News will be posted on a weekly basis. If you want to keep up with news on a more regular basis I suggest you go to
URL: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/
URL: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/
which has a daily update
Edinburgh preview of coathanger crucifixion to mark King James Bible
A 9-foot sculpture of the crucifixion, made from 3,000 coathangers, was briefly on show outside St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh on Wednesday. David Mach, a Scottish artist acclaimed for his massive sculptures created from waste products, is developing four crucifixion figures including a Calvary scene for a major exhibition at the Scottish capital’s City Art Centre next summer. He is also producing up to 120 large-scale collages giving his ‘artist’s version’ of biblical events. Fife-born Mach (54) was spurred to work on the project because it was at Burntisland, Fife that James Vl agreed to commission a new Bible in 1601. Although Mach has no personal religious belief, he said, ‘The King James Bible communicated its message so effectively that its language still resonates through our speech.’ The ‘richness’ of ‘biblical imagery is as fine a subject as I could wish for’ he added.
Sources: The Times http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
The Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/
Archbishop Tutu calls it a day
Archbishop Desmond Tutu will retire from public life this autumn after decades of campaigning to end South African apartheid and promoting reconciliation at home and abroad. The Nobel Peace Prize Winner, described by The Times as ‘the implacable, irrepressible and fearless voice of South Africa’s conscience’, will retire on 7 October, his 79th birthday. Archbishop Tutu was an outspoken critic of South Africa’s apartheid policy in the 1970s and strident preacher of peace and reconciliation. When Nelson Mandela’s new South Africa was born, he led the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission which many see as critical in healing the nation’s wounds. Archbishop Tutu said, ‘The time has now come to slow down, to sip redbush tea with my beloved wife … to watch cricket’ and ‘travel to visit my children’.
Sources: Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
The Times http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
Police authorities discriminate against white Christians, Civitas claims
New hate crime legislation is preventing free speech and singling out alleged crimes by white Christians, the Civitas think tank has claimed. A foreward to its report ‘A New Inquisition: religious persecution in Britain today’ argues that prosecutors and police are interpreting laws in favour of ethnic and religious minorities. The report cites cases such as the prosecution and then dismissal of the case against Liverpool proprietors Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang. The couple were accused of religiously aggravated hate crime after discussing the relative merits of Christianity and Islam with a Muslim guest. The report calls for a public enquiry into whether religion-based groups in the criminal justice system are driving a campaign of bias against the majority population defined as ‘white’ or ‘Christian’. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman has said the claims are ‘without foundation’.
Source: Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Cautious welcome for ‘Big Society’
Church leaders broadly welcomed Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech on the government’s ‘Big Society’ vision this week, but emphasised certain conditions for its success. Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance (EA), said, ‘We are delighted that the Prime Minister recognised the incredible work community groups are already doing, and want to enthusiastically encourage churches to accept his invitation to get stuck in.’ Adam Bonner of Livability, a Christian charity working with disabled people, spoke of the ‘further opportunities’ it could present for the Christian community but stressed the need for ‘enough funding and support’ to implement the initiative. Bishop of London, Rt Revd Richard Chartres, suggested making churches ‘more serviceable as community hubs’ to assist the new programme. However, Bishop of Leicester Rt Revd Tim Stevens last month warned the House of Lords that voluntary work ‘does not come on the cheap’.
Sources: Church Times http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/
Bishop urges government to outline prison priorities
The government must become clearer about its priorities for the criminal justice system, the Anglican Church’s Bishop to Prisons has said. Speaking in the Lords, Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Revd James Jones, praised the work of voluntary organisations – many of them Christian – in working with offenders. But he urged the government to communicate its priorities with these organisations and said current policy ‘completely lacks focus’. If the priority is to promote restorative justice and find alternatives to custody, these agencies need to know to ‘maximise the potential’ of their input, he said. There ‘is a cohort of people within the criminal justice system who believe the time has now come for a major rethink about what we do with offenders and prisons,’ Bishop Jones said.
Sources: Church Times ; Church of England Newspaper
Christians gunned down in Pakistan
Two Christian brothers awaiting trial for alleged blasphemy in Peshawar, Pakistan, have been shot dead outside the court by unidentified gunmen. Pastor Rashid Emmanuel (32) and Sajid Emmanuel (24) were accused of writing a ‘disrespectful’ pamphlet about the Prophet Muhammad. Both brothers denied the accusations and the government minister for minority affairs said he doubted the charges. Shortly after the brothers’ arrest earlier this month, hundreds of demonstrators had marched into a Christian area demanding the death penalty for the accused. A partner of the Christian charity Barnabas Fund said, ‘People are living in fear of what further attacks believers may face in this latest wave of anti-Christian violence.’
Source: Church Times
Church cheerleading team head for the big screen
A cheerleading troupe from East London, which began as a church outreach and now involves 1,000 young people, are the subject of a forthcoming film. Ascension Eagles were founded in 1996 by Revd Jonathan Brice and his Kansas-born wife, Shara. Finishing last in their first competition at Bognor Regis in March 1997, galvanised the then 40-strong troupe to becoming far more professional. With help from US trainers they have gone on to win the title of best senior co-ed team every year since. Now British film company Big Talk are set to tell their story, scripted by TV actress and writer Daisy Donovan and hope to release the film in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Source: Church Times http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/
