Church Buildings Council chair appointed
THE Archbishops of Canterbury and York have appointed Novelette-Aldoni Stewart, a conservator and heritage administrator, as the next chair of the Church Buildings Council. The statutory body provides advice to the General Synod, diocesan chancellors, and diocesan advisory committees, among others, on the Church’s 16,000 church buildings. She succeeds Jennie Page, who stepped down in July after five years. Ms Stewart, who takes up her new position next week, was, until recently, chair of the C of E’s Contested Heritage Committee. She was born in Jamaica before moving to the United States, then the UK, and has worked for institutions including the Horniman and British Museums in London. She is currently studying for a doctorate as part of an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Collaborative Doctoral Partnership between the British Museum and the Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. She will continue to serve as a member of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England and the Faculty Advisory Committee at Bristol Cathedral. She has an MA in arts administration from NYU, and an M.Sc. in objects conservation from UCL. She is also a trustee of Art and Christianity.
Warwickshire couple die after being hit by car
A RETIRED Vicar in Coventry diocese, the Revd Steve Burch, and his wife, Kathy Burch, both 65, from Alcester, Warwickshire, died after being hit by a car while walking near Beaumaris Pier, on the Isle of Anglesey, on 28 August. North Wales Police said that an investigation was ongoing to establish the cause of the crash, in which an 81-year-old driver also died. The diocese said in a statement this week: “This comes as a shock for the diocese as many will know Steve, who only retired at the end of last year after serving with us in many roles for over 35 years, most recently as Vicar of St James’s, Fletchamstead, for 19 years. Steve was a popular member of our diocese and well known for his good humour and unwavering faith and many will also know Kathy well from her work with CPAS and worship ministry. As a couple they were still very active in retirement this year.” CPAS, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, said in a statement that their “untimely deaths have come as a devastating shock to many and our thoughts and prayers are especially with their children and family”.
Vicar pleads guilty to child-sex offences
THE Vicar of All Saints’, Stoneycroft, in Liverpool diocese, the Revd Andrew James Howard Leatherbarrow, who is 56, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was charged for the offences last year. He will be sentenced on 14 October. Last year, he was also charged with one count of making an indecent photograph of a child, and one count of attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at sexual activity. The prosecution told the court that these charges would not be pursued. Mr Leatherbarrow, of Saints Close, Old Swan, Liverpool, was ordained priest in 2016, and served his title at St Ann’s, Rainhill, before taking up his current post in 2018. He was suspended after his arrest in February 2023. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the diocese thanked Merseyside Police “for their diligence in bringing this matter to court and recognises Revd Howard Leatherbarrow’s guilty plea and the various complexities of this case”. The priest would be “subject to the disciplinary process of the Church of England once sentence has been passed and we will announce the outcome of that process in due course. We know that this has been a stressful traumatic time for many.”
Bishop: Support farmers in blue tongue crisis
MORE support is needed for farmers and related businesses who are facing the devastating impact of blue tongue disease among livestock, the Bishop of the St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, the Rt Revd Martin Seeley, has said. The disease, which is transmitted by midges and affects cattle, sheep, goats, and deer, has now been found in animals in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex, leading to the imposing of severe movement restrictions on livestock. Bishop Seeley, who is this year’s President of the Suffolk Show, said on Wednesday: “Blue tongue . . . has been present in midges the other side of the North Sea, and it was only a matter of time before they reached us. What we need now is much more support for farmers and others who are suffering from the impact both of the disease in their livestock and the consequent restrictions on moving their farm animals.”
Christian Universalist church targeted in NI
AN ARSON attack on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, in east Belfast, is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said. Two masked men reportedly used an angle-grinder to cut a hole in the shutters of the church in Templemore Street shortly before 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday of last week. A flammable substance was thrown inside and set alight. “Racism has no place in our community,” East Belfast Churches Network said. “We are deeply saddened that this has happened, especially to a church and organisation which seeks to help people regardless of race or creed here in east Belfast.”