Looking for Nina: the diocese of Llandaff in the Church in Wales are searching for the family of Nina Davis, who was awarded a copy of Edie’s Disobedience by Winifred Fenn as a Sunday School prize from St Dyfrig’s Church, Cardiff at Christmas 1904. The book was unearthed in a house clearance in North Kent by Mr Alan Smith, who is hoping to trace Nina’s family. Anyone with information about the book can contact Mr Smith through Alison Young at alisonyoung@churchinwales.org.uk
New network to address ethnic diversity in C of E
A NEW Church of England initiative, the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network (AMEN), has been set up to address a “deep concern about the absence of ethnic diversity” in both lay and ordained leadership of the Church. AMEN was launched by the Vicar of Upton Cross, Forest Gate, the Revd Dr Chigor Chike, and the Vicar of Upper Holloway, the Revd Dr Karowei Dorgu, in London, on Tuesday. Minority-ethnic clergy made up less than three per cent of the clergy in England, they said. The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, lent her support to AMEN, which, she said, would ensure that “the face and voice of our country” was reflected in the Church. The Bishop of Stepney, the Rt Revd Adrian Newman, also welcomed the launch.
Bishop Bell petition hits 1000 signatures
A PETITION addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, requesting that the handling of an allegation against the late Bishop George Bell be reassessed, has acquired more than 1000 signatures. The allegation that the former Bishop of Chichester, revered as one of the C of E’s leading 20th-century figures, sexually assaulted a child in the late 1940s and early ’50s first came to light last year (News, 22 October). The petition calls on the C of E to “allow a fuller investigation”, and re-examine the evidence. Signatories include senior clerics, lawyers, historians, and MPs, many of whom have left comments on the petition page in Bishop Bell’s defence: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/justice-for-bishop-george-bell-of-chichester.
Top rating for Church Commissioners’ climate record
THE Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) has given the Church Commissioners a top AAA rating on its investments in relation to climate change. In its 2016 report, issued this week, the AODP rates the top 500 investors in the world — managing a total of £26 trillion assets — from AAA to D based on their success at managing climate risk. Those who have taken no action are rated X. “The Church Commissioners for England have gone straight to the top,” the report states. “They are very active on the engagement front, driving many of the shareholder resolutions being presented to boards.”
Council a step closer to saving Bede attraction
SOUTH TYNESIDE COUNCIL has moved a step closer to saving the Anglo-Saxon museum and farm, Bede’s World, from closure (News, 19 February). The educational venue in Church Bank, Jarrow, which celebrates the life and work of the Venerable Bede (672-735), was previously run by the Bede’s World Charitable Trust, and supported by council grants. The trust became insolvent in February, however, and ownership passed back to the council (News, 4 March), which is now in talks with Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM), and the charity Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle (STAN), to operate the site, and introduce new facilities to strengthen its appeal.
Christian librarians celebrate 40 years
MEMBERS of Christians in Library and Information Services (originally the Librarians’ Christian Fellowship) celebrated their 40th anniversary on 23 April at the Salvation Army’s Regent Hall in Oxford Street, London. The group, including some who had been present at the first conference in 1976, welcomed as guest speakers Nick Spencer, of the Christian think tank Theos, and the Revd William Morris, of St Martin-in-the-Fields, who spoke on Christianity in the workplace.