Think about single people at Christmas, churches told
CHURCHES should be more mindful of the difficulties that single people face at Christmas, the group Single Friendly Church has said. In a survey of 500 single Christians commissioned by the group, 80 per cent of respondents “find at least some aspects of Christmas difficult”. Forty-three per cent reported feeling lonely during the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The campaign director for Single Friendly Church, Beth Collingridge, said that singleness was on the rise: “There are lots of practical things we can all do to make Christmas a positive and inclusive experience for everyone.” singlefriendlychurch.com
More prayer cards from Explore Project
THE Explore Project has produced a new prayer card for people to give to those for whom “2022 has become a time of struggle and uncertainty,” a press release says. The Explore Project is a partnership between the Association of English Cathedrals, the Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division and Mission teams, the National Churches Trust, and the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture at the University of York. During the past six months, the project has sent out more than 1.2 million prayer cards for cathedrals and churches in England to distribute (News, 1 April). cpo.org.uk
Anglican Minority Ethnic Network elects new chair
CANON Smitha Prasadam has been elected to succeed Canon Chigor Chike as the chair of the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network (AMEN). Canon Prasadam is the Chaplain of St Alban’s, Copenhagen, in the diocese of Europe, and a member of the Standing Commission on the House of Bishops’ Declaration and the Five Guiding Principles (News, 8 July).
Eleven confirmed in Oxford college chapel
THE Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, confirmed 11 candidates in the chapel of Merton College, Oxford, last week — the highest number in 20 years. Six of the candidates were baptised beforehand by the Chaplain, Canon Simon Jones. The confirmands ranged from a 14-year-old chorister from the college’s girls’ choir to postgraduate students in their mid-twenties.