DUP MP Jim Shannon charged with common assault
Jim Shannon, 71, the DUP MP for Strangford, has been charged with common assault of a woman over an alleged incident on 1 October 2023. The BBC reports that his solicitor says the case is being “factually contested”. The case has been adjourned until 1 September at Newtownards Magistrates’ Court. Jim Shannon is listed as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief – on their website he is listed as one of four officers. He is also Secretary for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Baha’i Faith, and he is a member of Christians in Parliament. The DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the party was aware of the issue, describing it as a “private dispute” within Shannon’s family. He said they had begun internal proceedings but suspended them when they became aware the courts were involved.
Church of England issues prayers for rain and delivery from drought
The Church of England has produced a new service book with prayers for times of extreme weather, including for the scorched earth and a change in the weather so that rain may help the land recover. The services are designed to be used for the new annual Festival of Creation in Christ, to be observed annually on the first Sunday in September, this year on 6th September, but is published at the right time when the country has experienced five heatwaves, wild fires and drought. The service book includes a prayer for the farmers in crisis, affected by low yields of crops and problems due to drought and using winter feed too early. The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, chair of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission, encouraged churches to draw from the prayers which continue a longstanding tradition going back to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer which includes a Prayer for Rain. He said: “The prayer book asks that we may receive ‘in our necessity such moderate rain and showers’ as we need. Our prayers invite us to ask, to wait and to know the glory and awesomeness of God when they are answered.” More here.
Hundreds of mosques ‘waiting for security funding‘
Hyphen Online is reporting that fewer than 200 of the UK’s 1,800 mosques were granted government funding to improve security after the 2024 riots. It reports on data saying 199 out of 510 applications were approved, but 311 remain pending. The government has made available £40 million a year for enhanced security at Muslim faith schools and places of worship. Hyphen says they received the data after appealing to the Information Commissioner’s Office which forced the Home Office to disclose the details. The Muslim Council of Britain is calling for an independent review of the protective security for mosques scheme. The article quotes Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, saying it is unacceptable that security requests are not being met. Story is here.
800 year old Brechin Cathedral transferred to Community Trust
The Church of Scotland has transferred ownership of the 800-year-old Brechin Cathedral to the Brechin Cathedral Trust, which will ensure the building continues to be “the beating heart of the community.” The cathedral, on the east of Scotland, has not been used as a place of worship for nearly five years and the congregation was dissolved in November 2021 after it became too small to be able to financially support the historic building. The Cathedral has a Round Tower, only one of two in Scotland, which was built around 1100 and originally stood apart from the building until the 1800s. Inside are a collection of carved Pictish stones and stained-glass windows regarded as some of the finest in Scotland. The Trust says the cathedral remains at the centre of life in the town, and a programme of events is planned to ensure the community uses it.
Archbishop supports religious freedom campaign
The Archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Archbishop Richard Moth, has called on Catholics and people of goodwill to sign a petition urging world leaders to ensure their countries fulfil the religious freedom requirements set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a message of support for a campaign organised by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Moth said the Catholic Church in England and Wales includes people persecuted for their faith seeking a fresh start: “We need to stand up for our brothers and sisters in Christ and stand in support of all those who suffer for their beliefs, recognising religious freedom as a universal human right.” According to the latest Religious Freedom in the World report, produced by Aid to the Church in Need, 5.4 billion people live in countries where oppression and discrimination are perpetuated, leading to kidnapping, forced renouncing of faith, abuse and discrimination at school and at work.
Texas Ten Commandments law goes to Supreme Court
The American Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of parents and other groups, has petitioned the US Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments. Similar laws have been passed in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama. In Texas, the Appeals Court upheld the ruling by 9 votes to 8, but families and groups asked the American Civil Liberties Union to take it to the Supreme Court. Lawyers argue that the law violates basic First Amendment principles governing the separation of church and state. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to take the case, so there is currently no date for a hearing. The Supreme Court ruled in Stone v Graham in 1980 that a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public-school classrooms was unconstitutional. Associated Press story here.
Pew Research shows 50 per cent in favour of displaying Ten Commandments
A survey by Pew Research has found that 50 per cent of those surveyed support displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The survey into religious expressions in schools, involved 3,592 US adults, conducted in April, with a margin of error of 1.9 percentage points. A majority supported some form of religious expression in public schools, but relatively few favoured compulsory participation in prayer. 78 per cent supported allowing students to pray voluntarily in student-led groups, while 57 per cent favoured coaches leading teams in prayer. Only 8 per cent said students should be required to participate in teacher-led prayer, while 53 per cent supported teacher-led prayer only if participation was voluntary.
Silent discos in cathedrals reignite debate over sacred spaces
Silent discos are once more planned for several English cathedrals this season, including Canterbury Cathedral, despite the backlash last summer. This year’s event in Canterbury took place on Saturday and has already attracted criticism from Edward Pentin, a correspondent at the National Catholic Register, who said the space, although Anglican, was sacred to Catholics from the murder of Thomas a Becket, and objected to the disco taking place on the Feast of the Assumption, marking the day when Mary was taken up to heaven. Other complaints came from Tim Dieppe, of Christian Concern, who said the church had resorted to secular music. The disco was put on by “Silent Discos in Incredible Places”, which has a full itinerary of similar events this year at Beverley Minster, and Sheffield, Hereford, Chester, Ely, Salisbury, St Albans, Truro, Chelmsford, l,landaff and Durham cathedrals. Christian Today article here.
Animated film ‘David’ shown in UK cinemas from Friday
The animated Biblical film “David”, which is to be shown in UK and Ireland cinemas from Friday 21 August, has already opened to Box Office success, netting $88 million since it was first released in US cinemas in December last year. It’s made by Angel Studios and tells the story from David the boy defeating the giant Goliath to becoming the King of Israel. He lived in the 10th-century BCE and, in the Biblical story, his kingdom was centred on Jerusalem and Judah, expanding to a much larger territory across modern-day Israel and Palestine.
