Lobby of Parliament

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The lobby of Parliament was fantastic. There were over 1000 religious there, which is about one sixth of the total number of religious in the country. The atmosphere was so energetic and cheerful. We met in Westminster central hall and had talks from Sr Ursula Sharpe MMM and from Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD. We then walked through the streets with banners and balloons, all saying ?Make Poverty History?, to Parliament, where it took about an hour for us all to pass through security. It was a lovely sunny day, and all the tourists were asking us what we were about.

Many MP?s came to the lobby and their constituents met them in small groups. We all had a booklet, prepared by CAFOD, which briefed us on the points to make about the campaign. For those of us whose MP?s didn?t come (which sadly included the Hammersmith and the Roehampton group) the time was spent networking with other religious, or just taking in the scene. The organizers kept stressing that the sheer number of participants would make the point as much as the actual conversations with MP?s. We then went to St Margaret?s Church, Westminster Abbey, for an amazing liturgy which included the ?blessing? of all our white armbands as a symbol of taking them back to our communities, parishes and ministries. Seventeen RSCJ participated.

All in all a very good day, and a great experience of lobbying!

Bernie Porter rscj
Province of England - Wales

?Is there anyone here from West Ham??

We?d been in the queue for over an hour - Mary, myself and a group of religious from our area ? and had nearly made it to the security checkpoint. Ahead of us lay the task of ?paging? our MP and then maybe a lengthy wait until she materialised ? even though she?d confirmed that she would be delighted to meet us, we weren?t relying on her immediate availability?

?Is there anyone here from West Ham?? And suddenly we realised that the voice belonged to Lyn Brown, our newly elected Labour MP (successor to the infamous Tony Banks), who had come out of the Hall and was scouring the queue, eagerly searching for her constituents. She got us as far as security, and then went off to look for a couple of others who were further down the line.

Five minutes later, we?d bagged a circle of vacant chairs, and the meeting began. Lyn used to be a local councillor, and worked for a national anti-poverty campaign, so she knows a lot about poverty and unjust structures in the UK, but admitted that her knowledge of international issues is very basic. Would we, members of international congregations, with personal links with developing countries, and a passion for justice, work with her, helping her to come to grips with this issue? Well, the challenge had been made; we were being asked to put our money where our collective mouths were ? how could we refuse?

Someone offered to draft the letters we were requesting, which Lyn will then copy onto Commons headed paper.  Lyn promised to send us details of how to access the Commission for Africa report, and to arrange a meeting with us to discuss it. She reminded us that, collectively, religious are and can be a real force for good in society. Lyn struck us as an enthusiastic, energetic woman just beginning to cope with the consequences of her new office; she has already been inundated with letters from constituents, mostly about asylum and immigration issues. We ended by promising her our prayers ? to her obvious relief and delight!

Silvana Dallanegra rscj
Province of England-Wales