statues outside westminster abbey, of 'modern martyrs' including dietrich bonhoeffer, martin luther king and george romero.  

inclusion and exclusion

a few days in london.  first of all assisting vajrasara, who was leading two days of nvc training at the british government's department of international development.  the training was organised by zoe stevens, who works with dfid, and had 'a particular emphasis on issues around inclusion /exclusion'. 

it was instructive and moving seeing this inclusive approach to communication being brought to people with a direct experience of being excluded, whether through disability, like the two women on the training who were deaf, or in their professional work, like the women who worked with prisoners or with communities excluded from access to water. 

and moving to see it being hosted by the government.  as we reflected on issues of social inclusion, we could look around at the rooms we were in, part of the old colonial office, or we could look through the window, as liveried footmen drove a carriage to buckingham palace, just across the road.

it's striking how far the british 'establishment' is willing to engage with ideas that would once have seemed pretty fringe. the day after the training i attended a meeting of the faith communities forum, one of the forums that brings british faith communities together, and brings them into dialogue with the government. 

social cohesion

the british government seem to believe that faith communities can play a significant part in 'social cohesion', and are engaging in a dialogue and consultation at a level that is becoming hard to sustain for some of the smaller communities. one of the urgent reasons for this is explained in the forthcoming government paper on Preventing Violent Extremism. 

but the consultation extends to more mundane matters. this meeting touched on changes to british charity law, the report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion and the government's review on citizenship, the faith strand of the new commission for equality and human rights. more topically, members of the meeting from the church of england and the association of muslim scholars commented on the archbishop of canterbury's recent remarks on sharia law (both felt the archbishop had been misrepresented). 

blasphemy

the government also intends to abolish the anachronisitic blasphemy law. The archbishop , dr rowan williams, has said that the church of england now  “would not resist repeal” of the laws given their “awkward and not very workable character”.

these discussions were a good segue into the afternoons activities, a visit to the general synod of the church of england. we were hosted over lunch by a number of the church's bishops, from the dignified and formal, to the very informal bishop of willesden, in tapestry waistcoat and jeans  worn with his episcopal purple shirt.

the synod's afternoon discussion was a well informed and very liberal debate opposing the goverment's intention to extend the period of 'detention without charge'. the speakers overwhelmingly opposed the motion, and the briefing document produced by the church's policy unit would not have been out of place in the guardian, though perhaps it had rather more biblical quotes.