KENDAL UNITARIAN CHAPEL Nurturing faith. Embracing life. Celebrating difference. April 2017 KENDAL UNITARIAN CHAPEL Nurturing faith. Embracing life. Celebrating difference. charity number 236829 HUwww.ukunitarians.org.uk/kendal U WELCOME to Kendal Unitarians Unitarians are very different We don't have a particular set of beliefs that we expect you to agree with. Everyone who comes to the chapel is free to discover their own spiritual path. We welcome people on any point of their spiritual journey: those who have been seeking elsewhere or those whose journey has only just begun. We believe everyone has the right to seek truth and meaning for themselves in mutual respect, and that reason and conscience are our best guides. Our congregation includes people who are Christian, humanists, pagans, agnostics, etc., or a mixture of all of these! Cover photo: Beck Head © Mike Oram 2013 1 2 Fairtrade Update Our Service on 5 March, as part of Fairtrade Fortnight, turned into what I described as Brexit, Bananas and Bees. It was good to have Janet and Delphine from the Kendal Fairtrade Group with us. Janet outlined some of the issues that will be important to consider as the UK negotiates new trade deals, and Delphine made mention of a film she had seen the previous day about the illegal trafficking of children for use in the cocoa production in- dustry. On the following Wednesday, I was able to attend the Roman Catholic Church of Holy Trinity and St George in Kendal to hear a pres- entation by Charles Chavi who is a Fairtrade sugar producer in Malawi. Charles explained that the temperature is now so high in Malawi that sugar is about the only crop [other than tobacco] that will grow so they even have to import rice and maize, which are staple foods. At present, 90% of their sugar is exported for use in the manufacture of Fairtrade chocolate and this has enabled them to build schools and provide better health care as well as provide a means of liveli- hood for more smallholders. There is still much hardship in the country as there have been severe floods in recent years and the future is very uncertain. I was pleased that at the Kitchen Volunteers Meeting on 19th March there was a renewed commitment to buy Fairtrade products wherever possible, not just coffee. As you probably know, Marjorie buys and very generously donates the tea we use and she has agreed to ensure that Ringtons supply her with their Fairtrade tea. I feel strongly about the sugar so have agreed to buy and donate that. Is there someone who would be willing to do the same for hot chocolate? I’m not going to write about bananas, save to thank the actors (Linda, Gra- ham, Phil, Don and Gill) who agreed at short notice to participate in the Banana Split visual aid during the Service, but I do want to tell you a bit more about bees. The Fairtrade Tea Party was not intended as a fund-raising event. I was disap- pointed that it was not very well supported, but those of us who were able to be there, either in the kitchen or sitting at table, had a very enjoyable afternoon. Special thanks must go to John Campbell who played the piano for over an hour whilst we ate our cucumber sandwiches, scones with Fairtrade jam and slices of home-baked cake (banana, chocolate or honey) washed down with Fairtrade tea. We sold enough tickets for me to be able to buy a Honey Bee Gift Card (£12.00) from Oxfam and to sponsor a Resource Box (£50.00) from the charity Bees For Development. Oxfam helps provide beekeeping equipment, fund improved hives and train beekeepers in the latest yield-boosting production methods. It also teaches bee- keepers marketing skills so that they can earn more money from their honey, enabling them to pay for essentials like clothing and school fees. This is one of a number of gifts you can buy as part of the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme. 3 Bees For Development sends Resource Boxes free of charge to beekeeper train- ers in developing countries. The Boxes include training materials that can be used by local trainers with up to 25 participants. They can also be used in pro- motional events to raise awareness of the importance of bees for livelihoods and the environment. The charity relies on the generosity of individ- ual donors to cover the costs of the Boxes and they have many beekeeping groups in developing countries on their waiting list. More about the charity can be found at www.beesfordevelopment.org Mandy. Fairtrade Foundation Follow-up We’re pleased to say we’ve finally received a response from Prime Minister Theresa May to the petition you and 50,000 other Fairtrade supporters signed last autumn. In her letter to our Chief Executive, Michael Gidney, she says that her govern- ment is 'committed to creating a trade policy that will work for everyone, includ- ing the world’s poorest.’ We’ve now got a clear commitment to ensuring the UK’s trade works for the poorest. But the campaign isn’t over yet. Liam Fox, our new International Trade Secretary, has already started informal trade talks with over ten countries in- cluding China, Australia and the US. And we know that commitments can crumble when negotiations get down to the details. If he brokers a trade deal that favours a wealthier country, it could destroy the livelihoods of farmers in poorer countries who currently rely on the UK as their biggest market. Tell Liam Fox he must make sure our trade works for everyone – sign our petition now. http://traidcraft.takeaction.org.uk/ But Brexit presents Liam Fox with a big opportunity to deliver even better trade that brings prosperity to the poorest countries around the world as well as the UK. Tell him he must seize this chance to change trade for good. Want to know more about how leaving the EU could affect farmers and work- ers in developing countries? Then read our new report.* Thank you, Jonathan Smith Head of Campaigns, Fairtrade Foundation But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood From ‘Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood’ by Bennie Benjamin, sung by The Animals, 1965. 4 How Cumbria Faith Communities Can Help the Police Support Victims of Human Trafficking. I am sending this to the SLIF committee and other contacts with interfaith connections in Cumbria, with a copy to Helen from Churches Together in Cumbria who is coordinating the faith response to the police request for help. I attended the meeting last week and agreed to coordinate offers of help from minority faith groups in Cumbria. Helen's email below outlines the issue, which is basically that there is a gap of up to a week between Cumbria police removing a vulnerable person from an abusive or exploitative situation and them being accommodated via the national referral mechanism with the Salvation Army. Any help we can offer will be better than the status quo, which is alone in a basic hotel room. (again see below) The best outcome for the victims would be a Cumbria-wide network of volunteer hosts. There is no fund for this; it would be on a good Samaritan basis. The police will organise a meeting for volunteers, which will give a clear picture of what will be involved, and ad- vice. It is emergency short-term care/hospitality that is sought. (usually a few days). It is appreciated that not everyone is in a position to offer this but other help is also needed. - physical packs of clothes and toiletries as sometimes these victims have nothing - support in time and practical ways to either the volunteer hosts, or to the victim directly in a hotel if no host can be found. (maybe meals?) - language skills, it will be useful to have volunteers available as often English-speaking skills are limited. Please feel free to circulate this to anybody who lives in Cumbria you think might wish to help, especially to anyone who may be able and willing to act as a host. I will then compile a list for Helen, hopefully in the next few weeks. If you have any questions please let me know. The meeting was well attended by many Church representatives and a similar appeal will be made through some Church networks, probably targeted at poten- tial hosts. Volunteers from all faiths or none will be welcome. There will be a vetting proc- ess of some kind. As a final note, the numbers involved are small so volunteers may find they are not called on. However, for anyone requiring this help it is a huge deal. Let us hope we can put something in place to be there in someone's time of need. Liz Grove Please contact Liz if you would like to be on the list: [email protected] Extract from Helen Boothroyd’s email of 13 February 2017: I have had a telephone conversation with Craig Smith of Cumbria Constabulary and found out the following: 5 Although only 12 in total to date, there has been a very rapid recent increase in victims of modern slavery / human trafficking in Cumbria – this upwards trajec- tory means that there are likely to be a lot more cases coming through over the next few months and years. There has been a wide diversity in the types of case to date including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and a person held against their will for 3 years.