Church of England set to lose a tenth of its clergy in five years

The Church of England is facing the loss of as many as one in ten paid clergy in the next five years and internal documents seen by The Times admit that the traditional model of a vicar in every parish is over.

The credit crunch and a pension funding crisis have left dioceses facing massive restructuring programmes. Church statistics show that between 2000 and 2013 stipendiary or paid clergy numbers will have fallen by nearly a quarter.

According to figures on the Church of England website, there will be an 8.3 per cent decrease in paid clergy in the next four years, from 8,400 this year to 7,700 in to 2013. This represents a 22.5 per cent decrease since 2000. If this trend continues in just over 50 years there will be no full-time paid clergy left in Britain’s 13,000 parishes serving 16,000 churches.

Jobs will instead be filled by unpaid part-timers, giving rise to fears about the quality of parish ministry. Combined with a big reduction in churchgoing, the figures will add weight to the campaign for disestablishment.

Nine meetings with bishops, diocesan and cathedral staff were held in London this summer to discuss the crisis. A Church report on the meetings released yesterday to The Times describes the traditional model of a stipendiary vicar in every parish as “broken in much of the country”.

This week the Archbishops’ Council approved a plan to make Anglican clergy work until the age of 68 to help to save the Church from its multimillion-pound pensions shortfall.

Increased life expectancy, combined with greater regulation and the credit crunch, has left the Church’s pension scheme with liabilities of £813 million, almost double the £461 million market value of its assets.

The scheme, created in 1998 and partly funded by churchgoers who are being asked to put more in the collection pot than ever before, has been especially hard hit because all of its investments were placed in the stock market at the end of the 1990s.

One diocese that is particularly struggling is Winchester, where a meeting of the diocesan synod this morning will discuss proposals to cut clergy posts to save £1 million.

In Littlebourne, in the Arcbhishop of Canterbury’s diocese in Canterbury, a benefice that contributes more than £50,000 is protesting at being told that it can have only an unpaid, part-time priest.In a new pattern of ministry mirrored throughout the country the benefice is to be placed in a “cluster” with a neighbouring benefice and will share the neighbour’s stipendiary priest.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Oxford told The Times: “We have been reducing the number of clergy for a number of years. We are a big diocese and don’t want to take more than our fair share — that’s happening right across the church.”

Even in the wealthy diocese of Salisbury, where there is a projected budget increase of 1.8 per cent, the 214 full-time stipendiary clergy in 2008 are to be cut to 203 by 2016.

The Rev David Houlding, the chairman of clergy in the London diocese, said: “The bottom line is that the money which pays for the Church comes from people in the pew. The income of the Church of England is seriously threatened at the moment because people do not have the money because of the credit crunch.”

About one in sixty people worships with the Church of England on an average Sunday. This is projected to drop to less than one in 600 by 2050. The average age of a British Anglican worshipper was 37 in 1980, but is expected to rise to 67 by 2050.

Terry Sanderson, of the National Secular Society, said: “Such numbers remove the last vestige of justification for the Church’s establishment. It is no longer representative of the nation and will become progressively less able to fulfil its claimed nationwide service.

“Establishment gives bishops significant power and this is simply illegitimate and undemocratic. It is quite clear that the Church of England is, to all extents and purposes, finished.” continues here

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Empty churches, full mosques

Several redundant churches in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland are slowly being converted into mosques as Christian congregations dwindle while a growing Muslim population demands more places to worship. Colin Randall, foreign correspondent, reports

GLASGOW // When the Glasgow Central Mosque, then rivalling the biggest in Europe, opened a quarter of a century ago, it seemed all the needs of Muslim worshippers in Scotland’s largest city would be met at its imposing site on the banks of the Clyde.

But as the city’s Muslim population has swelled to 33,000, with the Pakistanis who have always formed its main component joined by refugees from conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan, demand has continued to grow for space. More than 70 years after organised worship first began, in the homes of Pakistani immigrants, Glasgow has 14 mosques, and some feel it could do with more.

It is not difficult to find examples of growth. Across the city, extensive work is under way to expand al Furqan mosque; elsewhere, two other mosques are being modernised. And 80 km to the east, a mosque that opened in January with the express aim of serving English-speaking Muslims in the capital, Edinburgh, chose Ramadan as the occasion to extend worship to Friday prayers.

In their different attempts to cater for Scotland’s largest Muslim communities, both al Furqan and the Edinburgh Blackhall mosque also cast light on the steady decline in Christian worship. Increasingly, mosques are being created or expanded in what were Christian premises; al Furqan occupies a building formerly owned by a neighbouring centre for the elderly, run by Christian spiritualists, while the Blackhall mosque has made its home in what was until 2006 a church of the United Free Church of Scotland.

“We find quite often that mosques are opening or extending in what used to be Christian church property,” said Dr Javed Hussain Gill, 56, the Pakistan-born secretary of the al Furqan mosque and a teacher of religious studies. “There is a logic to this because churches face Bethlehem which is very close, from here, to facing Mecca.”

