King and Queen visit Neasden Temple to mark 30th anniversary
The King and Queen have visited BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, otherwise known as Neasden Temple, to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The King first visited in 1996, one year after it opened as Europe’s first traditional Hindu stone temple, and kept in touch regularly until 2009, his last visit, for the festival of Holi. The Neasden Temple is made from 5,000 tonnes of hand-carved Bulgarian limestone and Indian marble and at 70 feet high, is one of the largest and most ornate Hindu temples outside India and a landmark in Britain. Hundreds of people attended the event, which included speeches, dance, music and the sacred rite of water poured over a deity’s image, and flower petals being offered to the sacred image of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the principal deity of the temple. They met community leaders and representatives who run charitable projects including food for people in the local area.
Helpline service launched to support victims of anti-Muslim hate
The British Muslim Trust has launched a helpline service to support people who are victims of increased anti-Muslim hate in the UK. The calls will be answered by Muslims ‘to ensure a cultural and religious understanding’ of the context of incidents. There will be a phone line open for five daytime hours each day, a website form and conversations via email, WhatsApp or live chat. The Trust says it is already supporting women and girl victims, people affected by attacks on mosques and those facing rising anti Islam hatred in workplaces and wider society. Akeela Ahmed MBE, CEO, of the British Muslim Trust, said: “We want to give victims the support network that they need to be listened to, supported, and so they can achieve justice for the abuse they are receiving for merely existing”. They will monitor the number of crimes reported, rhetoric used, and sentiments expressed, which will inform policymaking. The British Muslim Trust is on: 0808 172 3524.
Aid agencies launch appeals as hurricane Melissa strikes the Caribbean
Faith based aid agencies are joining the worldwide appeal for help to Jamaica, where violent winds and heavy rainfall have destroyed towns and infrastructure, and led to a complete absence of power throughout the island. A 300 year old Episcopalian church in the coastal town of Black River was destroyed. Episcopal Relief and Development is assessing needs with partner organisations on the ground. Catholic Relief Services, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ official humanitarian and development outreach, has established a relief fund for victims in Haiti and Jamaica. The Bishop of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Juan Simpson, said: “The Church is not an NGO or Government but it is the first-place people turn to, whether they are ascribed to the teachings of Jesus or not.” Methodists will help civic authorities identify where resources are needed and arrange for supplies of food and repair materials.
Bishop of Norwich wins lords support to protect chalk streams
The Bishop of Norwich has succeeded in a House of Lords move to gain legal protection for chalk streams, rich in minerals, especially calcium, which support distinctive, fragile ecosystems. There are around 200 chalk streams in the world with 85 per cent located in England, mostly in the south east, but also found in Yorkshire and the Lincolnshire Wolds, Norfolk, the Chilterns, Hampshire and Dorset. Bishop Graham Usher, the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment, said his amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill sought to protect a precious habitat, restore biodiversity and “create a planning system that works with nature, not against it.” It requires statutory land-use development plans to list chalk streams and identify how they will be protected, and places a responsibility on planning authorities to protect and enhance chalk stream environments. The Lords supported the amendment by 196 to 137 votes.
Cardinal Raymond Burke to join Latin Mass conference in London
Cardinal Raymond Burke, who led the Tridentine Latin Mass at the Vatican last weekend, will join the Latin Mass Society Faith and Culture Conference in London in June, by video link. A controversial figure, Cardinal Burke went to Rome in 2008 after serving as a bishop in Wisconsin and St. Louis. His public opposition to Pope Francis led to him losing his positions as the head of the Vatican’s highest court and as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops. He was sidelined from his ceremonial post as patron of the Knights of Malta and his Vatican apartment and salary were revoked. He has always been a supporter of the Tridentine Mass, but Pope Francis restricted its use after it was a lightning rod for opposition to Rome. However, Pope Leo lamented the fact that the Latin Mass had become politicised and relaxed the rules saying it was a matter of church unity.
Children’s Commissioner meets refugee families waiting years for asylum
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has visited the Jesuit Refugee Service in London, to meet refugee families and hear first-hand about the experiences of children navigating the UK asylum system. They described challenges such as food insecurity and malnutrition, unsafe accommodation, disruption to education, and the emotional toll of living in limbo for long periods. She also heard about the brutal realities faced by unaccompanied asylum-seeking children wrongly deemed to be adults and held in immigration detention. She said: “It’s always so powerful to hear people’s stories. Today I met people who have been waiting for years and years. JRS UK and other organisations like this are holding lives together. Over the years services have been pared back and back and organisations like JRS UK are delivering support to families.”
Silicon Valley technology to ‘hasten the coming of Christ’s return’
Patrick Gelsinger, executive chair of the Silicon Valley Gloo technology company, has said his life’s mission “has been to work on a piece of technology that would improve the quality of life of every human on the planet and hasten the coming of Christ’s return”. He was quoted in a Guardian report on Christianity in Silicon Valley, which describes the growing influence of Trump supporting born again Christians in AI and technology companies. Gloo has investments worth $100 million and provides software for churches helping with membership, offering chatbots and developing “AI assistants with Christian principles” to help with pastoral work and ministry support. The report quotes North Carolina academic Damien Wilson, who says that Gelsinger speaks of Silicon Valley as his mission field, and where there was once atheism, there is now “a very loud, very visible and very specifically Christian-inflected technological culture”. Another Christian influencer is Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and Palantir, who warns the Antichrist will come, an individual or system that controls AI like a “one-world totalitarian state”. Guardian story here
