Salvation Army pays £11m for recycling company; Bishop of Lancaster criticises VAT increases on church alterations; Row as cathedral opens doors to tarot card readers; The Crown Jewels exhibition; C of E School opens prayer garden in memory of pupil who drowned; Clergyman jailed for fake wedding scam; Surge in cathedral congregations; ‘Thought for the Day’: Beyond the god-of-the-slots
Salvation Army pays £11m for recycling company after questions over directors’ pay
Guardian – Charity buys Kettering Textiles, which runs its clothing banks, after investigation showed bosses earned £10m in three years. The charity is the largest clothing recycling operation in Britain, and with 4,500 clothing banks, many in supermarket car parks, it should have cashed in handsomely in recent years as the price of second-hand garments soared. But while returns have improved, a Guardian investigation last year into Kettering Textiles – the Salvation Army’s collection contractor – revealed that millions of pounds had been paid out in directors’ salaries.
Bishop of Lancaster criticises VAT increases on church alterations
ACNS, BBC – Plans to charge VAT on alterations to church buildings from October were a “kick in the teeth”, the Anglican Bishop of Lancaster has said.
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/4/2/Bishop-of-Lancaster-criticises-VAT-increases-on-church-alterations
Row as cathedral opens doors to tarot card readers
Mail – The Church of England was braced for a fresh row today after a cathedral announced plans to host a ‘new age’ festival.The event – featuring tarot card readers, crystal healers, dream interpretation, and a fire-breathing vicar – is to be held in Manchester Cathedral in May. But the move is certain to anger traditionalists, who feel the Church has already strayed too far from tradition.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370694/Church-England-row-cathedral-opens-doors-tarot-card-readers-crystal-healers-new-age-festival.html
A bejewelled walk through British history
Telegraph – Harry Mount reviews The Crown Jewels exhibition. In an understated way, the exhibition also shows how great is the symbolic power of the jewels. Beneath the thick encrustation of gold and precious stones, the jewels are, much more importantly, Christian, and pre-Christian, symbols of kingship.
There are crosses everywhere, from the big crowns to the smallest and, most moving, Queen Victoria’s tiny diamond crown, designed to be worn over her veil when she was mourning Prince Albert.
Throughout the exhibition, you are reminded that the coronation is first and foremost a religious ritual, taking place in Westminster Abbey since 1066. The Queen’s coronation began with an oath to uphold the laws of God and maintain the Church of England; it ended with a service of Holy Communion. The crown, orb, sceptres and sword are given semi-sacramental status during the coronation – they were laid on the altar while the Queen gave the oath and was anointed.
The idea of anointing a monarch – given physical form in the exhibition by the oldest surviving piece of the Crown Jewels, the 12th-century silver gilt spoon used to transfer the anointing oil during the coronation of Henry I – is a Christian ritual, too.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9179993/A-bejewelled-walk-through-British-history.html
C of E School opens prayer garden in memory of pupil who drowned
Birmingham Mail — A school has opened a garden at an emotional ceremony in memory of a pupil who drowned on her first seaside holiday. Seo Jin Kim, aged seven, came to Birmingham from South Korea and had only been in the country for a couple of months when she died in a swimming pool in Wales.
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/04/02/st-peter-s-c-of-e-school-in-harborne-opens-prayer-garden-in-memory-of-pupil-seo-jin-kim-who-drowned-in-swimming-pool-97319-30672026/#ixzz1qxuCAgiD
Clergyman jailed for fake wedding scam
Herald Sun – A clergyman who performed at least 200 sham wedding ceremonies in London was jailed ofor four-and-a-half years. The Reverend Brian Shipsides, 55, pocketed £30,000 ($US48,000) in fees for performing marriage ceremonies between immigrants, mostly from Nigeria, and Europeans who had a right to live in the UK, the prosecution said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/clergyman-jailed-for-fake-wedding-scam/story-e6frf7jx-1226318123130
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/vicar-jailed-over-sham-marriages-7615328.html
Surge in cathedral congregations shows enduring appeal of religion says Church
Telegraph – The lure of traditional worship and the promise of “anonymity” has fuelled a surge in attendance at services in cathedrals at a time when local churches have seen congregations dwindle, official figures show.
The number of people attending services at cathedrals has swollen by 30 per cent in the last decade, according to the Church of England.
Worshippers at Christmas services at cathedrals in England were up 17 per cent last year while Easter services also saw a slight rise.
While some local parishes have seen growth, church attendance overall has declined sharply over recent decades.
The most recent figures for parishes show that attendances at the 16,000 Anglican churches fell by two per cent between 2009 and 2010 – a figure which may have been influenced by the cancellation of services because of heavy snow.
But, according to new figures, headcounts of congregations in cathedrals show a steady rise of around three per cent per year since records were first kept in 2000.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9184010/Surge-in-cathedral-congregations-shows-enduring-appeal-of-religion-says-Church.html
‘Thought for the Day’: Beyond the god-of-the-slots
Ekklesia – In this groundbreaking new report on the long-running and controversial BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day feature, first published two years ago, researcher Lizzie Clifford moves forward the debate about whether the prime-time ‘God slot’ should be preserved, reformed or abolished by carrying out a careful examination of the actual broadcast scripts themselves – with surprising results.
The debate has been revived yet again as a result of comments by BBC journalist Evan Davis.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/thought_for_the_day/main_report