The trend is not confined to Scotland, or indeed to Britain. In the north-western English town of Clitheroe, work is progressing on the conversion of a Methodist church, once captured in a painting by L S Lowry, into “a sanctuary for peace and prayer, and a collaborative environment for the whole community”. And in Belgium, the closure of Christian churches has prompted debate on whether disused buildings should be offered to Muslims, many currently worshipping in inadequate or unsafe makeshift premises.


Wherever the phenomenon occurs, opinion is divided on whether finding a continuing use for redundant churches for the pursuit of faith, albeit a different faith, is something to be welcomed in a secular age – or another sign of the erosion of cultural identities.

“Within our denomination, I guess there would be varying views,” said the Rev John Fulton, general secretary of the United Free Church of Scotland. “Some would be reasonably happy to see a church maintained as a place of worship; others might have reservations.”


Reflecting widespread reluctance to speak publicly on such divisions, however, Mr Fulton did not wish “to be drawn into a large discussion of the issue”.

He described the closure of the Edinburgh church, which opened in the mid-1930s, as a consequence of falling attendances generally. “In the early years, it had a thriving congregation,” he said. But numbers had dwindled, from as many as 300 “probably down to the teens, and mostly elderly”.


Mr Fulton said: “I suppose it is part of a fairly common trend in which many churches are experiencing declining attendance. I don’t believe demographics are involved. There is still quite a large population in the area but for whatever reasons, the church was failing to draw folk in.”

The grateful new owner of the church is the Edinburgh Pakistan Association, which is two-thirds of the way towards reaching its target of £600,000 (Dh3.56 million) to fund its renovation plans.


At present, simple reuse of the existing church accommodation provides space for 300 male worshippers and 200 women. In the second phase of the project, women will pray on a new mezzanine floor, allowing their current area of the building to become classrooms for Islamic teaching. There are also plans for sporting and cultural groups.

“This is an exciting development,” said Umar Malik, 22, a law student born in Scotland to Pakistani parents and serves as the mosque’s director of operations. “It is run by youth for the youth. A lot of young people are involved, we have a go-ahead young imam who gets on well with them and we had a fantastic response from people in the area, which is predominantly non-Muslim, when we held a neighbourhood welcoming evening.”


Non-Muslim neighbours do not always react so well to plans to open or extend mosques. The extent of opposition is sometime exaggerated; the Ribble Valley borough council which approved plans for the Clitheroe mosque insisted that reports of 900 objections were meaningless “because we get just as many when someone wants to add a conservatory”.

More disturbingly, Scots are thought to be among far-Right demonstrators hoping to stage a march in Glasgow in November. The so-called English Defence League, which claims to oppose not only Muslim extremists but has also demonstrated against new mosque building, is believed by Glaswegian Muslims, and the city’s Left, to be treating the occasion as a “coming out” event for its Scottish offshoot.


Residents who have campaigned for several years against proposals for a new mosque at Newton Mearns, just outside Glasgow, deny being anti-Islam but insist the area is unsuitable.

At the blog of Osama Saeed, a Scottish National Party campaigner and founder of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, one man identifying himself as Bob Anderson argued that the favoured site was on protected land. He said he would not oppose the building elsewhere, but also admitted to being “selfish” because he wanted a solution that was “good for my family”.


The residents’ stand has so far paid off; East Renfrewshire, the constituency that includes Newton Mearns, still has no mosque of its own.

As he showed The National around al Furqan’s basement studios for Radio Ramadan, which broadcast throughout the holy month, Dr Gill said it was important for those seeking to build mosques, or enhance existing ones, to work closely with planning authorities. The design of the dome that will appear on the al Furqan extension was modified to take account of objections.


Dr Gill said the spread of mosques was a product of the need throughout Greater Glasgow for locally based facilities, more practical for day-to-day worship and children’s classes. The Central Mosque was an obvious venue for weddings and other large gatherings.

Once work at al Furqan is complete, in January, it will be the among the first “green” mosques in the UK, using rainwater, sunlight and solar heating. For a 14-year-old worshipper, Shuayb Bhutta, the prospect of less crowded prayer sessions was also important. His eyes lit up twice during a short conversation: once when asked about his faith – “it means everything to me” – and then when Dr Gill said that in the renovated building, he would be able to use his laptop in a room with wireless internet connection.

As Christian church attendances continue to fall, more church property may transfer to Muslim ownership. continues here

CHURCH MUST SHELVE 'M AND S' IMAGE

The Church of England needs to shed its middle class "Marks and Spencer"-only image in order to attract the Asda and Aldi generation of worshippers, a senior bishop has warned.

The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, spoke of his sense of frustration at the view that the Church of England was the "Marks and Spencer" option only, for the highly educated or "suited and booted".

Jesus would just as likely have shopped at Asda and Aldi as at Marks and Spencer, he said.

He said: "Even today I meet people who think you have to be highly educated or suited and booted to be a person who goes to church. That's so frustrating. How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks and Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi?

"Jesus got us started with church simply. Like this - sitting us down in groups on the grass and telling simple stories. Not simplistic. But certainly not complicated. All his first disciples were down-to-earth people who wanted to know what life was all about."

The bishop's remarks come as the Church of England launched its Back to Church Sunday campaign to attract lapsed worshippers and others into the pews this Sunday, September 27.

