VOLUNTEERS GET SET TO REACH OUT TO REVELLERS
LATE-night Christian volunteers have committed to helping people in need on the streets in Harrow.
The first group of Street Pastors were presented at Harrow Civic Centre last week, and will soon be patrolling the streets on Friday and Saturday nights, giving out bottles of water and offering assistance to people who have been drinking or who run into trouble in a bid to reduce crime and make people feel safer.
There will be the opportunity for prayer at a base on the streets. Pastor Toks Odofin, of Cornerstone Church in Wealdstone, chairman of Harrow Street Pastors, told the Harrow Observer: "We are there to be non-judgemental and to be a friend.
“We are not there like the police to control people but to help them and we will build up a rapport with them and eventually people will feel safer being out at night as they know we are there.”

Mr Odofin and the other dignitaries presented the first group of pastors – six women and four men of all ages for Harrow – who will start later this month.
An audience of 140 enjoyed hymns, prayers and talks hosted by Mr Odofin, Harrow Borough Commander Dal Babu, the Mayor of Harrow, Councillor Mrinal Choudhury, chief executive of Street Pastors, Les Issacs, and Harminder Rana, a former coordinator of the scheme.
Mr Odofin added: "Last night was a great success, and there was a great turnout and was wonderful to see all the different aspects of the community come together to do something positive."
Harrow Council and Harrow Met Police have offered assistance and the police have donated money to the scheme. The organisers will be applying for grants to keep it going.
Harrow is the 30th London borough to have the scheme and to qualify, volunteers need to be a member of a Harrow church and have a reference from the church leader.
YOUTH PROJECT LISTENS TO YOUNG PEOPLE
A NORWICH Christian youth project has set up a forum to listen and respond to young people's feedback about their work.
And they have found it is paying dividends in building a strong presence in the East Norwich community.
For the last couple of years ENYP has run a Young People’s Forum (YPF). The forum provides the opportunity for young people to get more involved with the future development of ENYP by contributing their ideas and feedback.
The YPF has been restructured so every activity organised by ENYP has two representatives who are the spokespeople at the Forum on behalf of their group.
Danny Doran-Smith, director of ENYP, said: "The aim is to be constantly in touch with what children and young people want and expect from the groups they attend. It will also empower and equip the children and young people as they realise their importance and significance in ENYP.”
Older members are to become more actively involved in the project by volunteering their time, energy and skills at different groups and activities. The forum is now made up of around 50 children and young people, from the age of five to 21.
Kate Doran-Smith, ENYP youth worker and co-ordinator of the Young People’s Forum, said: “The forum combines an equal amount of educational and social sessions to those who attend, it also gives the chance to meet with others to build relationships, trust and confidence.
“Many of those that attend already volunteer for ENYP and give their time and energy back to their local community, through a range of clubs and activities provided by ENYP.”
The young people’s forum has been set up to give the young people, who are already involved in various ENYP activities, a chance to have their say about what they like or dislike about ENYP activities, and what ideas they have about the future of ENYP and the activities they attend. 
CHURCH SET FOR PUB SERVICE
A CHURCH in Exeter is preparing to offer more than a prayer and a pint when it starts to meet in a pub.

Members of St Leonard's Church are launching the initiative that will see regular Tuesday night meetings held in The Hourglass in the city’s Melbourne Street.
The Rev Nick Gowers said the aim of St Leonard's Unplugged was to invite more people to meet Jesus, but in an environment that may be perceived by some to be more informal and more accessible than a Sunday church service.
He said: "Some people will ask, 'Should we be meeting in a pub?' But Jesus met people where they were at without joining people in their sin.
"We recognise that for some people the venue might be unhelpful or inappropriate but we are trying to create an environment that is both distinctively Christian and as non-threatening and as easy as possible to invite friends to."
The group behind the project said it wanted people to imagine putting "a St Leonard's church service, a home group, an evangelistic event and a pub into a blender" for sessions that will include drinks, a Bible reading, discussion and prayer.
"Our congregation is growing all the time," said Nick. "But we can't always wait for people to come to us. In our parish and beyond, there are far more people who don't know Jesus than do.
"God did not wait, he sent his son to us on Earth to spread the Christian message and we now want to provide the opportunity for people to come to know Jesus.
"We also realise that Christians do not have a monopoly on Sunday any more. Sunday morning services will of course continue but more and people are facing a choice between Jesus and work, Jesus and sport, even Jesus and a lie-in, so we need to be available at a time which suits all people."
St Leonard's Unplugged will not become a separate church in its own right and the organisers hope it will be seen as another St Leonard's congregation, albeit on a Tuesday.
"People can be part of this congregation and a Sunday congregation," said Nick, the curate of St Leonard's. "We do expect this to become the main congregation to some.
"We are looking for people with an evangelistic heart and people who have been looking for an opportunity to find out more about Jesus in this way."
The first meeting is due to take place on Tuesday, February 21, starting at 8pm and running until 9.30pm in the downstairs meeting room at the pub, which can hold up to 40 people.
‘TECHNO VICAR’ BRINGS CHANGE
A “techno vicar” who leads sermons with music and visuals from his iPad and iPhone has ushered in radical change at a Golders Green church to make it fit for the 21st century.
The £400,000 renovations completed last month at Golders Green Parish Chuch in West Heath Drive included new heating, sound systems and a community kitchen.
But the major change has been to rebrand the place of worship as a community resource.
The Rev Rex Morton, 50, a former barber (pictured above) who has been at the helm of the church for four years, said: “I want to bring the wider community into the church.
“Back in the 1930s congregations didn’t stay for tea and coffee, they didn’t mix. But we’re aiming for equal amounts of socialising and worship.
“I came here thinking the changes would take place in the next 10 years but I found a community really quite keen on bringing things forward,” said Mr Morton.
“Older people have been the opposite of what we had expected. You’d think they would struggle with the technology but they love it. We’ve spent a lot of time talking and listening and they’ve really embraced the change.”
In a major overhaul which took 13 months, pews were removed and replaced by chairs which can be moved to make way for activities.
Hymn books were replaced by interactive screens, the whole interior was redecorated, and a new music platform complete with electric guitars was installed.
The changes have been carried out to respect the Grade II listed 1937 Giles Gilbert Scott building.
Senior and toddler groups and CV writing workshops are now taking place, but the church is still looking to the community to suggest how it would like the space to be used.
CHURCHES AGREE TO PROVIDE SHELTER FOR HOMELESS
FIVE churches in Birmingham have confirmed their involvement in the launch of a new Winter Shelter due to open in February providing basic accommodation to homeless people who would otherwise be sleeping rough.
The new initiative to help homeless people is being led by the Birmingham Diocese and Thrive Together Birmingham team with support from Housing Justice and the Birmingham Christian Homeless Forum.
The shelter is being viewed as a pilot project with the aim of opening for a longer period with more churches involved next winter.
The churches based in Newtown, Ladywood, Birchfield, Weoley Castle and Quinton have all agreed to open up their church halls to provide a refuge from freezing temperatures. The shelter will open on Thursday 2nd February for one month.
Homeless people will be able to access the project via the Helpdesk team at St Martins in the Bullring.
While the most recent street count only identified a handful of rough sleepers in Birmingham city centre, most churches and agencies giving help and accommodation to homeless people recognise that there is much hidden need.
Dr. Graham Stubbs of St Martins in the Bullring said: “This will give people who sometimes struggle to access other accommodation a valuable safety net.”
Sarah Turner of Thrive added: “The level of response from churches wanting to support this project has been extraordinary and we have volunteers from a range of different denominations offering their time. It is amazing to see the church, in all its diversity, come together to help those in need”.

PRAYER WRITTEN TO MARK QUEEN’S JUBILEE
A PRAYER giving thanks for the “devoted service” of the Queen to her country over the past 60 years has been  created by the Church  of England.
The Diamond Jubilee Prayer, which was written under her direction by the chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral, will be used at the official Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at the cathedral on June 5 as well as other Jubilee events during the year.
The Church of England is also encouraging other denominations to use it.
The prayer has been released ahead of a ‘loyal address’ to the Queen to be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at the start of the  General Synod meeting in London on Monday.
The address coincides with the 60th anniversary of King George VI’s death and the Queen’s Accession to the throne.
One of Her Majesty’s formal titles is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a role that reflects her deep personal faith. In the prayer, the Queen is praised for her ‘faithful obedience’ to God.
It also gives ‘thanks and praise’ for blessing the nation with ‘our beloved and glorious Queen’ and her continuing ‘devoted service’ to her peoples in Britain and the Commonwealth.
It is part of a package of material for worship published by the Church of England on its website to mark the Diamond Jubilee, including a complete service of thanksgiving, prayers from the 1953 Coronation Service, children’s prayers and even one first adapted for use during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The Diamond Jubilee Prayer reads:

God of time and eternity,
whose Son reigns as servant, not master;
we give you thanks and praise
that you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and Territories
with ELIZABETH,
our beloved and glorious Queen.
In this year of Jubilee,
grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace
as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God
and in devoted service to her lands and peoples and those of the Commonwealth,
now and all the days of her life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

FORGIVE DEBT, EUROZONE LEADERS TOLD
EUROPE’S political leaders should consider forgiving the debt of eurozone countries in crisis as a way to ease the current disaster, a group of Christian financial experts have said.
The Association of Christian Financial Advisers (ACFA) wants to see debt forgiveness to avoid greater hardship for the poor and reduce the growing dependence upon other countries for credit.
Along with debt forgiveness, ACFA says there must be genuine contrition – and changes in the way sovereign states manage their finances.
The call for debt forgiveness comes in a statement by ACFA spokesman Arwyn Bailey.
Mr Bailey made the call as policymakers gathered in Brussels to discuss the debt crisis. He said: “The nations of the world, it is now apparent, are running their economies on a tank of debt.  There have been strong calls from international aid organisations over many years for a total forgiveness of the debt of third world countries. 
“Generally these calls have been met with a wall of platitudes and silence from western politicians.
“Few would ever have predicted that the same problem of national debt would become a crisis in the rich nations of the European continent, creating an ever-increasing reliance upon developing nations such as India and China for a continuing line of credit.
“As far as the Eurocentric countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal are concerned no-one has yet taken up the mantle of demanding debt forgiveness, despite the economies of these nations stumbling on in a similarly unsustainable position to a third-world country run by a dictator.
Mr Bailey said it was clear that the policymakers were still uncertain as to what route they should take to get us out of the current crisis.
“A clear Biblical principle is to forgive debt in a year of ‘jubilee’,” he added. “Forgiveness may be out of favour these days, but it is a good principle and one that politicians should perhaps take to heart in this economic crisis.
“Managed ‘forgiveness’ could yet prove to be the only long-term solution to containing the continuing crisis in the eurozone and preventing the collapse of the currency.
“But, within the concept of forgiveness there is another clear principle. Forgiveness is offered unconditionally, but along with forgiveness is a need for contrition and repentance upon the part of the transgressor.”
Mr Bailey said that the principle was now seen as out-dated, and claimed that if any politician admitted that they had been at fault then their chances of re-election were diminished.
He added: “It may well be time for politicians and bankers to swallow their pride and say sorry. For the current crisis to reach a resolution, ACFA’s suggestion is that Europe’s leaders should propose an alternative of forgiveness.
“They should consider breaking the mould by seeking a straightforward apology from politicians, bankers, traders and whoever else is to blame for this financial crisis.”
…AS AID ORGANISATION CALLS ON GOVERNMENTS TO RESPECT DIGNITY

