John Gilheany - South Wales, UK
I became involved in Christian vegetarian campaigning in the early 1990s with a view to expanding the audience for insights which have been revealed in the handful of books by vegetarian clergy.
In 1998, I produced a booklet which stemmed from the main 'animal theological' works in print. 'Christian Vegetarianism - a Biblical approach to life' was published by the Fellowship of Life along with a flyer which enabled many local animal rights groups to deal with Church dogma and general 'Bible-Bullies'.
I was involved with 'Veg4Lent' and the development of the subsequent CVAUK between 2001-05. In recent years, I've been researching the history of organised vegetarianism and published 'Familiar Strangers: The Church and the Vegetarian movement in Britain (1809-2009)' during 2010. There's a related website which commemorates the influence of a forgotten Christian vegetarian society at www.ordergoldenage.co.uk and a large selection of similar archive material at www.christianvegetarianarchive.blogspot.com
In 2006, I began working with Frank and Mary Hoffman on a new Fellowship of Life website which currently serves as a 'modern museum' of Church-related animal rights activity in Britain (1970s to '90s). The Christian press has often afforded a generous forum for letters which has enabled open debate and occasional evidence of empathy among churchgoers. A large selection have been harnessed and reproduced on the FoL website (along with articles and other features) to record the development of non-secular activism and assist the growth of future apologetics.
Several articles on vegetarianism were published in Christian publications during 2011 and a few of my own contributions are available to download:
Catholic Times (pdf)
Baptist Times (pdf)
Church of England Newspaper (pdf)
The essential purpose of the FoL has become the task of the CVA UK these days whilst the unique vision of FoL Founder, Margaret Lawson, provides a backdrop resource for contemporary campaigners. A few of the later FoL leaflets are printable via pdf and Clare and Tom Harral remain FoL Secretaries, offering off-line support.
Over the past year, I've been broadening my writing interests on
Wattpad where an
exploration of Christian-veggie issues is among my creative works.
The Fellowship of Life,
43 Braichmelyn,
Bethesda,
Bangor,
Gwynedd LL57 3RD,
North Wales, U.K.
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