DIOCESE OF OXFORD REPORTER IN BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE & OXFORDSHIRE
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WE BRING GOOD NEWS!
www.oxford.angltcan.org
FEBRUARY 2005
No 159
th DoOr Facing up to an uncertain futwmw'TO GET ONE OF OUR 100 FREE MAKE POVER V HISTORY WHITE BANDS SEE PAGE 2
FECTE: -HOW TO , oP.F REBUILD THEIR 1 /ES PA
POVERTY
Dawn French with clergy from the Oxford Diocese at the Make Poverty History march. Read Revd Olivia Graham's article on why she decided to march with the Vicar of Dibley, page 7. photo Frank Blackwell
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Poverty kills 30,000 people a day - almost the equivalent of the death toll in the Asian tsunami every week. We urge you to join the Make Poverty History campaign.
onevillage.com Online & on the A44 in ..dstock
Poverty kills a child every three seconds. So by the time you have finished reading this article, as many as 40 children will have died. And died needlessly. Poverty is a man-made and preventable disaster. The terrible tragedy of the tsunami in Southern Asia, and the tremendous response of the British public to it, demonstrates
the wonderful generosity of which we are all capable. As a Church and as individual Christians, we need to remember our calling to challenge injustice and speak out on behalf of the powerless. This year we have an opportunity to do something to lift millions of people out of poverty - permanently. Four years ago, the governments of the wealthiest nations on the planet promised to halve world poverty by 2015. Today, they are failing dismally on that pledge. But this year Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have a unique chance to put their words into action. The UK will dominate the world stage as it hosts the G7 finance meeting this month and the G8 gathering of powerful leaders in July. We also hold the presidency of the European Union. These factors combine to give us extra influence. The Make Poverty History campaign has been set up by a
group of charities to put pressure on the government. Church of England bishops have backed the campaign. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries said: 'This is a crucial opportunity to do something serious and lasting about world poverty. 'This needs to be tackled in three main ways, through debt elimination, realistic, well targeted aid, and trade justice. We are fortunate that we have a chancelbc Gordon Brown, who is fully committed to this course, and it is important that this year he is earned along by a great wave of support from the churches.' Hundreds of women clergy, including many from this Diocese, marched with Dawn French on Downing Street to demand action. What can we do? We can email or write to Tony Blair. We can also wear the white armbands which are the symbols of the campaign. If we do our bit, maybe he will do his.