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GENERAL ELECTION 2019 – A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

5/12/2019

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Whatever your feelings about politics today, the fact is that on Thursday 12th December the country will go to the polls.  How should I respond to that fact as a Christian?
I think that the basis of our response should be God’s command to “love your neighbour as yourself”.  The
outcome of this General Election will make a difference to the welfare of 66 million people in the UK, and of many more millions abroad whose lives are affected by the UK’s foreign and aid policies.  Whoever we elect as the MP for Bracknell Constituency will have the opportunity to play a part in shaping the future.

So if we love God and want to love our neighbour, we don’t have the luxury of “passing by on the other side” (see Luke 10:31-32). 

On Sunday, 8th December, St Michael’s Church and Sandhurst and Yateley Methodist Church hosted a Hustings at the Methodist Church, Scotland Hill, from 3.30 to 5.00 pm. Around 90 people attended to hear 4 of the 5 candidates for MP for Bracknell and ask them questions.
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You can read the manifestos of the candidates’ parties by clicking on the links below:

Conservative Party       (James Sunderland)
​Green Party                   (Derek Florey)
Independent Candidate (Olivio Barreto)
Labour Party                  (Paul Bidwell)
Liberal Democrats         (Kaweh Beheshtizadeh)
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The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have recorded
a 5-minute video and written a message which you can access here. The Church of England prayer for the election is also at the bottom of this blog entry.

If you want to read about the some of the issues that should be important to Christians, here are 2 different perspectives (and there will be others online):
Christian Aid
The Christian Institute


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    Author

    Rev John Castle has been Rector of St Michael & All Angels Church in Sandhurst, Berks since October 2004.
    Before that he was Assistant Vicar at Namirembe Cathedral, Kampala, Uganda after serving a curacy in Southborough, Kent. He is married to Georgina, and they have 3 grown-up sons and two labrador dogs.  John enjoys playing the trumpet, travelling to other countries to learn about their culture and history, and studying biblical Hebrew.




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