Muslim charity loses funding
A CHARITY given £250,000 by the Government for interfaith work
has had its funding cut off after a review found that it had links
to extremists. The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF), an umbrella group
for Islamic aid agencies, had been inviting extremist speakers to
its events, the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, said. A
spokesman for the MCF told The Daily Telegraph that it
would contest the decision.
Edinburgh clergy fight Sunday parking ban
CLERGY in Edinburgh are mobilising their congregations against a
proposal from the city council to end free car-parking on Sundays.
Ministers from the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church of
Scotland, and the Baptist, Roman Catholic, and independent Churches
have united to oppose the plans, and argue that congregations would
be decimated if parking charges were introduced. The proposals are
currently being put out for consultation.
Clerical sparky to offer free repair service
A PRIEST in Tamworth, Staffordshire, the Revd Vic Van Den Bergh,
wants to repair his town's broken electrical appliances free of
charge, and has recruited a team of experts to help him. The Vicar
of St Francis's, Leyfield, Mr Van Den Bergh will hold the first
"Restart Party", to get broken gadgets working again, at Easter. A
qualified electrical engineer, he told the Tamworth Herald
that the scheme would save money and the environment, as fewer
goods would be thrown away.
Lacock Cup to go on tour
A RARE silver cup dating from the 15th century, which was sold
by a Wiltshire parish to the British Museum for £1.3 million (News,
3 January 2014), will return to the county when it begins a
nationwide tour. The Lacock Cup, originally owned by St Cyriac's,
Lacock, will be on display at Salisbury Museum from 31 January. It
was sold in 2013 only after the parish won its argument for a
faculty to sell the Cup as a fund-raising measure.
Roof-repair funding to be more inclusive
THE administrators of a £15-million government fund for
repairing church roofs have adjusted the requirements to make more
churches eligible to apply. Now, churches can apply for grants to
cover the cost of replacing metal stolen from roofs, even if the
church's insurance paid out for part of the cost. Also, the Church
Buildings Council said that it had negotiated with Ecclesiastical
Insurance to revise its policy on lead-theft payouts, so that, in
future, metal replacement would be paid for in full. For more
information on applying for grants, visit www.lpowroof.org.uk. The
deadline is 30 January.