Blackburn pupils asked to affix in prayer initiative
THE diocese of Blackburn has initiated a yr of prayer, launched with a two-day Zoom event that reached 22,000 children in 128 schools within the diocese. The Bishop, the Rt Revd Philip North, challenged the pupils to pray each week. A poster has been distributed that offers weekly themes for prayer, and weekly worship and practical activities have been devised. These include making foam, blowing bubbles, throwing paper aeroplanes, and eating hot cross buns, besides experiencing silence and quiet reflection. “Prayer isn’t nearly words; it’s about opening our hearts to God and to one another,” Bishop North told the kids.
Bishop welcomes gambling levy
THE Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, has welcomed the announcement of a statutory levy on gambling operators. Dr Smith, a veteran campaigner for gambling reform, said on Tuesday that the move would “go a great distance towards funding treatment, research, and education around gambling harms”. A statutory levy was one in all the important thing recommendations by the Gambling Select Committee in 2020, of which he was a member. “For too long, the gambling industry has been making eye-watering profits,” he said, “while leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for the harms caused to individuals and society.” He continued to precise his concern concerning the prominence of gambling adverts at broadcast sports events, and their impact on young people.
Threat to way forward for Lampeter University
FEARS have been expressed for the longer term of Lampeter University. The university, founded as a theological college in 1827, became an independent university within the twentieth century, but, a decade ago, it merged with campuses in Carmarthen and Swansea to create the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD). Last month, the university announced that it was “initiating dialogue” over plans to maneuver the humanities department to Carmarthen. A spokesperson told the BBC: “Although UWTSD’s student numbers are growing overall, they usually are not distributed proportionately across our different campuses. Despite a spread of revolutionary ideas to draw a greater number of scholars to our Lampeter campus these haven’t delivered, and this campus has seen a gradual decline within the number of scholars being taught in-person. This isn’t a sustainable situation, and we must take motion.” The university said that it was committed to retaining the Lampeter campus estate.
Online journey for Advent launched by LICC
AN ADVENT “devotional journey” has been launched by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). The material includes sermon outlines and video messages. The director of church relationships at LICC, Ken Benjamin, spoke of the challenge of finding fresh ways to inform the story of the incarnation. “Across the 4 weeks of Advent, we’ll invite participants to contemplate how Jesus’s character was down-to-earth . . . and the way, today, he invites us to affix in his down-to-earth mission.” Down to Earth is out there via email or the YouVersion Bible app. Email sign-ups are actually survive LICC’s website, together with the extra church resources.
National Society backs long-term view on curriculum
THE Church of England’s National Society for Education published its response to the Government’s review on curriculum and assessment reform on Tuesday. The response says that reform should take a long-term view that “outlasts political cycles”. The National Society also calls for religious education to be given greater status, and for college kids to have the liberty to pursue pathways which mix vocational, technical, and academic learning. The Church’s chief education officer, the Revd Nigel Genders, said that it was a “critical moment for the longer term of colleges and for education”, and that, “by taking a long-term approach, we will create a system where every child can flourish, and each teacher is empowered to deliver transformational education.”
King’s portrait taken up by churches
ONE quarter of C of E churches took up the offer of a free portrait of the King, in line with official figures. The official photograph, taken by Hugo Burnand at Windsor Castle last yr, was made available to institutions by the Cabinet Office between November 2023 and August this yr (News, 12 April and 9 August). In all, 20,565 portraits were ordered, the Daily Telegraph reports: 4031 by churches, 8384 by schools, and the remainder by various public bodies. The total cost, including distribution, got here to £2,710,705.
School chaplain admits indecency charge
A FORMER chaplain of St David’s College, a boarding school in Llandudno, the Revd Samuel Erlandson, pleaded guilty at Mold Magistrates’ Court on 23 November to 2 charges of constructing indecent images of a toddler. The school suspended him on hearing of his arrest, and dismissed him after the guilty plea. It is known that the fees don’t involve pupils at the college. Mr Erlandson is a former Rector of St Hilary’s, Llanrhos, and St Paul’s, Llandudno. He shall be sentenced on 30 December. A Church in Wales statement said that it was “appalled and saddened that one in all its clerics has committed such serious offences. Our prayers are with the victims on this case, and all victims of abuse.”
Correction: Our report on the follow-up to the Makin review (News, 29 November) contained two errors: the Revd Tim Hastie-Smith preceded not succeeded the Revd Vaughan Roberts as Assistant Curate at St Ebbe’s Oxford. Canon Michael Green was Rector of St Aldate’s, Oxford, from 1975 to 1986.
Clarification: In an article two weeks ago, we incorrectly identified the Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley as having produced the draft pastoral guidance that was circulated to bishops last autumn (News, 22 November). Dr Hamley was in actual fact answerable for drawing up a draft based on contributions from a working group, with the help of a drafting group co-chaired by the Bishops of Peterborough and Stockport. Our apologies.
