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British Jews expressed their anger over the situation in Gaza. Progressive Jewish leaders said the catastrophe is ‘not in our name‘. The Board of Deputies held a special meeting and said the UK government’s decision to support a State of Palestine unless there is a ceasefire, must not reward Hamas. The Archbishop of York and the bishops of Southwark, Gloucester, Chelmsford and Norwich, issued a strongly worded statement calling on the government to recognise Palestinian statehood unconditionally, saying it has a moral obligation to use all means to end the “abomination” in Gaza. They welcomed the government’s statement on recognising the state of Palestine, but said it is overdue “and cannot come soon enough” >>
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community held its annual festival, the Jalsa Salana UK in fields near Alton, Hampshire. An estimated 46,000 people were there, including 10,000 volunteers, visiting dignitaries and members from 110 countries all over the world. The festival is designed to build community relations and strengthen knowledge and practice of the faith, with sermons from the Caliph, its spiritual leader. Read our report here.
Hostility towards Muslim communities was the impetus behind a report by the Ayaan Institute, Mosques in Britain: A Landmark Study of Faith Infrastructure, which hopes to bring transparency to the assets, finances, and representation of mosques across the UK. The report finds that the asset value of the UK’s mosques is £1.5 billion and that mosques make up only 4 per cent of Britain’s places of worship, in contrast to the 6.5 per cent of Muslims across the population. Read Maira Butt’s report here.
Cherry Vann, who has served as the Bishop of Monmouth for the past five years, has been chosen as the 15th Archbishop of Wales. She is the first female and first openly gay archbishop in Britain and succeeds Bishop Andrew John, who resigned in July after the publication of two reports into Bangor Cathedral which described weak governance around sex, drink and finance. In a statement, she said: “The first thing I shall need to do is to ensure that the issues which have been raised in the last six months are properly addressed and that I work to bring healing and reconciliation”>>
The Board of Trustees of Spurgeon’s College, which has trained Baptist ministers for 169 years, has announced its closure with immediate effect. In a statement, it says Spurgeon’s has faced significant financial challenges for several years, “driven by declining student numbers and an increasingly complex and difficult financial landscape” >>
A choir concert at St Andrew’s Holborn, a Wren church in the centre of London, was brought to an abrupt end last weekend when Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, who lives on the premises, stormed on stage in a dressing gown to stop the performance. He took to the mic to say: “You are in my house. It’s gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket. Goodnight. You are in my house – can you leave it now please. Thank you, it’s over” >>
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- Missionaries using drones to evangelise indigenous people in the Amazon
- Sea of Faith ventures into RE and AI
- BBC documentary: Lifting the lid on the Jesus Army
- British Jews’ anger over Gaza – Boards of Deputies special meeting
- Marie van der Zyl – ‘Incompatible with core values‘
- Progressive Jewish leaders – The catastrophe in Gaza is ‘not in our name‘
- Chief Rabbi: Bring pressure on Hamas ‘to end this intolerable pain’
- Jewish comedian cancelled by a second venue at the Edinburgh Fringe
- MP urges government to lift cap on church repair grants
- Vatican announces ‘extraordinary’ profit from investment funds
- At least 43 killed in rebel attack on church in eastern Congo
- Abbot of famous China Buddhist Temple investigated over money and sex
- Guardian podcast considers how the Dalai Lama’s successor will be appointed
- Church politics and why people fall out with each other – or don’t turn up
- The vicar who uncovered a severed head in his vestry wall
- Congrats to the Lionesses
- Board of Deputies: government must not reward Hamas
- Rabbi Herschel Gluck: Israel must feed Gaza
- Millennial New York Jews protest over ‘moral failings’ in Gaza
- ‘Rock star’s welcome’ for Pope Leo from Catholic influencers
- Hugh Nelson becomes the next Bishop of Worcester
- Excommunicated nuns challenge eviction from convent
- Jewish executive among victims of NY mass shooting
- Edinburgh University urged to keep IHRA definition of antisemitism
- Reflections of a vicar on an unceremonious ‘episcopal gaffe’
- Chief Rabbi says UK statement on Palestinian State is ‘unfathomable misstep’
- Board of Deputies president: Israel risks moving towards ‘pariah state status’
- Settlers torch cars and spray graffiti in Taybeh on the West Bank
- Times reports final shortlist confirmed for next Archbishop of Canterbury
- Pope warns of communication overload, “a bulimia of social media connections”
- Faith minister visits Caritas Salford to see its work with migrants
- Fewer Christian-majority countries in 2020
- Historical first for women in Aberdeen and Orkney
- Report benchmarks facts about British mosques
- Jesuit schools in Derbyshire close due to financial pressures
- Holy See: ‘Two-State Solution only viable path for Israel and Palestine’
- Methodist leaders call on govt to recognise Palestine State ‘without delay’
- Tearfund partners: People are dying in front of us in Gaza
- Man, 76, arrested after children fall ill at Christian camp
- St John Henry Newman set to become newest Doctor of the Church
- Vatican City establishes solar farm to become self-sufficient in energy
- Southern Baptist ethics president resigns after four tumultuous years
- App offers Islamic resources for Muslim children this summer
- Muhammad and Olivia top baby names for 2024
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