Welby: Why Rev. doesn't get me
down
THE sitcom Rev.is "great viewing" but "doesn't
truly tell the whole story", the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.
Writing in the Radio Times this week, he said
that examples of growing and high-impact churches meant that there
were "plenty of grounds for celebration".
Thus Rev. "doesn't depress me quite as much as
you might think". Letter
Bishop of Oxford announces retirement
THE Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, has announced
that he will retire on 31 October, at the age of 66, after seven
years. In a letter to the diocese, he said at the weekend that it
had been a "hugely difficult decision". He and his wife will retire
to Richmond, in north Yorkshire.
Urquhart sounds note of caution on schools
probe
THE Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, has warned
that Muslims must not be "misrepresented", as an investigation is
conducted into schools in the city (News, 11
April). On Monday, Birmingham City Council confirmed that the
investigation had widened to 25 schools, after reports of religious
extremism surfaced.
Lord Carey comes to Mr Kuttner's defence
LORD CAREY, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, has defended the
character of Stuart Kuttner, a former managing editor of the
News of the Worldwho stands accused of conspiring to
intercept voicemails. On Thursday last week, Lord Carey, who wrote
for the newspaper after his retirement in 2002, told the court that
Mr Kuttner "was and is a good man".
'Business at usual' at St Michael's College,
Llandaff
DESPITE a report recommending that it should close (News,
4 April), it will be "business at usual" at St Michael's
College, Llandaff, the only theological college in Wales, a
statement from the college said on Friday of last week. Any changes
would not come into effect until 2016 at the earliest.
Bishop too ill for first court date
A FORMER Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Peter Ball, has been
unable to answer allegations of sex offences in court owing to ill
health. Bishop Ball was due at Brighton Magistrates Court on 10
April to face charges of indecent assault in 1978, between 1980 and
1982, and misconduct in a public office between 1977 and 1982 (News, 4 April). The
case was adjourned until 23 May.
Channel Islands switch parish share
CHURCHES in the Channel Islands will now pay their parish share
to the diocese of Canterbury, not the diocese of Winchester.
Oversight of the Islands was transferred to the Archbishop of
Canterbury earlier this year (News, 24 January) after
a dispute over the handling of a safeguarding complaint, but the
diocese of Winchester had continued to collect the parish
share.
Large donation for monotheism research
BIRKBECK COLLEGE has been given £300,000 to fund new research
into Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The gift, from the
Exilarch's Foundation, will establish a Fellowship and Ph.D.
scholarship named after the foundation's trustee Dr Naim Dangoor.
The research will be focused on the sociological and pyschological
dimensions of the three main monotheistic faiths.
Bishop urges people to pray on their knees
THE Priest Administrator of the the Anglican Shrine at
Walsingham, the Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS, has urged parishioners
to return to the tradition of praying on their knees. Bishop Urwin
said that an increasing number of churchgoers remained seated
during prayers, which, he said, suggested a lack of humility and
inappropriate casualness before God.