Interfaith specialist to carry Church House public-life portfolio
THE next Director of Faith and Public Life for the C of E is to be the Revd Dr Richard Sudworth (above), currently the Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for inter-religious affairs. Before taking on his current post, he served as a parish priest in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, a Muslim-majority area where he worked on community outreach and interfaith dialogue. He also lectured in Anglican theology on the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, and wrote a book, Encountering Islam, about Christian-Muslim relations (Books, 16 June 2017). In 2023, he was appointed OBE for services to interfaith cohesion. Expected to take up the post early next yr, he succeeds the Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, who’s retiring after 17 years.
WORCESTER CATHEDRALWORCESTER CATHEDRAL
Stonemasonry up for auction at Worcester Cathedral
AN AUCTION of stones carved by apprentices has been announced by Worcester Cathedral. On display within the Dean’s Chapel until 28 November, the ten motion lots were chosen by the Master Mason, Darren Steele. The apprenticeship programme, which began 35 years ago, was vital to make sure a supply of individuals “with the abilities to revive, conserve and respect the stonework”, he said. “It is essential that we retain all of the characteristics and architectural styles so future generations will have the ability to enjoy the fantastic thing about the Cathedral and explore its history.” Anyone can submit a sealed bid by 1 December on a form on the cathedral website, or in person on the exhibition. The stones vary from 8kg to 30kg in weight. All proceeds will support the stonemason team. www.worcestercathedral.org.uk/support-us/carved-stone-auction
Children need education about vaping, charity warns
THE Government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, to ban vape promoting and restrict flavours, packaging, and display, has been welcomed by the Christian charity Hope UK. But it warned last week that there was “no substitute for evidence-based drug education”, reporting that its work with Year 6 primary-school children suggested that “many children wrongly consider that the legal age for vaping is 16 and have no idea that vapes or e-cigarettes were invented to assist people quit smoking.” NHS data suggest that around one in ten secondary-school pupils vapes.
Lord Harries’s British-values Bill progresses unamended
A BILL to increase the “British values” taught in schools to freedom of faith and respect for the environment, proposed by the previous Bishop of Oxford Lord Harries, will now move to its Third Reading within the House of Lords, after no amendments were tabled. In the introduction to the Second Reading of his Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill (News, 2 August), Lord Harries sought to “make these values clearer and more holistic” in addition to to get them termed “values of British citizenship” in future.
National Estates Churches Network celebrates 20 years
CELEBRATIONS to mark the twentieth anniversary of the National Estate Churches Network culminated in a celebration at St Mary Magdalene’s, Gorleston, on the Norfolk coast, on Monday. Children and young people from the area people were invited to have a good time with a birthday cake and activities including a large inflatable human whack-a-mole. St Mary Magdalene’s has one of the vital deprived parishes within the country. Its Vicar, the Revd Matthew Price, praised the Network, an ecumenical charity, for providing “invaluable support and encouragement to churches like us who’re in search of to serve communities in a few of the most deprived neighbourhoods of our area”.
Archbishops’ Council member to chair BRF
THE next chair of BRF Ministries will likely be Canon Mark Sheard, a former chief executive of World Vision, it was announced this week. Formerly often known as the Bible Reading Fellowship, the charity was launched in 1922 by the Revd Leslie Mannering, a Vicar in south London, offering a leaflet with day by day Bible readings. It is now home to ministries including Messy Church, Parenting for Faith, and Anna Chaplaincy. A licensed lay minister within the dioceses of London and St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Canon Sheard can be a member of the Archbishops’ Council. At BRF he’ll succeed Bishop Colin Fletcher, who has served as chair for greater than 20 years.
