Diversity award for founding father of Teahouse network
THE founding father of The Teahouse network for Chinese-heritage clergy, the Revd Mark Nam, received a National Diversity Award last Friday, for being a “Positive Role Model”. Mr Nam, Vicar of St John’s, Woodley, in Berkshire, has previously received a Lambeth Award for his work, which incorporates advocacy in relation to Chinese labourers recruited into the British army through the First World War (News, 19 November 2021).
Jesuit charity cautious about policy of ‘one in, one out’
THERE is a “lack of transparency and accountability” concerning the implementation of the UK and France’s recent “one in, one out” migrant agreement, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) said last week. The first person to be faraway from the UK under the scheme arrived in France on Thursday of last week. Under the agreement, numerous those crossing by small boats are returned to France in exchange for asylum-seekers who haven’t tried to cross the Channel and meet certain eligibility criteria. Legal challenges have reportedly prevented planned deportations. In an announcement, the JRS said that “behind every border policy are human lives, each with dignity and rights that should be upheld.”
Chelmsford parish magazine wins Gold Award
THE parish magazine, In Touch, of All Saints’, Springfield, in Chelmsford diocese, won the Gold Award for one of the best church magazine in a contest run by the Association for Church Editors (ACE). ACE announced the winner on Saturday at its annual meeting in Birmingham. The editor of the magazine, Robin Stevens, was presented with a trophy and framed certificate. He, who was at one time the Church of England’s National Stewardship Officer, said: “I used to be gobsmacked. If I’d known I used to be going to win, I’d have worn a tie.”
Research affirms the importance of retreats to well-being
A POLL of fifty participants in National Retreat Week suggests that retreats are useful to their well-being. Nearly nine out of ten of those surveyed (88 per cent) had attended a “formal retreat with an organised programme”, while 58 per cent had “taken time away from home for a private retreat”. Ninety-four per cent of participants found that occurring retreat benefited their mental health and well-being: 70 per cent “strongly agreed”, and 24 per cent “agreed”.
Coventry’s medieval music explored in recent app
THE Royal Birmingham Conservatoire launched an app in July which features virtual reconstructions and historically informed performances searching for to recreate the sound of music in Coventry between 1451 and 1642. The app, Aural Histories: Coventry, is the results of a three-year research project led by the conservatoire’s Professor Jamie Savan. It uses “state-of-the-art virtual reality and audio techniques” and includes singing by the choir of Holy Trinity, Coventry, in addition to performances on period instruments, corresponding to the cornett and shawm. Aural Histories: Coventry is out there for Android and iOS devices.
Process in October to fill see of Bangor
A MEETING of the Electoral College for the see of Bangor will start on or before 29 October. Recent Electoral Colleges have asked that several preliminary steps be taken before the College meets, including a public commercial within the Church Times. Additional preliminary safeguarding screening of potential nominees may even happen before the College. The archdeacons of the diocese of Bangor were supportive of giving “a bit of more time” for the running of the electoral process.
C in W agree Prayer Book addition and Faroe Islands relations
IN OTHER business, the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, meeting last week, unanimously passed a Bill to include into the Welsh Prayer Book an extra order of service for confirmation; and agreed to the inclusion of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Faroe Islands within the Porvoo Communion.
