Posted Monday 14 July 2008
The seven bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church will join an unprecedented walk of hundreds of Anglican bishops and other faith leaders through central London on Thursday 24 July, to demonstrate their commitment to help end extreme poverty across the globe.
The bishops will be joined by around 600 archbishops and bishops from across the worldwide Anglican Communion, and their spouses, in the high-profile call on global leaders to keep their promises to deliver the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The walk of solidarity through London – led by a banner calling on world leaders to ‘Keep the promise – Halve poverty by 2015’ – will conclude with a rally at Lambeth Palace, the London home and office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Rev Dr Idris Jones, will take part in the walk and says “while it is important that churches and other faith communities continue to put pressure on those who have the power and resources to help end extreme poverty we must acknowledge that the UK Government is the only one in Europe to have fulfilled its promise in tackling the issues raised by the MDGs.”
Announcing the walk, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said: “Faith leaders and our communities are active across the world as advocates for the poor and vulnerable in our midst. Faith groups often have the best service delivery networks in the very places which the international agencies find hardest to reach.”
The bishops will walk through the heart of London – on a route that passes the Houses of Parliament – in a vivid demonstration of the diversity of the Anglican Communion and as a witness to the work already being conducted by Churches and other faith groups to support the MDGs, and a public pledge to work harder to make sure they are delivered. The faith leaders will also call on their respective governments to ensure that funding promises are met, and the right policies put in place, to make a real difference to local communities across the world.
The event is being organised in partnership with Micah Challenge UK, part of the international Micah Challenge movement dedicated to uniting Christians to work together for an end to world poverty.
The walk is part of a growing movement by faith groups across the globe to raise awareness of the MDGs and the need to step up pressure on governments to honour their spending commitments towards the UN goals on education, diseases, hunger and child health.
In addition to the organisational partnership with Micah Challenge UK, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) is also supporting the event as part of the UK’s MDG ‘Call to Action’ to accelerate progress to deliver the MDGs.
The walk will form part of the international backdrop for the UN meeting on 25th September, when the UN Secretary General is hosting a special review on progress towards the goals and the financial commitments from donor countries.
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Category: Lambeth 2008