The campaign comes after provisional figures published earlier this year showed average Sunday attendance in the Church of England fell to 978,000 in 2007 down from just over one million in 2002.

About 1.7 million people attend Church of England services each month, according to the 2007 figures.

The Back to Church Sunday campaign includes a rap-style radio advertisement. Other bishops supporting the campaign include the Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev Steven Croft, who has posted at YouTube invitation inviting people to "come as they are" to church on Sunday. The Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Rev Cyril Ashton and a team of fellow motor cyclists have already toured South Yorkshire to promote the campaign. continues here

Britain is no longer a Christian nation, claims Church of England Bishop

Britain is no longer a Christian nation and the Church of England could die out within a generation, an Anglican bishop has warned.

The Rt Rev Paul Richardson said declining church attendance and the rise in multiculturalism meant that "Christian Britain is dead".

He criticised his fellow bishops for failing to appreciate the scale of the crisis and warned that their inaction could seal the Church's fate.

As one of the Church's longest-serving bishops, the comments by the assistant Bishop of Newcastle are set to fuel the debate over its future.

The General Synod, the Church's parliament, will next month consider proposals to cut the number of bishops and senior clergy amid fears over the Church's finances.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Bishop Richardson said: "Many bishops prefer to turn their heads, to carry on as if nothing has changed, rather than face the reality that Britain is no longer a Christian nation.

"Many of them think that we are still living in the 1950s – a period described by historians as representing a hey day for the established church."

He said that the Church had lost more than one in ten of its regular worshippers between 1996 and 2006, with a fall from more than one million to 880,000.

"At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years though few of its leaders are prepared to face that possibility," said Bishop Richardson.

Nearly half of the population in England regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England, while seven in ten described themselves as Christian in the last census.

However, the Bishop said that the fall in church marriages and baptisms revealed that Britain was no longer a Christian nation.

The number of babies being baptised has fallen from 609 in every 1,000 at the turn of the twentieth century to only 128 in 2006/7 and church marriages have also dropped.

Bishop Richardson said: "The church is being hit by a double whammy: on the one hand it confronts the challenge of institutional decline but on the other hand it has to face the rise of cultural and religious pluralism in Britain."

He says that the way the Church responds to this will be "crucial in determining whether it will be able to survive as a viable organisation and make a contribution to national life".

"At present church leaders show little signs of understanding the situation. They don't understand the culture we now live in."

The bishop believed it is inevitable that disestablishment will happen and suggests that the Church should take a lead on the issue rather than being dictated to by Parliament.

"Rather than try to cling on to their places in the House of Lords, they should take the initiative by withdrawing, which shows that they appreciate Christian Britain is dead."

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has also delivered a bleak assessment of the future of Christianity in this country, claiming previously that Britain's Churches are in such serious decline that if they were shops they would have been declared bankrupt long ago. continues here

He’s right of course, “Christianity is dead”, it died some time ago, yet they still persist with the act and it is an act, thousands across this land, still participating in a tradition that its own leaders have relentlessly destroyed. Today Christianity is unfashionable, to profess faith sets one up for scorn, gone are the days when “men of the cloth” were heeded, let alone respected, today “men of the cloth” are irrelevant, their mutterings archaic and their conviction a thing of fun. Tough words, yet true and in so many ways they brought it all upon themselves, betray your parishioners and they are liable to disown you, adopt practices that impinge upon tradition and they are loath to despise you, side with your own enemies and you bring your own house down around your ears.

All of this and more you have done until finally you have helped create a pluralist at best and at worst, a deeply secular society, instead of defending us you abandoned us, instead of shielding us, you helped take down our defence brick by brick. Soon none of this will matter, truly your days are numbered, one day Christianity will be a minority religion, a dog barking at an unheeding moon, the crescent shall turn its face as now do the people. Christianity had its faults, it was not perfect yet shaped by our ancestors it served our country, its people and shaped the landscape, today it does neither.

Today it is but a shell of what it was, today it is recognised for one thing and one thing only betraying us, betraying us all in our hour of need, words of compassion were twisted, interpretations spun, until every organ of Christianity worked against the people, until the church in all its forms worked against us. You’ll never regain your place, never again be such a part of us all, it is a loss for us and for you, we did not deserve your betrayal, did not deserve to be cast out, did not deserve to witness your abject allegiance to anti-nation practice.

Whilst you were aiding others we quietly slipped away, we rose from the pews en-masse never to return, we blocked our ears to your terrible lies, your twisted words and your party-line, until finally those that once loved you regard you now with contempt. You stood by as they murdered our young , just as you stand by now as they drive us to extinction, even now, even now as you face your abyss, your end, before even we, you side with malignancy, side with tyranny, dressed up as benevolence.

Today Christians, those that are left, are harried, driven out, ridiculed, condemned as extremists, look what you have done, permitted the greatest evil and left us to die, speak out now and many will rush to your banner, take up the cross and make you whole again, yet you will not, you will permit your own death and in so doing our own. Too intent upon Africa you did not look locally, to intent upon giving aid to those that would replace us, you condemned us to death, too swayed by leftist dogma you prized Marx before god and now, now you face your end.

