News in Brief

Freedom-fighters
Set All Free, a Churches Together initiative to commemorate the bicentenary in 2007 of the abolition of the slave trade, was launched at Holy Trinity, Clapham, in London, last week. Richard Reddie, (above right) was commissioned to lead the project.

New man for ministry
THE VEN. CHRISTOPHER LOWSON is to be the next Director of Ministry for the Archbishops' Council. He has been Archdeacon of Portsmouth since 1999, and chairs the Portsmouth diocesan board of ministry. In 2003, he compeleted a Master of Laws degree in Canon Law at Cardiff Law School. The Rt Revd John Gladwin, chairman of the Ministry Division, said that the Archdeacon "will bring proven pastoral and theological skills to bear on the next chapter of the division's service". He succeds the Ven. Gordon Kuhrt.

Bearing the cost of buildings
MORE THAN £100 million was raised and spent on church repairs in 2003, according to official C of E figures released on Monday. Researchers say that this does not include an estimate for the many hours of voluntary work given by parishioners. Repairs still outstanding were reckoned at £370 million. The new figures also showed that tax-efficient giving by churchgoers rose in 2003 to an average of £7.55 a week. www.cofe.anglican.org

Aid charity appoints new head
TEARFUND, the Christian relief and development agency, has appointed Matthew Frost, who has worked with Medair in Somalia and Afghanistan, as its new CEO. The 40-year-old Cambridge economics graduate will oversee more than 800 staff. He attends St Mark's, Battersea, in south-west London, with his family.

Hidden treasures
A pair of candlesticks or lamp stands, from St John the Divine, a redundant church in Lincolnshire, are to go on sale at Bonhams next month, for an estimated £30,000. The sticks bear both Koranic and Christian inscriptions

Baby found in block laid to rest
A FUNERAL for baby Lara, whose real name is unknown, was conducted by the Revd Ian Grainger, Vicar of Camerton, Seaton and West Seaton, in St Paul's, Seaton, on Tuesday. Lara's remains were discovered in a block of concrete three years ago in West Cumbria. Mr Grainger was helped by a Roman Catholic priest and a Methodist minister. In his sermon, he praised the police, who had treated Lara as if she were their own child.

Sign of approval
confirmation candidates in the parish of Upholland, Skelmersdale ( pictured, with their supporters), gave the thumbs-up sign when asked by the Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Revd David Jennings, whether they turned to Christ. The unusual response was part of a specially adapted service for six adults with learning difficulties, some of whom cannot speak, who were confirmed at the Church of Christ the Servant, Digmoor, on 15 August. The Bishop said he thought up the idea just before the service. Lynne Davenport, Paul Breton, Joyce Serridge, Alison O'Rourke, Gavin Alderson, and Asher Reynolds had been attending the church for the past two years. Karen Parkinson, aged 47, who had also been preparing for confirmation, died in June.

Clarification. The advertisement suggested for the C of E by the Fallon agency (News, 9 September) was devised as part of a television programme for Channel 5, and was not commissioned by the Church.