The recent letter from Church of England bishops urging congregations to vote in the general election will be discussed by a Bishop, a former MP and a professor at a public forum in Ilkley next week – to which all are welcome to come and contribute.
The 52 page letter (entitled ‘Who is my neighbour?’) provoked much national comment, and the Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, Ann Cryer, former MP for Keighley and Professor Canon Arthur Francis, former Dean of Bradford University School of Management, will be discussing what it really says at All Saint’s Ilkley at 7pm on Tuesday.
Arthur Francis says, “It’s a remarkable letter which, while not being party political, identifies key issues and ideas about which 
church members should have a view. We’ll be discussing its main points and there’ll be plenty of opportunity for questions and comments from the floor. It promises to be a lively evening and all are welcome. ”
Nick Baines will introduce the letter and Ann and Arthur will respond in the light of their professional expertise and their church membership. Ann has wide experience of the social issues which the bishops discuss and appears this Thursday evening, March 19 on Channel 4 in Trevor Philips’ programme ‘What we won’t say about race’. Arthur has researched and written about competitiveness and large firms and will be responding to the bishops’ views about the power of the large corporations and the danger of letting markets rip.
The event takes place on Tuesday 24 March at 7pm in All Saints’ Church Ilkley. Entry is free and without ticket.
The Bishops’ letter can be read at https://www.churchofengland.org/media/2170230/whoismyneighbour-pages.pdf