Christians Against Poverty says politicians must ensure ‘liveable incomes’
Christians against Poverty has commissioned a YouGov poll which suggests that the cost of living crisis is leading to a rise in people unable to cope with unexpected costs. It found that 28 per cent of adults surveyed felt financially insecure and 23 per cent would be unable to afford an unexpected cost of £200. CAP counsels people to get out of debt and is calling on politicians to make a clear manifesto commitment to end poverty by ensuring liveable incomes, to use an affordability assessment for debt reductions from benefits, and to launch a UK wide initiative ensuring households are receiving the benefits to which they are entitled.
Church schools among those affected by RAAC
The Church Times reports several CofE schools have been found to have been constructed in part by RAAC concrete, which is weak and implicated in the collapse of rooves and other parts of buildings. Some have delayed opening, others have made contingency plans to use other buildings and others only have some affected areas meaning the school can function. It lists Waddesdon CofE secondary school, Buckinghamshire; Mistley Norman C of E Primary School, north-east Essex; St Mary Magdalene Academy, London; Canon Slade School, Bolton; and St Andrew’s Junior School, Hatfield Peverel, in Cornwall. It believes at least 17 Catholic schools are also affected. These include Our Lady’s Catholic High School in Preston; St John Bosco primary school, Sunderland; Corpus Christi Catholic School, Brixton; St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, Brent. The education secretary says a list of 156 schools with confirmed high-risk RACC will be published this week.
Another Quran burning in Sweden
There has been another Quran burning episode in Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city. Police describe the clashes that followed as a violent riot, with protesters pelting them with rocks and dozens of cars set on fire, while electric scooters and bicycles were flung into barriers. The Associated Press reports that anti-Islam activist, Salwan Momika, was responsible for burning the Quran. Meanwhile Denmark’s proposal to introduce a blasphemy law in response to Quran burnings there, has been criticised as no answer to bigotry. Kenan Malik, writing in The Guardian, says any law outlawing blasphemy is unacceptable and should be opposed. In defending freedom of religion, he said one must also oppose anti Muslim bigotry.
Pope says more work needs to be done on Vatican-China relations
On his flight home from Mongolia, Pope Francis said the Vatican’s relations with China were going well but work must still be done to show Beijing that the Catholic Church isn’t beholden to a foreign power. The Associated Press reports that relations are strained over a 5 year accord on nominating Catholic bishops . The terms are not public, but Beijing has made some bishop appointments without papal consent, which is an apparent violation of the agreement. The Pope said more work needed to be done so Chinese citizens understood the church accepts their culture and values.
Quakers plan silent protest outside ExCel arms fair
Quakers will protest silently outside the arms fair at the ExCel Centre next week. The Defence and Security Equipment International fair involves 2,800 defence and security suppliers and will take place from 12-15 September. The Quakers say the UK is one of the biggest exporters of arms globally and by standing in silent protest, they hope to challenge the idea that conflicts are unrelated to the UK. They believe that conflict can be addressed through peaceful methods including conflict prevention, diplomacy and peacebuilding, rather than the use of arms.
Turn church buildings into community hubs — yet more stats from the Times clergy survey
Day five of The Times CofE clergy survey download shows that 70 per cent of the 1,200 active clergy who responded, believe churches should become community hubs, hosting playgroups, yoga classes, concerts, exhibitions and cafes. It says 250 churches per year are applying for permission to remove pews, replacing them with movable chairs to create space for community group activities. This would echo the medieval use of churches where markets, dances and other events took place in the nave. Other results: 60 per cent have confidence in the church’s safeguarding policies, 76.7 per cent said it was important to consider the impact of doctrine changes on the global Anglican communion. There has been criticism that the survey’s methodology, using self-selected clergy, gives a false impression of opinion in the church, but The Times has robustly defended its method, saying it worked closely with academics and polling experts, and followed that used by YouGov and the University of Lancaster for the last survey of Church of England priests in 2014.
‘When you’re ripping out pews, the message couldn’t be clearer: we’ve given up‘
Columnist Celia Walden, writing in The Telegraph, bemoans the ripping out of church pews: “Some 250 churches per year are already applying for permission to get rid of these space wasters to make way for matcha lattes, trays of flapjacks, warrior poses and downward dogs; bean bags and rainbow hued soft-play mats. That cracking sound you’re hearing? That’s Britain’s moral backbone crumbling into a thousand pieces. …When you’re ripping out pews, the message couldn’t be clearer: “we’ve given up”. Celia Walden’s article is here
Decline of Britain as a Christian country lamented by … Rod Liddle
The Times survey showed 75 per cent of clergy questioned did not believe Britain could be called a Christian country anymore. The revelation stunned Rod Liddle, the columnist and former editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. In a column for last weekend’s Sunday Times, he lamented the way society had banished Christianity saying it was a contributory factor to our “festering ills” in a society where “we have become more individualistic as a society and more materialistic”. He said: “The strictures of the old church may have been confining and rudimentary by our modern standards, but they provided a template by which we could live decent lives in a cohesive society: don’t nick stuff, don’t kill anyone, don’t shag your neighbour’s wife, put other people first, work hard and save your money and, more than anything, prostrate yourself before God … Christianity inculcated in us a certain quiescence; it worked. We do not seem to be any happier now, do we?” Rod Liddle’s comment is here
Language of evil and hell in Lucy Letby case shows ‘we’re not so sceptical after all’
The director of Theos, Chine McDonald, has written for Prospect on “The unexpected face of evil”, following the guilty verdicts on the nurse Lucy Letby, who murdered seven babies and attempted to murder six more. She discusses the “cognitive dissonance” and disbelief of people, as evil is usually personified as a disfigured villain. The shock has led to the use of religious language and symbolism “because they give weight to what we feel”, she says. “At times of national outrage, our beliefs in the transcendent — of things like God, good and evil, heaven and hell — perhaps rise above our national scepticism. Maybe we are not so sceptical after all”. Prospect article is here
Police accuse three Christian men for causing mob violence in Pakistan
Police have said the Muslim mob violence in Pakistan last month, when 17 churches and 100 buildings belonging to Christians were destroyed, was caused by three Christian men who threw down pages of the Quran outside a house to implicate others in a personal dispute. The men face charges of causing violence and falsely implicating two others. Police have arrested nearly 200 Muslims over involvement in the attacks. AP reports that the authorities have repaired most of the churches and handed out thousands of dollars to nearly 100 families whose homes were destroyed or damaged.
Labour Party courts diverse communities in Britain
The Labour party held an event last night for representatives of diverse communities in Britain, praising the enterprise and hard work of immigrants and pledging equality of opportunity. Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told the gathering that success stories from minority communities went unreported in mainstream media and he praised The Voice, Jewish News and Eastern Eye, whose reporters were in the room, for telling those stories.
Visit My Mosque weekend launched
The Muslim Council of Britain has launched Visit My Mosque 2023, when hundreds of mosques across the UK open their doors to local communities, offering talks, tours and refreshments. This year the event will take place on 23 and 24 September. MCB secretary-general Zara Mohammed said mosques were more than a prayer space and are community hubs for diverse Muslim communities, providing a range of vital services such as youth clubs and food banks.