THE head of Christian Aid has told government representatives at the Davos World Economic Forum to respect human dignity.
Loretta Minghella added her voice to calls for economic reform before the five-day meeting wound up in Switzerland.
She said:“Our economic models need to be built around the unique beauty of every person, the inherent dignity of every person, the infinite worth of every person.”
There was little to cheer about for Europe’s leaders after they were told by top bankers, policy makers and academics to get a grip on the eurozone crisis.
Minghella, chief executive of the financial services compensation scheme during the bank failures of 2008, was invited to speak at Davos as part of the faith community.
Earlier in the month, she called for a new economic model underpinned by a value system in which growth and financial prosperity do not come at the expense of the poor.
Delivering the the Chaplaincy Lecture at Alleyn’s School in London, she said: “It appears that the World Economic Forum is realising that we need new economic models based on sound values in order to make them sustainable.
“That gives me some grounds for hope and a strong basis to challenge propositions which do not put equal value on all people.”
CHALLENGE TO STUDENTS AND CHURCHES
STUDENTS are being challenged to learn and serve as part of Education Sunday this weekend.
The theme of “learning and serving” was prompted after recent student protests and the continuing debate around Higher Education funding.
Churches are being urged to take part Sunday (February 5) and the Church of England has issued resources suitable for use all year.
Education Sunday 2012 asks, "What is Education For?" and says it should prompt people to use their newly acquired skills for others, not just themselves.
The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, who chairs the Church of England's Education Division and National Society, said: "This year's theme is a challenge to us all that we should not take education for granted nor see it is a personal commodity: it is about the whole person and our responsibility to others.
“This should lead us to work for a fairer world where everyone has access to education and to continue to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality that lead to millions of people around the world being denied their basic human rights."
Churches and schools across the country are expected to mark Education Sunday in their services, during collective worship or at other suitable times during the year.
Resources include sermon ideas and all age worship materials, along with collective worship ideas for primary and secondary schools.  http://www.cte.org.uk/Group/Group.aspx?id=64495
NEW ROLE TO REACH OUT TO YOUNG PEOPLE
A NEW Pioneer Missioner has been appointed in Milton Keynes to reach out to young people  in a scheme organised by the Methodist Church.
Rob Winn has been appointed to the new post of Pioneer Missioner which is one of just 14 Venture FX Pioneer posts in the country.
Venture FX, a national scheme started by the Methodist Church, is in partnership with organisations including the YMCA and University Centre and is supported by all the major Christian denominations.
It aims to venture into new expressions of Christianity and reach young people who don’t easily connect with the church.
Rob’s brief is to build a community among young adults in CMK and provide them with opportunities to explore spirituality.
Rob and his wife have moved from Oxford where his work included setting up creative prayer installations, offering creative worships in the evening and helping to start the Oxford Street Pastors initiative.
Rob says: “I believe that many young adults are very interested in spirituality but most are not engaging with the traditional models of church. My aim is to provide people with the opportunity to explore their faith in ways which are culturally relevant to them.”
PRIEST PROMISES TO CONTINUE CRIME FIGHT
MOBSTERS have dumped the severed head of a pig on the doorstep of a brave crime-fighting priest, it emerged yesterday.
Father Ennio Stamile made the grim discovery as he left his house for morning Mass and it was the second time he had been targeted after his car was vandalised last week.
Detectives are convinced he is being singled out after he started to regularly condemn the criminal activities of the local mafia known as the 'Ndrangheta during his weekly parish sermons.
The bloodied animal head was found with a piece of cloth stuffed in its mouth outside Father Stamile's home in Cetraro near Cosenza in southern Italy and it is the mob's trademark way of intimidation and convincing people to stop talking.
Cetaro has been the scene of several mob murders over the last few years and it is also a stronghold for the local 'Ndrangheta, who although less well known than their Sicilian counterparts they are a far more lucrative operation controlling much of the importation of cocaine from South America.
Among high profile victims was the local prosecutor Giannino Losardo who was gunned after he tried to take on the 'Ndrangheta and his killers have yet to be caught.
Father Stamile said: “Despite all that is happening I will continue my battle against organised crime.”
Police are stepping up security around the priest and are investigating the discovery, while Cetraro's mayor Giuseppe Aieta has given his full support and said: “This is a very serious incident and one the town does not deserve. Despite all that has happened here in the past, never has a priest been threatened.”

MEDICS HEAD OUT TO TOGO TO HELP ON MERCY SHIP
A BRITISH surgeon from Hertfordshire is one of a number of British medics heading to Togo this week to join a volunteer medical team screening thousands of potential patients in the West African country.
Consultant maxillo-facial surgeon Peter McDermott is volunteering with the international Christian charity Mercy Ships that runs the world’s largest charity hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, that provides free healthcare and training to local healthcare workers.
The ship arrived in Togo earlier this month and Peter will be part of the team performing the first surgeries on board the ship following the main screening day next week. 
He is one of more than 50 British medics volunteering for Mercy Ships in Togo this year.
It is common for thousands of people to queue looking for treatment on the main screening days and so Mercy Ships also conducts smaller, advance screenings across the country ahead of the ship’s arrival.
Togo was the first country in Africa that Mercy Ships visited in 1990 and 2012 will be the fifth visit of a Mercy Ship to the West African nation.
This year, the volunteer medics on the Africa Mercy will perform free surgeries for new patients, as well as follow-up with patients operated on by Mercy Ships during its previous visit in 2010.
During the five-month field service, Mercy Ships hopes to provide more than 1,250 free surgeries, 11,000 dental procedures and the training of 900 local representatives.
The Africa Mercy has six operating theatres, a laboratory, pharmacy, a 78-bed ward and an outpatient clinic and is staffed by up to 400 volunteers from 40 nations at any one time.
At least 100 people volunteer from the United Kingdom each year performing jobs ranging from surgeons and nurses to cooks and engineers.
Mercy Ships will also help in the capacity building by organising leadership conferences and agriculture training programmes.
For more information on Mercy Ships, visit http://www.mercyships.org.uk or call 01438 727800.
CHURCH AWARD RECOGNISES COMMUNITY CHAMPS
A NEW Church-backed award will recognise people in Wales who are helping their organisation benefit the wider community.
A new category in the Inspire Wales Awards is looking for people working to make a real difference to the lives of those around them.
The Corporate Social Responsibility award was set up and sponsored by the Church in Wales and aims to encourage organisations to be more involved in their communities.
It is one of the 10 awards run by the Institute of Welsh Affairs in partnership with the Western Mail newspaper. All the awards are open to individuals or groups working in any sector in Wales.
The judging panel includes the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt Rev John Davies, who said the idea was to find those who are contributing above and beyond what they do to earn their bread and butter, reports Christian Today.
“To make a real difference to society, it’s not just individuals who need to get involved – companies and other organisations are part of society too, and the idea of this award is to promote initiatives that combine voluntary effort with support from companies or employers," he said.
"That support could, for example, be financial assistance, free access to expertise, or goods in kind.
"There are countless ways in which co-operation and collaboration across the board can bring about lasting benefits to th
BISHOP BACKS JOB SCHEME
THE Bishop of Durham is backing a scheme to create dozens of new jobs and apprenticeships for young people in the Darlington area.
Darlington Foundation for Jobs will run in 2012 and its target is to give young people a better chance of finding work.
The initiative aims to develop more effective links between schools, colleges, universities and employers.
The Rt Rev Justin Welby said it was very important and had the potential to transform lives.
"This is something I feel passionately about. It is of huge importance and has the potential to transform a very, very large number of lives," he said.
He acknowledged that businesses needed to deal with the current economic crisis but they also needed to plan how they would emerge from it and recognise the issue of youth unemployment.
The bishop is patron of the initiative, which is supported by Darlington Partnership, The Northern Echo and Darlington Borough Council. 

PM PRAISES EVANGELIST'S WORK

PRIME Minister David Cameron has visited a Church Army evangelist whose outreach work in Oxfordshire is having a positive impact on the community.
Evangelist Jeff Hill lives and works in Mr Cameron’s Witney constituency, where he has established a number of projects including a night-time café attended regularly by more than 100 people, a Street Pastors initiative and various groups for families and children.
Mr Cameron met with Jeff at St Mary’s Church where they were joined by the Rector of Witney Toby Wright, Church Army’s Director of Mission Support Neil Biles and volunteers Guy Plowman and Dominic Baker.
During the meeting the group discussed how Church Army could work in partnership with churches to contribute to Mr Cameron’s vision of the Big Society. They also talked about Church Army’s work in Witney and about the value of volunteering.
When hearing about the night-time café which takes place in Witney’s Market Place on a Saturday evening, Mr Cameron said: “It’s great, because you’ve found a model that works which is meeting a need. The State is not always very good at the personal, the emotional, the niche, and this is where I think the Big Society absolutely comes in, because you’ve got the creativity in people coming up with ideas like this.”
The group also talked about the need to create projects that were self-sustaining and Mr Cameron said: “One of the things we’re doing as a Government in order to encourage the Big Society is to look at the whole issue of how to encourage and train community organisers – particularly in deprived communities.
"We’d really like community organisers to be able to build a project, make it sustainable and then move on to build another project.”
After the meeting, Jeff Hill said: “It’s been a real privilege to meet with the Prime Minister and to share how Christians are investing in their communities. I’d like to thank all the volunteers who work alongside me for their willingness to serve others. When we work together, we can make a real difference.”
BISHOP DEMANDS ANSWERS OVER TAX DODGING
THE Bishop of Derby has pressed the issue of tax dodging in the House of Lords.
Bishop Alastair Redfern asked the Government what steps it was taking to ensure that multinational corporations are "compliant and transparent" in their dealings with developing countries.
The Lords debate was welcomed by Christian Aid, which estimates that poor countries are losing around $160 billion a year because of tax dodging by multinational companies, a figure that equates to more than the amount they receive in aid.
Baroness Northover gave assurances of the Department for International Development's commitment to "promoting responsible business conduct" by multinational companies in their dealings with developing countries.
She added that the UK was working in partnership with the Ethical Trading Initiative to promote better working conditions in the supply chains of its member companies.
Bishop Redfern asked the Government to ensure that companies working in developing countries pay the taxes they owe.
The Treasury’s Commercial Secretary, Lord Sassoon, replied by saying that the Government was working to bolster developing country tax administrations to ensure that they can collect the taxes due to them.
Christian Aid’s Principal Economic Justice Adviser, David McNair, welcomed the bishop’s questions and urged the Government to push for legislation to ensure profits made in developing countries cannot be hidden offshore.
He said: "Christian Aid is delighted that the issue of tax justice is being examined in the House of Lords.
"The matter of lost tax revenues from the world’s poorest countries is an ethical and moral issue on which faith leaders are beginning to take a lead.
"We now need action at a political level, to ensure transparency between multinational companies and the developing countries where they operate."
BUYING ADVICE FOR CHURCHES GOES ONLINE
CHURCHES feeling the financial pinch can take advantage of a new website to be launched this month – aimed at helping them purchase the items they need!
ParishBuying.org.uk has been developed by the Church of England's Parish Buying Service and features favourable deals negotiated on a range of products and services such as gas and electricity, office supplies, IT software and fire safety.
The deals have been struck by the Church's two National Procurement Officers and are expected to save parishes around £10m a year in total.
Stephen Marriott, Guildford Diocesan Secretary and chair of the National Procurement Group, said, “This new service is designed to save time and money. It has come from the thinking of a well-informed team in whose mind the needs and potential benefits is uppermost. It is timely too.
"I’m confident that it will be of potential benefit to every parish, particularly when many are finding the current financial climate challenging.”
In addition to parish churches, the service is also being made available to cathedrals, clergy, dioceses and church schools.
Dr John Preston, National Stewardship Officer, said: “This is not just about saving money, although we are aiming for annual savings of £10m.
“The Parish Buying service will help parishes both to buy with confidence, knowing contracts have been professionally negotiated, and to be better stewards of their spending.”
The website is part of a wider effort in the Church to help parishes manage their spending. Later in the year, parishes will be invited to take up training, from short
sessions offering “20 ways to save your parish money”, to full-day “cost control training” aimed particularly at helping parishes that are embarking on major capital projects.
The website has been in its pilot phase since November and launches in full on 30 January.

