Last service as Archbishop of Canterbury; Christians have no right to refuse to work on Sundays, rules judge; Restoring trust in society
Last service as Archbishop of Canterbury
The Guardian – Rowan Williams bids farewell after decade of upheaval, overseeing schisms on gay marriage and female bishops
Rowan Williams has attended his last service as the archbishop of Canterbury at the city’s cathedral, before he leaves office as leader of the Church of England and spiritual head of the 77 million-strong Anglican communion.
More than 700 people turned out to bid farewell to 62-year-old Williams before he officially departs as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury on Monday, following a 10-year tenure.
He will go on to take up the posts of master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and chairman of the board of trustees of Christian Aid, the international development agency.
Williams will be replaced by 56-year-old former oil executive the Right Rev Justin Welby, the bishop of Durham, who will be consecrated in March at Canterbury Cathedral, as the new archbishop of Canterbury.
At the end of the service, Williams was presented with a set of five porcelain bowls created by ceramic artist Edmund de Waal, the son of a former dean of Canterbury, by the current dean, the Very Rev Robert Willis.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/30/archbishop-canterbury-final-service-church
Christians have no right to refuse to work on Sundays, rules judge
By David Barrett, Telegraph – Judges have been accused of diluting the rights of Christians after a key judgment on whether they can refuse to work on Sundays.
A new ruling by a High Court judge – the first on the issue in nearly a decade – says that Christians have no right to decline working on Sunday as it is not a “core component” of their beliefs.
The judgment – which upholds an earlier decision – means that individual Christians do not have any protection from being fired for not working on Sundays.
Campaigners said the decision puts Christians at a disadvantage to other religions and means the judiciary are deciding what the core beliefs of Christians can be, which they say is an interference in the right to practise religion.
The judgment was issued by Mr Justice Langstaff as he ruled on an appeal brought by a Christian woman who was sacked after she refused to work on Sundays at a care home.
Celestina Mba claimed the council she worked for pressured her to work on Sundays and threatened her with disciplinary measures – even though other workers were willing to take the shifts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9770825/Christians-have-no-right-to-refuse-to-work-on-Sundays-rules-judge.html
Restoring trust in society
Independent – Paul Vallely asks whether new heads for the Bank of England, BBC and Church of England can ‘restore trust in our public institutions’.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/can-these-men-restore-trust-in-our-public-institutions-8433201.html?origin=internalSearch