Don’t cry to us Christianity, don’t expect us to mourn, lest not this new twisted version of Christianity you present but only the old, the heritage you corrupted and we stand to lose but we shall not mourn for you. Will none of you stand as so many brave Christian souls once did, will none of you condemn this evil they commit against us, will none wipe our brow and wash our wounds, will none stand with us even as they spear our side. For forty years the church has gone against its own teachings, it has used scripture to pervert truth, ironically the major victim has been the church, until few will stand for you now, you are such a part of England, such an integral part, yet we must let you go because you gave us no choice, no option, no chance.

Rebirth

Today is a special day; it heralds renewal, rebirth, the entrance of light into darkness and the dawning of a new age, today it is recorded that the Jews killed Christ, that by their skilful manoeuvring they crucified the living god. This simple element within the Christian belief system, is now censured and to speak of it risks reprisal, yet for all the modern spin, that is the truth of the matter, at least as the bible sees it, even today many within Jewry despise the cross, spitting in its presence and Christ himself is described as being boiled alive in excrement, so in a very real sense there is and has been, an ongoing war between Christianity and Judaism. A war Christianity is losing and in its desperation it turns to non-whites, non-whites form the only element within Christendom that is growing, moreover, most whites have moved away from Christianity recoiling in subconscious horror from its liberalist teachings and abject betrayal of the people. 

The church today turns to the dark continent, whilst Europe becomes evermore secular and the people flounder, Jewry or at least elements within it have sought to undermine Christianity, to secularise the west and they have succeeded. Movies made in Hollywood, therefore Jewish financed, seek to portray Christian belief as unfashionable, as perhaps a little “geeky” and in many cases as sinister, this of course has worked on an unbelievable scale and Christianity is, to all intents and purposes on its last legs. In fact the only religion showing substantial growth is Islam, which of course is itself under threat from those self same forces of malignancy. Yet still within the broad body of the church there are still some traditionalist believers, those that live according to original scripture, those that share a similar knowledge to nationalists themselves, there is of course another spectrum, Christian Zionists, those misguided fools or deceiving devils that infest the rank and file of the church proper. 

This reprehensible creed, places the human suffering experienced in Gaza far, far below that of the need to protect the rogue state of Israel, moreover, this creed preaches a doctrine bizarre, a dogma of evil. Christianity, as with white civilisation may very well be on the way out, approaching the abyss and falling fast, so it reaches out to others, those others not we and so it betrays us. Yet now is not really the time to talk of that, now is a time of renewal, a time of rebirth and this is exactly what the Christian church needs, it needs to be born again, to recognise the great evils swirling within the world and join with the people against them, it must purge the leftists, egalitarians and Zionists from its ranks, embrace correct scripture and become again a force for good, instead of what it is now, a collaborator priesthood, aiding evil. 

As does nationalism, it needs to contest Jewry’s influence, free itself from it and stumble anew into the light, it must recognise the uniqueness of all peoples and strive and fight for the grand design, not that of elites but of divine hand. It must recognise that rather than multiculturalism being benign it is hateful, it keeps the sub-continent in poverty and creates a fertile climate for migratory pattern, which will lead to the extinction of one of god’s creations, namely the white man. How, with any conscience, any man of the clothe can support such evil is beyond me, surely even a fool can see daily its consequence, better to alleviate misery at its source, keep culture and gene distinct and avoid at a stroke resentment, anger and yes violence. 

Many of today’s problems stem from conflicting belief systems, from divergent traditions and disparate morals, therefore Muslims feel great offence on one hand, Sikhs on another Jews on another and so on and so forth, is it not better to prevent this by permitting all cultures, creeds and genotypes to remain fixed within their natural territorial area, rather than expecting so much to coexist within a small land-mass. The church could help in this, it has fantastic reach, respect and the wherewithal to facilitate change, to contest exploitation of all peoples under all circumstance and this includes we much maligned westerners here at home.  

Quite simply the church needs to again look to traditional teaching, nothing dramatic, just a return to biblical scripture, merely to follow Christianities core teaching, of course this will never happen, they look to a brown world now, not to the old but to the new, yet in that future world they to will die. In that world to come Christianity will change, become more tribal, lose much of its European humanitarian streak and become more warlike, future wars will be bloody, brutal and prolonged. If they wish to prevent such a world, to maintain peace on earth and good will to all men, then they must lend an ear to St John not Stalin, Christ not Che Guevara. 

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The EU equality law that will let 'upset' atheists sue companies that hang up crucifixes

Organisations which hang crucifixes on walls could be sued if they upset atheists under equality laws proposed by the European Union.

Any group offering a service to the public, including hospitals, charities, businesses and prisons, would be at risk.

Legislation may also allow Christians to bring an action against a hotel if it displayed something they deemed offensive - such as a poster for the 1979 Monty Python film The Life Of Brian.

There are already laws banning harassment in the workplace, but the new Brussels regulations are designed to offer people protection from providers of goods and services. 

However, they are so broad that critics say they could lead to a spate of civil cases by anyone claiming their dignity has been violated by the 'hostile environment' of an organisation.

The Church of England says hospices or charities for the homeless could face legal action if people using their services felt degraded by their religious practices or symbols, such as the cross. 