CHRISTIANS JOIN TOGETHER FOR WEEK OF PRAYER
CHRISTIAN communities across the world have observed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which ended yesterday (Jan 25).
The theme of the week-long campaign focused on being "changed by Christ" (cf. 1 Cor 15.51-58) in their outlook and relationships to one another and in the wider world.
Sponsored jointly by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from January 18–25 in the northern hemisphere or at Pentecost in the southern hemisphere.
This year, the materials were prepared by churches in Poland, reflecting and sharing from their own history of partition and victory over oppression.
Through the WCC and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the texts were received by the churches, and were adapted for local celebrations of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity around the world.
In the Philippines, where people have been faced with governance crisis, churches took the lead towards national unity in setting aside their doctrinal differences. Together they marked the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity dedicated to prayers for change and peace in the country.
Similarly, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) stressed the significance of “change”, as an integral part of theology and unity among the churches.
“Change is also at the heart of the ecumenical movement. When we pray for the unity of the church we are praying that the churches that we know, and which are so familiar to us will change as they conform more closely to Christ,” they emphasised.
VICAR SUPPORTED FOR OPENING CHURCH TO HOMELESS
SUPPORT has flooded in for a vicar who came under fire when he decided to allow the homeless use the church he works in as an overnight sanctuary.
Dozens of people have bombarded social network websites to defend the Rev Chris McQuillen-Wright, who some had tagged “the most hated person in Newquay”, after he decided to open the church up over December.
Angry locals in the Cornish village of St Columb Minor feared the decision to provide shelter for the homeless could turn the village into a hive of crime.
Mr McQuillen-Wright made the decision following the deaths of six homeless people in Newquay in 2011.
But his actions sparked fury from locals, and one man even squared up to Mr McQuillen-Wright to lambast him for encouraging "scum" into the community.
On the thisiscornwall.co.uk, one man said: "Your actions speak far louder than any of their words."
Another added: "I think the people who are judging this amazing man for helping people out, giving them a warmer place to stay, considering people had died because of the cold, should point the finger at themselves for not caring about the rest of the community."
However, one anonymous St Columb Minor resident said rough sleepers sat drinking alcohol in the centre of the village and had ripped off ashtrays outside the pub.
"There just seems to be no control," he said. "It would be better to do this in town rather than a small, tight-knit community like ours. Some of the older residents in the village are frightened to come out."
Police inspector Ian Drummond-Smith said there had been only one incident involving an assault between two rough sleepers.
But he stressed: "The victim and offender were known to each other and I would seek to reassure the public that this was not a random or stranger attack."
STARS BACK CHARITY’S LENT CAMPAIGN
ACTOR Robert Carlyle is doing his bit for impoverished communities this Lent by giving up coffee.
The Trainspotting star (pictured left) will be donating the money he would have normally spent on his daily cuppa to aid charity SCIAF's 2012 Wee Box, Big Change campaign.
The campaign is Scotland's largest annual international development campaign and runs through Lent.
Singing sensation Susan Boyle will launch the campaign for a second year running on Ash Wednesday, on 22 February.
The campaign invites people to give up some of their favourites, like chocolate, coffee or cakes over the 40 days of Lent and donate the money they save to SCIAF's work in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Carlyle called on fellow Scots to join the campaign and make a real difference in reducing global poverty.
He said: “SCIAF helps some of the poorest people in the world to work their way out of poverty. They give a hand up, not a hand out, providing practical help such as seeds, tools and training so that people can feed themselves and their families, not just today but in the future.
“This Lent, I’m giving up coffee and putting the money I save into my WEE BOX. Please join me. Give up something for Lent and put what you would have spent into your SCIAF Wee Box. Together we will change the lives of some of the poorest people in the world.”
SCIAF’s Head of Education and Communications Philippa Bonella said: “SCIAF is totally star-struck by the fabulous support the Wee Box, Big Change campaign is receiving from superstars like Robert and Susan.
"We are extremely grateful to them and the many other famous Scots for their support and we sincerely hope it will encourage more and more people to back the campaign.”
Last year the campaign raised more than £900,000 to help SCIAF provide vulnerable people affected by conflict, hunger, poverty, and disease with practical support including seeds, tools and livestock to poor farmers, skills training and small loans to help people generate an income, and healthcare and trauma counselling to those affected by war.  

CHRISTIAN MUSIC STARS JOIN FORCES TO BOOST CAMPAIGN
CHRISTIAN recording artists have joined together to release a new single next month to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Grammy-nominated Matt Redman and urban music group LZ7 have collaborated to produce 27 Million, a song that will help campaign group A21.
The single was the brainchild of Matt’s wife Beth who found out about the A21 campaign from its founder Christine Caine.
Beth said: “She [Christine] told me that today an estimated 27 million people are trapped as modern day slaves, and how, of those millions, they think only one to two per cent are rescued.
"I don’t know how I’d missed it, and I had no idea that it involved adults, teenagers, kids and even babies. So the mum, the daughter, the sister in me said ‘that’s it – I’m going to do everything I can.’”
Beth decided to gather friends to write a song that would inspire people to act.
“Every movement needs an anthem,” said Beth, “and my hope is that this single will help people to pray, to give money or time. The ultimate dream is if everyone does something that figure of 27 million could be eradicated in our lifetime.”
Written by Matt and Beth, as well as husband and wife Lindz and Lucy West (LZ7), Willie Weeks and Jorge Mhondera, 27 Million tells the true story of a girl trafficked from Eastern Europe into London’s sex trade.
The single will be released on February 27 via iTunes and other download stores. A tour of the UK is also being planned to promote the work of A21.
The tour will be made up of worship led by Matt Redman, LZ7’s trademark urban beats and gospel presentation as well as Beth Redman speaking about the issue of modern day slavery.
It will visit Belfast’s Church of God (February 18), Audacious in Manchester (February 24), Hillsong London (February 26) and KingsGate Peterborough (March 2).
For tour dates see mattredman.com and lz7.co.uk. For more on the A21 Campaign visit thea21campaign.com
EX-ARCHBISHOP BACKS BENEFITS CUTS
FORMER Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has thrown his weight behind the Government's plans to introduce a £26,000 benefits cap, arguing the current welfare system is rewarding "fecklessness and irresponsibility".
Criticising opponents of the annual benefits limit, which include a group of Church of England bishops, the cleric said the scale of Britain's public debt was the "greatest moral scandal" facing the country.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Lord Carey said: "If we can't get the deficit under control and begin paying back this debt, we will be mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. In order to do this, we desperately need to reform our welfare system."
The Government has vowed to implement its Welfare Reform Bill "in full" despite a stinging parliamentary defeat in the House of Lords that saw a record rebellion among Liberal Democrat peers.
The revolt was led by Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, who tabled a successful amendment calling for child benefit to be excluded from the cap. It was backed by a majority of 15, including four other senior church bishops.
Hitting out at his fellow clerics, Lord Carey said: "Considering that the system they are defending can mean some families are able to claim a total of £50,000 a year in welfare benefits, the bishops must have known that popular opinion was against them, including that of many hard-working, hard-pressed churchgoers.
“Yet these five Bishops – led by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds – cannot lay claim to the moral high-ground. The sheer scale of our public debt - which hit £1 trillion (on Tuesday) - is the greatest moral scandal facing Britain today."
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith claims the planned £500-a-week cap on benefit payments will save around £600m towards deficit reduction and ensure workless households cannot receive more than the average work.
CHURCH LEADERS IN POWER GRAB MOVE
CHURCH leaders are planning to grab power from Westminster council following a row over parking charges in the West End.
They want to set up a network of parish councils to take control of local decision making over issues such as parking from the authority that they claim "doesn't listen".
A group of Westminster churches met last night to start the process of reviving parish councils, which were abolished in London half a century ago.
The churches say their move comes after Westminster council tried to introduce parking charges of up to £4.80 an hour in the West End after 6.30pm and on Sunday afternoons.
The London Evening Standard reports that church leaders said the charges would have devastated congregations as worshippers would not be able to afford to come into central London.
The charges were scrapped last week following a campaign led by the churches and businesses and backed by the Standard.
Michael Beckett, church warden for St George's in Hanover Square, where the meeting was held, said the parking fiasco had forced church officials to look at ways to win back power for the community.
Mr Beckett said: "Certainly with parking, Westminster admitted they got it wrong and weren't listening. Westminster consulted us, the Mayfair Residents' Association, the Marylebone Residents' Association and others who said no, and ignored it.
“If we had a parish council we would have some absolute rights and powers."

CALL TO HELP BUILD HOMES FOR POOR
CHRISTIANS are being urged to volunteer to spend a week or two in a developing country to help build homes for the world’s poor.
The charity Habitat for Humanity has made the call in light of last week’s announcement that inequality is rising across the world and that a global recession is looming.
Organisers at the Oxfordshire-based charity hope Christians will put their faith into action this year to carry out tasks such as digging foundations, painting, building and plastering under the supervision of local master builders.
The charity, which is based on Christian principles, said that teams of people from the UK would enable people to escape from poverty housing and begin new lives in safe, decent homes.
There are projects on offer around the world, from Sri Lanka to Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Operations manager Paul Butler said: “Getting involved practically and getting your hands dirty is absolutely one of the best things you can do. You can demonstrate your solidarity with people who are suffering in this world and you can do something about it.
“And no matter how hard you work and how much you give you always return home having received far more. The experience is certainly life affirming and for many volunteers it is life changing.”
Every year almost 500 volunteers travel from the UK as Habitat for Humanity Global Village volunteers to stand alongside families and communities as they “build themselves out of poverty”.
For more information, go to www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/faith-in-action.
BISHOP HELP DEFEAT BENEFITS CHANGES
THE government has been defeated in the House of Lords in a key part of its attempts to reduce the benefits available to unemployed people and part-time workers.
Ekklesia reports that Peers passed an amendment proposed by Church of England bishops to government plans to introduce a household cap on total state benefits.
The amendment removes child benefit from the calculation, meaning that it can be paid in addition to the capped figure.
The proposal was carried by 252 to 237 after a number of Liberal Democrat peers joined with Labour and crossbench peers and bishops.
While the news was welcomed by anti-poverty and children's rights groups, they emphasised that only one aspect of the government's plans has been defeated.
The government is expected to attempt to overturn the amendment by bringing the legislation back to the Commons and seeking to force it through.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith wants to limit total benefits to a maximum of £26,000 per year per household.
Speaking in the Lords yesterday, government minister David Freud argued that the figure was fair because it equated to the average household income. Freud insisted that an unemployed family should not receive more than a working family.
But critics pointed out that a family earning this wage would still be able to apply for child benefit.
The Rt Rev John Packer, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, argued that it should therefore not be included in the benefit cap.
Bishop Packer said that child benefit is a “universal benefit” that is “there for all children”.
He added: “To say that the only people who cannot have child benefit are those whose welfare benefits have been capped seems to me to be a quite extraordinary argument”.
CHRISTIANS URGED TO BECOME GAMES PASTORS
THE search is on for volunteers to become Games Pastors to help visitors to the UK during the Olympics Games.
The pastors will be deployed at main transport hubs and where large crowds gather to offer practical and spiritual help to the estimated 800,000 extra people who visit London and other Games locations in the summer.
More Than Gold, the agency set up by all the main denominations to help churches engage with the 2012 Games, is responsible for recruiting, training and supporting this army of volunteers.
David Willson, CEO of More Than Gold, said: "There will be many lost, confused and lonely people coming through London during the Games. These Games Pastors are going to be a lifeline for them, which makes this a great opportunity for Christian service."
Leading More Than Gold’s Games Pastors initiative is Mike Freeman MBE, of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He said: "This is a great opportunity for church communities to engage with potentially thousands of people in a caring supportive role, actively demonstrating the love of Christ.
"Those applying will need full support from their church leader. And be ready to face a variety of challenges. However the rewards of providing such a service to others can be immense."
Sgt David Turtle, of the Christian Police Association, said, "This is a fantastic way for the police and the churches to work together for the good of our communities. The help Games Pastors will provide will be invaluable to the police service and we are very excited to have such willing volunteers to help us during the Games."
For more information about becoming a Games Pastor, please go to www.morethangold.org.uk/gamespastors
POWER OF PRAYER TO BE TAKEN TO HOLLYWOOD
CHRISTIANS in the US will be taking the power of prayer straight to the heart of Hollywood this March.
TheCRY Hollywood is taking place on March 15 at the Gibson Ampitheatre close to Universal Studios.
Director and organiser Faytene Grasseschi said the event would be a time to ask God to move in one of the biggest global influencers today.
“This is a cry for God to move with His love and power in entertainment media in a way that will impact the masses,” she said.
According to Grasseschi, the average American spends less than 28 hours a year in church but around six hours a day engaging in some kind of media.
A recent Nelson study found that there are more TVs in America than human beings, while according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average child will have watched 4,000 hours of TV before reaching Kindergarten age.
The National Institute on Media and Family recently found that the average 18-year-old in America will have viewed 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence through media during their lifetime.
Despite some clear causes for concern, Grasseschi stressed that TheCRY Hollywood was not about condemning, but about blessing and influencing for the better.
“We are not coming to point fingers or accuse anyone. We believe God has a dream in his heart for everyone and we are here to pray that His dream for a generation breaks out.”
With Hollywood’s movies and TV shows watched around the world, Grasseschi said she wanted to see them impact the world for good.
“If you want to impact a generation, impact what is impacting them – media. Better yet, impact it with your most powerful tool: love and prayer.”

