*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

UK news in brief

by
25 November 2022

Marc Gascoigne 

Art and the meaning of life: the artist Grayson Perry was the final speaker in the St Martin-in-the-Fields autumn lecture series, which finished on Monday evening. Nearly 800 attended in person, and another 400 watched the live stream

Art and the meaning of life: the artist Grayson Perry was the final speaker in the St Martin-in-the-Fields autumn lecture series, which finished...

 

Bishop of Thetford to retire

THE Bishop of Thetford, in the diocese of Norwich, Dr Alan Winton, is to retire next year, it was announced on Tuesday. Dr Winton, who was consecrated in September 2009, said: “I am very aware of how blessed I’ve been to serve as one of the bishops in such a lovely part of the country. Visiting the churches of the diocese week by week, worshipping in such beautiful buildings, meeting such caring and committed people, has been a joy.” The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, thanked Dr Winton for his friendship, and paid tribute to his wife, Pippa, for her “gentle and prayerful presence amongst us”.

 

Requiem for refugees wins Ivor Novello award

The composer Liz Dilnot Johnson with her Ivor Novello awardTHE composer Liz Dilnot Johnson has won an Ivor Novello composer award for her choral work When a Child is a Witness: Requiem for refugees. The requiem mass was commissioned by Ex Cathedra, a Birmingham-based choir, as part of Coventry’s City of Culture celebrations, and developed in collaboration with several refugee groups and charities. When it was performed in February this year, the work was described as “a composition of notable insight, beauty, and variety, which made a marked impact” (Music, 18 March). The award, in the community and participation category, was announced in a ceremony at the British Museum on 15 November. Ms Johnson paid tribute to the groups and individuals involved in the project, saying that their stories had “touched my heart and will stay with me for ever”.

 

Restaurant in Oxford to be chapel again

A GRADE II-listed church building in Oxford, which has been used as a restaurant for the past decade, has been given permission by the city council to be restored to its original use. North Gate Hall, in St Michael’s Street, was built in 1871 and used as a United Methodist Free Church. BBC News reports that it was later used as offices and a social club, before it was converted into a branch of the restaurant chain Bill’s, in 2012. The application to Oxford City Council notes that the restaurant closed during the pandemic, and a decision was taken not to reopen. In a contribution to the application, Quinlan Terry Architects said that: “This change of use proposal aims to return the building back to its intended use as a church which will reinforce its historic significance as well as securing a suitable, long-term use for the building.”

 

Church in Wales leads hygiene appeal

CONGREGATIONS in Wales are being asked to donate a minimum of ten boxes of toiletries to local charities as part of efforts to alleviate the “hidden crisis” of hygiene poverty. The campaign “A Gift for Christmas” is the latest initiative from the Church in Wales to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, after the Food and Fuel campaign was launched earlier this year. The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, said: “It is important that as Christians we are practitioners of generosity as well as advocates for social justice.” Responding to a report by the Hygiene Bank, which found that almost 50 per cent of people who are unable to afford toiletries avoided social interaction as a result, Archbishop John said that it was “shocking. . . We cannot sit back and do nothing”.

 

Nativity set finds a new home

The wooden crib set made in 1955 by Dick HoskingA 70-year-old crib set will go on display in Birmingham after an appeal was made in the Church Times (Gazette, 4 November). The wooden crib set, with figures of Mary and Joseph that are more than two feet tall, was made in 1955 by Dick Hosking, the head of Coventry Art College. His daughter, Sarah Hosking, supervised the move of the figures to St Laurence’s, Northfield, where they will be on show this weekend as part of a nativity festival, along with more than 50 other sets from around the world. The Rector of St Laurence’s, Canon Janet Chapman, said: “We are grateful to Sarah for making available something so precious to her family, and to the Church Times for alerting us to its availability.” Also among the nativity scenes on display will be the world’s smallest, engraved by hand on a speck of gold lodged in the eye of a needle.

 

C of E seeks to double the number of UKME head teachers

A CAMPAIGN to boost diversity in the ranks of school leaders in England seeks to double the number of UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) head teachers by 2027. Currently, only two per cent of head teachers are from UKME backgrounds, and research by the National Foundation for Education Research suggests that levels of diversity in senior leadership positions have declined in the past few years, although one third of school students in England are from UKME backgrounds. The C of E’s programme Leaders Like Us will seek to boost representation by providing access to training, mentoring, and networking. The course is fully funded by a grant from the Committee for Minority-Ethnic Anglican Concerns, and applications are now open on the website of the C of E’s education office.

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Forthcoming Events

Women Mystics: Female Theologians through Christian History

13 January - 19 May 2025

An online evening lecture series, run jointly by Sarum College and The Church Times

tickets available

 

Festival of Faith and Literature

28 February - 2 March 2025

tickets available

 

Visit our Events page for upcoming and past events 

Welcome to the Church Times

 

To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)