Justin Welby calls on Christians to 'challenge cynicism' 

The Archbishop of Canterbury urged Christians to resist political narratives that appeal to self-interest and instead vote for the common good in a keynote address to nearly 400 people at the Love your neighbour: Think, Pray, Vote conference in Coventry on Saturday. In his speech Archbishop Justin Welby said: “It’s impossible to love Jesus Christ and not to care about the welfare of people in every respect.”

The Archbishop went on to appeal to Christians to be positive and avoid ‘miserablism’ – “If we don’t vote we share responsibility for the apathy and cynicism in our politics.”

The Conference was organised by the Joint Public Issues Team, which combines the expertise of the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, to launch the Love Your Neighbour: Think, Pray, Vote Election pack designed to encourage churches to explore themes of truth, justice, peace and wellbeing in the run up to May’s General Election.

Most Rev Justin Welby said that proclaiming the good news of Jesus and transforming society were "indistinguishable": “They are literally the two sides of the same coin. You do one, you do the other.” He called on Christians to "proclaim the vision that is transforming … that challenges the cynicism.”

Mr John Ellis, Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church commented: “Archbishop Justin showed how we should view politics through a lens of the Gospel: If we did that we would never succumb to apathy or the temptation to demonise individuals or political parties – instead we would honour the positive and support all those seeking the common good. So, as Christians we stay hopeful, with a stronger motivation to use the political process to fight injustices.”

Commending the Love Your Neighbour resource pack, the Revd Phil Jump, Regional Minister of the North Western Baptist Association and member of the Joint Public Issues Team, said: “Our hope and vision is that every member of our churches will enter the polling booth on election day, conscious that above everything else, they are called to be followers of Jesus.” The voting pack is designed for use in churches and small groups in the four weeks immediately before the General Election in May.

The conference programme included a Q&A session immediately after the Archbishop’s speech, reflective worship and a closing keynote speech from the Revd Ruth Gee, former President of the Methodist Conference. Delegates also had the opportunity to attend workshops on poverty, communications, building a relationship with your MP, immigration, climate change, preaching and praying, social justice and peacemaking.  


Find out what delegates and speakers had to say about the conference here.