Transform Lincoln and Lincoln Cathedral are hosting a general election hustings in the Chapter House at Lincoln Cathedral on Monday 1 July.
The event will be chaired by Joy Blundell Location Pastor from Alive Church Lincoln, and Simon Hawking, CEO of ACTS trust. All candidates standing for election in the Lincoln constituency have been invited to attend with the following having so far confirmed their attendance: Hamish Falconer of the Labour Party; Sally Horscroft of the Green Party; Karl McCartney of the Conservative Party; Jamie-Lee McMillan of Reform UK, Linda Richardson of the Workers Party of Britain; Charles Shaw of the Liberal Party; and Clare Smalley of the Liberal Democrats.
Anyone wishing to attend should book their free tickets by following this link as numbers are limited.
The Revd Canon Rowena King, Canon Missioner at Lincoln Cathedral said she wanted the event to be an opportunity for respectful conversation about some of the key issues affecting people across the city.
“Politics, at its heart, is about reshaping our nation towards a sense of the common good. There are many ways to build a flourishing society, and there are never black-and-white answers to complex communal and global problems. As Christians therefore, in exercising our democratic responsibilities, we are called into a time of listening and discernment as we seek to respond to our society’s current issues and how we might best move forward to address them. We are not called to all agree on the answers, but we are, I believe, all called to participate and to engage.”
Joy Blundell said, “We value the democratic process and the opportunity that we have to participate in shaping our city and nation. The hustings is a great opportunity to be informed before we prayerfully cast our vote. The event is a prophetic statement by the united Church across Lincoln that we are invested in a positive future for our city, and we are willing to listen, speak up and work together across the sectors to make this happen.”
All cathedrals have signed up to the Church of England’s #PrayYourPart campaign, which is an invitation from the Bishops of the Church of England to encourage prayer and participation in the life of our nation and communities. Each day explores a different theme, with a short Bible reading, reflection and prayer for a different aspect of our common life.
Archbishops Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell urged people to set aside time amid the heat of the coming campaign to reflect and pray for our nation and our world and issued a plea to everyone to put “good grace and a commitment to truth and integrity” at the heart of the campaign.
Archbishop Stephen said, “The General Election offers an important opportunity for each of us to play our part in helping shape our nation. To have our say on the issues that matter to us. To speak up about the things that we and our neighbours are facing. Every voice and vote matters in this election”
