touch with your MP; send a copy of your message and the name of your MP to
pub-aff a_t eauk d_o_t org.
Best wishes and many thanks,
Dr Dave Landrum, director of advocacy