FA’s ‘Faith and Football’ Christmas event at Wembley
The FA is putting on a special Christmas event at Wembley stadium on Monday evening next week, 8 December, showcasing the place of Christianity in the beautiful game. Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas will host the event in the Great Hall, introducing panels of speakers including professional players, coaches and off-the-pitch professionals. Then there will be worship next to the pitch – Wembley’s hallowed turf – with a Salvation Army band to accompany carol singing and Bishop Jill Duff leading the prayers. The FA’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Programmes, Dal Darroch, said faith and football are intertwined: “The FA is committed to working closely with faith communities across the country to promote participation and engagement and make football a game for all”. The Christmas event is part of the FA’s “Faith and Football Series”, working towards a game free from discrimination, a strategic priority for the FA. Christian Today article here
Lord Khan’s four point plan for government to harness power of faith in society
The former faith minister Lord Khan has urged the government to act strategically to harness the power of faith in society. Speaking at an event at the Unherd Club to celebrate the second anniversary of the research organisation The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, he said the government should establish a long term national cohesion strategy, provide guaranteed money for grassroots interfaith groups, ensure informed dialogue with religious literacy teaching for young people and the input of faith leaders into government policy, and strengthen its relations with faith communities. The Institute produces reports on faith in society such as its contribution to the environment challenge, work with young people, mental health, and wider issues on identity, affiliation and belonging. Its chair, consultant Roberto White, said the aim is to study the impact of faith in life and raise awareness of the positive impact that faith has on people’s lives. It is not a charity, its funders wish to remain anonymous and it works in partnership with polling agencies such as Whitestone Insights. Director of research, Dr Charlotte Littlewood, explained that research on the religious landscape of Britain has found that “Britain is not simply losing its religion – there is movement and diversification, not extinction”. People are increasingly using faith as an aid to help their lives, for example to improve mental health, and they have found this “seems to work”, with people reporting higher life satisfaction and happiness.
Report on the inner life of the Catholic Herald
The Telegraph carries an article by the journalist Olenka Hamilton, who used to work at the Catholic Herald, charting its recent turmoil and bearing the news that it is to be reduced to four copies a year. The paper is 135 years old and at one time produced weekly editions on Sundays with a 100,000 circulation. But the report says that the pandemic led to financial strain and a search for new investment. Eventually, the New York based company GEM NY bought a controlling stake. The digital first strategy led to more clicks, but paid subscriptions were difficult to secure. The article describes the unease which followed, with cost cutting, staff leaving and complaints of micro-management.
Merger of three Christian groups exploring faith in society
The Centre for Cultural Witness (CCW), which produces the website Seen & Unseen and the podcast Re-Enchanting, is merging with the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) and the Leadership College, London, to pool resources and amplify their work. They are all engaged in connecting faith with everyday life, providing editorial content on faith and culture, training Christians to take on leadership roles in society, and exploring the impact of faith on day to day life. CCW staff will become employees of the London Institute and their work will retain editorial independence with ring fenced funding. Bishop Graham Tomlin, director of the CCW, said merger was a natural next step to “flourish into the future”. In a statement, the LICC which was founded by the Rev John Stott, said this is a good time for merger because public interest in Christianity amid a complex society and Christians need to be equipped for the challenges. This is the first week of the new merger and in time, they will be based at offices near London Bridge. Press release here
£12.4 million for CofE racial justice and disability programmes
The Church of England will spend £12.4 million on disability and racial justice programmes in the three financial years 2026-2028. The Archbishops’ Council has approved £7 million for racial justice initiatives, with a further £200,000 carried over from the last allocation. Disability programmes will receive £5 million, plus an additional £200,000 in underspend brought forward. Detailed budgets will now be set for staffing and grants to dioceses, parishes and other bodies. Around £11 million in previously approved racial-justice grants will also be distributed over the next three years.
‘Unravelling world requires moral ambition to make goodness contagious’
The Dutch historian, Rutger Bregman, who is giving the Reith lectures on BBC Radio 4, has issued a rallying cry for people to find a “moral ambition”, with small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens, pledging to change the world, copying the example of the British men who stopped the slave trade. He said the world is unravelling, likening America to the collapse of Rome and Europe to the slow death of Venice. This, he says, is an opportunity for authoritarians, but also for “a different kind of ambition to go viral, to make goodness contagious”. The abolitionists, such as William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, kickstarted the greatest movement for human rights in a “profoundly British story”, he said, and at a time when Britain is slipping into decline, it was worth remembering that its proudest achievement was not conquest or wealth or empire, but the courage to abolish slavery. The Reith Lectures can be heard again here
Ancient Catholic church from India appoints first bishop to the UK
An Eastern Catholic church from Kerala, India, is appointing its first bishop in Britain, to serve a growing church which has developed largely due to NHS recruitment. Health authorities across the UK have been directly recruiting nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers from Kerala, a largely Christian region in southwest India, and this has led to an increase in membership of the Syro-Malankara Church, an ancient Christian community, here in the UK. On Friday, members of the Syro-Malankara Church will come together in Coventry for a conference and to celebrate the appointment of their new bishop, Kuriakose Mar Osthathios, making the church here, and in Europe, an apostolic mission. Read Catherine Pepinster’s report here
