B62B/CR
August 2015
Lyndon Bowring
Team efforts I recently discovered something fascinating about the man in the top left corner on the back of a five pound note – but more of that later! We give thanks that at the General Election so many of our parliamentary friends were returned to the House of Commons. Friends who did not succeed have been very much in our thoughts and prayers. There are now also 183 brand new MPs, a good number of Christians among them, who have already met for a Bible study! Please pray that we will soon find those who will stand with us on issues of major concern. While looking forward to the work ahead, I often reflect on the ways in which God has graciously used CARE since the ‘70s and ‘80s, working alongside parliamentarians. We have played our part in seeing significant Bills become law, like the Video Recordings Act, the Child Protection Act, the Indecent Displays Act, and Bills concerning abortion and sex shop closures. We do pay tribute to the Members of Parliament who championed those Bills in Parliament – Graham Bright, Tim Sainsbury, Cyril Townsend and David Alton. I also remember with affection those at CARE who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, many of them unpaid, to ensure these Bills reached the Statute Book – some of whom are now in heaven reaping their reward! They were part of a great team effort: Raymond Johnston, Eddie Stride, Bruce Marfell, Hugh Bailey, Barry Ecclestone, Edward Shackleton, Nigel Williams, Claire Wilson-Thomas, Roger Smith and Charlie Colchester, to name but a few.
Although looking back on the past is encouraging, I have to say that the last six months have been amongst the most exciting in CARE’s history. One of the key developments has been the passing of ground-breaking anti-trafficking legislation, in Northern Ireland, and also in Westminster. Our Public Affairs team has been working at the heart of this, acting as principal advisor to Lord Morrow, who took the Northern Ireland legislation through Stormont. We also played a key role working with Westminster parliamentarians, correcting some of the shortcomings of the Modem Slavery Bill, and are currently working closely with Members of the Scottish Parliament on the development of Scotland’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill. It is anticipated that it will be passed by the autumn. CARE, in partnership with many other outstanding organisations and ministries, is committed to see an end to modern day slavery in the UK, whether that’s domestic servitude, bonded labour or sexual exploitation. Again, we pay tribute to the tireless work of parliamentarians such as Lord Morrow and Lord McColl. Although we rejoice that this year laws to combat the scourge of modern day slavery are being put in place, there is much more still to be done. Our Public Affairs team will be monitoring how successfully the authorities care for the hundreds of rescued children and adults caught up in trafficking. Further legislative change will be needed. They will also be working hard to argue the case for criminalising the purchase of sex throughout the whole the UK, and encouraging every effort to bring traffickers to justice.
Completing the task We follow in the footsteps of Christian campaigners who went before us. In 1807, after eighteen years of campaigning, Parliament was eventually persuaded by William Wilberforce and others to abolish the slave trade. However, the practice of slavery itself was still legal, and this affected 800,000 individuals in British colonies across the world. Thirteen years later, in 1820, William Wilberforce, in poor health, asked the recently elected Thomas Buxton MP to take on his ‘mantle’ and lead the anti-slavery movement in Parliament. Buxton was determined to complete this unfinished task, and recruited people from every walk of life to support the cause of ending slavery. Part of the campaign involved Buxton presenting a national petition which had so many pages of signatures that it needed four people to carry it! He faced huge opposition and personal attack, but finally, on 26 July 1833, the Abolition of Slavery Act was passed. This momentous news was brought to Wilberforce on his death bed; he died three days later. The Act came into force the following year, and in theory every slave throughout the British Empire became free. However, there were still major hurdles to overcome before this became a reality.
