Christian union takes legal action against student body

-25/01/06

The Christian union a


Christian union takes legal action against student body

-25/01/06

The Christian union at Birmingham University is taking legal action against the student guild after it froze its bank accounts and refused to allow members to book rooms and use facilities.

The Evangelical Christian Union (CU) is being penalised by the university’s student union guild for not amending its constitution to allow a guild leader on to the CU executive, and for refusing to open its membership to people of all faiths and beliefs. The guild also expressed concerns over the use of the words “men” and “women” in the constitution, which it said could be seen as excluding transsexual and transgender people.

The CU said it had agreed to redraft some of its policies, but maintains that it should be allowed to restrict membership to only those who it considers to be practising Christians.

The CU is affiliated to the University and Colleges’ Christian Fellowship (UCCF), which has long employed a controversial practice of requiring those running CUs to sign a statement of faith. The ‘doctrinal basis’ is a list of doctrines which leaders must agree to before they are allowed to take leadership positions. Even many Christians have felt uncomfortable with the practice, and some have quietly refused or avoided signing such statements in the past.

The student guild voted to suspend the union at a meeting earlier this month and the CU has now instructed solicitors, who have advised the guild that unless funds are returned, and a democratic way forward can be found, they will be forced to issue court proceedings against it.

Andy Weatherley, the CU staff worker at Birmingham, said: “Christian unions should be permitted to restrict membership to only those people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and that leadership positions are also restricted to the same criteria and the beliefs outlined in the University and Colleges’ Christian Fellowship (UCCF) doctrinal basis.”

He said the same should be true for all organisations within the student union, and added: “Whilst our meetings are open to all people, believers and unbelievers, when it comes to being a voting member or leader of the Christian union we feel it is perfectly respectable to restrict access to people who call themselves Christians.”

Pod Bhogal, the communications director at the UCCF, which supports the work of CUs around the country, called the guild’s demands “draconian” and said it was curtailing the union’s freedom of speech.

“I think they [the guild] are behaving unreasonably,” said Mr Bhogal. He compared the move to letting someone with obvious Conservative leanings into the Labour party. “Their values are different.”

He added: “In all our years of working with hundreds of higher education establishments, this action by Birmingham’s guild is unique. We support the Birmingham CU 100% and will back them in standing up for their rights, and the democratic rights of every student grouping in the university to be able to constitute themselves and to pursue any lawful aims and objectives in a free society.

“We would not dream of telling a Muslim group or a political society how to elect their leaders or who could or could not become a member, that’s entirely a matter to them, based on their own faith principles, the same applies to a CU.”

The CU has been operating at the universities for 76 years, but the contents of its constitution only became an issue last year when another organisation, Christians In Sport, tried to book a room at the university in the CU’s name. The guild objected and after examining the union’s policies, concluded they were out of date.

The CU has now had to borrow money from the UCCF to fund a series of evangelistic events it is holding at the university next week. The university has agreed to let members erect a marquee on campus in which to hold meetings.

The student guild’s president, Richard Angell, told regional radio station BBC WM that it was important that all members were able to hold positions within organisations.

“We have to ensure by the 1984 Education Act that all of our societies are open to students’ membership and that the procedures by which we go through to allocate those resources are fair and equitable across the board.

“We have to ensure that all of our members have the right to hold positions within the organisations.

“By being a society you are a member of our governing body.”


Christian union takes legal action against student body

-25/01/06

The Christian union at Birmingham University is taking legal action against the student guild after it froze its bank accounts and refused to allow members to book rooms and use facilities.

The Evangelical Christian Union (CU) is being penalised by the university’s student union guild for not amending its constitution to allow a guild leader on to the CU executive, and for refusing to open its membership to people of all faiths and beliefs. The guild also expressed concerns over the use of the words “men” and “women” in the constitution, which it said could be seen as excluding transsexual and transgender people.

The CU said it had agreed to redraft some of its policies, but maintains that it should be allowed to restrict membership to only those who it considers to be practising Christians.

The CU is affiliated to the University and Colleges’ Christian Fellowship (UCCF), which has long employed a controversial practice of requiring those running CUs to sign a statement of faith. The ‘doctrinal basis’ is a list of doctrines which leaders must agree to before they are allowed to take leadership positions. Even many Christians have felt uncomfortable with the practice, and some have quietly refused or avoided signing such statements in the past.

The student guild voted to suspend the union at a meeting earlier this month and the CU has now instructed solicitors, who have advised the guild that unless funds are returned, and a democratic way forward can be found, they will be forced to issue court proceedings against it.

Andy Weatherley, the CU staff worker at Birmingham, said: “Christian unions should be permitted to restrict membership to only those people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and that leadership positions are also restricted to the same criteria and the beliefs outlined in the University and Colleges’ Christian Fellowship (UCCF) doctrinal basis.”

He said the same should be true for all organisations within the student union, and added: “Whilst our meetings are open to all people, believers and unbelievers, when it comes to being a voting member or leader of the Christian union we feel it is perfectly respectable to restrict access to people who call themselves Christians.”

Pod Bhogal, the communications director at the UCCF, which supports the work of CUs around the country, called the guild’s demands “draconian” and said it was curtailing the union’s freedom of speech.

“I think they [the guild] are behaving unreasonably,” said Mr Bhogal. He compared the move to letting someone with obvious Conservative leanings into the Labour party. “Their values are different.”

He added: “In all our years of working with hundreds of higher education establishments, this action by Birmingham’s guild is unique. We support the Birmingham CU 100% and will back them in standing up for their rights, and the democratic rights of every student grouping in the university to be able to constitute themselves and to pursue any lawful aims and objectives in a free society.

“We would not dream of telling a Muslim group or a political society how to elect their leaders or who could or could not become a member, that’s entirely a matter to them, based on their own faith principles, the same applies to a CU.”

The CU has been operating at the universities for 76 years, but the contents of its constitution only became an issue last year when another organisation, Christians In Sport, tried to book a room at the university in the CU’s name. The guild objected and after examining the union’s policies, concluded they were out of date.

The CU has now had to borrow money from the UCCF to fund a series of evangelistic events it is holding at the university next week. The university has agreed to let members erect a marquee on campus in which to hold meetings.

The student guild’s president, Richard Angell, told regional radio station BBC WM that it was important that all members were able to hold positions within organisations.

“We have to ensure by the 1984 Education Act that all of our societies are open to students’ membership and that the procedures by which we go through to allocate those resources are fair and equitable across the board.

“We have to ensure that all of our members have the right to hold positions within the organisations.

“By being a society you are a member of our governing body.”