News: Church leaders to meet with front bench MPs at Party Conferences

Senior leaders from five Churches will meet with politicians atthe Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Party Conferencesthis month. 

A delegation from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, theMethodist Church, Quakers in Britain, The Salvation Army and UnitedReformed Church will discuss a range of issues including poverty,climate change, and the IF Campaign at the three Party Conferences. 

Dr Daleep Mukarji, Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, hasbeen invited to be among the people whom Labour Leader, EdMiliband, will address when he delivers his party speech inBrighton on Tuesday 24 September.

"This is an opportunity for us to build relationships with MPs andtalk about issues of common concern," said Dr Mukarji. "We may notalways agree with politicians, but we still want to talk and praywith them. The welcome we receive from Christians andnon-Christians alike, and their willingness to talk about issueswhich impact the Churches, demonstrates that not only do we havefaith in politics but that politicians have faith in faithcommunities."

At all three conferences, the delegation will offer a visiblewitness of support for those involved in politics, co-operatingparticularly with the Christian groupings within the parties.Church leaders will also emphasise the importance of Christianengagement with politics.

At each of the three conferences, the delegation will participatein a fringe event sponsored by the Free Churches, in conjunctionwith the Christian groupings: the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum,the Christian Socialist Movement and the Conservative ChristianFellowship.  The fringe meetings will each take the form of abreakfast followed by speakers, discussion and prayer on theTuesday mornings of each Conference.