MEMBERS of the Church of Ireland General Synod are being
expected to identify and respond to people in their parishes who
are suffering as a result of the recession, after the presentation
of a motion that was passed unanimously.
THE first female Dean of Llandaff, the Very Revd Janet
Henderson, has resigned, just over two months after she was
installed.
THE conviction on Tuesday of seven men who groomed and sexually
abused young girls in Oxford begs "huge questions about a society
that claims to be civilised", the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Revd
Nick Baines, has said.
A Methodist minister is not an "employee" of the Church, the
Supreme Court has ruled by a majority of four to one.
Dame Heather Steel to lead inquiries in Jersey; Qatada
seeks visit from Welby; Plea for release from
Guantanamo; URC General Assembly Moderator
inducted; Faith leaders attend summit on organ donation
THE Baptist Union has appointed its first woman general
secretary, the Revd Lynne Green.
Scenes from the Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown, this
week
DURHAM Cathedral is looking for adult volunteers to train in
using Lego bricks.
THE Church Times Train-A-Priest (TAP) Fund appeal for 2013
closes this week, having brought TAP past the £4.5-million
mark.
Tributes have been paid to the biblical scholar Professor Geza
Vermes, who died last week at the age of 88.
REPORTS that Canterbury Cathedral might be facing closure, after
it failed to win a £10.5-million bid from the Heritage Lottery Fund
(HLF) for repairs, have been "greatly exaggerated", the cathedral's
PR officer, Christopher Robinson, said.
THE Synod was told, in the report of the Representative Church
Body (RB), that the Church of Ireland was operating at a deficit of
€5.7 million, when it required €7 million each year to fund
expenditure on ministry.
THE Church of Ireland must make a sensible contribution to
end-of-life issues currently being debated in Irish society, the
Archbishop of Armagh told the opening of the General Synod on
Thursday.
SECTARIANISM is alive and well throughout Ireland, the General
Synod heard.
THE full interchangeability of ministry between the Church of
Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland was now a real
possibility, the General Synod was told.
Gregg Ryan reports from the Church of
Ireland General Synod in Armagh
THE New Zealand Human Rights Tribunal has reserved its decision
in a case alleging that the Bishop of Auckland, the Rt Revd Ross
Bay, discriminated against a gay man who was in a same-sex
relationship by refusing to admit him to the diocesan
ministry-discernment process.
A fact-finding mission to Burma by a Christian organisation says
that it has found that, while there are grounds for "cautious
optimism" in the reforms introduced over the past 18 months, there
are concerns about the rising levels of religious violence.
A display set up by the IF protesters near the Houses of
Parliament, depicting the Chancellor, George Osborne. They argue
that tax havens' impact on poor countries is the "elephant in the
room" at the meeting of G7 finance ministers this week.
AMID tentative signs that the two kidnapped Syrian archbishops
are safe and in good health, the international community has begun
what looks like a final attempt to find a diplomatic solution to
the worsening crisis in Syria.
POPE FRANCIS has presided over the largest group canonisation in
history by declaring as saints more than 800 Italians martyred by
invading Ottoman Turkish forces for refusing to convert to
Islam.
THE need for Christian unity in the face of global challenges
was a theme discussed during a meeting in the Vatican at the end of
last week between Pope Francis and the leader of the Coptic
Orthodox Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II.
The C of E needs much more robust child-protection policies,
argues Anne Lawrence
Peter Graystone: I wish God's blessing on
everyone who has knocked on doors this week, asking people to give.
It is the most worthwhile thing you will do this month.
For tax purposes, are church musicians, bell-ringers, and others
employees, self-employed, or neither? Gavin
Drake investigates
Brendan McCarthy explains why the C of E
supports the law against assisting suicide
Leader: In a week when yet another gang
has been convicted of grooming and abusing vulnerable teenagers, it
is appalling that the Church is unable to model best practice in
the supervision of its priests and the care of its young
people.