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In the News

  • BBC: Andrew Trimble: Rugby, religion and me
    February 25th, 2017

    They are some of the best-known lines from one of the nation's favourite poems, the mantra of numerous self-help manuals and an inspiration for a range of politicians from President Franklin D Roosevelt to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

    "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same."

    But while the words of Rudyard Kipling's poem are familiar, the application of them is altogether more challenging. How does one live without being lifted by success or dumped by failure? How can anyone maintain such detachment from the vicissitudes of life?

    Read more. 

  • Yorkshire Post: John Sentamu: You have my word – female clergy will not be undermined by new Bishop of Sheffield
    February 25th, 2017

    THE nomination of the Right Reverend Philip North to be Bishop of Sheffield has created quite a stir, but it will not surprise those who have followed the process by which the Church of England agreed to the ordination of women as bishops. A report in the Guardian yesterday noted that Dr Martyn Percy, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, has objected to Bishop North’s nomination because of his opposition, as a traditional catholic Anglican, to the CoE’s decision to embrace women priests and bishops.

    Read more.

  • Times (£): Facebook under fire for targeted 'gay cure' adverts
    February 25th, 2017

    Facebook has been accused of profiting from homophobic advertising after commercials by an extremist church claiming it could "cure" homosexuality began appearing on the newsfeeds of gay users of the site.

    The technology and publishing company has received complaints after adverts by an evangelical organisation known as Anchored North targeted LGBT users and told them they face "eternity in hell" unless they undergo conversion therapy.

    It is the latest controversy over advertising to hit Facebook. The social network has been widely blamed for spreading fake news, which is believed to have contributed to a significant part of its advertising revenues of $26 billion last year, by keeping people glued to their news feeds.

    Read more. 

  • GAFCON UK: Radical inclusion after Synod: a briefing (to be updated)
    February 24th, 2017

    The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have said, in a statement from 16th February:

    we need a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church. This must be founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology; it must be based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st century understanding of being human and of being sexual. 

    Read more.

  • Gatestone Institute: Would You Want Your Vaccine Produced by Supporters of Jihad? by Judith Begman
    February 24th, 2017

    Would you want your vaccines produced by a Saudi company that supports jihad? Danes, it seems, may have no choice.

    Denmark recently sold its state-owned vaccine manufacturing facility to a conglomerate owned by the Aljomaih Group, a Saudi family dynasty[1] led by Sheikh AbdulAziz Hamad Aljomaih. The sheikh is also the largest single stockholder and chairman of Arcapita Bank, (formerly First Islamic Investment Bank) headquartered in Bahrain. As an Islamic bank, it has a so-called Sharia Supervisory Board comprised of Islamic scholars, who ensure that the bank's activities comply with sharia (Islamic law).

    Read more.

  • BBC: Mindfulness to help children's mental well-being in schools
    February 24th, 2017

    Over 5,000 teachers in the UK have been trained to teach mindfulness, according to the Mindfulness Initiative, and that number is growing all the time.

    It's a meditation technique being used to help pupils improve their mental well-being.

    Read more or watch here.

  • BBC: Galway church plans Ash Wednesday drive-thru
    February 24th, 2017

    Forget burgers and chips. An Irish church is planning to set up a new drive-thru and there's only one thing on the menu - ashes.

    Churchgoers will be able to receive the traditional Ash Wednesday blessing from the comfort of their cars thanks to plans in Glenamaddy, County Galway.

    Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent and falls on 1 March.

    Read more. 

  • PinkNews: Former equalities minister to challenge law on transgender name changes
    February 24th, 2017

    A former Women and Equalities Minister is challenging a law on transgender name changes.

    Nicky Morgan is putting forward a bill to help transgender people who work in businesses.

    Mrs Morgan told PinkNews that she had recently been contacted by a transgender person in business unable to change her name with Companies House.

    Read more. 

  • Mail: Evangelical Christian preachers face religious abuse trial
    February 24th, 2017

    This is the moment police arrested a group of street preachers including a British army major after they shouted 'Mohammed is a liar' and 'Allah is the greatest deceiver'.

    An angry mob of around 150 people surrounded the men in Broadmead, Bristol after they told onlookers that being gay was 'immoral' on July 6 last year.

    The three devoted Christians were using microphones and holding up placards before police intervened and arrested the men to cheers from onlookers.

    Read more. 

  • Christian Today: China's Terror Laws Increasingly Used To Crack Down On Churches
    February 24th, 2017

    Another crackdown on Christians in China is being reported. Radio Free Asia says both Catholic and Protestant congregations are being targeted in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

    Underground churches are being put under the spotlight by the state. 'The ruling Chinese Communist Party, which embraces atheism, has stepped up controls over any form of religious practice among its citizens in recent years,' says the report, 'putting increasing pressure on faith groups to join the Protestant Three Self Patriotic Association or the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which has no ties with the Vatican.'

    Read more.