It’s the big question of the day, isn’t it? How do we engage congregations, and particularly young people, in the big issues that concern us? Working with Scottish Christians Against Nuclear Arms, we hope to encourage campaigning and wider discussion about the possession and use of nuclear arms.
At a recent meeting held at St George’s Tron Church of Scotland in Glasgow, we felt that reaching out, rather than inviting in was the way to go. That we should visit youth groups, schools, clubs and other locations where young people get together, instead of asking them to come along to yet another meeting.
It’s not as if we have to reinvent to wheel. The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) has a great ‘Peace Education’ website that offers a wealth of resources aimed at schools, with links to the Curriculum for Excellence that school children can access. It also includes a very good pack called Morality, Ethics and the Bomb and there’s a power point on the Just War Theory that would be hugely valuable for any of us working with young people.
SCANA’s study day aimed to offer a forum for discussion on the issue of nuclear weapons and to look especially at campaigning and next steps. It was encouraging that participants came from a broad spectrum of denominations. Our speakers, Bishop William Nolan, Catholic Bishop of Galloway and President of the Scottish Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops' Conference and Bill Kidd MSP, gave us plenty to kick start discussions.
Bishop Nolan spoke of the current and historical Roman Catholic approach to nuclear weapons, saying that teaching issued by successive popes, starting in 1963, had been to completely oppose the use of nuclear weapons, while initially making some allowances for the possession of nuclear weapons as an interim measure on the road to full nuclear disarmament.
He reminded us, however, that since the 1980s, the Vatican, and the Scottish Bishops, have increasingly opposed the possession and renewal of such weapons systems. Their statements have emphasised the immorality of threatening to use them, and of course the immorality of the huge level of expenditure involved, which continues to be diverted from the common good and especially from meeting the needs of the poor.
Bill Kidd updated us on the UN's support for the Nuclear Ban Treaty, launched in 2015 and now signed by 122 countries. He also pointed out the depth of opposition to nuclear arms in the Scottish parliament.
My generation was very aware of the dangers of nuclear weapons because the Cold War was at its height. Perhaps today’s young people have become less aware as the lines of conflict have become blurred. But there are plenty of resources to get the message out, and perhaps your parishes could share resources such as these:
I was encouraged by one particular participant who said, ‘One thing that stuck out from the study was the wealth of wisdom and experience in the room and our need to connect this wisdom and experience with the new generations of peace activists where they are, through more creative ways of engagement.’
So now our outreach work begins!