Creating Connections for faith groups and the media in Bangor today
Our Creating Connections event for faith groups and the media takes place in Bangor today, our first venture in Wales. The Bishop of Bangor Dr Manon Ceridwen James is being interviewed by Alison Gow. Faith groups including those involved in community cohesion, pilgrimage and well-being will tell their stories. A panel of teachers and academics discuss teaching Religion Values and Ethics in Welsh schools. And journalists from the BBC, ITV and independent companies answer questions about their work. It’s at the University of Bangor 2 – 6pm. Details here
Government to name anti-Muslim hostility adviser this week
The Government is expected to announce this week the name of its special representative to oversee the new definition of anti-Muslim hostility. The news was delivered to Muslim Leaders at a meeting in Downing Street, with the Prime Minister and the Communities Secretary Angela Rayner. A shortlist of 12, reported by The Spectator, is said to include former Conservative chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi; Labour peer and former faith minister Lord Wajid Khan; Dominic Grieve, the chair of the working group which drew up the definition; and Dilwar Hussain, the former No. 10 cohesion adviser under Keir Starmer. Baroness Warsi is said to be a frontrunner, although no appointment has been confirmed. The role will involve engaging with communities and helping organisations implement the definition. However, the definition has attracted controversy over concerns that it could restrict free speech. Muslim News article here
Antigua church service puts reparations debate in focus
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a church service in Antigua as debate over Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade continued. The Anglican Bishop of North East Caribbean and Aruba, Ernest Flemming, delivered the address at St John’s Pentecostal House of Restoration, calling for partnership based on mutual respect, listening and fairness, saying the voices of small states and marginalised communities must be included in decision-making. The King is due to address Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM on Tuesday, amid growing calls for an apology for slavery. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said he was open to a formal apology, but ruled out financial reparations. Buckingham Palace said the King will address the past with “unflinching honesty” and “sincere sorrow” but will not comment on government policy. After meeting the King yesterday, Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, renewed calls for reparations for slavery, saying an apology alone would not be enough. The debate echoes a dispute within the Church of England, where a £100 million fund, Project Spire, has been proposed to address the Church’s historic links to slavery. A priest and a churchwarden are seeking to bring a legal challenge, arguing that the Church Commissioners do not have the authority to use the endowment in this way.
US Democrats reclaim Christian voice in mid-term elections, as faith leaders protect the vote
Ahead of tomorrow’s US mid-term elections, churches across the United States marked yesterday as “Vote Faithfully Sunday”, organised by the United Church of Christ, which says voting is an expression of faith. It says Christians should connect the values of love, justice and compassion with civic participation, ensuring everyone has an equal voice.
More than 1,200 religious leaders and volunteers are preparing to act as poll chaplains and peacekeepers at polling stations in nine states amid concerns about voter intimidation and political tensions. Organised by the interfaith coalition Faiths United in Saving Democracy, they will offer reassurance and help defuse any confrontations, particularly in multi racial areas and those with substantial numbers of immigrants.
Latest polls suggest a convincing vote for Democrats which could see them take the Senate and Congress. One feature of the Democrat campaign has been the growing presence of Christian ministers among the candidates, with RNS reporting that nine are standing for election. Commentators suggest party figures have questioned whether they ceded too much ground to Republicans on faith, as white evangelicals gave Trump their backing. A new generation of Democratic Christians is arguing that the Bible’s messages on poverty, compassion, racial justice and welcoming strangers are important expressions of Christian values.
Meanwhile Muslim Network TV has identified one Muslim candidate standing for senate, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and 10 standing for the House of Representatives. 40 other candidates are standing in state legislatures and local and judicial offices.
Police investigate assault on Archbishop of Armagh
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating an alleged assault on the Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop John McDowell by Enoch Burke, following an incident at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh last Thursday. Mr Burke was filmed remonstrating with the Archbishop as he walked from the cathedral to his home after a funeral. Also last week, the High Court amended an order against Enoch Burke, allowing his arrest if he trespasses within 100 metres of his former school in Co Westmeath, rather than automatically facing imprisonment for approaching the premises. The court heard that he now owes €238,268 in fines after repeatedly defying an order not to attend the school, where he was dismissed following a dispute over a request to use a pupil’s preferred name and pronouns.
108 Buddhist statues for new Mindfulness City in Bhutan
Bhutan has built 108 sacred Buddhist stupas, each 15 metres tall, in a single day, in an extraordinary project involving more than 40,000 volunteers. The structures, containing sacred relics, stand 108 metres apart along a 12km stretch of riverbank at Gelephu, near the Indian border. The initiative, known as Project 108, marks the spiritual foundation of the planned Gelephu Mindfulness City, a 2,000 sq km special economic region combining Buddhist principles with ambitions for sustainable business, green technology, education and tourism. The city aims to create jobs and stem the emigration of young Bhutanese. More from the Radio 4 Sunday programme here
Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab help Muslims rebuild abandoned mosques
A report in The Guardian says 165 buildings have been restored as mosques in Punjab, by Sikh and Hindu villagers who want to see community unity. The reporter spoke to 87 year old Gajju Khan, a Muslim in the village of Jakhiwal, who remembers the sound of the call to prayer from when he was a child in neighbouring village. Sikhs sheltered him from sectarian violence in which his parents were killed. Now a small number of Muslims live in Jakhiwal, and a mosque is being built for them on land donated by a Sikh grandmother, with money given by Sikh and Hindu families. Maulana Muhammad Usman Rehmani Ludhianvi, chief shahi imam in Punjab, is quoted saying: “Partition tore at the natural fabric of Punjab. This state itself is an inquilab [revolution]. Online, there is immense polarisation, but on the ground in our villages, ordinary people are still choosing to protect each other.” Guardian report by Cheena Kapoor is here.
Former Sheffield church leader and wife charged with multiple counts of rape
A former church leader and his wife, from Sheffield, have been charged with eight counts of rape against the same woman, dating back to 2008. Stephen and Janet Timmis, aged 68 and 61, are said to have committed the offences while he was a leader at The Crowded House church in the city. They have been released on bail to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 1 December. The police have urged anyone with information to come forward.
The crisis in CofE preaching: ‘The clergy are stupider than they’ve ever been’
‘Is the art of the inspirational sermon in crisis?’, asks The Telegraph, and finds that the Rev Fergus Butler-Gallie, 34, vicar of St Mary’s Charlbury, is in no doubt that there’s a problem. He says that some priests lack theological knowledge, while others are reluctant to engage with difficult subjects. And he concludes: “The clergy are stupider than they’ve ever been”. He says that “priests are now often less well read than their own congregation” and he believes that for some clergy “there’s almost a pride in preaching badly”, adding: “Some of the worst sermons I’ve heard have been by bishops”. The article quotes others saying the church should appoint people who are good communicators, not just good managers, and the best preaching depends on knowing congregations. Article by Francis Martin is here
