Report warns ‘vicars are becoming an endangered species’
A report on “Parish Ministry: Addressing the Crisis in Stipendiary Clergy Numbers in the Church of England” is calling for robust measures to support Church of England clergy and to “halt the collapse of frontline ministry”. The report warns that vicars are becoming “an endangered species” leaving poorer communities without regular priestly care. Written after a 24 hour consultation at St George’s Windsor organised by Save the Parish and concerned church leaders, it cites data on plummeting numbers of people entering ordination training, stipendiary clergy numbers falling to a historic low of 6,295, and more resignations than retirements. Recommendations include: urgent action to tackle failing mental health; a course on Anglican basics as “many candidates have little idea of the church they seek to minister within and no knowledge of Anglican liturgy, ecclesiology, orders or theology”; clarity on what defines an Anglican priest; improvement in theological training; ending job cuts; providing mentoring and support of clergy; scrapping the compulsory retirement age of 70; and setting up a review of how impact is measured, moving away from recording numbers of congregants to identifying “unquantifiable parish work”. It will be launched at the House of Lords this afternoon, hosted by Lord Stephen Parkinson, formerly with the Vote Leave campaign and then political secretary to Theresa May.
Police called on to protect vicar of Doncaster Minster from anti-immigration protesters
Police had to protect the vicar of Doncaster Minster, Canon Dr Richard Frith, after around 15 anti-immigration protesters entered the Minster and confronted him during a demonstration in the city at the weekend. The Unite the Right UK group had marched through Doncaster carrying banners reading “send them back” and “save our kids”. Canon Frith was in the counter demonstration and afterwards, protesters argued with him inside the church saying: “You’re supposed to be a Christian preacher. Yet you clearly don’t support British values and you don’t support Britain, because you’re happy to see this country being invaded.”. Then they accused him of deliberately ringing the Minster’s bells to disrupt their speeches outside. He said it was Saturday and the bells are always rung on Saturdays. On Monday, Steve Dand from Unite the Right UK, posted that confronting the vicar in the church was out of order. Canon Frith won support and praise online from Doncaster Stand Up to Racism and the Doncaster Together Alliance.
SPCK acquires Eerdmans to become ‘leading global Christian publisher’
The SPCK Christian publishing group has acquired the US based Eerdmans Publishing Company, to become “the world’s leading independent Christian publisher of theology, biblical studies, and Christian trade books”. Each group will market the other’s titles in the UK, USA and Canada. SPCK has a history going back to 1698 and its patron is the King. Eerdmans has a 115 year history and its president, William Bergkamp, said the merger would allow it to work at greater scale. SPCK’s CEO, Sam Richardson, said the company would continue to grow, and the agreement would enable “significant economies of scale which will benefit our authors, readers, and partners in the US, the UK, and beyond”. In a statement, Stephen East, chair of SPCK Group, said: “In recent years data suggests that the market for Christian books in the US and UK has remained robust even as other areas of non-fiction have struggled. This acquisition will create a publishing group with a unique ability to serve both these markets. But it will also be perfectly positioned to bring books to and from global markets where both literacy and Christianity are rising fast.”
Religious hate crime rises as communities report fear and anxiety
Religious hate crime reports have risen by 15 per cent across England and Wales since 2022, the largest increase among the five categories of hate crime, according to a BBC analysis of police data. The rise is particularly striking in Avon and Somerset, where reports of anti-Muslim hate crime increased by 240 per cent between 2022 and 2025, while those targeting Jewish people rose by 163 per cent. The data indicates that there are more antisemitic hate crimes per 10,000 Jewish people than anti-Muslim hate crimes per 10,000 Muslims. The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests from 33 of the 43 police forces, have been described as “startling” by Professor Adeela Shafi of the Bristol Muslim Strategic Leadership Group. She said Muslim communities were experiencing growing fear and anxiety in their daily lives, giving examples of women whose hijabs were pulled from their heads, or who faced verbal abuse in the streets. A Jewish resident of Bristol also described antisemitic abuse as something he had experienced throughout his life, but since the 7 October attack, he has been labelled as a child murderer. A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said the force will act robustly and pursue those responsible for hate crime.
New centre aims to safeguard Jewish circumcision in Europe
A new centre in Brussels is to provide medical and safety training and certification for Jewish practitioners who perform religious circumcision, amid growing legal challenges to the practice in parts of Europe. The European Jewish Association and Rabbinical Centre of Europe have launched the Centre of Excellence for Religious Male Circumcision, believed to be the first programme of its kind outside Israel. Qualified “Mohalim”, who traditionally perform Brit Milah on the eighth day after a boy’s birth, will receive training in newborn assessment, hygiene, infection prevention, bleeding and wound care, emergency response and recognising complications. The organisers say the initiative will strengthen medical safeguards while protecting an ancient and fundamental Jewish practice from becoming a matter of political debate. Britain already has established training and standards for Mohalim, but Belgium has seen legal uncertainty over whether non-medical practitioners can perform circumcisions. The new European programme aims to provide recognised evidence of competence, strengthening both child safety and the case for religious freedom.
Baptist churches become places of warmth and refuge in Ukraine
Baptist churches across Ukraine became vital refuges for communities facing freezing temperatures and prolonged power cuts last winter, after a European appeal raised €800,000 (£683,000). The European Baptist Federation said its ‘Hope Heats Ukraine’ campaign enabled more than 400 churches and Christian institutions to provide warm spaces, hot drinks, humanitarian aid, phone charging and practical support to around 480,000 people. With temperatures sometimes falling to -30°C and electricity cut for up to 19 hours a day, churches offered a lifeline to families who could not heat their homes. Alongside practical help, they provided Bible studies, pastoral care and support groups. The Federation said the project had also helped people encounter Christianity, with some converting and joining local churches.
JD Vance wouldn’t be shocked ‘if the antichrist is walking among us’
The US vice-president JD Vance has given an interview to GenZ evangelist Bryce Crawford, where he revealed his clear views on the end times, the antichrist, going to heaven and “that” social media pic of Donald Trump as Jesus. JD Vance was brought up as a Methodist and converted to Catholicism aged 35. He said he had always been curious about the end times, but he did not know whether we are living in them now. He would not be shocked if the antichrist was walking among us, but he tried not to focus on it. The “end times” are referred to in the New Testament as a time when God brings the present age to an end, culminating in Christ’s return, the resurrection of the dead and final judgement. The antichrist is a figure opposed to Christ and God who will appear before the end of the world. In the podcast, JD Vance said he was OK either if “doing God’s work brings about the end of times”, or results in building a better world. Asked whether he would go to heaven, on a scale of one to ten, he said seven or eight, not perfect because he has doubts. On the AI generated image of Trump as Jesus the healer, which Trump said was in fact an image of him as a doctor, JD Vance said Trump was not mocking God, he just found it funny, but took it down when people were offended.
