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Church and Society Council

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NEWS, CAMPAIGNS AND EVENTS

In our news and campaign section you can find out more about:

picture of newsletter Open the March enews in a new window by clicking here:March enews
Past monthly newsletters
Write to your MSPs: End of Life Bill
Support Minimum Pricing for Alcohol
Trident Postcard Campaign
Petition to save LLoyds TSB Foundation for Scotland
Robin Hood Tax Campaign
Resources from the annual conference
Watch video clips of our conference: Open Church and Society You Tube Channel in a new window
Communication Survey
Recent Press Releases

Our events section contains information about:
A Fair Share: Public meeting in Paisley
Christians in Science Conference, Edinburgh
SRT@40:Do we need to naturalise religion? Lecture, Edinburgh
SRT@40: Science Stories for children, Edinburgh
SRT@40: God, Science and Global Warming, Lecture, Edinburgh
SRT@40: Helping the church engage with ethical issues in science. Day conference, Edinburgh
General Assembly Events
Public lectures on Science and Religion
Church and Society Annual Conference
The Age of Stupid: Climate Change film with Pete Posthlethwaite

Text-based information on this page is available to download below in Word [.doc], rich text [.rtf] and text only [.txt] formats. Flyers and image heavy publications are available in [.pdf] and [.txt] formats.

Adobe reader icon and link to download In order to view [.pdf] files you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can obtain it for free by clicking here.
Please note that all external links on this page will take you out of the Church of Scotland website and open a new browser window.

Support Minimum Pricing for Alcohol

The Scottish Parliament is currently considering new legislation that contains far reaching proposals about the sale of alcohol. Some of them, especially the proposal to introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol, are in line with principles supported by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This proposal has attracted opposition from the Scotch Whisky Association as well as the main political parties. The Church and Society Council has produced campaign materials to support the minimum pricing proposals. These materials contain:

information on the Alcohol Bill
the political debate
the evidence to justify the proposals
sample letters

Download the campaign materials here:

word icon
[.doc]
(89KB)

pdf icon
[.pdf]
(60KB)


The Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office has produced a more comprehensive briefing about the Bill which is available to download by following this link: SCPO briefing

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Write to your MSPs: End of Life Bill

The consultation for Margo MacDonald's proposed End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill has ended, and the proposal has gathered sufficient signatures from MSPs to proceed to the bill drafting stage prior to the introduction of the Bill to the Scottish Parliament.

You can read the consultation document by clicking here:The Proposed End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill.

You can read the response by the Church of Scotland here: Response to the consultation

A summary of consultation responses can be seen here:responses

You can read a letter sent by the Church and Society Council to MSPs asking them to oppose to this bill here: Letter to MSPs

This could be used as a basis for your own letter to your MSPs. Find contact details for your MSPs by clicking here: www.scottish.parliament.uk

Petition opposing the legalisation of assisted suicide

This declares: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to retain the law that makes it a criminal offence to assist another person to commit suicide".

To sign this petition please follow this link: Petition

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Petition to save LLoyds TSB Foundation for Scotland

no 10 petition logo Sign the petition  
Please take a few moments to click on the link above and add your name to the No.10 petition asking Gordon Brown to intervene to save Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland.

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Support the Robin Hood Tax Campaign

robin hood tax logo
This campaign is calling on the leaders of the UK's political parties to support a global tax on the banks to help repair the human damage caused by the global economic crisis, protect public services at home, fight poverty abroad and help foot the bill for climate change.
Follow this link to find out more:

Robin Hood Tax

  • Watch the Robin Hood Tax video, starring Bill Nighy and directed by Richard Curtis.
  • Vote to show your support.
  • Sign up to receive updates on the campaign.

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    News Updates 2009

    Open the February enews in a new window by clicking here: February enews
    Main theme: Money Matters
     
    Open the January enews in a new window by clicking here: January enews
    Main theme: Money Matters
     
    Open the December enews in a new window by clicking here: December enews
    Main theme: Poverty
     
    Download the November enews here:
    Main theme: End of Life Issues
    pdf icon
    [.pdf]
    (434KB)
    Download the October enews here:
    Main theme: Education
    pdf icon
    [.pdf]
    (676KB)
    Download the September enews here:
    Main theme: Climate Change

    pdf icon
    [.pdf]
    (553KB)

    If you would like to receive the news updates by e-mail please send an e-mail to:
    Irene Crosthwaite

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    Recent Press Releases

    Click on this link to read recent press releases:Newsroom

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    Communication Survey

    To help us to be more effective in our communication with you please take 5 minutes to fill in our survey:Communication Survey

