The lost music of Auschwitz uncovered by young British composer
A young British musician has uncovered the identity of a composer behind an anonymous piece of music he painstakingly restored after finding it at Auschwitz. Leo Geyer, a composer and conductor, first encountered fragments of the score in 2015 during a visit to the Nazi death camp, where an archivist told him about remnants of musical scores which were played by orchestras in the camp. Moved by this discovery, Geyer dedicated the next eight years to piecing together what he describes as “a broken jigsaw puzzle.” His extensive research, which became the foundation of his doctorate at Oxford University, involved speaking to Holocaust survivors, analysing witness testimonies and examining related documents and photographs. He completed the restoration of the anonymous composition, which he has since identified as the work of Mieczysław Krzyński, the deputy conductor of the Auschwitz I orchestra. Leo Geyer’s journey and the restored music are featured in a Sky Arts documentary, The Lost Music of Auschwitz, to be broadcast on 20 January. Read Lianne Kolirin’s report here
Decision on changes to church repair scheme announced soon
The government minister in charge of historic buildings, Baroness Ruth Twycross, has agreed to meet bishops concerned at the closure of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which has allowed churches to recover VAT on repairs. The scheme ends in April but in the House of Lords, the Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, asked the minister what plans there were to ensure adequate support for listed historic buildings. He said these include churches at the heart of their communities offering social action projects and services for weddings, baptisms and funerals. The minister said she would be keen to hear suggestions of how repairs could be funded “given the overall economic situation we find ourselves in”. Discussions on the scheme’s future would be based on departmental budgets and would be announced soon.
Plans for prayers and worship on Trump’s Inauguration Day
The US Religion News Service reports on plans for religious leaders to pray at Trump’s inauguration next week, and for services at the Washington National Cathedral and St. John’s Church. Leaders at the inauguration include Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, who will provide the opening invocation, and the Rev Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Four people will offer the benediction – Rabbi Ari Berman, Imam Husham Al-Husainy, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and the Rev Frank Mann, a Catholic priest from Brooklyn. Trump will participate in the early-morning Inauguration Day service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, which is omitting a sermon; and a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, whose Dean said “This will not be a service for a new administration”.
Massive impact of war in Gaza led to discussions over new Muslim leadership group
Initiatives to create a Muslim organisation that the government feels it can engage with, follow intense and widespread discussions among many Muslim groups in Britain, according to Julie Siddiqui, Muslim commentator and community organiser. She told a Religion Media Centre briefing that the war in Israel and Gaza has had a massive impact on Muslims in Britain, who are not one bloc, but a diverse community with many different groups and interests. It wasn’t true that a proposed new Muslim Leadership Council was a government initiative, or that it sought to replace the Muslim Council of Britain, which has not had official communication with any government since 2009. She explained that the idea “fits into a wider conversation around intra faith and the intra community conversations, which are some of the most challenging, sometimes quite depressing conversations”, where infighting prevents action. She was optimistic that the government has a more positive, proactive approach towards faith in general, and hoped there would be less divisive language in public life.
Grooming gang debate descends into anger in Welsh Senedd
The chair of the Welsh parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Faith, Darren Millar, led calls for a Wales-wide inquiry into grooming gangs, in a Senedd debate that descended into anger. Mr Millar, also leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, put the question directly to Eluned Morgan during First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday. He said people needed to know whether there was another Rotherham or Rochdale on their doorsteps, citing a case where a victim was gang raped 1000 times. But the speaker reprimanded him for using overly descriptive language. Later during the session, his leadership predecessor, Andrew RT Davies, raised the same issue and was heckled for posting images “dripping with racism and prejudice” on social media. Baroness Morgan said it was disappointing the issue had been politicised and hoped the rhetoric could be toned down, but was accused by opponents of dodging the question. The Muslim Council of Wales called for “all in elected office to exercise wisdom and seek social unity, rather than engage in sensationalist calls for division and hatred.” Nation Cymru story here
Meeting discussing the ‘people poor, cash rich’ future of the United Reformed Church
A group of 100 people is meeting to discuss the future of the United Reformed Church, at a three-day meeting at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon. It follows a report by Theos, which said the church is at a crossroads, with a top-heavy organisation, but vibrantly activist local congregations: “It is people poor, as a result of on-going congregational decline, yet for the same reason – and somewhat ironically – ‘cash rich’, with a solid financial situation resulting in part from the sale of closed church buildings”. Fifty years after its formation, the report says the URC has to decide whether to simply manage its decline or leverage its paradoxical position to forge a path towards the future. Details of the scale of the task are outlined on the URC website, including the statistic that the church had a £1.23million deficit in 2023. The conference will include members from all parts of church life and will consider how to use resources for church planting and growth.
The rabbi on £100,000 in a central London synagogue
The rabbi of a central London synagogue has given a searingly open account of his job, revealing he is paid £100,000, donated by his 1,500 members with whom he has a “very direct relationship”. The rabbi, who is not named in The Telegraph article, says the top line of his job description should be “janitor” – someone makes a mess and he cleans it up. He describes his role looking after the community at key moments in their lives “hatch match and dispatch”, saying his favourite ritual is weddings. The last year since 7 October was “really hard and really painful”, with the mother of one of his members taken hostage and the conflict affecting everyone in different ways, especially from rising antisemitism which has led to increased security. He says: “I tend not to have crises of faith because I don’t believe in a guy with a white beard sitting on a cloud and I never have. I believe that the universe is more ordered than chaotic and more good than empty – and that is God. I believe that after we die, there is something more than decay. But I have never signed up to the kind of theology with a detailed vision of the hereafter, with Angel X on one floor and Angel Y on another floor. That is not how I have built my relationship with this strange, slightly undefinable thing I call God”. The full article is here
Dispute over Saturday Palestine march route near central London synagogue
The Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and Community Security Trust have issued a joint statement about this Saturday’s National March for Palestine. Jewish News explains that the Metropolitan Police is preventing the march from beginning in Portland Place, after representations that it is near Central Synagogue and would interfere with worship. The march organisers’ response to reverse the route and end the rally at Portland Place outside the BBC is being objected to by the police who say it would breach conditions imposed under the Public Order Act. The joint statement says: “We support the right to peaceful protest and are not asking for this march to be banned. However, we support the Metropolitan Police in imposing conditions to protect those who are attending Central London synagogues.” Police are due to meet with march organisers for further talks.
Just Stop Oil campaigners deface Darwin’s grave with orange paint
A retired teaching assistant and former council chief executive, defaced Charles Darwin’s grave in Westminster Abbey with orange paint, in the Just Stop Oil campaign. The stones were cleaned immediately and the protesters, Alyson Lee and Bi Bligh, were arrested and charged with criminal damage. They sprayed on the words “1.5 IS DEAD” to highlight the news that average temperatures are 1.5ºC higher than in the pre-industrial era. Ms Lee said: “Without real action, words are useless: you cannot negotiate with the laws of physics.” Church Times story here