The Archbishops' Council even fears that charities could be challenged by atheists if grace is said before meals.

The Law Society says religious believers may also be able to launch a civil action for harassment. 

In an official submission to the EU, the society said: 'For instance, in a shop or shared lodging house, there may be a notice board on which is posted material that some of those who see it will find offensive on religious grounds (for instance, a poster for a film, such as The Life Of Brian).' 

The proposals, which go before EU governments for approval later this year, are part of a new directive outlawing discrimination by businesses on the grounds of sexual orientation, age, disability or belief.

If approved, it will become the latest in a swathe of European-inspired equality laws which critics say stifle freedom of speech and marginalise religion. 

The Government tried to introduce a similar law in 2005 but dropped it after a resounding rejection by the House of Lords. 

Peers feared it would encourage politically correct officials to stop public expressions of religion, such as carol services or Bibles by hospital bedsides.  continues here

It beggars belief doesn’t it, that we bow to the European Union, this malevolent entity, created so they said, to facilitate a free market, to enable the free movement of goods between member nations, what a lie, what a deception. Instead it represents growing tyranny, growing authoritarianism and the people have not a clue, religion has let us down, a strength to us once it is now merely a hindrance, it no longer looks after the nations moral welfare, instead it is a think-tank for liberalism, permitting the rapid change we have suffered and ironically its own decline.

Yet for all that religion has its place, it has many millions of adherents globally, many here at home, it is of small wonder though, that the greatest growth is overseas, primarily in non-white countries, it is to this market that the church now panders. It realises that the age of the white man is at a close and they now look to a non-white world, so I can have little sympathy for their plight, knowing full well that they undermined their own institution and still do. Yet it is for the individual I have concern, those individuals that still adhere to their faith, a faith that in many ways has more in common with nationalist thought than the poison of leftism, it is also of note, that there are those who have sought the end of the cross as a symbol for some centuries now.

Perhaps this relentless attack upon Christians is in reality an attack upon the last whites who follow their faith to the letter, certainly religious belief amongst nationalists is in decline, as they realise that the church has, to coin a phrase, sold them out, paganism is on the ascend primarily due to this feeling but also due to a growing need for identity, a natural reaction by a group or groups under attack. Identity becomes ever-precious whilst residing amongst so many other elements, it grows rather than lessens, this in turn leads to extreme friction and then inevitable state control. The only solution is nature, to again adhere to her grand design, non-whites in their natural locale and whites also, Islam is a product of the east along with Judaism, as was Christianity at one time, however, Christianity adopted many of our ancient rites and customs and could now rightly be said to be European, the same cannot be said for the aforementioned belief systems. So it is still in our interests to defend Christianity, to grab it back from the left and make it again a force for good amongst our people and indeed the world. 14

School receptionist faces sack after five-year-old daughter is told off for talking about God

A school receptionist faces the sack after seeking the support of Christian friends when her five-year-old daughter was scolded for talking about God in class. 

Jennie Cain's daughter Jasmine was ticked off by a teacher for discussing Heaven and Hell with a fellow pupil and came home in tears. 

After comforting her distraught daughter, Mrs Cain, who works at the school, sent a private email to ten close Christian friends asking them to offer prayers for the families and the school. 

But a copy fell into the hands of Gary Read, headmaster at Landscore Primary School, in Crediton, Devon. 

Now Mrs Cain, 38, is being investigated for professional misconduct for allegedly making claims against the school and staff members. She may be disciplined and even faces dismissal. 

The case has caused fresh outrage in the Christian community, which fears its members are becoming the most discriminated against people in society. 

But Mr Read insisted it was right to admonish Jasmine because she had scared a fellow pupil by telling her she would 'go to Hell' if she did not believe in God. 

The row broke out on January 22 when divorced Mrs Cain went to pick up Jasmine and her brother Ben, eight, from the state primary school, which has 271 pupils. She said: 'My daughter burst into tears, her face was all red and she was clearly upset. 

'She said, "My teacher told me I couldn't talk about Jesus". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She said she was taken aside in the classroom and told she couldn't say that. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to do.' 

The next day Mr Read invited her into his office after he received a complaint from the mother of the child who had been upset by Jasmine's remark.

Mrs Cain said: 'He started talking about my daughter and how he wasn't happy about her making statements about her faith. At that point I froze. I felt very small and trapped as I was a junior member of staff.'

That weekend Mrs Cain emailed a prayer request from her personal computer at home to trusted friends from her church. She said: 'I asked them to please pray for us, please pray for Jasmine, please pray for the school and pray for the church.'

A few days later she was called back into Mr Read's office. She said: 'He had in his hand a copy of my private, personal email and it was highlighted all the way through. He said he was going to investigate me for professional misconduct because I had been making allegations about the school and staff to members of the public.'

Mrs Cain, who has not been suspended, added: 'It seems that there is something about the Christian faith that has triggered this very strong, very heavy-handed whack.' She thinks Mr Read was passed the email by a governor, who is married to one of the churchgoers she sent it to.

Among a groundswell of support for Mrs Cain yesterday was NHS nurse Caroline Petrie, who herself was nearly sacked recently by North Somerset Primary Care Trust for offering to say a prayer for an elderly patient.