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    Events

  • A Fair Share: Public meeting in Paisley

    A Fair Share: global poverty, climate change and Britain's carbon debt
    Douglas Alexander MP (Secretary of State for International Development)
    Deborah Doane (Director of the World Development Movement)
    Rev Ian Galloway (Convener of Church of Scotland's Church and Society Council
    Friday 19 March, 6 - 7.30pm
    The Wynd Centre, 6 School Wynd, Paisley
    Organised jointly by the Church of Scotland and the World Development Movement, this is a free event. All welcome, no need to book.
    Download a flyer here:  

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    Christians in Science Conference

    'Giving an Answer - Living Faith
    in the World of Science'
    March 20, 2010 Edinburgh

    Follow this link to find out more information: www.cis.org.uk

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    SRT@40: Do we need to naturalise religion?

    Sponsored lecture by Lluis Oviedo and part of the conference of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT)
    10 April, 10am, Pollock Halls, Edinburgh University
    For more information and to book, contact: Dr Murdo Macdonald

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    SRT@40: Science Stories

    Stories of scientific and engineering breakthroughs are mixed with imagination. For 7 to 11 year olds.
    15 April, 2 to 4pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, High Street, Edinburgh
    For more information and to book, contact: Dr Murdo Macdonald

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    SRT@40: God, Science and Global Warming

    Sponsored lecture by Sir John Houghton, former co-chair of the International Panel on Climate Change.
    15 April, 7pm, Edinburgh University School on Informatics
    For more information and to book, contact: Dr Murdo Macdonald

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    SRT@40: Helping the church engage with ethical issues in science

    SRTP logo
    Day conference marking 40 years of the Society, Religion and Technology Project
    Saturday 1 May 2010, 10am to 4pm
    City Chambers, Edinburgh

    £10 registration: lunch and refreshments included
    Contributors include: Prof John Wyatt, Ian Hore-Lacy, Dr David Pullinger
    Download a flyer here:
    Download a booking form here:

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    General Assembly Events

    Stevenson Prize
    2009 winners Monday 24 May, 12.30pm
    Quaker Meeting House
    7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL
    The Church and Society Council organises an annual competition for schools to encourage good practice in Religious Observance.
    Come and meet the 2010 prize winners over a sandwich lunch. Children and staff from the 3 winning schools will show examples of their work before being congratulated at the General Assembly and presented with prizes of £500.

    Happy Birthday SRT Project
    birthday cake Tuesday 25 May, 12.30pm
    The Foyer, New College, Mound Pl, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX
    Come along and help us celebrate 40 years of the Society, Religion and Technology project, which continues to help the church engage with ethical issues in science.
    Lunch is provided and there will be the launch of a free booklet describing the history of the SRT project.

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    Public Lectures on Science and Religion

    These free lectures are part of the programme of James Gregory lectures which take place in St. Andrews University at 5.15pm. Follow this link to find out more details: www.jamesgregory.org

    29 April 2010: Bill Newsome 'The Mind - Brain or Spirit?'

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    Church and Society Annual Day Conference

    This year's theme will be Justice
    'I want justice - oceans of it.
    I want fairness - rivers of it.'
    Amos 5:24 (The Message)
    Our free day conference will take place on Saturday 11 September in Stirling. Please put the date in your diary and watch this space for further information.

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    The Age of Stupid: Climate Change film with Pete Posthlethwaite

    film logo Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devasted world of
    2055 as he looks back and asks: 'Why didn't we stop climate change when we could?'

    Find out more about the film: The Age of Stupid
    Find out how to arrange your own screening: Arrange a screening

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    In this section

    Introduction
    Welcome to the Church and Society Council pages

    Parliamentary affairs
    The Church's work with the UK and Scottish parliaments

    Peace, international, Europe and migration
    Current world issues and the council's responses and action

    Equalities and human rights
    Details on the range of current issues and the council's responses and action

    Health and social issues
    Debating the issues which affect the lives of the people of Scotland and worldwide

    Society, religion and technology
    The Church's engagement with science and technology, economics and industry, and environmental concerns

    Responding to climate change
    How the church is reacting to the global challenge of climate change

    Education issues
    Engagement with issues of religious and moral concern in schools and colleges

    Schools
    Resources for school assemblies and news for schools and their chaplains

    News and events
    The latest updates from the council

    Resources
    A range of information and resources to download

    Summary of issues
    A guide to key issues raised in reports to the General Assembly since 1980

    Contact us
    How to get in touch with the council and our staff

     

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