Christians behind National Conservative Conference in London
The National Conservative Conference, held this week at Emmanuel Christian Centre in London, is organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation, whose chair is Dr James Orr, associate professor of philosophy of religion at the faculty of divinity, University of Cambridge. He told Premier Christian Radio that the conference aims to address a crisis within political conservatism in the West, saying freedom to live according to religious belief and other rights are not being defended. The Times reports that the conference was born out of the Christian Conservative movement in the US and held its first UK event in 2019. It quotes one Tory MP saying it is about transporting extreme right-wing culture wars and American division and rhetoric into the UK. One of the speakers was the Conservative MP for Devizes and evangelical Christian, Danny Kruger, who told the Conference that the traditional nuclear family is the basis for society. He said: “The normative family, the mother and father sticking together for the sake of the children, is the only basis for a safe and successful society.. Families need to be back at the heart of our fiscal system”.
Religious weddings in 2020 the lowest on record
The Office of National Statistics has reported that there were 85,770 marriages in England and Wales in 2020, a decrease of 61 per cent on the previous year and the lowest number of marriages on record since 1838. The statistics were affected by Covid-19 which closed wedding venues and register officers. Religious ceremonies accounted for 15 per cent of opposite-sex marriages in 2020, a decrease of 18.7 per cent on the previous year and the lowest percentage on record.
President Zelensky promised weapons and prayers
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has picked up support from the UK, France, Germany and the Vatican on his tour of Europe over the past three days. While the UK has pledged air defence missiles and attack drones, France the training of fighter pilots, and Germany more weapons, the Pope has offered prayers for peace. AP reports that the President said he asked the Pope to support Ukraine’s peace plan and efforts to return tens of thousands of Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
Dr Rick Warren appointed honorary Chancellor of Spurgeon’s College
The US Baptist pastor Dr Rick Warren has been appointed the first honorary chancellor of Spurgeon’s College, the London based college where Baptist ordinands and other church workers are trained and degrees are awarded. He was installed last month in a ceremony in California, recorded on YouTube. In his acceptance address, Dr Warren pledged to advocate for the vision and values of the college, nationally and internationally. He said these include inerrancy of scripture, preaching, evangelism and church planting, while making way for new vision. Rick Warren is one of the best known evangelists in America, having founded Saddleback Church in California in 1979, which now has 23,500 people attending each week. He is on record as being against abortion and same sex marriage, but expanded the church’s mission to people outside the church through emphasising social justice, HIV/Aids help and front line assistance to people in need. He has also engaged in political debate, hosting a TV discussion between Barack Obama and John Mcain, which led to him giving the address at President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. In May 2021 Saddleback ordained three women pastors, resulting in it being removed from the Southern Baptist Convention in February this year. In June 2021 Rick Warren announced his intention to resign, saying he had always promised to serve 40 years. In August 2022 he finally left Saddleback.
Neil Jameson, Quaker, social activist and founder of Citizens UK, has died
Neil Jameson, the founder of Citizens UK, has died of an untreatable cancer aged 76. He was a committed Quaker, which informed his politics and led to a lifetime of community organising for social and political change. He started Citizens UK in 1996 as a loose organisation of east London churches, mosques and other community institutions to campaign for change, with poverty emerging as the most pressing issue. In 2001 the Living Wage campaign was formed including a mass rally in Westminster Central Hall in front of David Cameron and Gordon Brown. He told the Guardian in 2015: “I’m most proud of reviving political assemblies as the political tool for non-partisan people to show their power … If you have a packed room, in a democracy, people have to come to you.” In 2019 he was the Green party candidate in Poplar and Limehouse where he came fourth. Guardian obituary here
Director of Caritas Scotland takes on global role
Alistair Dutton. executive director of the Catholic aid charity Caritas Scotland, has been named as the new secretary general of Caritas Internationalis. He will lead 162 national Caritas member organisations until 2027. He has worked for Caritas for 27 years in most of the world’s disaster zones and theatres of war, leading projects in more than 70 countries. He said: “Caritas has been my home, my family, and my vocation”. The new vice president is Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia since 2019. The appointments follow the sacking of the Caritas Internationalis president, secretary-general, vice presidents, treasurer and ecclesiastic assistant over “real deficiencies” in management.
Scholarships to advance better representation of Muslims in Britain
The Aziz Foundation is offering scholarships to Masters students at a selection of universities in Britain. The subject areas are Media & Journalism, Technology, Sustainability / Environment, Law, Policy (excluding Health Policy), Arts & Culture and Sports. The scholarships programme offers 100 per cent tuition fees to students committed to bringing positive change to their communities and beyond. This includes facilitating better representation and contribution of Muslims to civil society to combat Islamophobia and positively transform perceptions of British Muslims; and community service and social development – raising the aspirations and standards within British Muslim communities. Further details here >>
Rebekah Vardy says Jehovah’s Witnesses covered up abuse she suffered as a teenager
Rebekah Vardy, the wife of Leicester City and England’s Jamie Vardy, has accused the Jehovah’s Witnesses of covering up the sexual abuse she suffered from the age of twelve in her local Kingdom Hall. In a Channel 4 documentary aired last night, Ms Vardy, whose mother was a Jehovah’s Witness, said church elders refused to inform the police after she told them she had been sexually abused. She said her mother did not believe her and senior church figures in her home town of Norwich, dismissed her story. The claims are vigorously denied by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Jewish Gooners” celebrate Arsenal’s diverse communities
A group of Jewish Arsenal football supporters, the” Jewish Gooners”, have set up a group to celebrate their identity as a community. Arsenal Football Club CEO, Vinai Venkatesham, told the Jewish News: “Our aim is to make everyone feel welcome at Arsenal and we’re looking forward to working together and supporting each other as we continue our work to celebrate and champion our diverse communities.” The group is 70 strong including Lord John Mann, the government adviser on antisemitism and former player Perry Groves.
