New Dean for St Mellitus
THE Revd Russell Winfield has been appointed the new Dean of St Mellitus College. He succeeds the Revd Dr Andrew Emerton, now licensed as Bishop of Sherwood Designate in the diocese of Southwell & Nottingham (News, 13 March), pending his consecration. Mr Winfield has been on the college staff since 2016, and is currently director of development. Before ordination, he worked in stockbroking and investment management, and served as a missionary in South Africa and India. He served his title in Brentford, in London diocese.
Three Choirs Festival week celebrated online
THE annual Three Choirs Festival is to be marked virtually for the first time in its 300-year history. The online event runs from tomorrow to Saturday 1 August. The festival was due to be held in Worcester, but has been postponed until next year owing to the pandemic. Over the coming days, the organisers will post videos, archive video photos, facts, and anecdotes on the website and social-media pages of VisitWorcestershire. The chief executive of the festival, Alexis Paterson, said that the intention was to “build excitement” for next year’s event. www.visitworcestershire.org
New support group for funeral sector
THE Christian charity Transform Work UK has established a new group, Christians Working with the Bereaved, to enable funeral directors, funeral celebrants, and bereavement counsellors to support and encourage one another in the workplace. The support group seeks to connect Christians in the sector “especially during stressful times”; equip them to pool good practice and current guidance; and represent Christians in this sector in professional bodies. More information can be obtained from Andrew Drury at office@transformworkuk.org.
CRC launches online learning platform
THE Central Readers’ Council (CRC) has launched its first online module — for Online Worship — under its Transforming Ministry programme: a three-year project to provide free resources for lay people. The new module, which is accessible via the new Transforming Ministry website, consists of three one-hour sections. It has been written by the Revd Norman Ivison, a former BBC producer in the area of religion and ethics. He says: “If you are struggling to produce online worship, or doing it but know you can do better, then this is the course for you.”
Correction: In last week’s General Synod sketch, we incorrectly described the Revd Dr Anderson Jeremiah as a “young black member” of the Synod. He is of Indian origin and an established academic. We apologise for this inaccuracy.