Preparing churches for the General Election 2010

A General Election will be held sometime before 3 June 2010. Christians across the country will be campaigning for different parties or standing for election. Churches may host hustings meetings where candidates can be questioned by local voters, and voters will have the opportunity to decide who they wish to vote for, and which party’s policies most closely match their own hopes and values. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has published a document, Faith in Politics, which covers a range of the most important policy issues, such as children and young people, criminal justice, the economy, education, environment, health, migration, poverty, and others. For each topic there are sections on subject background, the main issues, suggested questions to candidates and contact details for more information.

All the subject sections in Faith in Politics are available as web pages online, and additional material and links will be added as the election draws closer. The work comprises a series of articles on a variety of topics.

Carbon Fast: Make do and mend

Do you have clothes you could wear for longer if you gave them a little TLC? Spend some time doing old-fashioned mending. ‘1.2 million tonnes of clothing waste every year goes into UK landfills’ (UK government, Act on CO2). Methane – a potent greenhouse gas – is emitted in landfill sites. Reducing the quantity of clothes and other products we buy reduces the waste that ends up in landfills and also reduces emissions from manufacturing and transporting these goods.

Father God, please calm the unsustainable rate of consumption and transform us into people who are content with what we have rather than striving to own more and more. Amen.

www.tearfund.org/carbonfast