Justin Welby to be confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s ceremony; Westminster Abbey to mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation; Lack of support and respect for asylum seekers is shocking, says Bishop of Ripon & Leeds; Catholic Bishops’ briefing on same-sex marriage Bill - full text link; Media review
Alex Kane, a former media officer for the Ulster Unionist Party, writes for the News Letter which published this article on Monday last - January 28. In it he states, “I am very comfortable in my unionist skin. So comfortable, in fact, that I don’t need constant reminders in the form of flags and symbols. I have no difficulty with the fact that the Union Flag only flies on designated days: and I have no difficulty precisely because I remain a unionist and UK citizen every single day, of every single week, of every single month of every single year.”
Every day the world offers itself to be seen. Seeing things with a grateful eye requires attentiveness and engages our imagination
Porvoo Communion Consultation in Dublin; “Together & Different” The Porvoo Communion’s ‘Keys to Interfaith Engagement’ workshop in Galway; C of I - Moravian Church relationship review; New President of Connor MU; Belfast’s Black Santa prepares for Good Samaritans’ Service; Towards the Healing of a Wound - Derry Parish initiative; Media review
Christian Aid, Monsoon partnership to boost Afghanistan’s silk industry; WCC assembly, an opportunity for praying, listening and sharing; Islamist backlash - The storm is just beginning; Condemnation for killing of Brazilian landless rights leader
Ruth Dudley Edwards is an historian and a prize-winning biographer and crime writer. She writes for the Daily Telegraph. Three of her recent articles for this newspaper are titled - 'The Jews crucified Our Lord': Irish antisemitism and the complicity of the Catholic bishops; Dolours Price is a lesson in the ugly futility of Irish republican terrorism; Gerry Adams: he hasn’t gone away, you know. Excerpts and links follow. Her eleven non-fiction books include The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist, 1843-1993 and Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families’ Pursuit of Justice.
God has witnesses and servants everywhere. There is light throughout the world.
Developments Continue Apace at New Greystones School; CMS Ireland: Annual Project 2013; Magheralin Parish Hall re–opens after renovations; Social Action East Glendalough Meeting; Service of Introduction; Media review - Alliance in shared future plans; Alliance: Sinn Fein councils should fly flag; Let the Union Flag fly, says Seamus Heaney; 20% integrated target 'can be met’; New guidelines may make it easier to rent schoolbooks
Submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children on Abortion; Report on the 15th Anglican Consultative Council Meeting; Church Communications; Church Representatives; General Synod 2013 – Representatives of Other Churches
Bishop of Durham Says Farewell To His Diocese; Bishop of Liverpool to retire; Two new Church of England parish publications go online; Bishop urges Christian generosity 'to give the blood that flows through your veins'; Wales: New Dean for Theological College; Free Church of England Orders recognised; Media review - Jewish leaders voice anger at Sunday Times cartoon; Murdoch apology over Scarfe cartoon
Jerusalem bishop: "Syria sexual violence must end”; Mali conflict exacerbating food crisis; "Repent, fast, lament for your nation" - Sri Lanka bishop; Call for end to discrimination in Egypt
He does not grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach... (Isaiah 40:28)
Memorial service for Limerick organist; Bishop Clarke’s last service as MU central chaplain; Media review - New bishop uses first address to warn banks; Protest at Papal Nunciature over treatment of Fr Tony Flannery; Lurgan Presbyterian congregation splits; The ‘principle of equal citizenship’ should include same-sex marriage – Shatter
Former Archbishop of York Attacks Church Bureaucracy; Barnabas Fund questions aid to countries with persecution; Young Gaelic speakers encouraged to become global citizens; Media review - Tory MPs’ fury at ‘bid to gag’ gay marriage rebels; The equal marriage bill is commendable, but flawed
Memorial service for Limerick organist; Christ Church Cathedral Girls’ Choir Commissioned; Young organists sought for popular choral courses; Lindsay Gray appointed RSCM Emeritus Director; New edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern; New Adam Cappa music video; New acoustic album from Casting Crowns; Something sacred in church performances
On Sunday past Holocaust-related events took place around the world. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 60 years to the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The Archbishop of York’s message on Holocaust Day, and reports of commemorations in the UK and Israel follow.
Let the roof come off your thinking
It was announced today that the Episcopal Electoral College for Meath and Kildare, meeting in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin has elected The Venerable Leslie Stevenson, Archdeacon of Meath and Kildare, as the new Bishop of Meath and Kildare.
Archbishops’ prayers for family of murdered Garda; Meath electoral college meets today; Cork events; Media review - Peace walls should 'come down by 2022’; President urges children not to engage in bullying; Irish foreign aid squandered; Calls for Ireland to (finally) outlaw corporal punishment in the home
Carl Honor sees the positive results of moving beyond the quick fix to a slower and more creative pace. Here is an excerpt on attention as an antidote to quick-fixes.
Being awake and present means having the eyes of the heart open
'Change Makers’ training days from CPAS; Rural Issues to be Highlighted at Glendalough Meetings; Christian Aid - Count your blessings in Lent; Signposts to funding for churches; Book Featuring Vestry Records to be Launched in St Audoen’s; Dublin Black Santa Funds to be Handed Out; Schedule Changes for RTÉ Services; Cork hospital service; Clogher sale; Media review - Lay minister jailed for having 'severe' child porn images
Anglican responses to Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill; Gay marriage: MPs to vote on proposals for the first time; Maria Miller: teachers not forced to promote gay marriage but must not ‘discriminate’; Government ‘powerless to protect teachers from sack over gay marriage’; Catholic charities at risk after adoption agency ruled to be ‘discriminating’
Legend has it that when Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang first set eyes on his official portrait, painted by Sir William Orpen, he dolefully lamented that it made him look “proud, pompous and prelatical”. Hensley Henson, Bishop of Durham, standing beside him at the time, inquired only, “to which of these epithets does your Grace take exception?”
By grace we are saved through faith
This is a campaign involving 100 organisations in Great Britain and Ireland that have come together to make 2013 the year in which we make dramatic progress towards ending global hunger. News reports and resources contacts follow.
Community Empowerment at Derry parish; Belfast Service For Revival; Clogh Parish Christmas Sale; Portrait of sculptor at Belfast Cathedral on display; Head of Redemptorists disagrees with Fr Flannery; Over 2,000 on NI child protection register; 'Dramatic drop' in abuse deaths
Methodist Church re-envisages mission; Archbishop of Wales blesses centre for autistic children; Bishops urge parishes to help Scouts and Guides 'Keep the Promise’; Street porridge sale for Child Poverty Action Group Scotland; MP Jacob Rees-Mogg critical of succession law shake-up; Gay marriage: ex-minister plans sets out to change law after Facebook case
Tools for the Sudan project to bring a new beginning for refugees; Religious leaders in Geneva advocate for peace; Jerusalem churches celebrate Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; Concern at destruction of religious sites in northern Syria
There is something about the sense of God's calling and blessing that seems so sure and right that we intuitively respond