Teenager found dead in Sussex churchyard
THE body of a 15-year-old boy, Elido Vargas, was discovered in the churchyard of St John the Evangelist, Burgess Hill, in the diocese of Chichester, on Thursday afternoon of last week. A spokesman for Sussex Police said that the death was not being treated as suspicious and that a post-mortem was due to be carried out this week. Services of prayer were held at St John’s last Friday and on Saturday, each attended by about 250 people. About 1000 people have visited the church, including pupils from Burgess Hill Academy, the school that Elido attended. The Vicar of St John’s, the Revd Kevin O’Brien, said: “We stand ready to help Elido’s family in any way we can, and to offer support to the close-knit community of Burgess Hill.”
Sheffield gets new dean of women’s ministry
A NEW dean of women’s ministry has been appointed in the diocese of Sheffield. The Revd Amanda Barraclough, the Rector of St Mary’s, Sprotbrough, and the Area Dean of Adwick-le-Street, was appointed by the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, on Thursday of last week. It comes more than a year after the current Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Revd Philip North, withdrew his acceptance of his nomination to the see of Sheffield in response to criticism of his nomination (News, 17 March 2017). Ms Barraclough was ordained a Priest in 2001. She served trained Curacy at St George Lupset in the diocese of Wakefield from 2000 to 2004 before becoming the Vicar of St Mary’s Woodkirk.
Bible Society fined £100,000 for data breach
THE Bible Society has been fined £100,000 after hackers stole the personal data of more than 400,000 of its supporters, including home addresses, phone numbers, and bank-account details, a report from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which issued the fine, states. The head of enforcement at ICO, Steve Eckersley, said: “The Bible Society failed to protect a significant amount of personal data, and exposed its supporters to possible financial or identity fraud. Our investigation determined that it is likely that the religious belief of the 417,000 supporters could be inferred, and the distress this kind of breach can cause cannot be underestimated.” The Society said in a statement: “Following the hack, we immediately contacted any supporters whose data might have been at risk, giving support and advice on what to do next. We have also worked closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office over the last 16 months and cooperated fully with them in their enquiry. No supporters reported that their accounts had been breached and there is no evidence of any material effect on supporters. We remain vigilant regarding cyber security threats.”
PETER SUMMERFIELDArtistic vehicle: a sculpture by the disabled artist Tony Heaton, Gold Lamé, displayed on a vacant plinth at Liverpool Parish Church. It was the winning entry in the Liverpool Plinth competition, announced on Tuesday, and will remain in place for 12 months. The sculpture “challenges the perceptions of disability in society”, a press release says. It is “based on the famous Invacar — a small, blue, one-seater vehicle given to disabled people during the 1960s and 1970s. Sprayed gold and suspended vertically above the plinth, the sculpture reclaims the word lamé and confronts negative stereotyping of disabled people the vehicle represented”