CHURCHES TO WORK TOGETHER TO HIGHLIGHT POVERTY WEEK
CHURCHES from all denominations are being urged to break barriers to highlight poverty and homelessness in the UK.
Flashmobs in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester are already being planned as part of Poverty and Homeless Action Week – which starts on Saturday (Jan 28).
Also arranged are arts events in Cambridge and London, a debate in Sheffield and a baking event in Leicester, while Nottingham will host a fair.
Throughout the country, there will be a number of sleep outs and prayer services during the week-long event, which ends on February 5.
Alison Gelder, Director of Housing Justice said: “In these difficult economic times it is really heartening to see so many Christians recognising the problems faced by their fellow citizens and gearing up to take action to break barriers and create lasting change.”
The week will also see the launch of a new winter night shelter project in Birmingham and a community new service run by homeless people in Leicester.
As well as attending events to draw attention to the issues people will be marking the week by following an online prayer diary. See the diary on http://bit.ly/et7yOu
To follow it people need to register on the website (www.actionweek.org.uk) or follow on facebook (Poverty and Homelessness Action Week) or Twitter (@phactionweek).
The diary, which runs for eight days from Homelessness Sunday (Jan 29) to Poverty Action Sunday on February 5, highlights a different barrier every day with information about the issue, prayer points and suggestions for action to break it down.
The highlighted barriers are housing benefit, silence, support, stigmatisation, housing shortage, pay and tax.
BISHOPS BATTLE TO BEAT BENEFIT PLANS
CHURCH of England bishops will tonight mount an extraordinary attempt to derail flagship government plans to impose a £26,000-a-year benefits cap on families.
The threat led Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Deputy PM Nick Clegg to launch a robust defence of the move to limit welfare payments to no more than the average wage of working households.
Mr Duncan Smith rounded on Church leaders seeking to amend legislation in the House of Lords, insisting there was nothing moral about trapping families on benefits and asking where their concern was for “ordinary people working hard and paying tax for all of this”. 
A new poll shows 76 per cent of the public are in favour of the benefits cap, including 69 per cent of Labour voters.
The YouGov survey reveals that a significant proportion of people – 36 per cent – want still tougher measures, saying no household should get more than £20,000 in welfare payments. 
The Government is promising “transitional arrangements” so that those most dependent on state handouts are not made homeless overnight as their housing benefit is reduced. 
It is expected those losing benefits will be offered extra training to get them ready for the workplace.
But bishops sitting in the Lords are threatening to join forces with Labour peers and rebel Liberal Democrats, led by the party’s former leader Lord Ashdown, to wreck the legislation with a key amendment around which rebel peers plan to gather. 
It would exclude child benefit from the cap – a step ministers say would render it meaningless.
The move threatens the biggest row between the Government and the Church since the Coalition was formed in 2010.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams (pictured above), signalled the Church’s aggressive new stance last year when he claimed “no one voted” for the Government’s welfare policies and accused ministers of encouraging a “quiet resurgence of the seductive language of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor”. 
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CHARITIES LAUNCH DEBT ADVICE FOR CHURCH LEADERS
TWO Christian charities have launched a new service to help pastors and senior church leaders struggling with debt.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and Stewardship say that while it is difficult for most people to ask for financial help, it is virtually impossible for church leaders who are expected to set an example to their flock.
The charities believe many church leaders end up suffering in silence because of personal finance problems.
They have now joined forces to launch a specialised service aimed at church leaders.
CAP Money Ministers is a free, non-judgemental and completely confidential telephone service for senior church leaders to find a way forward.
CAP's Chief Executive Matt Barlow explained: “We know there is a problem because we already have church leaders coming to us as clients. They are often paid very little or their pay can fluctuate.
“Often there are unfair expectations placed upon our church leaders and admitting any vulnerability can be so hard.
"Ideally, struggling church leaders would attend a CAP Money course at their local church or visit one of our debt help centres.
“However, we know the reality is they would most likely feel very exposed if they could get there at all with the number of midweek meetings expected of them.”
One church pastor, who asked not to be named, turned to CAP for help after a series of unexpected expenses gave him a growing level of debt that left him taking out more credit to pay for essentials.
He said: “Being in debt is a massive taboo subject especially for a church leader – who can you confide in? You worry that your ministry will be affected if people in your church learn of your struggle.
"The great thing that CAP did for us was to give us hope: hope that we could sort out the debt, hope that it wouldn’t last forever. We have also found that we are better equipped to help people in the church who have financial problems – we truly can say: 'We’ve been there – we know how you feel'.”
Stewardship’s Chief Executive, Michael O'Neill, said it was conversations with ministers that had prompted the organisation to take action.
He said: “We are passionate about seeing the UK Church generously resourced. However, we often hear from church leaders who lack confidence in their own finances and in their ability to speak confidently about money with others.
"That’s why we are so thrilled to be partnering with CAP to launch CAP Money Ministers; a service which we hope will release hundreds of church leaders from financial worry and, in doing so, free them to do the same for their congregations.”
PUT THE KETTLE ON FOR TEA-GROWING COMMUNITIES
CHRISTIAN firm Traidcraft is urging churches to put on the kettle – to help tea-growing communities across East Africa and hit some of their own mission targets as well.
The Traidcraft Big Brew is a nation-wide initiative in Fairtrade Fortnight (Feb 27 – March 11) to raise awareness of the organisation’s work over a welcoming cup of fairly traded tea or coffee.
“Churches want to reach out to their local communities in relevant and interesting ways. A Traidcraft Big Brew is a great way of turning something we’re all used to – making cups of tea – into an act of outreach both here and overseas,” said Peter Collins, Traidcraft’s Head of Church Relations.
Behind the fun is an important message: dwindling resources and an increasingly unpredictable climate are pushing formerly flourishing tea-growing communities towards destitution.
Thanks to Traidcraft’s help, however, some of those communities are discovering new ways to save livelihoods and put food on the family table.
For tea farmer Margaret Wanjiku growing tea is now just one of her activities on her farm in Iriaini, Kenya, which help her to provide for her family.
With training from Traidcraft she has learned how to keep bees, harvest water, change the crops she grows – and even keep rabbits.
“I never knew this plot was enough for my family,” she said. “I used to buy food and now I am comfortable. I go to the market to sell – not to buy!”
That’s the sort of success story which Traidcraft hopes will encourage even more people to use the power in their purse and their pocket to give families across the developing world a better future.
Special Traidcraft Big Brew resource packs with enough tea, coffee and biscuits for up to 50 people, and all the publicity, information, quizzes and activity sheets you’ll need to keep them informed, entertained and engaged are available from Traidcraft.
See www.traidcraft.co.uk/bigbrew or call 0845 330 8900.

BISHOP TO BE ORDAINED
A NEW Yorkshire bishop will be ordained at a special York Minster service next month.
Peter Burrows will become Bishop of Doncaster at the service, led by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, on February 2.
He is leaving his role as Archdeacon of Leeds to take up the new position. Bishop Burrows will be the sponsoring bishop for ordination in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and will also take the lead on education.
He began his ministry in West Yorkshire, but this will be the first time he was worked in the south and east of Yorkshire.
He has also been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England, representing the House of Clergy in both the Leicester and Ripon and Leeds dioceses, and is a bishop’s advisor for selection and training, helping people decide whether they have a vocation.
BAND MOVES UP iTUNES CHART
CHRISTIAN music group Rend Collective Experiment have seen their new album Homemade Worship by Homemade People shoot up the iTunes chart.
The group's second album finished the day at No42 in the chart yesterday, and became No12 in the Amazon Movers and Shakers Chart.
The group made their 2009 debut with Organic Family Hymnal, and are now touring the US throughout January and February.

CHURCHES URGED TO JOIN JUBILEE CELEBRATION
BRITAIN’S churches will light celebratory beacons to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June in an ambitious initiative.
Organisers of the historic event want to encourage churches, chapels and cathedrals throughout the country to apply for specially designed, gas-fired beacons to fire-up on June 4th. 
And the indications are that more than 1,000 churches of all denominations will take part.
The event is being organised in conjunction with Premier Christian Radio, the largest Christian station in the UK.
Its chief executive, Peter Kerridge, said the initiative presented an excellent opportunity for churches to become involved in the celebrations.
He said: "Our target is to light 1,000 church beacons to celebrate Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne.  The only other monarch to have reached that glorious milestone was her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria."
Churches are being encouraged to register for the beacons – which are robust and stable in the wind and can be used on a flat surface on or near the church premises – by March 31.
"Our vision is for churches across the nation to gather their communities together for this happy occasion.  It's a fantastic opportunity for churches to become actively involved in this unique occasion and to lead their communities in the celebrations," added Mr Kerridge.

For full details, contact Premier on 0207 31601300 or log on to http://www.churchbeacons.org.uk/
CHRISTIAN GROUP’S SOUP KITCHEN PLAN
A GROUP of Christians want to run soup kitchens in every East Lancashire town to feed the homeless.
Members of the Christian Life Ministries International (CLMI) charity have just started their mission in Accrington town centre every Friday night.
They said the economic climate is putting more people out on to the street at night and their role is to show them “not to give up”.
Clive Atkinson, 57, of Bishop Street, Accrington, and Alexander Ross, 53, of Midland Street, Accrington, were helped on Friday night by other members of Oasis Church in Blackburn Road, Linda, 53, Charlotte, 14, and John Wilson, 22 and Kenneth Holiday, 23.
Mr Atkinson said: “There is a core of homeless in Accrington, but we are also helping other vulnerable people who live in bedsits and hostels.
“It is a difficult situation for them because they don’t see any hope. Society rejects them in a lot of ways.
“We’ve not heard of anybody running soup kitchens around here for a long time since the Salvation Army used to do it.
"There is more of a need now than ever. And at this time of year people are at their lowest.
“We will go anywhere where we can get volunteers to run a soup kitchen.
"We are starting in Blackburn on Saturdays in three weeks and would like to be out there seven days a week in every town in East Lancashire.”
Currently, the charity parks a caravan in front of the Market Hall in Accrington every Friday from 9.30pm until 1am, handing out soup.
Asda in Accrington has provided them with free fruit and veg. As the soup kitchens spread they will be looking for help with funding. They are also working closely with Maundy Grange drop-in centre, Accrington.
Michael Bolton, 47, and Samantha Burrows, 37, are staying in a bedsit in Accrington. They stopped at the soup kitchen on Friday.
Mr Bolton said: “This is so important, especially in this town. These are difficult times and you have to be grateful for the smallest things like hot water and heating.
"You wouldn’t think that was acceptable in this country, but it is.”
Volunteer Mr Ross added: “We need people to help out, even just towing the caravan. We had a meeting at the church and decided we wanted to go out and save some souls.
"It has been very well received at a time when people are really low. We are filling a gap.
"It is a pity we have to but there is an acute problem with homelessness and we’ll move from town to town to help wherever we can.”

