These articles were first published in our October edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
A visitor to Perrygrove Railway in the Forest of Dean has reported that it has decided to become a Halloween-free attraction.
Appreciating that not every family wants ghosts and ghouls when out with their family through all of October, which includes the half-term break, the railway attraction has decided to go ghost free.
Gerardo Scalante was unanimously elected in August as the new International Director for CLC for the next four years, in succession to Neil Wardrope, who served in the position for the last 12 years.
Gerardo, from Uruguay, for the last 14 years has served as Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, most recently based in Miami.
For the first time ever, 2016 saw more humanist wedding ceremonies taking place in Scotland than those conducted by the Church of Scotland.
Figures released by National Records of Scotland show that 4,290 humanist wedding ceremonies were conducted in 2015, compared to the Church of Scotland’s 4,052. Almost 80% (3,378) were conducted by the Humanist Society of Scotland.
Abortion group Marie Stopes International suspended some types of abortion across all of its English facilities after a health watchdog’s investigation uncovered ‘patient safety’ concerns, it was reported in late August.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised issues over Marie Stopes’s ‘corporate and clinical governance arrangements and patient safety protocols in specific areas’ following inspections. As a result, all abortions for ‘under-18s and vulnerable groups of women’, as well as all abortions under general anaesthetic or conscious sedation were suspended.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) scheme ‘Sexually Transmitted Infections: condom distribution’ recommends increased availability of condoms to children as young as 13, it was reported in August.
As a preventative for STIs, its effectiveness is questionable, as the rates for syphilis and gonorrhoea have risen. (This may be in part due to the use of hormone implants for girls to prevent pregnancy as these provide no physical barrier to STI infection – Ed.)
An application for a sex entertainment venue in Merthyr Tydfil, a rural Welsh town, was unanimously rejected by the Council’s licensing committee on 9 August.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, a number of objectors urged the committee not to grant a licence for the venue in such close proximity to local community buildings and a church.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats withdrew their support for the intrusive ‘Named Person’ scheme in August, after the Supreme Court ruled that the proposals were unlawful.
Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said the party could no longer back the plans because of ‘mission creep’, expressing concerns over reports of data sharing between public sector workers. He also recommended that the scheme undergo an independent review.
2016 is the Creation Resources Trust 35th anniversary.
Starting out as the Somerset Creationist Group, the small-scale organisation now produces several publications including magazines and tracts and operates a mail-order DVD and book service. Seminars are held across the country. It works with other creation organisations in the UK who also see that the creation-evolution issue is foundational to the gospel.