Churches urged to resist political passivity 

Christian charity CARE is urging Christians to avoid the temptation to disengage with politics now the General Election is over.

Nola Leach, CEO of CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) said, after one of the most surprising outcomes of a General Election since 1945: “Christians face the very real temptation to slip back into a form of political passivity and it is absolutely essential we resist this temptation.
 
In the run up to the General Election on 7 May, a number of leading Christian organisations and charities made concerted efforts to engage Christians and encourage them to show up and vote.
 
One of those was Christians in Politics who spearheaded the Showup campaign, with the hashtag #Showup trending on Twitter on election day.
 
Research completed by CARE also showed a record number of church hustings listed on the charity’s bespoke election website, with nearly 350 hustings registered up from 293 in 2010.
  
“What we witnessed during the election campaign in terms of church involvement was very, very exciting," continued Nola Leach. "A record number of church hustings, at a time of great political indifference is a stunning riposte to those who say the church has tuned out completely from politics. 
 
“Now is the time to build on the engagement and interactions over the last months and to carry forward that desire to engage with politics and to communicate Christian truth into the corridors of power in a compassionate, yet persistent way.”
 
And in an effort to build on this political momentum experienced, the Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary of our Baptist Union, issued a statement in the wake of the General Election, encouraging Baptists to write to their newly-elected MPs. In her message, Lynn outlined five areas of concern that Baptists could ask their local MPs to commit to working on.
 
In addition, this week Lynn will be writing to Prime Minister David Cameron to assure him and his government “of our prayers as Christian communities, and also our concern that issues of Truth, Justice, Peace and Wellbeing are recognised as key priorities for our nations.”
 
Revd Phil Jump, Regional Minister Team Leader of the North Western Baptist Association, on his blog for the Joint Public Issues Team, provides a helpful reflection on how to pray for our country and government post-election.
 

Find out more about CARE at www.care.org.uk