Anglican Pacifist Fellowship - Current Activities in The United Kingdom

Current Activities in The United Kingdom

APF campaigns prominently at each Lambeth Conference . This activism aims to make the Church uphold Resolution 25 of the 1930 Lambeth Conference and Resolution 5 from the 1978 Lambeth Conference that state that "war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ" . This Resolution overrules the older Article 37 of the 39 Articles of Anglican faith, which had stated that "It is lawful for Christian men at the commandment of the Magistrate to wear weapons and serve in the wars" . Making Bishops take practical steps to proclaim and uphold this Resolution is a key aim of APF.

The 1968 Lambeth Conference saw a victory for conscientious objectors who finally had their rights recognised and upheld by the Church. The use of nuclear and bacteriological weapons was also "emphatically condemned" . "Gordon Wilson of APF was pleased that there were no ‘but’s in the Conference’s anti-war statements" .

During the 1978 Conference, after a pilgrimage to Dick Sheppard's grave, activists nailed Seven Theses to the door of Canterbury Cathedral. "The theses reflected the theological approach of Gordon Wilson for whom Christ’s victory of love over violence on the cross was a fundamental principle" . This action deliberately echoed Martin Luther's famous nailing of The Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

APF founded the Week of Prayer for World Peace, and continue to have close ties with it, now that it has expanded to become an inter-religious event . APF is also heavily involved in the Greenbelt Festival and White Poppy sales for protesting Remembrance Day, which APF members feel has become to much a celebration of the military.

Songwriter Sue Gilmurray, an APF member, is heavily involved in commemorations surrounding International Conscientious Objectors Day, held annually on May 15 at Tavistock Square in London, .

She is also prominent in protests against the Faslane Naval Base, at which Trident Nuclear Weapons are situated .

Gilmurray is one of a number of APF members who showed support for the Baptist peace activist and human shield, Norman Kember .

Several prominent APF members, such as Gilmurray and scientist Dr Tony Kempster are also involved in the secular Movement for the Abolition of War. Kempster has been a strident opponent of the weapons manufacturer, BAE, . Indeed, BAE considered Kempster such a threat that it infiltrated MAW and stole a membership database. Legal action against the arms manufacturer was pursued.

APF also supports peace museums with Reverend Clive Barrett being particularly involved in this type of education and awareness campaigning . Elnora Ferguson also lead peace education in the British education system.

The Fellowship also focuses very much on the promotion of Peace Studies in British schools to counter attempts by the military to recruit English school students .

Much time is also spent liaising with bishops and politicians and promoting the pacifist viewpoint in public forum debates and on representational committees.

In 2009, the Fellowship is supporting Red Hand Day, to raise awareness of the plight of child soldiers in African conflicts, .