Hymn sing-along at Glastonbury
OFFICIALS at the Glastonbury Festival had to close a field to manage crowds attending James B. Partridge’s “Primary School Bangers” set on the Summer House stage last weekend. Festival-goers sang along to hymns including “Give me oil in my lamp” and “Lord of the Dance”. Mr Partridge told the BBC: “That has to be a first, surely, for Glastonbury Festival. Who needs The Killers when you can sing along to a bit of ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine’?”
Northern Ireland police thanked
THE Church Leaders’ Group in Ireland have written to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to express their thanks “for their courage in the face of adversity” after recent racially motivated attacks across Northern Ireland (News, 17 June). The group, which includes the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd John McDowell, said that the attacks had made people feel unsafe, but the PSNI had provided the “protection and care they afford to all who have been attacked and abused”.
New toolkit promotes family hubs
THE ChurchWorks Commission has produced a toolkit for churches and faith groups to discover how they can help to deliver family hubs in their community, and so “support stronger engagement between local authorities and local churches”. Services offered by family hubs include parenting support, youth mentoring, foodbanks, and an advice service. Resources in the toolkit include scripts, checklists, case studies, and training ideas. churchworks.org.uk
Christian Aid reimagines hymn favourite
AS PART of its 80th-anniversary celebrations, Christian Aid has reimagined the 1965 hymn “When I needed a neighbour”, written by Sydney Carter 60 years ago to mark the charity’s 20th anniversary. This year’s version reflects “issues of the world today” with new lyrics by the Associate Vicar of Great St Mary’s, Cambridge, the Revd Ally Barrett, and an arrangement by Marsha Morrison and Marc Morrison of the Kingdom Choir. The hymn was sung at the charity’s anniversary service in Westminster Abbey by the Sacred Choir of Twyford C of E High School and the singer Emmanuel Smith (News, 20 June).
Potential redundancies at Liverpool Hope
THE theology and religious-studies team is one of the academic teams to be most affected by 39 potential staff redundancies at Liverpool Hope University announced by the Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Professor Claire Ozanne, in May, the secretary of the University and College Union branch, Dr Roberto Catello, has said. He said that the team felt “humiliated” by the decision. The university has cited “low student recruitment to this area”. A spokesperson told the Church Times that none of the staff members had been issued with a redundancy notice, but that, on 11 June, a voluntary redundancy scheme had been opened to “mitigate around any compulsory redundancies”. The university acknowledged that this was a “worrying time” for staff.
Leaders elected for Methodist Conference
THE President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference for 2025-26 were elected and inducted on Saturday. The President is the Revd Richard Andrew, chair of the Darlington District, and the Vice-President is Matthew Forsyth, Mission Enabler of the Northampton District. The Conference elects a President and Vice-President annually.
Dean of Blackburn suspended in CDM process
THE Dean of Blackburn, the Very Revd Peter Howell-Jones, has been suspended “pending the outcome of a complaint made against him under the Clergy Discipline Measure”, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, announced last Friday. He said that the “suspension is a neutral act and does not presume guilt and so speculation is unhelpful”. An Interim Dean will be announced soon.
Correction. In a report on a survey by CAP (News, 6 June), a figure concerning single parents was misquoted. It should have said that 26 per cent of new clients were single mothers, and two per cent of new clients were single fathers.