These articles were first published in our October edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
At the opening of a Full Council Meeting in Oldham in the summer, Islamic prayers were led by an Imam.
The new Mayor of Oldham is a Muslim and the Imam-led prayer repeats the pattern of the Mayor before last, who was also a Muslim. The Qu’ran section read out talked about ‘those who have gone astray, and those who have earned [Allah’s] anger’ traditionally interpreted as meaning Jews and Christians. Therefore the Council, were in effect, being encouraged to not be like Jews or Christians.
At the end of August, the Greenbelt festival hosted Islamic Sufi chanting and meditation, describing it as one of the ‘ways we worshipped at Greenbelt 2017’.
This marked a significant break from the festival’s Christian roots. Greenbelt’s website describes Muhammad as ‘the Prophet (pbuh)’. Creative Director of the Festival, Paul Northup said that the word ‘Christian’ had become ‘more slippery and vexed’.
Keswick Ministries announced a change of date for the 2018 Convention in order to help the town maximise its tourist season.
John Risbridger, Chair of Trustees said: ‘We have … made the decision to change the 2018 dates, reflecting how highly we value the support of our neighbours across Keswick’. The Town Mayor expressed thanks for the change and recognised that the decision would not have been easy, as the implication for booking speakers and accommodation would ‘be problematic’. The Convention will now run from 14 July – 3 August 2018.
Campaign group We’re All Equal in August urged residents of the Isle of Man to stand against a Bill that would allow disabled babies to be aborted up to birth.
Currently under Manx law, abortion for disabled babies is legal up to 24 weeks and requires two doctors to agree that the disability cannot be cured or ‘substantially relieved’ by treatment. But a proposed law would allow disability abortion up to birth for ‘substantial risk’ of ‘serious handicap’. This is similar to the UK.
A church café linked financially and physically with an abortion clinic in Milton Keynes closed its doors in August.
MK Mission Partnerships Christian Foundation announced the decision after operating within the clinic – MK Community Foundation – for ten years. The church received rent from the clinic and the minister at the church is on the board for the clinic. Calls have been made for him to resign.
A couple from the Isle of Wight have removed their child from a Church of England primary school pending a legal review of the handling of another pupil’s request to be recognised as ‘transgender’.
A letter from the school told them that their own child would be disciplined if he didn’t refer to the other child by the correct pronoun, and that their own behaviour was ‘transphobic’. The six-year-old would sometimes come to school dressed as a boy, and sometimes as a girl.
On 27 and 28 August, a total of 22 Christians took part in the annual outreach to the people at the Notting Hill carnival.
This year the team gave away approximately 8,000 gospel tracts to those in the passing crowds who were prepared to receive the Christian literature. Also 46 members of the public made a sincere request to receive a free Bible.