These articles were first published in our February edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, joined other Irish church leaders in reflecting on 2023, with particular focus on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement.
They said that ‘a whole generation has now come and gone and much has changed,’ and that there is still work to be done to secure lasting peace in Ireland, taking inspiration from the apostle Paul, who said: ‘So then let us pursue the things that make for peace and the building up of one another.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Nicky Gumbel are among those to have been named on the King’s New Year Honours list.
Justin Welby was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) for his role in the Coronation of King Charles III, a personal gift from the King, and separate from the honours given by the Prime Minister. Gumbel received a CBE for his services to the C of E in the King’s New Year honours list. The 68-year-old served as the leader of Holy Trinity, Brompton.
The Methodist Church in the UK has advised Methodists not to use terms such as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’, as they assume people’s gender and do not always reflect ‘the reality for many people’. The advice comes as part of the church’s recently released Inclusive Language Guidance.
The guidance states that terms like these may seem ‘inoffensive’ but often unintentionally exclude people, and that Christians must speak to people with humility, and a willingness to use ‘sensitive and inclusive language’.
CARE have highlighted that there has only been one conviction under Northern Irish legislation on the purchase of sex since 2018, despite 75 arrests having been made between 2018 and 2023. One arrest led to a conviction, 24 led to cautions, while four led to community resolutions.
Northern Ireland is the only nation in the UK to have criminalised the purchase of sex.
Two top Irish clinicians have written a formal complaint to the Health Information and Quality Authority warning that the Republic of Ireland must improve the way in which it cares for gender-confused children and stop starting them on a path towards changing their gender.
The clinicians said the health services must stop referring children to ‘trans-affirming’ clinics overseas, and emphasised the increased risk this brings to children experiencing confusion of this nature, such as the likelihood of increasing ‘social avoidance’ and ‘functional impairment.’
Cornerstone Free Church in Edinburgh recently celebrated five adult baptisms, three children’s baptisms and welcomed 20 new members into the church.
The service at George Watson’s College celebrated a special day of growth and commitment for the congregation. All of the baptisms were for people from the Spanish-speaking congregation – the baptisms were conducted in Spanish and then translated into English.
Luke Randall