Church tribute to late Welsh First Minister
A STATEMENT from the Church in Wales has paid tribute to the former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan, who has died, aged 77. It spoke of his “integrity, commitment, and sense of purpose”, through which he had taken the embryonic devolved institutions in Wales and made them come alive during his nine years as in office from 2000. The statement also praised his efforts to for good interfaith relations and his “deep concern for the welfare of ordinary Welsh people”.
Students are looking for friendship, not doctrine, SCM says
CHURCHES can best welcome new university students by ensuring that they offer a steady community of friendship, a Student Christian Movement publication states. The 44-page booklet, Welcoming Students to Your Church, suggests that students care more about finding security in a church family rather than searching for a particular denomination or a certain theology. The advice, case studies, and practical tips in the booklet can be at www.movement.org.uk/welcoming-students.
In-work poverty reaches new height
MORE than half the poor in Britain live in a household in which someone is in employment, new research suggests. The research from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences reports figures that suggest that 60 per cent of adults in poverty were in working households, the highest number yet recorded. This figure rose by more than a quarter in the decade leading up to 2015. The research also found that the primary factor causing poverty for in-work households was low pay but the number of people in the household relying on a single salary. www.cardiff.ac.uk
Priest’s masochistic stalker avoids prison
A MAN who stalked an Anglican hospital chaplain and insisted that she listen to his fantasies about being beaten has been spared prison by magistrates. A photographer, Simon Lloyd, 49, left a voicemail for the Revd Wendy Brooker, a 78-year-old chaplain at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London, saying that he wanted a “mature, Christian woman” to hear about how he was beaten by his school headmistress, Court News UK reported. Mr Lloyd avoided a custodial sentence after apologising to magistrates at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court last week.
York Minster police allowed to feel collars
YORK Minster Police have been sworn in as attested constables, allowing their officers to perform arrests for the first time since the 1930s. A service was held at the Minister on Tuesday to mark the nine officers’ being granted these powers within the Minster precincts, the BBC reported. Anyone arrested by the Minster constables will be handed over to North Yorkshire Police for processing and charging, if appropriate. The team was established in the 13th century and is believed to be the oldest continuing police force in the country.
Fairtrade Foundation drops Sainsbury’s tea
SAINSBURY’s own-brand tea will no longer be accredited by the Fairtrade Foundation after the Foundation accused the supermarket chain of disempowering farmers in Africa. The Foundation’s CEO, Michael Gibney, said that the tea farmers whom they had consulted opposed Sainsbury’s changes to how their “fairly traded social premium” would be distributed. He said that he was open to working with Sainsbury’s to re-embed Fairtrade principles in its supply chains.
New warehouse for Birmingham foodbank
A NEW warehouse will bring all the services of Sparkhill Foodbank, in Birmingham, under one roof for the first time. The 371-square-metre building in south-east Birmingham, which is due to be opened by the Bishop of Aston, the Rt Revd Anne Hollinghurst, will house accommodate distribution, debt advice, a clothes bank, and cooking courses.