St Mary’s, Baldock, translated to Gotham City
ST MARY’s, Baldock, in Hertfordshire, appears in a new Batman comic, Second Knight, as part of a 1940s war-torn Gotham City by the artist Mike Perkins. The churchyard and hall of St Mary’s were vandalised last year. A Reader, Mike Maddox, said: “Mike Perkins heard about the vandalism . . . and, like many of us, was outraged. He decided to include the church and some of our local streets in his next comic.” Bygrave, part of the same benefice, was used as the location for Ma and Pa Kent’s farm in the film Superman IV, starring Christopher Reeve.
Man jailed for obscene graffiti on church
A MAN who used spray paint to deface and desecrate churches and their churchyards in Leyland, Lancashire (News, 25 April), has been sentenced to eight months in prison. Joseph Williams, 31, of Nelson Avenue, Leyland, was sentenced on 5 November at Preston Crown Court, after admitting two counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage and eight counts of criminal damage. More than 20 gravestones at St James’s were daubed, showing lewd images and derogatory comments about God, and a window at St Mary’s was damaged. Several cars in the area also had similar images and language daubed on them.
Canon receives racial-justice award
THE Bishop of Liverpool’s Canon for Reconciliation, the Revd Mal Rogers, Vicar of St Gabriel's, Huyton, since 2000, has received an award from the Anthony Walker Foundation, set up in memory of the teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack in 2005 in the parish. The award recognises Canon Rogers’s “steadfast commitment, enduring support, and invaluable contributions to the Anthony Walker Foundation” and the Walker family.
Lincoln stonemason wins traditional-craftsperson title
A STONEMASON at Lincoln Cathedral, Rachael Wragg, has been named Traditional Craftsperson of the Year in the construction industry’s On The Tools Awards, presented in Birmingham at the end of last month. The judges said that she demonstrated “all-round excellence, combining craftsmanship, communication, professionalism, and industry representation”. Ms Wragg, who is known as TheGingerMason on Instagram, where she has thousands of followers, regularly shares stories about being a cathedral stonemason. She said: “I’m so grateful to On the Tools for recognising traditional crafts skills as part of the wider construction industry and giving traditional crafts people the space to share our work.”
Public figures mark IICSA’s third anniversary
PEERS, MPs, and sector leaders were due to meet in Westminster yesterday at an event to mark the third anniversary of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and to emphasise concerns that none of the inquiry’s 20 recommendations has been implemented fully (News, 24 October). The former chair of the Inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay, was joining chief executives from the specialist sexual-violence sector, public figures, and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse for a question-and-answer session. The IICSA core steering group has warned that current funding cuts and short-term contracts are pushing to the brink of collapse the specialist voluntary sector that addresses sexual violence and abuse.
Orange Order expresses disappointment with King
ORANGE ORDER leaders in Ireland, England, and Scotland have written to the King to express their “disappointment” after he prayed with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican last month (News, 24 October), and has called on him to “reflect on his coronation oath” and the “promises he made before God”. A report in the Orange Standard, the institution’s official publication, said that praying with Pope Leo contradicted the King’s “solemn commitments” outlined by the Coronation Oath, and that many members of the Order “will have been disappointed” by the King’s decision to pray with the Pope.