Inter Faith Week Grants (UK)

The logo was borrowed from the Interfaith Youth Trust website.

The Interfaith Youth Trust has announced that it is making grants of between £300 and £500 available for events organised by and for young people focussed around Inter Faith Week 18-27 November 2012. 

Grants are awarded for proposals for inter-faith activities by children and young people from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and other faiths and those of no formal faith in understanding and co-operation. The age range for young people is 11-25 years. 

Priority will be given to projects which:

• Actively involve young people in planning, running, and evaluation of the project
• Promote positive action i.e. young people from different backgrounds coming together to address shared problems like improving green spaces
• Are run by non-statutory organisations, such as youth clubs, scout/guide groups, local voluntary and community organisations. 

The closing date for applications is the 1st September 2012.

Please access their website for more information.

Fair Trade Sales Surge

Good news from the Scottish Fairtrade Forum:

Logo borrowed from the Scottish Fairtrade

Forum Website

"UK shoppers spent 12% more on Fairtrade-certified products in 2011 than they did in the year before, according to figures released on 17 July by Fair Trade International. The UK is the world’s biggest market for fairly traded goods.

The surge is part of a general increase in shoppers opting for Fairtrade-certified products with sales of almost €5 billion (£3.85 billion) worldwide in 2011.

Coffee sales led the increase (up 12% year on year), followed by cocoa (up 14%), bananas (9%), sugar (9%), tea (8%) and flowers (11%). More than half of all bananas bought in Switzerland now bear the Fairtrade mark, and in the UK almost half of all bagged sugar in shops will be Fairtrade-certified following the decision of Morrisons supermarket to convert its entire range of sugar to Fair Trade.

The pattern is not restricted to rich Northern countries. South Africans spent more than three times more on Fairtrade certified products in 2011 than in 2010, including products grown in their own country. South Korea, in its first year with a national Fairtrade organisation, registered sales of £13 million.

'The news that the UK is the largest market for Fair Trade goods is unsurprising, with many becoming conscious of the impact that fair pricing has on livelihoods, health and education to producers and their families in the developing world,' said Martin Rhodes, Director of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.

Though there were no separate figures for Scotland, the Scottish Fair Trade Forum sees today’s announcement by Fair Trade International as highlighting the way that Fairtrade is becoming the norm among consumers."

Access their article here.

The Scottish Fairtrade Forum would also like to invite to their Annual Campaign Day on 1st September at Paisley Town Hall from 11:30am. Please see their website for more details.

Faith in Everyday Life - Events in Dunbar

St Anne’s Scottish Episcopal Church in Dunbar is running a series of talks and discussions
on the first Sunday of the month from 6pm-7.30pm.

These talks will explore being human today and our responsibility to our neighbours and our world

£25 for the series or £4 per evening ( wine and nibbles included).

2nd September 2012 Chris Hudson:Understanding before forgiveness? The Peace process in Northern Ireland

7th October 2012 Rosamond Robertson:Faith in Action from East Lothian to the West Bank. Being a volunteer with the
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine/Israel 2012

4th November 2012 Stephen Blakey:The Holy Spirit with a whiff of cordite. Religion under enemy fire.

2nd December 2012 Elspeth Murray:“For God’s sake, get out of the way!” An exploration of the creative process

6th January 2013 Philip Revell:Our Place in Nature -planning for life without fossil fuels. Sustaining
Dunbar's 'Local Resilience Action Plan'

3rd February 2013 Marion Chatterly:Preparing for our final appointment - living with the reality of dying.

3rd March 2013 Richard Holloway:Religion: neat or with a ton of salt? Religion in society today.

The booking form is on the back of the Adventures in Faith newsletter which can be viewed and printed here.

Green Worship Resources from GreenFaith

GreenFaith is an American interfaith coalition for the environment that was founded in 1992.  They work with houses of worship, religious schools and people of all faiths to help them become better environmental stewards.

The GreenFaith website have a whole host of resources you may find useful including:

• Christian Web-Based GreenWorship Resources
• Christian GreenWorship Books 
• Christian Journal Articles

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - UK Cinema Release 27th July

Inspire the whole family to take care of the planet with the movie Dr. Seuss' The Lorax on general release in the UK from the 27th July.

Movie Synopsis:

Ted lives in a town where nothing is quite as it appears; everything is plastic, including the plants. Hopelessly smitten by the beautiful Audrey, who dreams of one day seeing a real tree, Ted boldly leaves the city determined to find the flora and grant her wish. Along the way, the young adventurer crosses paths with the Lorax, a diminutive, mustached defender of nature who doesn't take kindly to human intruders. The better Ted gets to know the Lorax, however, the more he learns that his newfound friend has good reason for being a bit surly.

Recycling Petition to Encourage Recycling in Schools

Les Wallace has initiated an online petition to make recycling facilities in Scottish schools mandatory. Please click on the link to access the petition:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/playgroundrecycling

Petition comment:

"After more than twenty years since kerbside recycling began in earnest in Scotland we are STILL NOT ensuring that children are being taught about reducing waste and being encouraged to recycle effectively. Investment in domestic recycling schemes and the success of workplace waste reduction is suffering badly because of this. It also means that anti litter work is compromised as recycling is almost certainly a better method of preventing litter than traditional anti litter work.

There are no basic mandatory requirements for how well waste reduction is taught or practiced. As a basic
requirement ALL school children should have recycling facilities in their playgrounds. We also need a national survey on how well reduce, reuse, recycle is taught and practiced in schools to ensure that best practice becomes standard practice."

Stop Climate Chaos response to Scottish greenhouse gas emissions for 2010

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland writes to First Minister raising serious concerns about climate action in Scotland in response to the increased greenhouse gas emission in 2010 compared to 2009.

You can access their letter here.

Please read our blog in response to the Scottish Government's report on greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, and feel free to tell us what you think!