Scottish Episcopal bishop Anne Dyer fights suspension
The Scottish Episcopal bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, Anne Dyer, was suspended yesterday after formal complaints to the church alleging misconduct, but then dramatically re-instated hours later, pending an appeal. The suspension ceases to have effect until the appeal is determined by the Episcopal Synod. Details of the complaints were not made public, but they follow earlier allegations made to the Scottish charity regulator and seen by The Times that staff had felt pushed to the brink. Last year Professor Iain Torrance, a former Church of Scotland moderator, conducted an independent review which said there was a culture of systematic dysfunction and bullying in the diocese and she should step down immediately. Anne Dyer, aged 65, became the first female bishop in the Scottish Episcopal church in 2018, and from 2005 to 2011, she was the Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham, a Church of England theological college.
Suspect in Albuquerque Muslim killing spree ‘knew the victims’
The man arrested in connection with the murder of four Muslims in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been named as Muhammad Syed, aged 51, who moved to the United States five years ago from Afghanistan. He has denied any connection to the crimes. Police said he knew the victims and it was not clear yet whether the deaths should be classified as hate crimes, serial killings or both. LA Times report here
Date set for law forbidding 16 and 17 year olds from being married
Law and Religion UK has discovered a government announcement that the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 will be brought into effect on Monday 27 February 2023. It means that 16 and 17-year-olds will no longer be able to marry or enter a civil partnership in England and Wales under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent. The aim is to protect children from forced marriage by making it an offence to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18.
Plans for iconic large mosque ‘gateway to Preston’ taken to planning inquiry
A planning inquiry into a proposal to build a mosque on the interchange of the M6, M55 and A6 – the gateway to Preston – has concluded after hearing evidence for a week. The arguments in favour are that it is a world class design – three storeys, 12 metres high, with a 30 metre tall minaret – and it will serve 311 Muslim families living locally. Opposition suggests it would dominate an area of open countryside, occupying a site too small for such a development and causing traffic problems. The decision now rests with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Full report in the Lancashire Post.
Health service chaplains equal to parish based ministry
Two full-time members of chaplaincy staff at the department of pastoral and spiritual care, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, are arguing for greater recognition of chaplaincy as fully equal to parish-based ministry in the Church of England. Sacha Pearce and Jan Collis describe offering pastoral care for people seeking space to tell their stories; spiritual care for people trying to make sense of their situation, perhaps not members of any religion; and formal religious care for people such as saying prayers, offering communion or providing a Quran. They believe their approaches, techniques and training programme can be applied in other settings, a model for clergy going where people are in their day-to-day lives rather than expecting them to step across the threshold of a church. Read Jacquie Wain’s report on their work here
Church mural of a city on fire ordered to be removed due to Grenfell connotations
St Peter’s, St Helier, in Morden, south London has gained permission to remove a mural over its door which depicts a city on fire. The Guardian reports that the diocesan chancellor said the painting, created in 1977, had acquired “unfortunate connotations” since the Grenfell fire of 2017.
The Jewish family roots of Olivia Newton John
Jewish News charts the life story of Olivia Newton-John, the pop singer and star of the musical Grease, who has died aged 73. It says her mother, Irene Born, was the daughter of Max Born, a Jewish Nobel laureate and one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He fled to England after being suspended from a German university by the Nazi regime. His wife the mathematician, Hedwig Ehrenberg, was a descendant of the German jurist, Rabbi Philipp Ehrenberg. After Irene and her husband Brinley Newton-John divorced, Olivia Newton John and her mother started a new life in Melbourne where, she said, her mother was very proud of her Jewish heritage.