FAITH IS BIGGEST IN THE WORLD

CHRISTIANITY is currently the world’s most popular faith, according to research carried out by American organisation Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The research found that Christianity became a truly global religion during the 20^th century, and a whopping 2.2bn people – almost one third of the world’s population – describe themselves as Christian, whilst 1.6bn people consider themselves to be Muslims.
Most of the world’s Christians are resident in the Americas, with the US having the world’s largest Christian population: 247m people.
It is followed by Brazil, with 175m, and Mexico with 107m. Africa has experienced the greatest growth in its Christian population during the past 100 years.
In 1910, Africa was home to nine million Christians. Africa’s Christian population is now 516m.
BIBLE TRANSLATION TOPS CHART FOR THREE MONTHS
THE first Norwegian translation of the Bible in three decades has remained on top of the bestseller list almost every week since its publication in October.
The translation, intended to “read like a novel” (according to its publisher), has no chapters and verses.
“There were people sleeping outside [bookstores] the day before the launch because it was embargoed – it’s a bit ironic seeing that the content has been available for quite some time now,” said Stine Smemo of the Norwegian Bible Society.

BISHOP: CHURCH SHOULD HELP REDUCE DIVORCE RATES
A BISHOP has called for the church to encourage people to take marriage more seriously as a way of combating high levels of divorcing couples.
Bishop John Davies, from the Brecon and Swansea diocese and a former lawyer, said that fleeting celebrity marriages masked the idea that divorce was a “terribly traumatic” experience.
Sir Paul Coleridge, a senior High Court judge, also said he wanted to call a halt to the “recycling” attitude to relationships, announcing that he was setting up a foundation to promote marriage.
Bishop Davies, said that people were “certainly more blasé” about divorce. He said: “I don’t think you would ever want to go back to the days when if somebody were divorced they would become a kind of pariah.
“I have long taken the view, particularly since my days in law that there is absolutely no point whatsoever of people being required, forced or encouraged to stay in relationships which are clearly ‘dead’.
“But my anxiety is that perhaps people marry in haste and then repent later – and I think the Church [in Wales] should want to make a huge effort to encourage people to make marriage more seriously.”
Divorces rose for the first time in seven years in 2010, with 119,589 divorces in England and Wales, up 4.9 per cent in the previous year, with the average marriage that ended in divorce lasting 11.4 years.
Fleeting celebrity marriages have also been publicised over the festive period, with singer Sinead O’Connor’s on-off-on marriage initially lasting 16 days – although the couple is now reunited – and the break-up of Russell Brand and Katy Perry after just 14 months.
And Bishop Davies said that celebrity divorces often featured “distasteful” squabbling over money, masking the reality that divorce was a “terribly traumatic experience”.
He added: “With celebrity divorces, it appears to be so easy. I say that knowing that one would never want to be compel people to continue to live in broken relationships, which are damaging for them and any children.
“But by the same token we have to be certain that relationships that people are seeking to end actually are irretrievably broken down.”
“The suspicion that celebrities may come up with a story to justify ending it – and people love to see celebrities scrapping it out. There is a sort of prurient interest in that event, and again turns the divorce into a kind of sideshow.”
…AS PERRY’S PARENTS SAY 'GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SPLIT'
KATY Perry's evangelical parents have suggested her divorce from Russell Brand was sent by God to help them fill churches.
Pastors Keith and Mary Hudson preached for 90 minutes to 300 worshippers in their first service since singer Katy's marriage split.
And Mary, 63, jokingly told the packed Church on the Rise congregation in Westlake, Ohio: "I'm sure Katy is trending on the internet just to get you to church tonight.
"I mean all over the world, who knows how God is bringing them in? The most important thing is you are here and God wants to put the fire in you in 2012."
The Sun reports that Mary spoke out as it was claimed 27-year-old Katy's 15-month marriage ended because ex-heroin addict Russell, 36, could not stop mocking his in-laws' extreme Christian views at family get-togethers.
Dad Keith, also 63, grew emotional when talking about his daughter to the Ohio crowd on Wednesday. He urged worshippers not to be "judgmental" if their children live different lifestyles to themselves.
Choking back tears, Keith said: "I love my daughter and I will always love her. Stop being judgmental and critical. Do not close the doors to your loved ones, especially your children.
"Just because they do not like what you do or what you are, they are still praying that you stay in the race. They are counting on you. I believe in God, for every one of my children."
Katy was brought up as a devout Christian in Santa Barbara, California. She listened only to gospel music and was banned from watching TV, but broke away and is now famed as one of the world's sauciest pop stars.
Friends say the I Kissed A Girl singer asked Russell to file the court papers last month to avoid upsetting her parents, who are strongly opposed to divorce.
A flashy video shown before the Hudsons took the stage in Ohio showed them at award shows with Katy.
Keith told the congregation her success had helped them share their beliefs with Hollywood superstars.
He said: "God has given us a platform to go in and meet people – and they like us because we are cool."
Comic Russell's supposed digs at the pastors were revealed by biographer Chloe Govan, author of Katy Perry: A Life of Fireworks.
A pal said: "Russ was forever making lewd jokes at the dinner table and poking fun at her parents' beliefs.”

Friends said Katy began having doubts about whether she wanted to have Russell's children.
ASSISTED SUICIDE PLANS SLAMMED
A SENIOR bishop has described plans to allow assisted suicide for the terminally ill as morally unacceptable.
The Rt Rev James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle, said the best safeguard for vulnerable people would be to keep the existing law in place.
He also claimed the Commission on Assisted Dying, a group of peers and academics chaired by the former Labour minister Lord Falconer, was a “self-appointed” group that excluded anyone who objected to legalising assisted suicide.
It had “singularly failed” to prove that vulnerable people would be safer under the new proposals than under the existing law, which is rarely used but means anyone who helps another person kill themselves can be jailed for up to 14 years.
His comments came after the Commission called on the Government to let doctors help people die if they have less than 12 months to live.
The report said assisted suicide should be allowed for those terminally ill people who are mentally competent and have voluntarily chosen to take their lives.
But to protect vulnerable people from abuse, it said those with depression or dementia should not be given help, and that the process should be overseen by doctors.
In response Bishop Newcome, who speaks for the Church of England on healthcare topics, said in a statement: “The present law strikes an excellent balance between safeguarding hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people and treating with fairness and compassion those few people who, acting out of selfless motives, have assisted a loved one to die.
“Put simply, the most effective safeguard against abuse is to leave the law as it is. What Lord Falconer has done is to argue that it is morally acceptable to put many vulnerable people at increased risk so that the aspirations of a small number of individuals, to control the time, place and means of their deaths, might be met. Such a calculus of risk is unnecessary and wholly unacceptable.”
BIEBER GETS SECOND JESUS TATTOO

TEEN pop star Justin Bieber has been sporting a new Jesus tattoo. The young singer was recently spotted with Christ's face on his left calf.
Magazines have posted the pictures of Bieber (left) hanging out on Venice Beach with his father Jeremy. Just below the hem of his black board shorts, the biblical portrait can be seen.
Bieber has another tattoo on the side of his torso that says "Yeshua" in Hebrew, which means Jesus. He and his dad got the tattoo together and showed off the matching ink in a picture that was released last summer.
Christ is undoubtedly a big part of the pop star's life; Bieber thanked Jesus in his VMA acceptance speech last year.
He said: "I just wanna say thank you so much, not only to God but to Jesus," he said on stage, holding his new moonman trophy.
"Because I wouldn't be here without him. He's really blessed me and put me in this position."

