The Bishops of the Church of England are backing calls for the leaders of the world’s richest countries to halt the “hoarding” of COVID-19 vaccines while billions of people around the world have yet to be jabbed.Members of the College of Bishops, which is meeting in Oxford, voted unanimously to endorse a statement by two Anglican Communion bodies which demands an emergency meeting of the G7 to commit to vaccine equity.It warns that potentially millions of vaccines stockpiled by wealthy countries could go to waste after passing their effective “use by” date rather than be shared with those in urgent need.Earlier this year G7 leaders meeting in Cornwall promised to donate more than one billion doses of vaccine but it is estimated that less than 15 per cent of these have so far materialised.World leaders, who are attending the UN General Assembly in New York this week, are expected to decide tomorrow whether to call an emergency G7 meeting to address the issue.Following the vote at the College of Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has written to the UN Secretary General António Guterres in support of the call.The statement, drawn up by the Anglican Health and Community Network and the Anglican Alliance notes that the vast majority of doses administered so far have been in high-and upper-middle income countries - while across Africa vaccination coverage is estimated at just two per cent.“Even as booster jabs are given and over-12s vaccinated, rich nations are still on track to amass an excess of one billion vaccines by the end of the year,” the statement warns.“This excess will only increase in 2022 as global vaccine manufacturing increases. Rich nations must not hoard the surpluses amassed – but must share.“The lives and health of millions around the world are at risk, alongside the threat of new variants emerging globally.”It concludes: “We are one human family. “We can and must work together to end this pandemic, leaving no one behind.”The Bishop of Hertford, Michael Beasley (see photo), who is an epidemiologist and a Co-Convenor of the Anglican Health & Community Network, brought the statement to the College of Bishops to ask for their support.He said: “Our archbishops and bishops have spoken unanimously to add their voices to calls for the G7 countries urgently to meet to address the issues of rich nations’ hoarding and wastage of vaccines.“We ask the G7 leaders to find ways to recognise that we are one world and to share vaccines so that no one will be left behind.”
The new declaration from representatives of religious communities across the United Kingdom calls for people to be “advocates for justice” ahead of the Glasgow summit.Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, and lead Bishop on the Environment for the Church of England, signed the letter alongside leaders of every major Christian denomination and representatives from Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh communities. The declaration states: “We remind governments of their commitments made in Paris in 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, and of Article 17 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights to protect the environment, the biosphere and biodiversity. “We call upon them to take the urgent action needed to avert the loss, damage, and forced migration threatened by climate change.”Adding: “Across our doctrinal and political differences, we know that we must change our ways to ensure a quality of life which all can share, and we need to provide hope for people of all ages, everywhere, including future generations. “To offer hope in the world we need to have confidence that those in power understand the vital role they have to play at the Glasgow COP26.”The new multi-faith declaration builds on the 2015 Lambeth Declaration and this month’s statement signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Pope, and the Ecumenical Patriarch.The three Christian leaders warned of the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on poverty, and the importance of global cooperation ahead of COP26.Bishop Graham said: “As a world community we need to come together and keep the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees. “Glasgow is a ‘Kairos’ moment for the future of this planet. That’s why the voices of faith communities are so important. “We are drawing on the wells of wisdom within our traditions to encourage the leaders of the world to take the bold, prophetic, steps we all need to take.”The Glasgow Declaration pledges a response to the challenge set by the climate emergency through being “advocates for justice by calling on governments, businesses and others who exercise power and influence to put into effect the Paris agreement; to make the transition to a just and green economy a priority; and to commit to science-based targets that are aligned with a healthy, resilient, zero-emissions future.”It comes just 40 days before the beginning of COP26 when leaders are set to agree emission reducing plans to avert a rise in global temperatures of more than 1.5 degrees. The publication of the declaration coincides with the end of both the Scottish Government Climate Week and Stop Climate Chaos Fringe Week, as well as the beginning of the Climate Coalition’s Great Big Green Week.
If you can't be with us in person at St Peter's Church, Hascombe tomorrow for our 10am Holy Communion service, you can join us by clicking on the Zoom link below.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84602515852?pwd=L2p5S1E4L2ZGS3dlS1NJbi80bmNmUT09
THE parish is “essential” and is not under threat, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.In an interview for the Church Times, Archbishop Welby responded to the Save the Parish campaign by stating: “There is no ‘threat’ to the parish...There is no conspiracy to abolish the parish.”It was “rubbish”, he said, to suggest that the parish system was outdated. “We are the Church for England. If we are going to be for England, we have to be in every community, or as many as we can possibly manage. We have to be open to every person, not just the congregation, precious as they are.”He continued: “I am not just in favour of the parish, I am passionate that the parish is essential.” He was sympathetic to clergy and laity currently struggling, especially after the pandemic. He described his ten years as a parish priest in Coventry diocese as “far more stressful than what I do now”.During the interview, the Archbishop conceded that the money invested for church growth “has not so far” produced results. “If that happens, it happens. But it’s not us who grow the Church. It’s God who grows the Church.”His message to clergy and laypeople was: “We can only do what God enables us to do, and the rest is his problem. So, if you can’t do things, don’t be guilty. . . Keep a sane home life, and keep up with your friends, and do what you can having done that, and spend time with God in prayer.”Church-planting initiatives such as Myriad were “not saying to parish clergy who don’t have any more to give . . . ‘Never mind, you have got to give more, you have to got to somehow plant three churches,’” he said.“Myriad is only one part of the story. Another part of the story is: let’s try and lighten the load — make it easier to run ancient buildings, find ways of resourcing.”Archbishop Welby said that he knew how demoralised clergy felt: “I led a small church. . . I used to go to New Wine. I would come away so depressed at what we weren’t doing. And we would always have a bit of a bicker on the way home. . .“And my wife would say: ‘No, of course we’re not: we’re a small church in a small town in the Midlands. We are not HTB . . . Don’t fret about it. That’s their job. Let’s do our job.’”
