Brown named founding patron of Warm Welcome
THE former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been named founding patron of the Warm Welcome Campaign, arrange two years ago to offer “free, protected, and welcoming spaces open to all”, but especially for people experiencing loneliness or fighting the associated fee of living. Last winter, greater than two million people visited a Warm Welcome space, a whole lot of that are in church buildings. Mr Brown has described the initiative as a “chain of hope” across the UK. “In the last month, greater than 500 recent Warm Welcome Spaces have been created, and we invite people to affix one near them to support good neighbourliness.” The Warm Welcome Campaign director, David Barclay, said: “Gordon has been at the guts of Warm Welcome since day one. . . He had the vision of equipping and supporting area people spaces to open their doors and supply warmth and welcome to all in need.”
Poverty charity launches winter appeal for families
THE charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has joined a whole lot of churches in launching an urgent appeal for £260,000 to offer families in poverty with emergency aid and debt-relief before Christmas. YouGov polling of 2070 adults, commissioned by CAP and published last week, finds that greater than half (54 per cent) of the parents with children within the household were limiting their electricity or gas use in the home at the very least once a month, and one quarter were skipping meals, to make ends meet. A CAP debt coach, Linda Stockley, and her church are providing parents in Newcastle with free, face-to-face debt advice, emergency aid, and support. She said: “This isn’t about what number of Christmas presents they can purchase their kids. This is nearly keeping their family warm and well fed this winter. This is a life-or-death situation for a lot of families.” capuk.org/winter
More firms tackle modern slavery, CCLA reports
MORE UK corporations than one 12 months ago are finding evidence of and tackling modern slavery of their supply chains, in response to the most recent benchmarking by CCLA Investment Management. This 12 months, 30 of the 110 corporations assessed by CCLA, which invests money on behalf of just about 12,000 C of E bodies, including parishes, dioceses, and cathedrals, reported finding modern slavery of their supply chain. Last 12 months, this was true of 25 of the 100 corporations assessed (News, 8 December 2023). Benchmarking relies on an assessment of the corporate’s own disclosures, and is aligned with statutory requirements, government guidance, and international voluntary standards on business and human rights. This 12 months, 12 corporations were in the highest tier (out of 5), compared with seven last 12 months.
Changing EV targets is a mistake, says Pensions Board
“CHOPPING and changing” policy on sales targets for electric vehicles can be a “mistake”, the director of climate and environment for the Church of England Pensions Board, Laura Hillis, has warned. As of this 12 months, 22 per cent of automotive sales and ten per cent of van sales within the UK should be EVs, or automotive manufacturers will incur a £15,000 penalty for every vehicle outside the goal. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has predicted, nevertheless, that EV sales will reach only 18.5 per cent of the full market, and have asked the Government to ease the pressure on the industry by changing the targets. But Ms Hillis told inews this week: “Long-term investors like pension funds wish to see robust, ambitious plans and policies for the transport sector within the UK. This includes constructing out needed infrastructure and sending clear and consistent policy signals to the market. Chopping and changing policy on electric vehicles can be a mistake, and would damage investment confidence.”
London vicar was harassed for nine months
THE Vicar of St John the Evangelist, Palmers Green, in north London, the Revd Julie Coleman, was the goal of a nine-month campaign of harassment, including vicious hate mail, Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard last Friday, the Telegraph reports. Carlos Nunes, 41, was convicted of 1 charge of sending a letter containing gross and offensive material, and one charge of racially or religiously aggravated harassment. He was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work over an 18-month period, ordered to pay £764 in court charges, and forbidden from contacting Ms Coleman again. Mr Nunes had sent her two letters in April, one stating “kill the Catholics and Jews in the world”, and that “areas are being armed with kids with homemade missile tech to kill your bishops.” Another, found by Ms Coleman’s son at home, ranted about Hitler, Nazi Germany, and “Jews and their lies”. In a victim impact statement, Ms Coleman said that she feared for her and her children’s safety. After the Manchester bombing, she had vowed to wear her cassock day by day until the primary anniversary. She said on the time: “The black cassock is my uniform. It is similar as Muslims having theirs; diversity makes us human.”
