FAITH IN EUROPE AGM 14 JULY 2011

Briefing Meetings

Regular Briefing Meetings continue to form the central part of the programme of Faith in Europe (FiE). We usually meet in the Library in Archbishop's House behind St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Southwark. We are grateful to Fr Ashley Beck for arranging this facility for us.

The 2010 AGM took place at the Swedish Church in London. The Briefing Meeting in the afternoon had a Scandinavian/Baltic theme. Our first speaker was the Lutheran Bishop Matti Repo of Tampere in Finland. His title was 'Lutherans and Orthodox in Finland: ecumenical dialogue and co-operation between two established churches'. Our second speaker was Bishop William Kenney, who was Catholic Bishop of Stockholm from 1987 to 2006. He covered similar ground to Matti Repo, from the Swedish perspective. Our speakers also touched on the particularly close relations between the churches in Finland and those in Estonia and between the churches in Sweden and those in Latvia, thus bringing in the post-Soviet Baltic dimension.

Our October meeting was, as usual, residential. We were at the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, for a two-night stay. We focused on Ukraine and Belarus', eastern neighbours of the European Union (EU). On the first evening I gave an overview of the current religious situation in Ukraine and Belarus', with some historical background. The following morning we started with some orientation from Nathaniel Copsey of the Centre for Europe at Aston University on the history, aims and current work of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy, particularly as it affects Ukraine and Belarus'. After that heard from Peter Pavlovich, of the CEC Church and Society Commission in Brussels, who is involved in trying to develop projects in Ukraine in the context of the Neighbourhood Policy. We then had input from John and Julie Gater about the work of the Chernobyl Children's Project in Belarus, and a vivid and disturbing account from John Leatherland, of Chernobyl Children's Lifeline, about his experiences on a recent visit to the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of Aid to the Church in Need, told us about ACN's supportive work in Ukraine. On the final morning Roland Smith, former British ambassador to Ukraine, summed up the conference discussions in the light of his own experiences and suggested some prospects for the future.

The theme of the January 2011 meeting was migration. Our speaker was Doris Peschke, the General Secretary of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) in Brussels. Aspects of the subject on which she focused included: the recent and current controversy within the EU about the repatriation of illegal immigrants, including the origins and consequences of the 2008 EU directive on this subject; the increasing gap between EU citizens' rights and third country nationals' rights, but also the fragility of the understanding of citizens' rights exemplified by the Roma minority; and the unfinished harmonisation of EU asylum legislation. At the meeting we also heard from Jana Jeruma-Grinberga: she is a bishop in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, a director of the Lutheran Council of Great Britain and, since Easter 2010, European Officer for Churches Together in England.

The April meeting took place in the the Amigo Hall at St George's Cathedral. The theme was Turkey, and our speaker was Shenaz Bunglawala. Shenaz is a member of the Faith in Europe Committee; she has served as a speech writer to two Secretary Generals of the Muslim Council of Britain and was until recently the Vice Chair of the MCB's Europe and International Affairs Committee. She is also doing doctoral research on Islamism in Turkey at the London School of Economics.

The Newsletter Faith in Europe Briefings

Two issues of Faith in Europe Briefings appeared during the year, with summaries of presentations and discussions at Briefing Meetings, reports from events in which FiE members had been involved, reprints of interesting articles and information about recent publications. As usual I would like to remind members of FiE, and indeed anyone who reads Faith in Europe Briefings, that it is a resource for all to use. Please send details to me of news of events and activities in the field of FiE's concern and anything you would like to publicise.

Getting FiE Better Known in Universities

During the year we have been discussing how to get FiE better known to younger people with a concern for Europe, and have decided to target Europe-related departments in universities, and also to identify university chaplains who might help to promote the FiE agenda. Lucian Leustean at the Centre for Europe at Aston University had organised a good conference on the influence and role religion in Europe and the USA which some members of FiE had attended and which had involved students from Aston and elsewhere.

The Faith in Europe Website

The website (http://www.faithineurope.org.uk) has continued to be well visited, but there was no action on the Bulletin Board during the year, and we have decided to close that down. We have also decided to seek professional help in redesigning the website to enhance its use amongst a potential new audience, especially in universities. Meanwhile Robin Blount continues to keep the website up to date. Please send direct to Robin any FiE-related documents or news of your own activities and events which you would like to publicise. The contents of Faith in Europe Briefings are posted there. The website can also carry links to websites of other related organisations, and Robin would welcome any suggestions.

The Faith in Europe Committee

Earlier this year we welcomed Tony Lerman to our Committee as a Jewish representative. From 1979 Tony worked at the Institute of Jewish Affairs (IJA). In 1991 he was appointed its Director, and in 1996 he transformed it into a fully-fledged independent policy think tank, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (IJPR), which devises policy solutions to social, political and cultural problems facing Jews and other minorities in Europe. In December 1999 he left the JPR to become Chief Executive of the Rothschild Foundation (Europe), a grant-making trust supporting Jewish life in Europe. In 2006-09 he returned to the IJPR for a second period as its Director. Tony is a member of many other forums and committees, and founded the Jewish Forum for Justice and Human Rights.

Membership

There is a slow attrition of individual members, largely because of age. Some 40 denominations, para-church organisations and ecumenical bodies continue to be members of, or in contact with, FiE; but some corporate members have not renewed their subscriptions, including the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church: it seems that Europe work is no longer a high priority for them.

During the year two of our most faithful and long-standing members, Martin Conway and Michael Smart, have been unable to be involved because of illness. We continue to wish them well on their way to recovery.

Prospects for the Future

The financial situation of FiE continues stable, which means that we can continue with our current programme of Briefing Meetings and continue to circulate Faith in Europe Briefings both in hard copy and, increasingly, in electronic form. The latter will of course save money. An increasing number of members now receive their mailings by email. The 'CAFE Legacy' of just over £1000 is being kept aside in the budget, to be used for specific purposes when appropriate. FiE envisages publishing one-off brochures and special studies, and donations earmarked for publications will be reserved for that purpose. We are always glad to hear suggestions of ways in which the FiE resources could be usefully used. Similarly we are always glad to receive ideas on how the work of FiE can be more widely publicised.

In Memoriam

We were sorry to learn of the death in December 2010 of Christopher Cviic, one of the Vice-Presidents of FiE. David Thomas attended a memorial service from him in Westminster Cathedral.

Thanks