Christian peace campaigners vigil against arms fair at Church House
"Live by the sword: bad business for Church House" and " God does not need money from the military" were two of the messages shared today outside Church House Conference Centre as delegates from the military, the arms companies and Government arrived for the Chief of Air Staffs Air Power Conference.
Members of Pax Christi, Christian CND, Fellowship of Reconciliation England, CAAT Christian Network were among around thirty people who held vigils at the two entrances fo Church House. Pat Gaffney, General Secretary of Pax Christi said: "a good number of passers-by were very supportive of our presence. A number of Anglican clergy stopped, took leaflets and expressed their own dismay that the Church of England was allowing such a conference, sponsored by some of the largest arms exporters in the world such as BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, to be held on its property."
In 2012 Pax Christi and the other organisations had staged a vigil when RUSI, the same organisation behind today's Conference, hosted a similar Conference.
Members of the organisations have also written to the head of the Conference Centre and to Archbishop Justice Welby to express their feelings that the Church should not profit in any way from the arms trade. To date no responses have been received.