NJPN supporter James Buchanan has asked if we can support this appeal.

“Michael Gove: Keep your pledge on Inter Faith Network Funding!”

Sign and share petition until 29 February – Petition hand-in: Monday 26 February

In recent weeks, Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Communities) announced his decision to withdraw £155,000 of funding to Inter Faith Network (IFN) already offered in July 2023, following the appointment of an IFN Trustee who is a former Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

John Woodhouse (interfaith supporter and Catholic campaigner) has set up a change.org petition calling on Michael Gove to reverse his decision and continue funding IFN, which has already been signed by 2,100+ people.

Please sign and share the petition to help us reach 3,000+ signatures by Monday:

https://www.change.org/p/urge-michael-gove-to-maintain-funding-for-the-interfaith-network-for-the-uk

In the House of Commons, MPs criticised Mr Gove’s decision as “extraordinarily stupid,” emphasising that interfaith dialogue is “more important than ever” at this time of increased antisemitism and Islamophobia. As a result of Mr Gove’s decision, Inter Faith Network is unfortunately set to close.

Last November, the Archbishop of Canterbury hosted an Inter Faith Week event (an initiative of IFN) at Lambeth Palace, which was attended by King Charles III, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and 30 other faith leaders.

NJPN welcomes this opportunity to support this appeal. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales is a member of IFN and the RC Bishop of Nottingham has expressed his concerns. Please sign and share the petition now.

Anne Peacey,  NJPN Chair

(Image courtesy of Missionary Society of St. Columban, Australia)

“Let there be nothing among you that can divide you.” 

(St. Ignatius of Antioch)

Dear Friends,

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity runs between the 18th and the 25th January, and looking at our broken world now, more than ever and despite our divisions, we need to stand together. For peace, for the planet, and if we want to achieve justice.

Talking of coming together, our Action of the Week is for the Group that you belong to sign an urgent letter to party leaders asking them to take action to address the climate and nature crisis. Please take part through the link below.

Apologies, but there was a bit of a hiccup in the design of the Booking Form for Conference, so the Newsletters, with the forms, were posted out later than expected. If you haven’t received yours already, it will drop through your door sometime this week. If you are planning on attending our Conference, you can now book through our website, using either the downloadable Word document, or the Microsoft Form. Payments will still need to be made manually, though, through either a Bank Transfer, or by Cheque. We are really looking forward to seeing many of you again.

This weekend we have a shorter E-bulletin than normal due to the fact that I have been under the weather for a few days. I would be interested to hear whether people would be interested in receiving one of this size in future with maybe just a couple of main topics in News and Comment. My son always tells me this is far too long!

All being well, I will be preparing the next E-bulletin around the 3rd/4th February, so news of any events, or articles, will need to be with me by Friday 2nd February.

Wishing you well for the next two weeks,

Sharon
 

NJPN E-Bulletin 21st January 2024