Only by persistence and a passion for justice did those early campaigners succeed in changing opinion and transforming attitudes. In passing the 1833 Act, the British Government had to pay out the equivalent of £70 billion in today’s money to compensate owners for the loss of slave labour – although there was no recompense for the victims themselves. Meanwhile, Africa was still losing half a million people a year to slavery, as this despicable trade was still carried out by traders there and in other countries. Buxton was convinced that only Christianity could transform this situation, both spiritually and economically. During the nineteenth century he played an important part in encouraging the hundreds of missionaries who left our shores to preach the gospel and also
Buxton Memorial, Victoria Embankment
help people in practical ways. Today the fruit of their labours is seen in the fact that the church in Africa is one of the fastest growing in the world, itself sending out evangelists to many countries overseas. The Buxton Memorial Fountain is in Victoria Embankment Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament - just a short walk from CARE’s Westminster office. I love to visit it because it commemorates the extraordinary team efforts of those abolitionists - Wilberforce, Clarkson, Macaulay, Buxton and others who laboured over many decades to end slavery throughout the British Empire. Of course it wasn’t just the famous names engraved in stone that made this happen, but also tens of thousands of individuals, who prayed, contributed funds, gave out tracts, boycotted sugar in their tea and spoke out in many other ways about the issue.
Five pound note Do take a look at a five pound note. In the bottom right hand corner you will see a portrait of Elizabeth Fry, famous for her work in the area of prison reform. Thomas Buxton did not only spend himself on behalf of those in slavery, but also worked alongside Elizabeth Fry – who was his sister in law. He is in the top left hand corner of the note wearing glasses, one of a group visiting the notorious Newgate Prison to witness the Christian work among women and children imprisoned there. Thomas had a huge heart for the poor and oppressed. He lived mainly in East London, where the Buxton Leadership Programme has been set up in his memory, enabling young people to combine church-based inner city experience with a placement in Parliament. Although an MP, Thomas Buxton was in many ways an unremarkable man, who would have loved to lead a peaceful life on his country estate. He didn’t naturally enjoy the rough and tumble of politics and was not a particularly gifted speaker, but God took hold of him to bring about His purposes. Buxton commented that ‘with ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.’ This is true of each one of us as we ask God to move in and through our lives in partnership with others. Perhaps you don’t see yourself as particularly significant, but who knows what seeds you have sown and what an encouragement you have been to others in your life?
Thank you As I write, we at CARE are being challenged by Rob Marris MP’s new Assisted Dying Bill. This aims to legalise assisted suicide by allowing doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients who have less than six months to live. Please do contact your own MP to urge him or her to attend the debate on 11 September and vote against it. On Fridays most MPs are in their constituencies, so they would need to clear their diaries for that day in good time. On 11 September we need the House of Commons to be full of MPs prepared to stand for life and the protection of the most vulnerable in society, and oppose this Bill. Euthanasia was legalised in Holland in 2001 for children over 12 years old. The Dutch Paediatric Association in a recent statement have now called for euthanasia for children under 12. The Professor of Paediatrics said, ‘young children are able to understand the consequences of such a decision, and if a child under 12 requires euthanasia we are powerless’ - and they say there’s no such thing as ‘the thin end of the wedge! As we each continue with whatever we have been given to do, whether sharing the gospel, working as an Assembly Member or Parliamentarian, serving in a local church and community, praying, helping, encouraging, parenting and grand-parenting, may we each know God’s pleasure and enjoy spending more time alone in His presence. Our Father in heaven loves the company of His children. In particular we would ask you to pray for the Government and all members of the House of Commons as they embark on this new term. Our growing work continues to stretch CARE’s resources. We are deeply grateful for every gift we receive, and could not accomplish what we are doing without your support. We need over £200,000 per month to maintain all our activities here in London, as well as in Brussels, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, so thank you in His name for your financial and prayerful support. We give heartfelt thanks to God for you! Yours because His,
Rev Lyndon Bowring
CARE 53 Romney Street, London, SW1P 3RF 020 7233 0455
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Executive Chairman: Rev Lyndon Bowring | Chief Executive: Nola Leach Care is a registered charity: Charity No:1066963 | Scottish Charity No: SC038911 | Company limited by Guarantee No. 3481417