Lord Khan is appointed faith minister
Lord Khan has been appointed as the new faith minister. Baron Khan of Burnley, 44, born Wajid Iltaf Khan, was made a peer in December 2021. He is a minister in the Housing, Communities and Local Government Department, previously the Department for Levelling up, and officials say the portfolios of junior ministers in the new government have not been officially announced, but his appointment is known by the RMC and many faith leaders who have already spoken to him about the riots and aftermath. Lord Khan was born in Burnley, studied law at university and has been a university lecturer, borough councillor, Mayor of Burnley, member of the European Parliament, community and charity organiser. He won an award for developing community cohesion projects in the wake of the Burnley race riots in 2001 and has led international conferences on volunteering. More recently, he has served on the Labour Party National Policy Forum and International Policy Commission.
Faith community leaders rebuilding society after the riots
Faith community leaders from across England have spoken of the anxiety and fear especially among Muslim women after the riots in more than 20 cities and towns. They told a Religion Media Centre briefing that it was like living through a war and now they were picking up the pieces. They also made clear that the counter demonstrations and individual acts of kindness, proved that the vast majority of the British public wanted a peaceful society where everyone got on with each other. There was agreement that rising Islamophobia was to blame, a trend which several speakers said had been unchecked under the last government. But there were other questions and concerns expressed, including the impact on children who lived through the riots, which teachers and schools will pick up in September. Another concern was that no minority group felt safe and there was a need for a wider conversation on what it means to be British. And another on how faith groups could point to their shared truth that all humanity is one. The Prime Minister had promised that a future Labour government would form partnership links with faith representatives. Already he and other ministers have been talking to representatives, hearing their stories of the riots and aftermath. The briefing heard of an email sent to faith leaders saying the government team is very keen to engage on a regular basis and reset the relationship between faith groups and greater, wider civil society, and the government. View the briefing and listen to the podcast via links here
Blackburn cleric paid off story “highlights complexity of CofE disciplinary process
Complicated disciplinary rules for clergy in the Church of England are under scrutiny after the BBC exposed the story that a residential canon at Blackburn cathedral, facing multiple allegations of abuse, could not be removed using the rules and was eventually paid a reported £240,000 to settle a legal case after he was forced to retire. Canon Andrew Hindley, who denied the allegations, held the office under freehold and could only be dismissed using the Clergy Discipline Measure. The BBC says several attempts were made but failed. In addition, he was subject to five police investigations, including into allegations of sexual assault, but was never charged. He denies presenting any safeguarding risk to anyone, despite external reports identifying risk. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York said the case “highlights the complexity of our structures and processes”, adding: “We are truly sorry when survivors are let down by the Church”. In an interview on BBC Radio Lancashire, the current bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, said that changes were needed to clergy terms and conditions, and to the system for clergy discipline. Church Times report here
Altar Stone at Stonehenge came from the far north of Scotland
A Welsh PhD student, Anthony Clarke, has discovered that the altar stone at Stonehenge came from the Orcadian Basin, which includes the Caithness, Orkney, and Moray Firth regions of north-eastern Scotland, a distance of 435 miles. Mr Clarke is now at Curtin university in western Australia, and was one of a team which analysed fragments of rock that fell off the Altar Stone and then dated them. Another researcher in the team, Prof Nick Pearce from Aberystwyth, told the BBC: “The Neolithic people must have been pretty well connected, far more connected than people give them credit for”. Stonehenge has stones from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire and from England just north of the site, but this latest important discovery of the altar stone proves the site was created by a collaborative effort involving different people from all over Britain. The research has stunned academics and has been published in the scientific journal “Nature”.
Woman jailed for Facebook post calling for mosque to be blown up with adults inside
In the latest round of court cases for people who took part in riots across England, a 53-year-old woman, Julie Sweeney, from Church Lawton near Alsager, has been jailed for 15 months for a Facebook message. She was responding to a post after the killing of three little girls in Southport when a violent disturbance targeted the mosque thinking the killer was Muslim. The community rallied round and a picture of the clean-up operation was posted to Facebook. Sweeney wrote: “It’s absolutely ridiculous. Don’t protect the mosque. Blow the mosque up with the adults in it.” She admitted a charge of sending a communication threatening death or serious harm, when she appeared at Chester Crown Court. Her lawyer told the court that she had never been in trouble before and was genuinely remorseful.
Church of Scotland calls for Gaza ceasefire
Church of Scotland members have written to foreign secretary David Lammy, urging him to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The church’s Israel Palestine Committee also calls on the British government to recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel immediately, joining 145 countries globally which have done so. The committee also voices disappointment that arms export licence for Israel have not been suspended.
Charity law ‘needs review’ after gay conversion church expands in Britain
The National Secular Society has complained to the Charity Commission for England and Wales, about the Zimbabwean based “Forward In Faith Church International”, which has been accused of promoting gay conversion therapy and the subjugation of women. Concerns were raised by the National Secular Society, based on posts on the church’s website describing a miracle night where a man was “delivered from a homosexual spirit which had bound him for many years”. Another page setting out the responsibilities of a wife says she should not nag her husband, and that “it is a foolish woman” who makes excuses not to have sex. The church operates in five locations in the UK with an annual income of £3.3 million, and is about to start a new venture in Edinburgh. The NSS says the Charity Commission will not take action. It is urging a review of charity law saying “the advancement of religion” in charitable objectives is undermining efforts to combat misogyny and violence against women and girls.
Remains found of 9th century bishop who started the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage
The Guardian reports that a set of ancient bones discovered in north-west Spain almost 70 years ago are now believed to be those of Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia. He is the man who supposedly discovered the remains of the apostle James, the saint who is said to have brought Christianity to the Iberian peninsula, in an abandoned cemetery in Santiago de Compostelain around 820 AD. After this the city became a magnet for pilgrims and the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes were created. In 1955, the bishop’s tombstone was uncovered under the floor of the city’s cathedral and bones were found underneath. Scientists have now tested the bones, writing in “Antiquity” that they used a multi-stranded analytical approach, combining osteoarchaeology, radiocarbon dating, stable isotope and ancient DNA analyses. Their conclusion is, in all likelihood, that the bones are the remains of the bishop.
