There has been a great deal of uncertainty about our place in Europe since the Brexit vote in June 2016 and this has become more apparent in recent days, now that official notice has been given under Article 50.
Inequalities in our society are becoming more apparent, and the Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness Jim Wallace, former deputy First Minister of Scotland, challenged churches gathered at a recent conference to engage with communities that are ‘left behind.’ An important role for the churches now is to listen to the voices from the margins, and ensure that public discourse is inclusive and full of integrity.
The UK and Irish churches made it clear at the conference that they still intend to work with European partners on promoting values such as peace, justice, witness and hospitality on the continent which we all share. To this end, the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) is exploring re-joining the Conference of European Churches, and the SEC’s Inter-Church Relations Committee will present a proposal regarding this to General Synod this year.
More information on the Europe – Where Now? Conference can be found here and videos of the presentations are on YouTube