DEBT COUNSELLING CHARITY GETS OFT SEAL OF APPROVAL
A CHRISTIAN debt counselling charity says it will be able to expand its areas of work after receiving a licence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) seeks to help vulnerable people hit by endemic debt problems.
This week, an announcement was made that the organisation has been granted a Group Consumer Credit Licence through the OFT.
It means that CAP can offer more free debt help alongside other not-for-profit services like Citizens Advice Bureaux.
The organisation's chief executive Matt Barlow (pictured left) commented: “This licence changes CAP into an organisation which will test and give consumer credit licences as well as hold one, a responsibility we take very seriously."
He continued: “It will mean our charity will be able to partner in new ways with churches around the country to provide excellent debt counselling that truly changes lives. In a recent survey 94 per cent of clients described the service as 'life-transforming' or 'a great help'."
"I am very proud of our team and to see the rigour and professionalism of our policies and procedures being such that we can become Group Licence holders," said Mr Barlow.
The National Secular Society's media page has suggested that the group is using public funds for proselytising, but its supporters strongly deny this.
CAP offers its debt counselling ias part of what it describes as "a holistic service", tackling priority debts and bills as well as secondary debts through a network of 190 church-based centres.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis says this approach especially suits people whose debts are bound up with emotional issues like family breakdown, job loss, illness, addiction or bereavement. In these circumstances CAP provides extra face-to-face care and long-term support through home visits.
Other organisations that hold a Group Consumer Credit Licence include Advice UK, the Citizens Advice Bureaux, the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Liquidators and Receivers.
ARTIST’S 30-YEAR MISSION TO PAINT EVERY BIBLE STORY
AN artist is setting out on a 30-year mission to paint every story in the Bible.
The University of Exeter is incorporating some of what will eventually be a series of up to 3,000 artworks by Brian J Turner into new school curriculum resources that explore how biblical stories are read and interpreted.
The Art of Narrative Theology in Religious Education project is being led by Drs Esther Reed and Rob Freathy from the department of theology and religion and the Graduate School of Education.
The aim of the project is to get school pupils from across Devon to investigate the stories and how people, whether from a Christian background or not, interpret and use them to make sense of their world and their role within it, particularly how they can live a good life.
Dr Reed said: "In the year of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, we have an opportunity to think seriously about the historical and cultural significance and meaning of the world's best seller.
"This project represents one major contribution to the promotion of critical and creative engagement with the Bible."
During phase one of the project, a researcher developed curriculum materials designed for use with key stage three pupils.
These materials incorporated a selection of paintings by the artist Brian J Turner.
His colourful and quirky images provide a stimulus for the pupils to think and talk about how they and other people, both within and outside the Christian community, read, interpret and respond to the biblical stories upon which the images are based.
Dr Freathy explained: "By doing so, pupils learn to engage personally and creatively with biblical material, and to reflect on how the stories in which they and other people live, be they religious or secular, have shaped and continue to shape their understandings of the world, the decisions they make and the kinds of people they want to be."
The new curriculum materials enable pupils to learn about the biblical text — its content, its form, its importance and use for Christians; to learn from the text as an example of a community story which shapes people's lives; and to be challenged to reflect on the community story of which they themselves are a part and which influences how they engage with the biblical stories.
At a recent study day, held at Exeter Cathedral, trainee teachers on the RE secondary PGCE course at the university tried the new curriculum materials with pupils from Exeter Cathedral School, Exeter School and St Peter's School.
Derek Burnside, a teacher from Exeter School, said: "Brian's stylised take on famous Bible stories stimulated some profound thinking about the meaning of the texts. For some pupils it really seemed to open up new ways of thinking about the Bible."
CHURCHES REACH HOMELESS IN PROJECT
CHURCHES in Swansea have launched a two-month initiative to provide emergency accommodation for homeless people.
More than 100 volunteers co-ordinated by six churches will take part in the project. Church halls are being opened up to offer rough sleepers hot food and a bed for up to 28 days.
Project co-ordinator Mandy Harvey said it would provide short-term security while the authorities helped people look for more permanent accommodation.
The plan is backed by Swansea Hope, an organisation of local churches which promotes social action projects.
The six churches involved – which are not being identified publicly – will share responsibility to ensure that shelter is available seven days a week, with each church hall hosting a maximum of twelve rough sleepers a night.
Venues with heating and toilets will be selected for the initiative, with hot meals and airbeds provided.
Different halls will be used on successive nights, but transport between the various venues will be offered.
Harvey, co-ordinator of the Swansea Night Shelter project, said the aim was to give rough sleepers an alternative to the streets while they looked for somewhere to live.
"They'll have a hot meal, accommodation for the evening, and breakfast," she told BBC Radio Wales. Then they'll be sent on their way at eight o'clock in the morning and can turn up at the next venue at eight o'clock that night."
Ms Harvey added that she had been "overwhelmed" by the number of volunteers willing to staff the halls and help tackle the growing problem of homelessness."
Everyone is quick to make the judgement that it's always people with addictions that end up on the streets, but actually it's people with normal life circumstances that have been thrown a difficult hand who can end up homeless," she said.
"All of us are guilty of making mistakes and why should we all be punished for those mistakes? This gives us an opportunity to help those who have just suffered.”
The project aims to provide emergency accommodation for up to 28 days for individuals, who during that time would work with housing agencies and project leaders to find more permanent accommodation.
Organisers hope to help as many as 40 or 50 people over the next two months. If the initiative proves successful, they plan to repeat the exercise in 2013 for three months.
BISHOPS CALL FOR RESPECT TOWARDS CHURCHES
BISHOP Michael Nazir-Ali has called for greater respect to be shown towards the values of churches and Christian agencies.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the former Bishop of Rochester welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent affirmation of the crucial role of Christianity in providing a moral framework for Britain.
However Bishop Nazir-Ali questioned the extent to which David Cameron’s support for Christianity would bear on policy-making and legislation.
“The [Christian] tradition must remain central to our public life,” he said.
Specifically, the bishop called for the improvement of religious literacy in the civil service, parliament and local authorities.
“What Cameron has said about the ways in which Christian ideas are embedded in our constitutional arrangements is simply not understood any more in the corridors of power,” he said.
“A disconnected view of history and the fog of multiculturalism have all but erased such memory from official consciousness.
“A concerted programme is needed if this literacy is to be recovered and used.”
The bishop linked the lack of religious literacy to the place of Christianity in the teaching of British history.
He wrote: “Michael Gove has rightly seen that history cannot be just about discrete dates and famous personalities but must be a narrative of the emergence of a people and a nation from the mists of time. For such a project, the place of Christianity is absolutely central.
“For better or for worse, there would not be a narrative worth the name without taking the influence of Christianity into account.”
CHURCH ASKS FOR FEEDBACK ON SERVICES
THE Church of England is asking its followers to give feedback on funerals and christenings in a drive to make services more popular.
The Archbishop's Council has commissioned independent researchers to delve into how the church ministers to its faithful at the key moments of birth and death. The research is partially motivated by concerns over the gradual decline in people using churches for christenings, weddings and funerals now that secular alternatives are readily available.
The two projects will seek feedback from congregations about what improvements could be made.
A similar scheme began five years ago in the Bradford and Oxford dioceses to examine weddings, for which brides and grooms were asked to "rate" their marriage on subjects as varied as the friendliness of the vicar and whether church staff were helpful.
The feedback was forwarded to the bishops within each diocese, creating a powerful impetus for clergy to improve their performance.
In the areas where the rating system has been used, the church says the number of weddings has increased by between 10 and 50 per cent.
For a church struggling to fill its pews, tapping into the marriage market is both spiritually and financially lucrative.
Some bishops were even sent to wedding shows to help sell the advantages of a church service and dispel misconceptions that brides and grooms must be regular worshippers or that vicars will be unapproachable.
The church hopes a new approach to christenings will enjoy similar success. The researchers will report back in 2016, though improvements to services may come in earlier.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Right Rev Graham James, said: "By listening to England in this way, we have found that the Church's traditional ministry is still wanted and appreciated by people. It has given churches a spring in their step, and helped them serve people better who come for a wedding."
MAN TWEETS HALF OF BIBLE
A DEDICATED Christian has tweeted his way through almost half the Bible. Chris Juby, from Durham City, made headlines around the world in August 2010 after unveiling plans to tweet the Bible, one chapter a day.
Mr Juby has been condensing one Bible chapter per day into less than 140 characters, the maximum allowed for a single entry onto social networking website Twitter, ever since.
Having begun with Genesis chapter one on Sunday, August 8, 2010, he reached the book of Psalms on Sunday, November 27, last year.
Yesterday, he tweeted Psalm 37 as: "Do not be envious of evildoers, for they will fade like the grass. The righteous will inherit the earth. The Lord is their stronghold."
It was Tweet number 515 of the 1,189-entry project, which is due to end on November 8 next year.
Mr Juby’s Twitter account, twitter.com/biblesummary, has attracted more than 21,000 followers.
He said: "Tweeting through the Psalms is quite an undertaking in itself. It’s going to take five months.
"But I love the passion and honesty of the Psalms. You learn how to engage with God through pretty much every human experience. I would encourage anyone who’s interested to read along with me."
Mr Juby is director of worship at King’s Church Durham. An archive of his tweets can be found at biblesummary.info

CHRISTIANITY THE WORLD'S BIGGEST RELIGION, REPORT
CHRISTIANS remain the largest religious group in the world despite their population migrating from Europe to Africa, Asia and the Americas according to a new study.
About a quarter of the world's Christian's live in Europe today compared to two-thirds a century ago, according to a study compiled by the Pew Research Forum on Religion & Public Life based in Washington DC.
The research showed that Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the biggest increase in its Christian population over the past century, going from about nine million Christians in 1910 to about 516 million today.
Countries with the largest number of Christians are the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and Russia.
The study's author's said Brazil has twice as many Roman Catholics as Italy, while Nigeria has double the number of Protestants as Germany, where the Protestant Reformation began, author's of the study said.
However, even despite the movement of the Christian population to different parts of the globe it is still the world's dominant religion with nearly 2.2bn followers.
Islam is the world's second-largest religion with about 1.6bn people or slightly less than a quarter of the global population following the faith.
The Global Christianity report was compiled using national censuses, population surveys and estimates from church groups of numbers attending services.
The data was compared to surveys taken in 1910 including data from the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Europe may have been the mainland for Christians a century ago but researchers said that the population is now so widely spread across the world that no specific region can be described as the centre of the faith.
This has been a concern for Church leaders for many years who have  been tasked with trying to build stronger ties with fellow believers across the geographical boundaries and reconcile differing interpretations of the Bible.
Conrad Hackett, Demographer at the Pew Forum and lead researcher for the Global Christianity report, told The Christian Post: “We set out to provide data on the number of Christians around the world as part of a series of reports focusing on the global populations of major religious groups.
“As we note in the report, there is no single region or continent that is indisputably the centre of global Christianity anymore.”
The smallest concentration of Christians can be found in North Africa - where the faith began - and where they make up only about four per cent of the population today.
Egypt has the largest Christian population in the region, with about 4.3m Christians who have been victims of violence specifically since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

ARCHBISHOP CELEBRATES SONG CAMPAIGN
THE Archbishop of York has joined the national charity Heart Research UK to celebrate the end of its Sing For Your Heart campaign.
Dr John Sentamu, a patron of the charity, was joined by the choir from Archbishop of York Primary School, in Bishopthorne, who sang their own special version of On A Starry Night.
Dr Sentamu said: “I am proud to be a patron of Heart Research UK. It’s important that research into heart disease gets the funding it needs. I also want to thank Archbishop of York Primary School Choir for coming and singing their hearts out.”
If you would like to get involved with next year’s Sing For Your Heart event, email fundraising@heartresearch.org.uk or phone 0113 234 7474 for more information.

PM: ‘WE ARE A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY’
PRIME Minister David Cameron has marked the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with a speech in which he said that Britain was a Christian country and “we should not be afraid to say so”.
Addressing an audience at Christ Church on Friday, the Prime Minister suggested that Christianity made Britain a more tolerant country and provided it with a moral framework.
The Prime Minister described himself as a “committed” but “vaguely practising” Christian who is “full of doubts” and “constantly grappling with the difficult questions when it comes to some of the big theological issues”.
Nonetheless, he praised the King James Bible as one of Britain’s “greatest achievements” and said he would “stand up for the values and principles” of the Christian faith. “We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so,” he said.
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'CHRISTIANS ARE COMMITED TO ENGAGING WITH PUBLIC'
CHRISTIANS remain committed to engaging with people outside the faith and are increasingly harnessing the internet to do so, new research has shown.
A report from the Evangelical Alliance found that more than 1,000 Christians surveyed, 76 per cent said internet provides an excellent way for churches to share the gospel with the wider public.
Just over 53 per cent said they had donated online and 81 per cent said they had signed an online petition, compared to just 36 per cent of the general public who said they had signed a petition over the internet.
The study also found that 52 per cent of respondents said they had made the effort to contact their local MPs or councillors by email, compared to only 18 per cent of the general public, while 19 per cent took part in lobbying or a demonstration.
Some forms of social media have proved more popular than others among Christians. While over half the panel had used Facebook or other social network sites in the last month, less than 20 per cent had uploaded a video clip to Youtube, and three quarters had never used Twitter.
There were also signs of caution, however. Eighty per cent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that “there is a high proportion of dangerous rubbish on the internet”.
A quarter agreed or strongly agreed that they spend too much time online.
Despite more channels of communication being available to the church than ever, more than 85 per cent of respondents said they believed the church has little or no influence on society.
The findings are detailed in the latest report from the Evangelical Alliance, Are We Communicating?
The report found that evangelical Christians continue to be concerned by abortion, euthanasia, gay rights, pornography, religious education, persecution and alcohol abuse.
Other areas of concern include poverty, public sector cuts, and big news issues like NHS reform, Rupert Murdoch’s bid for Sky TV, and Sunday parking charges.
Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance said: “Once again our research has produced a fascinating picture of evangelical habits and beliefs.
"Evangelicals are web-savvy and not slow in communicating our issues to those in power, but there are still concerns about where the internet is taking us – is its volume and intensity preventing us from listening to each other and the voice of God?
"We now have a wider range of media than ever before so let’s use it to share the most important message of all.”

