Emmanuel
Church
Canterbury
(see
January en) was outbid in an auction for a
redundant chapel.
Despite the disappointment, the church
family has seen the Lord at work within it,
bringing a great sense of unity, seeing very
generous giving, and bringing
together a
team of ‘professionals’ from both within and
outside the church to work on the acquisition of a property. They plan to work together to this end in the months ahead.
Aberystwyth: Bibles kept
Bible Society
After it emerged that Aberystwyth Student’s
Union planned to vote on removing Bibles
from student’s rooms, the university issued
a statement in February stating they had no
plans to remove the Bibles.
‘For many years Aberystwyth University
has been receiving copies of the Bible to
place in rooms in halls of residence. The
Students’ Union have not contacted the university to request that this arrangement be
changed, [therefore] Aberystwyth University
will continue to place … Bibles in halls of
residence’.
Church: the future
Christian Concern
‘The future of religion in Britain is to be
found
in Islam and
the black majority
churches’, said a professor of population
studies in late February.
In a blog for religious think-tank Theos,
Professor David Voas claimed
that
the:
‘Future of religion among the white British
is bleak ... Muslims already contribute ten
per cent of British births; within several
decades people of Muslim heritage will form
ten per cent of the population, even if immigration came to an abrupt halt tomorrow.’
Buildings: a future?
Fellowship of European
Broadcasters, The Times
Churches, some dating from the 12th century, are being sold by
the Church of
England as the number of worshippers continues
to
fall,
it was reported
in
late
February.
Nineteen
former churches are currently
listed for sale, with an estimated value of
nearly £3 million. The oldest is the 12th-century St Peter’s in Buckinghamshire. The latest
figures, for 2012, suggest that fewer than
800,000 people worship at Anglican Sunday
services, half the number in the 1960s.
Compulsory sex ed
Christian Concern
The House of Commons’ Education Select
Committee called on the Government to make
sex education compulsory in all state primary
and secondary schools, in mid-February.
Although the MPs recommend that the
right of parents to withdraw their children
should be
retained,
the proposals would
restrict the freedom of schools and parents to
shape what is taught.
Red card for Red Cross
The Christian Institute
The British Red Cross volunteer axed for
opposing the redefinition of marriage has
lost his appeal against the decision, it was
announced in mid-February.
The charity upheld its original ruling to
dismiss Bryan Barkley, a volunteer for over
18 years, for holding up a sign saying ‘No
Same Sex Marriage’ in March 2014.The Red
Cross apologised for taking such a long time
to deal with his case and for not following its
own procedures, but refused to overturn the
original decision.
Same aim, new vision
www.ceec.info
The Church
of
England
Evangelical
Council (CEEC) has agreed a new strategy
to enable mission to flourish and in March
appointed a new chair (Hugh Palmer, rector
of All Souls, Langham Place) and a new
president (the Bishop of Blackburn, the
Right Revd Julian Henderson).
Evangelicals
in dioceses with existing
Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships or similar
are invited to renew their engagement with
CEEC. In dioceses where there are no such
groups, evangelicals are encouraged to make
contact through the CEEC website.
