New charity to support ministry of Archbishop of York
A NEW charity, Bishopthorpe Charitable Partners’ Trust, was launched at Bishopthorpe Palace last week to support the ministry of the Archbishop of York within the Northern Province. The trustees are to award grants to initiatives or projects that “have fun the religion stories of young people, that renew missionary purpose, and that share resources for prayer” and discernment. The chair, Jonathan Radway, said that the trustees were on the lookout for “as much as 250 partners” to support the charity with regular donations. Archbishop Cottrell said that he was grateful for the time and energy that had been invested within the charity. Trustees include Jonathan Radway, Claire Hensman, John Whitfield, Philip Holt, Professor Erinma Bell, and Sir Richard Mantle.
Bishop supports child-development Bill
SUPPORT for families should value their diversity across the country, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, told the House of Lords in a debate last Friday on the Second Reading of the Support for Infants and Parents etc (Information) Bill. The Bill, brought by Lord Farmer (Conservative) within the previous session, seeks to offer more details about early-years support for families, including reporting requirements related to this support. Bishop Usher welcomed the Bill, pointing to the work of churches to support latest parents through toddler groups, Messy Church, and related charities, and he cited the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, Love Matters (News, 28 April 2023). Responding to the short debate, Baroness Meron said that the Government “absolutely recognise the importance of the earliest days of an infant’s life, and that we’re committed to raising the healthiest generation of youngsters in our country’s history”.
Safe Spaces appoints first independent chair
AN INDEPENDENT chair has been appointed to the trustees of the Safe Spaces helpline for survivors of church-related abuse. This in response to feedback from survivors. The latest chair, Paul Langham, was announced on Tuesday. Since 2001, he has helped to run a family farm, and for eight years he worked because the sales and marketing director for the Bible Society. He also worked for the Sailors’ Society for nine years. More recently, he helped to develop and manage a worldwide software system, Ship Visitor, which is utilized by 23 maritime charities. Another trustee, Craig Russo, has also been appointed. He has served on the advisory committee for Safe Spaces because it launched in 2020, and was recently awarded a British Empire Medal for his contributions to mental health and society.
Ninety-five-year-old confirmed in Bradford on Avon
“YOU should never stop trying latest things, and it is a very special latest thing,” Mavis Lindstrom, who’s 95, said after she was confirmed at Holy Trinity, Bradford on Avon, on the weekend. She had attended church as a baby out of “habit”, she said. “I didn’t give it some thought seriously. For years and years, a long time, if anyone asked, ‘Do you suspect in God?’ I might have said, ‘Oh yes’; however it didn’t mean anything.” She got here to know the church through friends. “I started to think I would love a few of that light I saw in others, and I had lots and a lot of questions. I haven’t reached the tip of the questions — but confirmation is a vital milestone.” She was confirmed by the Rt Revd Robert Atwell, an assistant bishop within the diocese, who prepared her for confirmation with the support of the Revd Sarah Jackson, an NSM on the church.
Archbishop welcomes NI Programme for Government
THE Northern Ireland Executive’s draft Programme for Government, published on Monday for consultation, “is a possibility to re-establish and to placed on a firm footing the great governance of Northern Ireland for the advantage of all our people, and particularly for individuals who are finding it difficult to make ends meet and to live with proper human dignity”, the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd John McDowell, has said. It is the primary Programme in 13 years. The First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and the Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, described it as an “ambitious” and “realistic vision” for the rest of the mandate. The Church of Ireland would make a full response, Archbishop McDowell said in his statement, but he had desired to say now that “It cannot have been easy to get agreement from all 4 Northern Ireland Executive parties on what have to be considered a sincere try to end years of political uncertainty and instability.” The greater challenge would lie within the “spirit” wherein it was implemented, he suggested.
Boys charged with arson after C of I church fire
THREE boys, two aged 11, and a ten-year-old, have been charged with arson after a big fire severely damaged the Church of the Holy Name, Greenisland, in Ireland, on 1 September (News, 6 September), police report. No one was hurt. A number of hours before, the congregation had celebrated the church’s seventieth anniversary. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reported on Monday that they were investigating the chance that bins near by were set alight and that the flames spread to the constructing. The three boys are resulting from appear at Belfast Youth Court on Monday 30 September.
Belfast Rector sentenced over parish fraud
THE Rector of St Colman’s, Dunmurry, in Belfast, the Revd Dr Adrian McLaughlin, 50, of Church Avenue, Dunmurry, has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for defrauding the church of £10,000 and a widow of £1000. The offences occurred during 2016. Judge Lynch KC, sentencing, told Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday that Dr McLaughlin had abused the trust of his congregation and regarded the parish “as if it were a private fiefdom”. A restoration fund had been established after a fireplace damaged the church in January 2016, the court heard; from August 2016 to November 2016, the church didn’t have a treasurer. The court heard that, within the October, the Rector had asked a member of the church to co-sign a cheque for £10,000, claiming it was to purchase a substitute church organ; however the cheque was made out to himself. The widow had given him a donation on the understanding that it will be used to purchase items in memory of her deceased husband.
Correction: in our story “Inappropriate to shoot horror film in Church” (News, 30 August) a quotation from an unnamed objector to the filming — “I sincerely don’t think God would want his buildings to be so used for such ghastly events” — was misattributed to the Archdeacon of Lindisfarne. We apologise for the error.