CHARITY GIVES HOMELESS REBRANDED COUNTERFEIT CLOTHES
A CHRISTIAN charity in the UK is rebranding counterfeit designer clothes with its own logo and giving them out to homeless people.
The charity, called His Church, has been so successful that 90 per cent of British Trading Standards authorities now hand over all the clothes they seize to the charity.
And His Church has even received calls from America with jeans giant Tommy Hilfiger wanting its help to take couterfeit goods.
Richard Humphrey, the charity’s co-ordinator, told the BBC: “Christmas can often be a time when there’s an expectation of people to have a good time, but there are so many people whose circumstances bring a lot of despair.
“It’s fantastic to be able to give them clothes of great quality as it also gives them a lot of hope and dignity.”
Ann Jackson, senior officer from Norfolk Trading Standards, said the counterfeit market was a “thriving economy”, which “in the present economic climate will get worse”.
She added: “We’re very keen to make sure these goods are used in an appropriate way and we see this as a win-win situation for the good guys – ourselves and the charities that are receiving – and a no-win for those who are trying to sell these goods.”
Mr Humphrey also explained how His Church collected 1,600 pairs of fake Tommy Hilfiger jeans after the company asked them for help.
The jeans company, which has over 1,000 retail stores across four continents, told His Church that it believed it was the “world leaders in rebranding counterfeit clothes”.
His Church will now rebrand the jeans with their “His” logo and take them to homeless centres around Britain.
The charity, which is based in Lincolnshire, gives out the clothes as “gifts”, rather than “hand-outs”.
And Amanda Ado, director of a homelessness group, said: “People who are rough sleeping rarely get anything that’s brand new, rarely get anything that feels like it’s been given specifically to them.
“I guess that’s the beauty of the gifts from His Church that we feel that they’re particularly chosen for our clients”.
GROUP BUYS COFFEE VAN TO REACH REVELLERS
A GROUP of Christians that provides hot drinks and comfort to late-night revellers in Alnwick, Northumberland, has boosted its service after buying a coffee van.
And Mighty Oaks, which has been running a stall in the Market Place on Thursday nights since May, is moving to Saturday nights with the first being tomorrow (Dec 17) between 11pm and 1am.
The service offered already wins the backing of local police, who have welcomed the arrival of the van.
Inspired by a similar group in nearby Morpeth, which has been active since late 2008, the Alnwick group started running its service on Thursdays because it had to borrow the Morpeth group’s trailer.
In August, Mighty Oaks in Alnwick decided to finance its own van so Saturday nights could be covered and managed to raise £9,000 thanks to donations from Alnwick Lions, the Multi Agency Crime Prevention Initiative (Macpi), churches and individuals.
The group’s Chris Friend said: “It’s a group of Christians trying to demonstrate God’s love in a practical way. There’s no catch and it’s not to try to draw people into church.
“It’s helping out in an environment where people feel comfortable and that’s been the ethos from the start.
“We are working closely with the police and the inspector is very positive about what we are doing,” he told the Northumberland Gazette.
“Over the last six months we have had people come to us who have maybe had too much to drink, homeless people, people who are lonely or people who have been out for a meal and come along for a chat.
“Alnwick still very much has a strong community. It’s very unusual for the volunteers not to know someone who comes up to the van in one context or another.
“It’s to do with being out there and not being police, but people who the general public can see objectively and hopefully offering a safe place to be.”
And the run-up to Christmas seems like an ideal time to be out on a Saturday night for the first time.
“In the build-up to Christmas, you have people out enjoying themselves but equally for some people Christmas can be a painful experience,” Chris said. “We want to be available to them too.”
Alnwick Neighbourhood Police Inspector Sue Peart said: “They provide a really invaluable service because some people have had a lot to drink and it can make them vulnerable. A hot drink can help sober them up.”
CHURCHES JOIN BID TO HELP HOMELESS
CHURCHES in the Scottish town of Helensburgh are working together to combat the growing problem of homelessness in the town.
Almost 130 people have received practical help in just eight months from a scheme set up three years ago.
Since March, a total of 127 help packages have been issued to people in desperate need in the Argyll and Bute town –two more than the total for the first 27 months of the Wellbeing Packs Project.
Five Helensburgh churches are involved in gathering, putting together and distributing packs of toiletries for those who have no home of their own or whose safety in returning to their own home is at risk.
The Rev David Clark, chairman of the project, said the demand indicated an increasing need and awareness of the facility, an initiative of Scottish Churches Housing Action.
Mr Clark, minister of St Andrew’s Kirk, said: “The aim is to help homeless people at the point of need when they have just lost their home, providing them with the basic toiletry essentials.
“This project helps people to regain their dignity when going through an experience that can be perceived as very humiliating.
“A good working relationship has existed since the outset with various agencies including Argyll and Bute housing department and homeless team, Social Work, Women’s Aid in Dumbarton and Dunoon and Action for Children.”

CofE BANS INVESTMENT IN PORN AND PAYDAY LOANS FIRMS
BUSINESSES that deal with pornography or payday and pawnbroker loans will not win investment any longer from the Church of England after policies were tightened up.
The CofE announced yesterday the adoption of the new ethical investment policies following advice from the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG).
Firms that deal with the production or distribution of pornography will be completely excluded in future. The CofE said that while policies were already in place banning investment in such companies, the new rules had been tightened further and were more theologically articulated than previous policies.
The Rev Professor Richard Burridge, deputy chairman of the EIAG, said "Like all of God's gifts, sexuality can be abused.
"Our policy is predicated upon the biblical witness against abusing God's gift of human sexuality for financial gain or exploitation. Our role as Christian investors is to stand for a more positive attitude to sexual expression than can ever be attained through pornography.
"Pornography involves degradation of human beings made in the image of God and normalises views of human sexuality that contradict the Christian message. "
James Featherby, incoming chairman of the EIAG, said "It is completely inappropriate for the Church national investing bodies to invest their capital with companies whose business is the production or distribution of pornography.
"There is no other policy recommended by the EIAG that sets such a low threshold across the piece for unacceptable turnover from a business activity."
Investment rules in backing firms that deal in high interest loans were also tightened by the EIAG. Previous policies barred financial backing in companies involved in collected home credit – or 'doorstep lending".
The new regulation has been extended to ban investment in firms involved with payday and pawnbroker loans.
A spokesman said the extension of the policy took into account the internationalisation of the investing bodies' portfolios, and in particular the risk of investment exposure to publicly-listed payday lending companies in the US, some of whom are now operating in the UK.
Mr Featherby added: "The Ethical Investment Advisory Group acknowledges the importance of access to credit for all members of society.  But it is not prepared to sanction investment by the Church's investing bodies in companies charging triple-digit interest rates to some of the most vulnerable customers of the financial services industry.
"The Ethical Investment Advisory Group urges companies involved in the provision of short-term unsecured lending to vulnerable borrowers to do all they possibly can to ensure that their business models keep interest rates as low as possible and that their loans are appropriate for customers' circumstances.
"We call on mainstream banks to continue to work to make basic banking available to all and to help basic banking customers graduate to mainstream financial services."
NOAH’S ARK REMAINS ‘FOUND’
REMAINS of Noah’s Ark have been found near the summit of Mount Ararat, a research project leader has said.
For thousands of years, the top of the mountain in Turkey has been thought to have been the resting place of the biblical vessel – but without scientific proof.
However, Daniel P McGivern, of Shamrock, The Trinity Corporation, has posted articles on a website to finally prove that the ark existed and remains buried within glacial ice 350ft from the top of Mt Ararat.
According to the site, Noah’s Ark Found, a massive piece of wood measuring 24ft by 123ft has been located in the ice.
CBN News reports that Mr McGiven believes the finding proves the credible existence of the Ark and its location at the 17,000ft mountain.
Mr McGivern describes the collection of information on the website as “overwhelming,” and contends that the large piece found in the ice was from the Noah’s Ark.
He told a press conference: “The mountain is treeless. The mountain is volcanic with gases. There is no conceivable way that you could have an object that big on a mountain.” Using military satellite, the exploration team has identified the large object as part of a wooden structure.
But it is unlikely that there will be chance of exploration teams reaching the object.
Mr McGiven added: “There's a huge problem with getting down to it, because of the fact that you can't melt the ice.”
For more information, visit noahsarkfound.com

ORGANISATIONS JOIN FORCES FOR YEAR OF PRAYER
TWO Christian organisations are joining forces to equip thousands of churches for a year of prayer in 2012.
Kingdom Come (KC) 2012 is being launched by 24-7 Prayer and Alpha to engage churches in praying around the clock during the Olympics year.
They hope to build on the success of the year of prayer in Scotland in 2010 and in Ireland this year.
“As the Olympic and Paralympic Games bring the nations to our door, we are calling upon God’s people to pray that the name of Jesus will be lifted high in our lands once again,” says Pete Greig, a founding champion of 24-7 Prayer.
To help churches get praying for mission and justice in the UK, 24-7 and Alpha have produced a KC:Toolbox full of free downloadable resources.
There will be numerous KC2012 prayer events throughout the year but Christians can also get involved by hosting their own events, such as a 24-7 prayer room or a prayer vigil in their homes.
Nicky Gumbel, Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton says: “Kingdom Come 2012 is an exciting partnership between 24-7 Prayer and Alpha to support and mobilise prayer across the UK and Ireland next year.
"Prayer is the power behind our vision to see the re-evangelisation of our nations and the transformation of society. In 2012 we are going to be praying like never before.”
Christians from every denomination are already registering prayer walks, prayer rooms, prayer staking and prayer events on the website.
Follow the initiative at Facebook: KingdomCome2012 and Twitter @KingdomCome2012 or visit www.24-7prayer.co.uk/kingdomcome
VICARS URGE LOCALS: USE US OR LOSE US
THREE Anglican vicars have issued a challenge to their community to “step up to the plate” and help keep their neighbourhood churches open.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the seven Dudley Group of Churches, in the West Midlands, are facing possible closure because of spiralling repair costs and falling congregation numbers.
None of the team - St Thomas and St Luke (Top Church), St Edmund King and Martyr (Bottom Church), St James, St Francis, St Augustine, St Barnabas and St John – are financially viable.
And with repair costs estimated at around £1.2m, difficult decisions need to be made and closing buildings and merging buildings could be the only option!
Over the past few months, the churches, supported by Andrew Mottram, heritage buildings and community development officer for the Diocese of Worcester, have been running a consultation.
In total, 348 people replied, but the snapshot showed how 70 per cent of people, many who were no longer churchgoers, indicated they would fight to keep open a church designated for closure.
Meanwhile, a similar proportion felt the community should help fund the church buildings.
The three team vicars, who cover the seven churches – the Rev Christine Browne, the Rev Andrew Wickens and the Rev Judith Oliver – are now issuing a “use it or lose it” rally call to the community.
Andrew Mottram, said: “The Church of England is a large organisation but each parish is independent and has to be self-financing in terms of its operational and building costs. It is down to the local people to fund the local church.”
He added: “The situation will not be fixed by ‘more of the same’ unless there is an overwhelming response from the wider community to join in church life, get involved with fundraising and develop the community use of the buildings.”

