UK news in brief

10 September 2021

St Barnabas'

Forty a week: the Revd Clive Main has so far raised £4000 for the Church Mission Society through sponsorship. He is painting the 725 railings at St Barnabas’, Homerton, east London, at a rate of 40 a week. He hopes to finish in October

Forty a week: the Revd Clive Main has so far raised £4000 for the Church Mission Society through sponsorship. He is painting the 725 railings at St Ba...

Bishop of Croydon announces move to Orkney

THE Bishop of Croydon, the Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, announced this week that he will relinquish his post in the diocese of Southwark on 21 March 2022, exactly ten years since his consecration. He plans to move to Orkney with his wife, Alison, to write, teach, lead retreats, and offer mentoring support to clergy. After a curacy in Carlisle, Bishop Clark was chaplain at the University of Bristol, then director of studies of the Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme. From 1997 to 2003, he was chaplain at the University of North London, and, from 1999, also Area Dean of Islington. He then moved across to Hackney as Rector of Stoke Newington.

C of I launches Covid-19 reflections for children

THE Liturgical Advisory Committee of the Church of Ireland has published a “Service of Lamentation and Hope in the Context of a Pandemic Experience” to help children reflect on their experience of Covid-19. Designed for use in parishes, schools, and Sunday schools, it uses the Psalms and a series of short Bible readings to help people to “acknowledge the losses that everyone within our communities, including children, have endured over the past months”. Suggestions for creative and experiential prayer on the themes of lament, hope, and renewal are included.

NIBs meet new stewardship standards

THE Church Commissioners, Pensions Board, and CCLA (which manages the funds held by the C of E’s Central Board of Finance) are now signatories of the UK Stewardship Code, having met the expected standard of reporting of the Financial Reporting Council. The code covers “the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society”.

DIOCESE OF CANTERBURYThe Dean-Elect of St Albans, the Ven. Jo Kelly-Moore

Former Dean of Auckland goes to St Albans

THE next Dean of St Albans will be the Ven. Jo Kelly-Moore (above), at present Archdeacon of Canterbury, it was announced on Monday. Before her 2017 appointment in Canterbury diocese, where she is also a residentiary canon of Canterbury Cathedral, she was Dean of Auckland in the Anglican Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. During this time, she oversaw the completion of the cathedral church building, and also served as deputy vicar-general of the diocese. Ordained in 2000, she served for ten years at St Aidan’s, Remuera, in New Zealand. Previously, she practised as a solicitor in both New Zealand and London. It is expected that her installation will take place towards the end of the year.

Prison sentence for Yorkshire vicar

A VICAR in Yorkshire, Gordon Newton (aged 40), has been jailed for nine years and seven months after sexually abusing a child. At Leeds Crown Court he pleaded guilty to 12 offences, including six counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13. He was Vicar of Staincliffe and Carlinghow in the diocese of Leeds from 2016 until this year, and before that Assistant Curate and then Team Vicar of St Wilfrid’s, Harrogate, from 2012. A spokesperson for the diocese of Leeds said that his “deeply shocking” actions were “a matter of deep shame and regret”. The diocesan safeguarding team had worked closely with all concerned since it had been made aware of the allegations, and had offered pastoral support. Newton had been suspended and would now be subject to the disciplinary processes of the Church, “which will remove him from his office as vicar and prohibit him from exercising his holy orders”.

Archbishop welcomes internet code to protect children

THE Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, is among the signatories to a letter to The Times this week welcoming the coming into force of the Age Appropriate Design Code (Children’s Code), which requires technology companies to ensure that they comply with their obligations under data-protection law to protect children’s data online. The letter notes that the code has “already prompted tech companies to ban direct messages from adult strangers to minors, stop targeted advertising at children, enact stronger age assurance, and filter explicit content by default. . . For too long children have been tracked, exploited and harmed online. The Children’s Code shows that technology companies are able to function even when regulation requires them to protect children. When the government acts, the tech sector can and will change.”