Prominent Anglican broadcaster Rev Canon Ann Easter and well-known Christian Member of Parliament David Burrowes received the 2014 Family Values Awards from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) at a celebratory event held at the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament (December 10).
The Mormon faith in the UK presents the Family Values Awards annually to individuals in the public eye whose work and influence have a significant impact on family life within British society.
UK church leader Elder Clifford T Herbertson said Canon Ann Easter received the award “for being a strong public advocate and champion of the family unit, emphasising its crucial role in building strong and cohesive societies.”
Canon Easter had “consistently reflected these values through her prominent role within the Anglican community, as a well-known broadcaster and as the head of the Renewal Programme which is undertaking such important work in London.”
On receiving the award, Canon Ann Easter said, “I was brought up by an extended East End family whose boundaries were pretty fluid. Our family included aunts and uncles as well as those who were known as such but to whom my relationship was sometimes not even what might be called distant. Various levels of need were met by that group and I really appreciate the value of the experience, not only for me as a child but also for the community.
- Family Values Award 2014
- Family Values Award 2014
- Rev Canon Ann Easter Family Values 2014
- David Burrowes MP Family Values 2014
- Family Values Award 2014
- Family Values Award 2014
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
“Much of my life’s work has been an attempt to secure a similar level of support and challenge for the wide variety of people with whom I have come into contact.”
David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, was honoured for “placing the family at the heart of his vital policy work”, said Elder Herbertson. “He has developed some very innovative thinking about the role of family in society and is a Parliamentary champion for Christian ethics and the family values we are celebrating here today.”
He is “an ever present advocate in civil society forums and will be an important voice in keeping family policy at the centre of political debate”, Elder Herbertson added.
David Burrowes responded by saying, “It’s a great honour to receive this award but it is also something that I see as both a responsibility and a privilege in my duties as an MP to promote family values.”
“The very essence of the family is about others’ interests”, he continued.
“It is about a culture of approaching marriage and the family that we need to invigorate. We need to convince society as a whole that family values are values that we need to nurture.”
Rev Canon Easter was appointed Chaplain to the Queen in 2007. She has worked full time as chief executive of the Renewal Programme, a community development organisation founded on Christian principles.
David Burrowes was first elected as Member of Parliament in 2005. His expertise and interests have led him to contribute significantly to work in government policy, in particular relating to drugs and alcohol treatment reform, environment, food and rural affairs.
Elder Patrick Kearon, representing the Europe Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, summarised his feelings about the 2014 Family Values event:
“It’s wonderful that so many are now devoting their lives to something this vital – thank you all.”
He added: “I am one who has hope for the future of the family. I believe that it will regain its footing. I do believe that faith and family have an extraordinary role to play in the future of society generally.”
Family Values Awards were first presented by the church in the UK in 2001. Previous award recipients have comprised UK cabinet ministers, people of influence in the third sector and faith community. They include The Marriage Foundation founder Sir Paul Coleridge; government family poverty adviser Rt Hon Frank Field, MP; Edmund Adamus, Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster’s Director for Marriage and Family Life; Baroness Scotland, then Attorney General for England and Wales; and Rt Hon Paul Boateng, MP (now Lord Boateng), formerly Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
David Rutley, MP (from Macclesfield) hosted the luncheon at the House of Commons. This year’s awards event was attended by eleven Parliamentarians and Peers from across the political spectrum.