Mrs Petrie said: 'This mum must be feeling so alone, because that's how I felt. They make you feel guilty for your beliefs. If she is being threatened with the sack just for sending an email asking people to pray, it is terrible

'The whole world will be on her side. Please send her my love and tell her I will pray for her.'

Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe said: 'There is now daily evidence of Christianophobia in this country and it is high time that it was tackled. It is wicked to scold a small child for talking about Jesus. Even if the child was talking about going to Hell, that is what Christians believe.'

Simon Calvert, of the Christian Institute, which is supporting Mrs Cain, said Jasmine was talking to a five-year-old friend and said: 'I believe in God and Jesus and I'm going to Heaven'.

A seven-year-old then joined in the conversation, saying: 'How do you go to Hell then?' Jasmine replied: 'By not believing in Jesus.'

Mr Calvert said this was the little girl's recollection of the conversation.

But the school disputed this version of events. Mr Read told the Mail: 'We are very happy for all children, at any time, to talk about religion.

'But the information I got, and stick to, is the upshot of the conversation was the other child was told that if you don't believe in God, you go to Hell. It upset and frightened the other child.'

Mr Read said Mrs Cain was being investigated over the allegations in her email, adding that he was unable to disclose its contents.  continues here

Losing your job is not so bad says bishop

Being made jobless in the recession can come as a relief, a senior Church of England bishop has claimed.

Those sacked 'seem to be relieved to get off the treadmill and to be given an opportunity to reconsider what they really want out of life', the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres said. 

Dr Chartres suggested that the credit crunch could give Britons a chance to 'reboot our sense of what a truly flourishing human life consists of'. 

The third most senior figure in the Church added: 'It is difficult to know whether to sympathise more with those who have lost their jobs or those who are left carrying even greater loads with higher targets and fewer colleagues.' 

Unions reacted sceptically. 

A TUC spokesman said: 'You don't have much time for finding yourself when you're living on £60-a-week jobseeker's allowance.' 

The praise for unemployment from the Bishop contrasts with the message put out by some of his colleagues, who have tried to sympathise with the problems faced by those thrown out of work.

Last month the Church published prayers for the recession which acknowledged the pain and confusion of redundancy, and yesterday Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu expressed his concern for 'individual hardship and families in need.'

Dr Chartres, however, said that redundancy could help ease the 'crack-berry culture' shared by many workers in his diocese.

'The 'crack-berry culture' is dangerously addictive and switching off from it is notoriously difficult,' he said; 

The bishop said his diocese was trying hard to help those laid off in the slump.

Around 150,000 people in the diocese, which covers London north of the Thames, including the City.

Bishop Chartres, whose job is not under threat because of the downturn, is paid a stipend of £57,040 a year.

However, he does not have to pay a mortgage. The bishop and his family live in a 'see house' provided free by the Church in the Old Deanery, a grade one listed Wren house next to St Paul's Cathedral.

The apartment was refurbished for him at a cost of £300,000 in 1995.

Dr Chartres, a father of four, responded to criticism of the cost of his housing by saying the accommodation used by his bachelor predecessor was inadequate and that he needed a larger residence fit for 'a public person involved in public life', rather than an 'office wallah' in a 'suburban villa'.  continues here

Disestablishment of Church of England would 'not be end of the world,' says Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said it would not be ‘the end of the world’ if the Church of England lost the privileged position it has held in English life since the Reformation.

Dr Rowan Williams opened the explosive issue of disestablishment – splitting the Church and state – by agreeing he could see a case for the move.

For centuries, the Church of England
has been established by law as the country’s official religion, with the Monarch as its Supreme Governor.

Mr Woolas said the move was inevitable because ‘modern society is multifaith’.

The Government quickly slapped him down, insisting it had no intention of taking any steps to disestablish the Church.

Sir Alan Beith, chairman of the Commons justice select committee – whose remit includes constitutional reform – said: ‘There is no massive demand from minor religious groups like Muslims, Jews and Sikhs for disestablishment.

‘Dr Williams is the kind of person if asked a straight question will give a straight and honest answer, which is clearly what he has done here.’

Jonathan Bartley, co-director of religious think-tank Ekklesia, welcomed the comments.

He said: ‘Disestablishment is long overdue, and it would be better for it to occur sooner rather than later. The established status of the church contradicts ideas of equality, fairness and justice which Christianity is supposed to
stand for. continues here

Church of England must serve all the faiths, says Archbishop

The Church of England should be open for use by people of any religion or none, like a hospital, says Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York. 

There is a strong case for regarding the Church as a public body that does not exist simply to serve believers, he argues. Whether or not most people attend regularly is irrelevant. 

“At a time when a creeping social Darwinism is on the rise, where life is measured in terms of its quality or usefulness, the Church remains the last bastion of defence for those who would find themselves close to jettison by society,” the Archbishop says. 

As the recession bites, the Established Church must rediscover its confidence and self-esteem. “The Church of England must once again be a beacon by which the people of England can orientate themselves in an unknown ocean.”

He cites the 23 million hours of community service carried out each year by Anglicans to make the case that the Church should remain established. 

