English cathedrals have not recovered from Covid
Data on the number of visitors and worshippers in England’s Anglican Cathedrals, shows numbers are 58 per cent below the pre-pandemic 2019 total. Attendance is higher than the lockdown year of 2020, but has still not fully recovered from the Covid pandemic. A total of 15,800 people were reported at cathedral services in 2021, this is 22 per cent more than the equivalent figure from 2020, but still down on 2019. On the positive side, 94 per cent of cathedrals are continuing to offer online services and there were 230 weddings in 2021, only marginally lower than 2019. But of concern is that volunteering has decreased by a further 21 per cent from the 2020 figure. The Dean of Canterbury, David Monteith, who chairs the College of Deans, said cathedrals were resilient and would continue to support communities, providing a place of worship, prayer and sanctuary.
Inspection of church schools requires explanations not check lists
A new method of assessing the effectiveness of CofE and Methodist schools in upholding their Christian foundation, removes the awarding of grades and replaces it with words that say the school is living up to, or not fully living up to, its aims. The report from SIAMS, the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools, was co-incidentally made public as news emerged that headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life after an Ofsted report downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate. This has led to calls for Ofsted inspections to be paused while its methods and outcomes are reviewed. SIAMS offers an alternative to the inspection system, with no lists of criteria to meet, but allowing leaders to explain the school’s context and the reasons for decisions and actions, enabling a view of the theological underpinning of their approach to education.
Church communities in Mississippi defy the tornado
The Associated Press has pictured the congregation of the Rolling Fork Methodist Church in Mississipi, holding their Sunday service on the steps of the church, which was damaged but stood firm as a tornado ripped through the state, killing 26 people. The town is a tightly knit community and the church has four generations of families worshipping there. The president and the governor of Mississippi have declared a state of emergency.
US Catholic bishops prohibit trans ‘mutilation’ of young bodies
The Doctrinal Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a doctrinal note prohibiting the manipulation or mutilation of bodies, especially those of young people, with the aim of changing sex. It says: “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex or take part in the development of such procedures.” The bishops say that a fundamental tenet of faith is that there is an order in the natural world that was designed by its creator and that this created order is good.
Living in Love and Faith next steps agreed
The Church of England’s College of Bishops has agreed the next steps following synod’s decision to enable same sex blessings in church. A CofE statement says the bishops reviewed comments made at synod on draft texts for the “Prayers of Love and Faith”. They agreed to set up working groups focussing on pastoral guidance, prayers and pastoral reassurance to ensure freedom of conscience for clergy. It is anticipated that a steering group overseeing the groups will be chaired by the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, and will include the chairs of the three working groups, lay and ordained advisers.
Evangelicals in Church of England ‘compelled to resist’ same-sex blessings
The Church of England Evangelical Council has begun a campaign seeking support for signatories to a declaration of resistance to the CofE’s plans to bless same-sex relationships. It says the proposals deny the authority of scripture and depart from the received historic understanding of the church. It says that if the Church of England’s General Synod or House of Bishops authorises liturgical provision for the blessings, allows clergy to be in same-sex relationships, and no longer affirms that marriage is between a man and a woman, it will cut loose and remain in full communion only with Provinces it agrees with. It adds that it is sorry for the “hurt that we have sometimes caused to LGBTQI+ people”, but it will resist “all attempts to introduce any of these changes … We are compelled to resist”.
Prince Harry and Afghan blood sculpture projected on to St Paul’s Cathedral
The Russian artist Andrei Molodkin has announced his intention to project an image onto St Paul’s Cathedral of Prince Harry alongside a sculpture made from the blood of Afghan people on the royal coat of arms. He told Sky News that the action, expected later this week, is in protest at Harry’s book “Spare”, where he described killing 25 Taliban fighters and said they were like chess pieces removed from the board. Molodkin is a former soldier now living in southern France and has previously created a portrait of Vladimir Putin using blood donated by Ukrainian soldiers.
Ramadan fasting hours in the UK are among longest in the world
The Islam Channel publishes the times of fasting in countries all over the world, showing that London has among the longest number of hours. The fast is observed from sunrise to sunset but varies according to the location. The longest period is 17 hours in Greenland, with London not far behind at 16 hours. The shortest is 12 hours in the southern hemisphere including New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. The report says that religious rulings mean that northern cities with 24 hours of daylight are allowed to follow the hours of Mecca.
Trappist beers under threat as the number of monks in Belgium declines
Trappist beers are under threat as the number of monks diminishes in Belgium, according to a report in The Observer. It says the monks of Westmalle have been brewing for 190 years and today have an international brand, producing 40 million bottles of varieties of beer a year. Trappist breweries can make a pilsner, an IPA, a double or triple strength, or blonds. The monks remain in charge as a supervisory board overseeing the brewery, but the managing director is secular now. He says there is a kind of break in its history.
