It’s church every day for The Queen during Welsh tour; Sentumu defends religious education; Britain has world’s third highest proportion of sexually active teens; Church of Scotland concerns over uncertain future for asylum seekers; Archbishop: Christian UK can show leadership to Christian world; Are evangelical Christians on another planet?; Catholic schools face ‘indoctrination’ claims over gay marriage; Couples face child benefit quiz; George Osborne preparing u-turn on church tax; Public ‘disengaged from politics’
It’s church every day for The Queen during Welsh tour
ACNS – Her Majesty The Queen will join parishioners for two church services as she tours Wales to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee this week.
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/4/25/Its-church-every-day-for-The-Queen-during-Welsh-tour
Sentumu defends religious education
ACNS – The Archbishop of York has addressed 50 headteachers from schools and academies across northern England on the importance of religious education. The Archbishop also spoke of the work his Youth Trust is doing educating and empowering young leaders to make a difference in their local communities.
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/4/25/Archbishop-of-York-Tells-Headteachers-of-Importance-of-Religious-Education-in-Schools
Britain has world’s third highest proportion of sexually active teens
Guardian – UKranks badly among high-income nations for harmful teenage drinking, according to study in Lancet medical journal.
Britain has the third-highest proportion of teenagers who are sexually active at an early age and also ranks badly among high-income nations for harmful teenage drinking, according to a series of studies published in the Lancet medical journal on Tuesday.
The research, plus a report by Unicef, call for more attention to be paid to the changing needs of the young, warning they are at risk of mental and physical illness, vulnerable to unhealthy product marketing and that too many will die early.
The studies found neglect across the globe, including in affluent countries such as Britain and the US. Among 40 countries with broadly comparable data, England had the fourth-highest number of adolescents who had been drunk by the age of 13. Wales came fifth and Scotland eighth. Wales had the third-highest number of 15-year-olds who drank every week, with England fourth and Scotland again eighth.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/25/uk-third-highest-proportion-sexually-active-teens
Church of Scotland concerns over uncertain future for asylum seekers
Ekklesia – A senior Church of Scotland minister has written to Alex Salmond about the plight of around 140 asylum seekers who are facing oppression and persecution if they are sent back home, following fears they face eviction from their Glasgow accommodation.
The Rev Ian Galloway, Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, has also written to Michael Moore, the Secretary of State for Scotland and Gordon Matheson, the Leader of Glasgow City Council, expressing his council’s concern about reports that asylum seekers in Glasgow are facing imminent eviction from the homes provided them by Ypeople, formerly the YMCA Glasgow.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16577
Archbishop: Christian UK can show leadership to Christian world
Christian Today – Britain’s drift away from its Christian moorings is impacting its ability to support Christians being attacked in other countries, the Archbishop of Nigeria has warned.
Archbishop Nicholas Okoh made the comments during a meeting at the House of Lords on Tuesday night where he gave a report on widespread attacks against churches in Nigeria.
Hundreds of Christians have been killed in targeted attacks by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The attacks have been concentrated in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north.
On Christmas Day, dozens were killed when a bomb was set off at St Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomber attempted to drive his bomb-laden car into a church compound in Kaduna. When he was turned away by a security guard, he detonated his devices a few streets away, killing at least 38.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/archbishop.christian.uk.can.show.leadership.to.christian.world/29754.htm
Are evangelical Christians on another planet?
The Guardian – Andrew Brown writes – I despair of humanity to see intelligent people turn from reality – but perhaps they just can’t ignore the possibilities of other worlds. Are evangelicals on another planet? It is a question that most of us who have had contact with charismatic evangelicals have had cause to ask. Sometimes I meet people who suffer from full-on boiled eyeball syndrome, where the whites of the eyes are unnervingly large and shiny. When they talk about God, or spirituality, make me feel a visceral unease. Sometimes such people will try to convert me with miracle stories and then I feel even worse.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2012/apr/19/evangelical-christians-another-planet
Catholic schools face ‘indoctrination’ claims over gay marriage
Telegraph – The Roman Catholic Church was last night forced to defend itself against claims of “political indoctrination” after encouraging schoolchildren to back the campaign against same-sex marriage.
The Catholic Education Service contacted its 385 secondary schools in England and Wales asking them to circulate the recent letter read in parishes defending the traditional definition of marriage.
Schools were also invited to promote the petition organised by the Coalition For Marriage opposing the Government’s plans to allow homosexual couples to marry.
Last night almost 470,000 people had signed the petition, backed by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, the biggest active petition in Britain at present.
Last month a letter penned by the Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols and the Most Reverend Peter Smith, was read at masses attended by around a million worshippers.
It defended marriage as a “natural institution” and said that redefining it would be a “profoundly radical” step.
http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/archbishop-of-york-visits-island-1-4481579
Couples face child benefit quiz
BBC – HM Revenue and Customs will expect high earners to quiz their partners to find out if they claim child benefit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17838735
George Osborne preparing u-turn on church tax
Telegraph – George Osborne is preparing to climb down on plans to impose VAT on improvements to churches and cathedrals, it emerged. The Chancellor has faced a furious reaction from bishops and church groups after announcing a 20 per cent tax on alteration work on historic buildings in last month’s Budget.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9223959/George-Osborne-preparing-u-turn-on-church-tax.html
Public ‘disengaged from politics’
BBC – Only 42% of people are interested in politics and only 24% believe the current system of coalition government is working, an annual survey by the Hansard Society finds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17829933