Dr Sentamu’s remarks will be published today by the Institute for Public Policy Research, Britain’s leading progressive think-tank, in a collection of essays by senior British faith leaders. Other contributors include Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster. The report, Faith in the Nation, which has a foreword by Gordon Brown, is one of the most important contributions to date on the role of religion in Britain’s increasingly secular but also multifaith society. 

The institute, which has close links with the Labour Party, is concerned about growing estrangement between faith communities, liberal secularism and the cult of the individual. 

The report comes as questions of faith are treated with growing seriousness in politics and public policy. Government advisers and MPs have woken up to the faith implications of immigration. 

They have accepted that the decline of religious belief predicted by secularists and many church leaders at the end of the 20th century has not happened. Religion has become more significant than ever in recent history. 

The faith leaders, who include Ramesh Kallidai, from the Hindu community, Indarjit Singh, from the Sikhs, and Dilwar Hussain, of the Islamic Foundation, focus on British identity, an issue of concern to Muslim leaders in particular, who report a continuing rise in Islamophobia. 

Dr Sentamu argues that the Church of England’s place in modern Britain is not one of privilege but of “service born of duty and care”. He says: “There is little doubt in my mind that a place exists for an established Church serving our nation. From church schools to funerals, from interfaith work to state occasions, from speaking out for the marginalised to ministering to the sick, the Church plays a vital daily role in the operation of our nation.” 

As a man born in Uganda who benefited from the work of British missionaries, “I simply remind the English of what they first taught me”. 

What Dr Sentamu says about the Church’s role

‘In July the Government published a Green Paper on the governance of Britain that set out its continuing relationship with the Church of England as follows: “The Government reaffirms its commitment to the position of the Church of England by law established, with the Sovereign as its Supreme Governor, and the relationship between the Church and State. The Government greatly values the role played by the Church in national life in a range of spheres.” 

In a collection of essays to be published next week by the Institute for Public Policy Research I will argue the case as to why the Church of England should remain by law established. 

At a time when a creeping social Darwinism is on the rise, where life is measured in terms of its “quality” or “usefulness” the Church remains the last bastion of defence for those who would find themselves close to being jettisoned by society. The doors of the Church are never shut to such as these. We embrace an understanding of humanity and the individual where all life is God-given and God-breathed. 

Hence the Church becomes a place not only for the most vulnerable but also for their most vocal defenders; a tent pitched in the middle of the public square where all are invited because all are worthy. 

It is a place where divine action and human activity overlap in the person of Jesus Christ, who pitched his fleshly tent among us. It is not simply a place of refuge, but rather a place of hospitality for the marginalised, welcoming those who find themselves, by accident or design, at risk of exclusion from any sense of belonging or without a stake in our stakeholding society.  continues here

Teenager banned from wearing Christian chastity ring at school

The item of jewellery owned by Kioni Lansbury represents her intention to stay a virgin until she marries. 

But her school has deemed it potentially dangerous and against uniform rules.



Kioni, who is a regular church-goer, was inspired to wear the ring by the American pop group the Jonas Brothers, who have all made pledges of celibacy.

Purity rings are popular in America where organisers have persuaded a vast number of teenagers to abstain from sex.

Kioni, of Ottery St Mary in Devon, said: 'Lots of girls sleep around. I want to keep myself pure.

'Many of my friends want to get one. If people can wear head scarves, why can't I wear a ring?'

Kioni, who will turn 13 later this month, added: 'The ideas behind the purity ring are something I believe in. I believe in Jesus and a lot of his teachings.

'If you wait you know you're with someone who loves you.'

She added that she would continue to wear the ring at school but remove it when appropriate. 'I will take it off if I think it's dangerous but I'm going to carry on wearing it.

'I came across the whole purity ring thing after getting into the Jonas Brothers. I loved the music but then discovered what they stood for and it went from there.'

Kioni was given the purity ring by her mother Sandra Holden last month.

The 42-year-old said: 'I think she should be able to wear it. It is no different to religious symbols. She wants to save herself for when she's older and doesn't want to waste her innocence. She feels very strongly about this.'

Kioni was banned from wearing the ring at The King's School in Ottery St Mary after a teaching assistant reported it to headteacher Faith Jarrett.

Yesterday, Mrs Jarrett defended the ban and said: 'The ring would be extremely dangerous in PE, technology or science lessons.

'I have told Kioni she can keep the ring in her bag. I'm quite happy for her to have it in school.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/04/article-1091901-02B2B62E000005DC-782_468x222.jpg

She added: 'It's great that young people have this commitment. I think purity rings are a great idea. But she should keep it in her pocket or purse - it would be a health and safety issue if she wears it on her hand. continues here

Phil Woolas contradicts government policy over position of Church of England

Phil Woolas, the new Immigration Minister, was again at the centre of controversy last night after contradicting official government policy over the position of the Church of England.

The outcome of the Government’s attempt to reform the House of Lords would be to strip the Church of its privileges, he said. Within 50 years the Church of England would have lost the special position it has held in English life since the Reformation.

Mr Woolas told The Times: “Disestablishment – I think it will happen because it’s the way things are going. Once you open debate about reform of the House of Lords you open up debate about the make-up of the House. It will probably take 50 years, but a modern society is multifaith.”

