UK & Ireland in Brief

The Free Church of Scotland has launched a Centre for Rural Ministry in a bid to boost rural congregations and modernise rural ministry across Scotland.

The denomination revealed that more than £8,200 has been raised since the start of August, enough to see the project spearheaded by the Skye and Wester Ross Presbytery come to fruition. Twenty per cent of Scotland’s population is based in rural areas and, while the centre will be based on the Isle of Skye, it will support rural ministry across the whole country. Ivor MacDonald, minister of Hope Church, Coatbridge, has been appointed as the Free Church Director for Rural Ministry. He has previously served as a minister in rural congregations on Skye and is a graduate in agriculture and theology.

Luke Randall

Christians in Lincoln have honoured the city’s Jews by unveiling a memorial stone on the spot where murderous antisemitism broke out in the 13th century.

The ornate stone, carved in India, was unveiled as a token of support and sorrow for the thousands of Jews badly treated over the centuries, and as a tribute to Jewish airmen who died fighting the Nazis. The Lincoln Jewish Memorial Stone was unveiled at the International Bomber Command Centre, Cannick – where the first Lincoln Jew was killed (recorded in 1255 as being hung on the gallows). The event was sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) and dedicated by Rabbi Samuel de Beck Spitzer, a Jewish chaplain based at RAF Cranwell. Tim Collis, ICEJ’s East Midlands representative, said: ‘It is our prayer that the memorial will be a cornerstone of remembrance in the city and UK, and will cry out its message of reconciliation and hope for generations to come.’

Charles Gardner

It is a ‘crucial time’ in the UK for a new centre for mission and migration, the Church Mission Society (CMS) said, as it launches a Centre for Mission and Migration.

Dr Harvey Kwiyani, CMS Diaspora Centre leader, said: ‘Until now migration has not been an integral part of mission and Christian communities are not equipped to reach out and share their faith with strangers in a world where migration and tensions are on the rise.’ The centre, described by CMS as a ‘first-of-a-kind education centre’, has been launched to help equip Christian communities engage with migrants and reach people ‘at the edges’ with the gospel.

Nicola Laver

Complications caused by abortions are being significantly under-reported, but a proposed bill to mandate an annual report on abortion complications is unlikely to reach the statute books.

The latest official abortion data (2021) shows the complication rate for both medical and surgical abortions was higher than in 2020. Under the Complications from Abortion (Annual Report) Bill, the health secretary would be required to publish an annual report on abortion complications in England. The Private Member’s bill was introduced by Lord Moylan and has had its first reading in the House of Lords.

Nicola Laver