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UK news in brief

by
02 October 2020

Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich

In memoriam: the former Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, the Rt Revd Richard Lewis, died on 19 September, aged 77. He was previously Archdeacon of Ludlow, and then Suffra­gan Bishop of Taunton, before his translation to the Suffolk sees in 1997. He retired in 2007. Obituary to follow

In memoriam: the former Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, the Rt Revd Richard Lewis, died on 19 September, aged 77. He was previously Archdeacon...

Clergy survey on stipends, pension, and housing open online

STIPENDIARY clergy have been invited to complete a survey on stipends, pensions, and housing as part of the Clergy Remuneration Review. Some retired and self-supporting ministers are also being encouraged to take the survey, which is available online until 9 November. The findings will be part of a report to be produced in 2021 by the General Synod.

 

New head for Prayer Book Society

THE Prayer Book Society has appointed a new chairman of trustees to replace Prudence Dailey, who is retiring after nearly 14 years in post. He is the manager of the St Olav Trust Christian Book Shop in Chichester, Bradley Smith. Mr Smith joined the Prayer Book Society as a teenager, when he started praying the Daily Office.

 

Posthumous award for campaigner the Revd Paul Nicolson

THE Revd Paul Nicolson, who died on 5 March, aged 87 (Obituary, 27 March), has been given a posthumous long-term achievement prize at this year’s Sheila McKechnie National Campaigner Awards. He established Taxpayer’s Against Poverty, which campaigns for income support and affordable housing, and the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, which gives advice and support to benefit claimants.

 

Church-led charity to receive match funding

A CHARITY supporting church-led schemes to help struggling communities, Love your Neighbour, will receive Community Match Challenge Funding from the Government. A total of £85 million will be used to match donations to 19 philanthropists, charities, and foundations. Other charities to benefit from the scheme include Comic Relief and the Gregg’s Foundation.

 

LICC appoints new chief executive

THE London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) has appointed Paul Woolley as its new chief executive. He succeeds the current LICC executive director, Mark Greene, who is becoming a full-time Mission Champion. Mr Woolley, who is currently deputy chief executive of the Bible Society, will join the LICC in January. He founded the religious think tank Theos, and has worked in Parliament, public affairs, and the media. He said: “This is a hugely significant moment culturally, and the missional opportunities are immense.”

 

NI football club donates 18,000 masks to churches

CARRICK RANGERS FC in Northern Ireland has donated 18,000 masks to the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches to encourage churchgoers to return safely to places of worship. Peter Clarke, who chairs the football club, in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, presented masks to representatives from Holy Trinity, Carrickfergus; St Nicholas’s RC Church; Woodlands Presbyterian Church; and Joymount Presbyterian Church, on Thursday of last week. The plan is to donate masks to each denomination in the area. Mr Clarke, who is also the vice-president of the manufacturing company who made the masks, Flex, told Newtonabbey Times: “[This] was a great opportunity . . . to support our community in Carrickfergus.” Flex only recently began making face masks.

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