The nations’ favourite school assembly hymn – Shine Jesus Shine
Shine Jesus Shine, written by Graham Kendrick, has been voted the Nation’s Favourite School Assembly Hymn in a contest run by BBC Songs of Praise. The competition arose from an idea launched by music teacher, James B Partridge, who began making films of songs so that his pupils could sing along at home during covid lockdowns. And then he came up with the idea of making a video of the top ten school assembly songs, which went viral on social media. He’s been dubbed a TikTok sensation and has gone on tour, first with “Primary School Bangers” and this year “The Big Christmas Assembly 2025”. He’s performed the show live on stage at Glastonbury and at Silverstone British Grand Prix, among many other venues. Tens of thousands of votes were cast, and the winners were featured in a special edition of Songs of Praise broadcast yesterday. Many of the songs came from the familiar “Come and Praise” hymn book.
1. Shine Jesus Shine
2. Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning
3. Lord of the Dance
4. All thing brights and beautiful
5. I, the Lord of the sea and sky (Here I am Lord)
6. One more step along the road I go
7. Oh Jesus I have promised
8. Colours of day (Light up the fire)
9. He’s got the whole world in his hand
10. Make me a channel of your peace
11. Morning has broken
12. He who would valiant be
13. We plough the fields and scatter
14. Autumn Days when the grass is jewelled
15. Lord of all hopefulness
Pope urges swift action after 315 children kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria
Fifty of the 315 children kidnapped by gunmen fromSt Mary’s Catholic school in Papiri, Nigeria, have escaped and been reunited with their parents. Armed forces are searching for the remaining 265 children and 12 teachers. The school was set up in 2008 in an impoverished farming region where people are nomadic, by Catholic priests from Ireland. Pope Leo has expressed “immense sadness” at the abductions and urged the authorities to act swiftly. The kidnapping follows another incident earlier last week when 20 Muslim pupils were taken from a boarding school in Kebbi state. The government has ordered schools to be closed in the states of Kebbi, Niger, Katsina, Yobe and Kwara.
Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘impossible job’ with inhumane expectations
The Bishop of Chelmsford has said that the Archbishop of Canterbury now holds one of Britain’s “impossible jobs,” on a par with the BBC’s director-general, because of the “inhumane” expectations placed on public figures. Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani told The Times that many senior roles have become suffocating, with an expectation that people must go after a single wrong decision. The bishop was the bookies’ favourite to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, but said this was “profoundly uncomfortable”, as she did nothing to court the role, and she is very happy to remain in Chelmsford. Times article is here
Bishop criticises asylum reforms for ‘lumping all asylum seekers together’
The Bishop of Norwich has accused the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood of “lumping all asylum seekers together” without understanding their different motivations and background. In a statement widely reported, Dr Graham Usher said: “Rather than scapegoating and stereotyping a diverse group of people, our local and national political leaders need to foster open and honest conversation as well as ways to bring our communities and nation together.” He said he had met people who had experienced oppression, torture and violence, and the humanity of each person must be seen: “My concerns about the proposals are that they lump all asylum seekers together without understanding their different experiences, backgrounds and motivations, and make integration more difficult if refugees feel unable to put down roots.” Under the asylum reforms, migrants will have to wait 10 years not the present five years, before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain and the bishop said this would make integration harder, as people would not be able to put down roots. BBC report here
Archbishop urges government to make permanent the grant scheme for church repairs
The Archbishop of York is urging the government to make the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme permanent and lift the cap on claims. The scheme allows for VAT grants on repairs of more than £1,000 to be claimed back for essential repairs and maintenance. This year the government reduced the total sum allocation at £23 million – down from £42 million – with a cap of £25,000 per building, and said the scheme will end in March 2026. But Archbishop Stephen Cottrell says the money is crucial to maintain church buildings which are widely used for commmunity use, such as providing warm spaces or as centres for food banks. He said: “This is a relatively small investment by the Government in buildings that are estimated to have a huge social value.” The CofE is responsible for 45 per cent of the UK’s Grade 1 listed buildings and more than 12,500 of its church buildings have listed status. Around 260 churches and cathedrals have reported that their essential repair projects are at risk because of uncertainty over the scheme’s future.
US clerical revolt could ‘shame and tame’ Trump
The Pope and Catholic bishops in America are emerging as the strongest force of resistance to President Trump, according to Guardian writer Simon Tisdall. He suggests the bishops’ recent “special message” to the President on immigration, which said they are disturbed at a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement, and saddened at the vilification of immigrants, is a clerical revolt. The Pope has the “moral authority, political savvy and international standing to confront Trump, to positive effect, on poverty, inequality, migrants, civil rights, Russia, Palestine and other pressing issues”, he argues, in a way that judges, Republicans and Democrats cannot. In short, he says: “The American pope could do what others manifestly cannot: shame and tame the monster”. The article is here
Moonsighting academic course launched to help British Muslims agree lunar dates
Hyphen Online reports on a new academic course on moon sighting, giving free training to 30 British Muslims on how to sight the crescent moon, which signals the start and end dates of Islamic festivals. It will mean that British Muslims will be able to create a system to agree on specific dates applicable to this country, instead of relying on sightings in Muslim countries across the world, which sometimes differ. The report says “The Moonsighters Academy” will run a nine month course from December 2025 – August 2026 in a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, the University of Leeds and the New Crescent Society, a Muslim-focused astronomy club. The full story by Zahra Onsori is here.
Two Muslim MPs leave ‘Your party’ due to infighting and attitude to Muslim men
Iqbal Mohamed, the MP for Batley and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, has announced that he is leaving “Your Party”, the new political party founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zara Sultana. He explained the reason on Twitter / X: “The many false allegations and smears made against me and others, and reported as fact without evidence, have been surprising and disappointing”. His decision followed an announcement by Adnan Hussain, the MP for Blackburn, who said he would be “stepping away” from the steering group. He explained the party had seen persistent infighting and factionalism and had become “deeply troubled” by how some members of the steering group spoke about Muslim men. Both men will continue to align with the Independent Alliance within parliament, a grouping of four Muslim MPs and Jeremy Corbyn.
Prime Minister and Mayor of London back Mitzvah Day 2025
Volunteers from many faiths joined a day of social action yesterday for Mitzvah Day 2025, billed as the UK’s largest faith led day of social action. An estimated 40,000 people were involved, and in London this included assembling at City Hall where the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, helped volunteers pack boxes with food sufficient for a family meal, which were then distributed to families on low incomes. The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, also found time to support the event. Writing on Twitter / X, he said: “Mitzvah Day reminds us that small deeds can make a big difference. What started out as a gathering of 100 people 20 years ago, now has 40,000 volunteers doing good all over the country”.