His remarks caused consternation in Whitehall: the Government has no intention of igniting a political row over the issue, which has consequences for the monarchy.

Mr Woolas has been at the centre of controversy since Saturday when he called for a limit on immigration but then backtracked in a television interview 24 hours later.

The Ministry of Justice issued a statement last night making clear that it has no intention of taking any step to disestablish the Church as part of constitutional reforms.

The statement said: “The Church of England is by law established as the Church in England and the monarch is its Supreme Governor. The Government remains committed to this position and values the establishment of the Church of England.”

Last night there were doubts over whether Mr Woolas’s scheduled appearance tomorrow on the BBC One programme Question Time would go ahead. Senior figures in Westminster were fearful of further damaging headlines after his remarks over curbing immigration and disestablishing the Church.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, fully supports establishment and has no wish for the issue to be opened.

The Government has reassured the Church of England that it will not embark on any move towards disestablishment unless the Church asks it to do so. With the Church bogged down in disputes over gays and women clergy, the last thing that it wants is a row over disestablishment. In Lambeth Palace and Whitehall the issue is considered political dynamite. continues here

Parishes urged to rise against liberal bishops

Church of England parishes unhappy at liberal teachings on homosexuality have been urged to seek alternative oversight from another bishop if their own diocesan bishop expounds “unbiblical” teaching from the pulpit. 

Evangelicals at a conference in Central London were told that the Church of England now consists of two religions, one liberal and pro-gay and the other conservative and strictly biblical. 

The Rev Rod Thomas, the chairman of Reform, the conservative evangelical grouping that represents dozens of Anglican congregations, told parishes that they should go ahead and seek alternative oversight, even if the Church of England fails to accommodate this solution through its General Synod. continues here

Archbishop defends Sharia remarks

The Archbishop of Canterbury has defended his comments on Sharia law, following widespread criticism.

A statement on his website said that he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".

However, at least two General Synod members have called for Dr Rowan Williams to resign following the row.

Colonel Edward Armitstead told the Daily Telegraph: "I don't think he is the man for the job."

Dr Williams had called for parts of Sharia law to be recognised in the UK, and he is said to be in a state of shock and dismayed by the criticism he has received from his own Church.

Colonel Armitstead, a Synod member from the diocese of Bath and Wells, said Dr Williams should move to work in a university setting instead of leading the Anglican church.

"One wants to be charitable, but I sense that he would be far happier in a university where he can kick around these sorts of ideas."

Alison Ruoff, a Synod member from London, said: "Many people, huge numbers of people, would be greatly relieved [if he resigned] because he sits on the fence over all sorts of things and we need strong, Christian, biblical leadership right now, as opposed to somebody who huffs and puffs around and vacillates from one thing to another.

"He's a very able, a brilliant scholar as a man but in terms of being a leader of the Christian community I think he's actually at the moment a disaster.".....Article conts (-)

Uproar as archbishop says sharia law inevitable in UK
Riazat Butt

Williams argues official status for Islamic law could aid social cohesion

The Archbishop of Canterbury drew criticism from across the political spectrum last night after he backed the introduction of sharia law in Britain and argued that adopting some aspects of it seemed "unavoidable". Rowan Williams, the most senior figure in the Church of England, said that giving Islamic law official status in the UK would help to achieve social cohesion because some Muslims did not relate to the British legal system.

His comments, in a lecture on civil and religious law given at the Royal Courts of Justice, were swiftly rebutted by the prime minister's spokesman, who insisted British law would be based on British values and that sharia law would be no justification for acting against national law.

"Our general position is that sharia law cannot be used as a justification for committing breaches of English law, nor should the principles of sharia law be included in a civil court for resolving contractual disputes. If there are specific instances, like stamp duty, where changes can be made in a way that's consistent with British law ... to accommodate the values of fundamental Muslims, that is something the government would look at."

Williams was also criticised by the Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi, shadow minister for community cohesion and social action. "The comments may add to the confusion that already exists in our communities," she said ... "We must ensure people of all backgrounds and religions are treated equally before the law. Freedom under the law allows respect for some religious practices. But let's be clear: all British citizens must be subject to British laws developed through parliament and the courts."

Sharia law sets out a broad code of conduct for all aspects of life, from diet, wearing of the hijab to marriage and divorce.

British courts do not recognise Islamic marriages performed in this country unless they are registered separately with the civil authorities. The result is that some Muslims think they are protected by family law when they are not, and others can think they are properly divorced, when they are still married. However, Britain recognises Islamic marriages and divorces conducted in Muslim countries such as Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Under Islamic law polygamy is condoned, allowing a man up to four wives and giving him the primary right to call for divorce. This means he can leave his first wife, refuse her a divorce and remarry, yet still consider himself living in accordance with his faith.

Some Muslim groups supported Williams' views. The Ramadhan Foundation, an educational and welfare body, said the speech was "testament to his attempts to understand Islam and promote tolerance and respect between our great faiths".

More than 800 people were in the Great Hall of the Royal Courts of Justice in London for last night's speech, while another 200 poured into the overspill marquee.

Williams said introducing sharia law would mean Muslims would no longer have to choose between two systems......Article conts (-)