Hospices warn on assisted dying
Nicola Laver
Hospices in the UK are warning of severe underfunding, leading to fears that if ‘assisted dying’ is legalised, it would lead to more terminally ill patients requesting it.
In July, a Private Member’s bill on assisted dying was introduced in the Lords, and CARE has warned that a ‘right to die’ would become a ‘duty to die’. The bill was introduced by Lord Falconer, who has been campaigning for legalising assisted dying for more than a decade.
1,100 attend Pentecostal rally in Bradford
Luke Randall
In a show of unity 'not seen for over 20 years', 1,100 people attended a Pentecostal rally in what was the culmination of a 10-day mission event in Bradford.
The event, run by Sharing of Ministries Abroad, (SOMA) saw missioners descend on the West Yorkshire city, specifically focusing on reaching people within the BD7 postcode, with various outreach events staged with the help of St John’s Great Horton, St Wilfrid’s and St Columba’s churches.
Woman arrested after praying inside abortion buffer zone
Nicola Laver
Claire Brennan, a Roman Catholic, is being prosecuted after she had been holding a sign reading Pray to End Abortion, praying the Lord’s Prayer inside a ‘buffer zone’ outside Causeway hospital, Coleraine, NI.
A police officer accused her, and a wheelchair-bound colleague, of causing ‘harassment, alarm and distress’. She was arrested and her lawyers subsequent attempts to defend her on human-rights grounds was refused. Brennan is now due to appear before magistrates in October.
Conversion therapy: ‘Wrong kind of prayer’ concerns
Nicola Laver
A full ‘trans-inclusive’ conversion therapy ban is looking imminent – and church leaders are warning the Prime Minister of the threat to mainstream Christian practices, with peers likewise voicing concerns.
In the Lords, several peers expressed disquiet. The Earl of Leicester warned that ‘scaring into silence’ professionals looking after children could lead to unintended consequences for children and young people. The government has said a ban must not cover ‘legitimate psychological support, treatment or non-directive counselling’ and ‘respect the important role of teachers, religious leaders and parents’ – but details are lacking.
FIEC considers how to be intercultural
FIEC
Phil Topham writes: Communities are becoming more culturally diverse as people from around the world make Britain their home. How can we prepare to welcome those from a diverse range of cultures to our churches?
The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) has gathered a group of pastors and ministry workers for a consultation to help launch our first Intercultural Ministry Team. By intercultural we mean churches that are neither mono-cultural nor multi-cultural, but rather communities of believers where different expressions of culture are welcomed, refined, and celebrated in the life of the church.
Sutcliffe appeal lost
Nicola Laver
Maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has lost his appeal against a ruling banning him indefinitely from teaching.
Sutcliffe was dismissed after deliberately failing to use a pupil’s preferred pronouns in the classroom and on TV. He had also shared with pupils his views about gay marriage and homosexuality.
Truancy falls 96% as church-school partnership lifts off
Nicola Laver
Truancy has dropped by a staggering 96% after a Welsh evangelical church launched a new ‘learning hub’ with a nearby school.
The hub was opened in June by Noddfa Evangelical Church and Abersychan Comprehensive School and combines academic teaching and broader ‘Life Skills’. So far, 20 school pupils have registered with the hub.
Christian schools alarmed by charging of VAT on fees
Nicola Laver
The imposition of VAT on private school fees threatens the survival of small Christian schools, which are ‘worlds away from the Harrows and Etons of this world’, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) is warning.
Meanwhile, the head of a small private school says Christian parents are being punished, and has challenged the church to support families and Christian education.
politics & policy
Assisted dying: a crunch vote approaches
James Mildred
‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again…’ One politician who has taken this mantra to heart is Lord Falconer.
When I first joined CARE (Christian Action Research and Education), his Private Members’ bill to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with six months or less to live was before the House of Lords. In the end, time ran out and it failed to progress enough to become law.
letter from Dublin
Small but united evangelical churches
Lois McCrea
Over 80,000 UK citizens live in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). With such close proximity to the UK, there are many similarities between our two countries. However, there are also many differences.
The differences are especially evident during the summer as primary-school children in the ROI enjoy a two month summer holiday, with secondary-school children having three months off!
Growing fears around sex and health education guidance
Nicola Laver
As the Autumn term across England and Wales begins, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) has expressed concern about uncertainty around the draft relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance.
The draft guidance, published in May, includes clear age limits for teaching the most sensitive content, and states that the ‘broader concept of gender identity’ should not be taught. If published, the final guidance would be statutory.
Vaughan Roberts: evangelicals in 'unsustainable position’
en staff
Evangelicals in the Church of England are currently in an ‘unsustainable’ position following an ‘unprincipled’ process to liberalise teaching on same-sex relationships, leading evangelical minister Vaughan Roberts is warning.
Speaking to en, Roberts, who is rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, called on more bishops to engage in face-to-face discussions with leaders of the Alliance, the umbrella group bringing together a spectrum of orthodox Christians in the denomination.
‘I was born with no eyes and my husband is blind too’
Philippa Lomas
Philippa Lomas shares her journey of faith and discipleship:
I was born without any eyes and am completely blind. As you can probably imagine, this was a great shock to my parents, who had other, fully sighted, children. My parents are both Christians, but they really wondered what good God could bring out of the situation.
‘Edible graves’ bring new life
Nicola Laver
An overgrown church graveyard in West Yorkshire has been transformed into a community garden, replete with orchard and pond – and ‘edible graves’.
A small congregation, Morley Community Church, was gifted a redundant building, adjacent to the main shopping street, in 2021 with a large graveyard, many graves more than a century old. Andy Dalton, the church’s secretary, said it had become ‘an eyesore and a maintenance nightmare’.
Scotland church turns 200
Luke Randall
Crow Road Free Church recently celebrated its 200th anniversary with a celebratory weekend featuring special services with guest speakers.
The congregation enjoyed preaching from Derek Thomas, the former Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, and Neil MacMillan, Minister of Cornerstone Free Church, Edinburgh, as well as testimony from five former members who worshipped with the church over the last 50 years.
Timothy Dudley-Smith dies
en staff
The acclaimed hymn-writer Timothy Dudley-Smith, who was also a leading evangelical figure in the Church of England in his generation, has died.
Dudley-Smith wrote around 400 hymns including 'Tell out my soul', 'Name of all majesty' and 'Jesus, prince and saviour'.
Euthanasia 'opportunity' now, says campaigner
There is now a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to introduce euthanasia in the UK, a leading proponent of change says.
Speaking to The Observer, Lord Falconer, a former Lord Chancellor, said ‘he had been reassured by Downing Street that it would not stand in the way of a historic Commons vote on assisted dying should its advocates secure one’.