CHARITY SHOP REFUSES TO SELL BIBLES
A CHARITY shop in Wales is refusing to sell copies of the Bible – while selling books containg obscene language and violence.
Volunteers at The British Red Cross shop in Ceredigion left a shopper furious when he was told that they couldn’t sell a box of Bibles.
Ed Brown was visiting the charity’s shop in Aberaeron with his wife when he was handed a box of children’s Bibles to take to Holy Trinity Church.
e told Cambrian News that he was informed by volunteers at the branch on Market Street that the shop refuses to sell the Bible due to the religiously neutral status of the organisation.
r Brown said that while books containing “obscene language, sexual activity, violence and death” were available for sale, it was impossible to buy “the word of God”.
He said: “How sad and how symptomatic of society’s attitude to young people and their behavioural problems that such a respected organisation should support and distribute that which is likely to deprave while denying access to the Christian message of goodness and love.”
British Red Cross, however, has denied that it prevents its shops from selling Bibles and insisted that its religious neutrality policy was misunderstood by volunteers at the branch.
Mr Brown said he would be “very surprised” if those that donated the Bibles did not expect them to be sold to contribute to British Red Cross’ work throughout the world.
“How disappointing for them,” he added, “to know that instead of being sold for the benefit of others they were casually discarded as though they had no value at all.”
British Red Cross’s religious neutrality policy says: “We can’t let down people in need by compromising our neutrality. That is why we do not sell or display religious items, of any faith, in our shops.”
BISHOP’S CALL OVER PARKING CHARGE PLAN
THE Bishop of London has pleaded with Westminster council to address the "very genuine fears" of people opposed to its Sunday and evening parking charges.
The Rt Rev Richard Chartres warned the council of his alarm that plans to charge for parking on single yellow lines on Sundays would badly affect churches and pastoral work in the area.
From January, the council plans to charge for parking until midnight six days a week and between 1pm and 6pm on Sundays.
In a letter to the Tory council, the bishop wrote: "I have a pastoral concern that whatever its intention, as it is presently formulated, the legislation will be detrimental to the parishioners who have met Sunday by Sunday in our parish churches for hundreds of years."
As you know, the 1994 Sunday Trading Act was formulated to protect those who wished to attend worship, and the last figures I saw for Westminster showed that about 15,000 attend churches of all denominations on a Sunday.
"I do hope that some imaginative compromise can be agreed with the local churches that will allay their very genuine fears that the council's actions will prove a strong disincentive for those wishing to attend their central London churches – those very churches which contribute so much to the stability, sense of history and pastoral care of the community they serve."
After receiving the bishop's letter, the council modified its plans by announcing that Sunday charging would begin at 1pm rather than midday in the hope that this would allow people driving to 11am services to remain unaffected.
Baroness Neuberger, senior rabbi to the West London Synagogue near Marble Arch, is also critical of the plans, as are business leaders such as Topshop boss Sir Philip Green, "Queen of Shops" Mary Portas and the Prime Minister's business adviser Lord Young of Graffham.
Today the Diocese of London's PR firm declined to comment. Churches across Westminster have joined together to protest at the plan.
X-MEN SENT ON MISSION FOR CHRIST
DAMARIS Trust has released a new resource to help churches reach more young adults.
Viewfinder provides media-rich and seeker-friendly material to get 18- to 30-year-olds discussing the issues that interest them and introduce them to the Gospel.
It has been produced in response to a recent survey from the Evangelical Alliance which found that although 96 per cent of church leaders regard increasing the number of 16- to 30-year-olds in their church as a “top priority”, only 11 per cent of church leaders feel “well resourced” to do it.
The first edition of Viewfinder uses clips from the X-Men movie franchise and encourages young people to explore the themes that arise in the films.
Following editions will look at the themes relevant to young people in other movies. The first Viewfinder was written by Dr Krish Kandiah, director of churches in mission at the Evangelical Alliance.
He said: “So many young people enjoy movies, it makes sense to use that love of cinema to help them discover the love of God.”
Holly Price, editor of Viewfinder said: “Viewfinder is an easy and exciting way for churches to reach out to the missing 18–30s. It gives church leaders everything they need to put on a thoughtful and professional presentation.”
Each edition of Viewfinder features downloadable video clips, a full script and PowerPoint presentations.The X-Men: First Class edition of Viewfinder is available at www.viewfinderservices.org
CALL TO PRAYER FOR CLIMATE TALKS
MEMBERS of the worldwide church are being urged to pray ahead of UN climate talks next week.
The 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) will bring world governments to Durban, South Africa, next Monday for 12 days of negotiations on global climate strategy after the Kyoto Protocol expires next year.
The Kyoto Protocol committed industrialised countries to reducing their carbon emissions to five per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 but nations have struggled to reach agreement on a second period of commitment.
The Rev Canon Rachel Mash, environmental co-ordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and member of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, wants greater assurance from world governments that they are taking the issue of climate change seriously.
"Despite 17 years of negotiations to cut warming emissions, current global pledges to cut emissions leave Earth on track for between 2.5 and 4 degrees of warming, widely agreed to be catastrophic,” she said.
"There is little sign that the world’s nations are truly serious about making the emissions cuts that are so urgently needed.
"Short-term economic growth is threatening the prospects for global long-term human development.”

PASTOR VOTED ‘MOST INSPIRATIONAL BLACK PERSON’
THE senior pastor of Jesus House in Brent, north London, has been voted Britain’s most inspirational black person.
Pastor Agu Irukwu topped a poll conducted by the Mayor of London’s office in conjunction with Metro newspaper.
Pastor Agu, who is also head of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, was in a shortlist that included US president Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.
In recent years, Jesus House has been active in the local community, working with youths and disadvantaged people.
Last Christmas, the church distributed more than 2,000 food hampers.
The Voice reports that Pastor Agu was surprised and touched that he topped the poll. He said: “I am deeply humbled to hear that I have been voted the most inspirational personality by so many people. In no way do I consider myself to be a hero.
“I believe that those votes were not for me personally, but were an acknowledgment of the values of Jesus Christ which I stand for, strive to live by and teach.
“Jesus is our ultimate hero and role model, and my passion is to encourage others as well as myself to live as He would want us to.”
SPIELBERG PLANS TO DIRECT MOSES MOVIE

STEPHEN Spielberg is in talks to direct a new  movie focusing on the life of Moses and called Gods and Kings.
The legendary filmmaker has reportedly opened negotiations with Warner Bros. to helm the project.
The script - which has been written by Michael Green and Stuart Hazeldine - charts the prophet's life from birth to death and focuses on his quest to free the Jewish people from the oppression of the Egyptian civilisation.It will include the key moments of his mission, including the parting of the Red Sea to lead the Israelites to the promised land and receiving the Ten Commandments from God.
Dan Lim and Matti Leshem are currently in place to produce, but the 64-year-old Jewish director is expected to bring in his own crew to work on the project.It will not be the first time Moses' incredible story and the tale of the Exodus has been brought to life on the big screen.
Charlton Heston famously portrayed the religious leader in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments, while Sir Ben Kingsley  played him in the 1995 movie Moses.
NEW CHRISTIAN PRESSURE GROUP LAUNCHED
A NEW Devon-based pressure group - Christian Lobby UK - has been set up with Parliament as its focus.It wants to ensure that MPs are entirely aware of the views of Christians on a range of issues and to ensure their voice isn't ignored.
On its website at http://www.christianlobbyuk.com the group declares: 'The object is to lobby the UK Christian community presenting questions embracing a wide and varied range of subjects covering any possibility.
"Christian Lobby UK does not promote a single issue position but allows all sides of a question to be presented. The results are accumulated for each constituency and sent to the MP.
"An MP will receive a balanced picture of what many people in the constituency have thought.  Some will support the issue and others will reject it. 
"The UK Parliament has served, not just Britain but much of the world extremely well over many centuries.  However, in recent years there has been a risk of Parliament being marginalised with policy announcements made through the media and single issue petitions distorting balanced debate."
Christian Lobby UK has been set up to inform MPs of the thinking of a significant section of the population.'To register and tell friends of this important new group click on the link above and sign up.Let's make our voices heard.
GAGA PRAYS WITH X FACTOR HOPEFUL
LADY Gaga took Kitty Brucknell to her dressing room after the wannabe was booted off The X Factor – and PRAYED with her.
The Sun reports the madcap megastar – who rushed sobbing to console her on stage – was yesterday revealed to have begged the Lord to "help and guide Kitty in her future career".
A source said of the hour the pair (pictured left) spent together: "Kitty was still emotional so Gaga poured her a glass of wine and asked her to join her in prayer. "She stooped on the floor, putting her hands in a prayer position."
Gaga, 25, then told the 27-year-old ex-stripper she could sing with HER.
The source said: "She went on to say how she'd be on the road a lot next year and thinks there could be an opportunity for them to collaborate."
Gaga - real name Stefani Germanotta - is said to have begged God to "help and guide Kitty in her future career"
Kitty's exit on Sunday was watched by the biggest X Factor audience of the year – 14.6 million on ITV1 plus 200,000 more on ITV+1.
ATTENDING CHURCH IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
THOSE who attend church are more likely to have a positive outlook on life and a lower risk of having depression, a new study has found.
Those who attend religious services regularly are 56 per cent more likely to have an optimistic view of life and 27 per cent less likely to have depression than those who don’t, a study by Yeshiva University in Manhattan suggests.
Published in the current issue of the Journal of Religion and Health, the Women’s Health Initiative observational study is based on a survey of 92,539 post-menopausal women from diverse backgrounds and over the age of 50.
The group was chosen as women generally live longer than men, and seniors are a growing group.
“We looked at the religious practices of nearly 100,000 women and – like it or not – found a strong connection between going to church or synagogue or any other house of worship and a positive outlook on life,” Medical News Today quoted research leader Eliezer Schnall as saying.
“We looked at a number of psychological factors: optimism, depression, cynical hostility, and a number of subcategories and subscales involving social support and social strain,” said Schnall, an associate professor of psychology at Yeshiva University.
“The link between religious activity and health is most evident in women, specifically older women.”
The researchers examined various aspects of support, such as sharing about difficulties with a priest or a rabbi, someone driving a participant to a doctor and positive interaction. They also looked at possible negative aspects that could cause a social strain – a relatively new inquiry in the field.
For example, close association with a religious group can also dissuade one from interacting with people with a different belief.
“We did not find that those who attend religious services were characterised by additional social strain,” Schnall said.
However, “the person who says, ‘I guess if I go to services, that will make me more optimistic’ – while a possibility, that may not be true,” Schnall cautioned, Christian Today reports.
“There is a correlation, but that does not mean there is causality. One could argue people who are more optimistic may be drawn to religious services.”
The study was funded by the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
PM ADDS FAVE VERSES TO PEOPLE’S BIBLE
PRIME Minister, David Cameron, has written his chosen two verses from the book of Philippians for The People’s Bible project.
The Prime Minster chose his verses from Philippians 4: 8-9 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
"Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."
David Cameron wrote his verses at Downing Street with Bible Society Group Chief Executive, James Catford, as part of the People’s Bible project.
Mr Cameron said: “I am delighted to be able to contribute to this exciting project – one that has enthused so many thousands of people right across Britain.
“The King James Bible is a book that has not just shaped our own country, but shaped the world.”
CHARITY CHAMPS COLLECT AWARDS
SIX members of staff from national Christian disability charity Livability have received awards from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal in recognition of their outstanding work with disabled people.
The Princess Royal awards were created by Livability to recognise the outstanding contribution of its staff – often the “unsung heroes”. 
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, who is Livability’s patron, graciously agreed to put her name to the awards.

This year’s winners were:

• Dawn Gentry - Lifestyle Choices - The Links, Brackley

• James Colton - Victoria Education Centre and Sports College Lucina Nash – Nash College

• Louisa Rubin - Cam Peak View, Gloucestershire Supported Living

• Sally James Layton - Livability Lifestyle Choices West

• Sally Matthews – Hinwick Hall College
Every year the charity invites nominations from its managers and staff across the whole organisation to nominate a colleague who they believe has made a special contribution in support of Livability values for which they deserve to be recognised.
CHURCH SET FOR MOVE TO BIGGER HOME
A CHURCH in Skegness is fast renovating a new site in the hope of making it a community hub for the whole town.
The New Day Christian Centre, currently based in Lincoln Road, felt last January that it had outgrown its building, so when a large former paint balling building became an option, the centre looked into buying it.
Now the church is working on phase one of the former The Street building, in North Parade, which they hope to have completed by the new year.
The venue, which will be named ‘thestorehouse’ once complete, will include a state-of-the-art coffee shop, soft play area, spaces available for rental, a kitchen, reception area, toilet facilities, a dinning room and events space, among other things.
Also set for the building is a large main arena or auditorium which will be able to seat around 1,000 people with the overall £1m renovation set to be completed during the course of the next year.
Pastor David Middleton said: “We believe in the revival of Skegness, we want to see not only the physical but social and spiritual renewal of our town.
“Our current building inevitably puts restrictions on how well we can do this and it has been our intention to go bigger in order to amplify our ability.
“We felt that this building if renovated would help bring this end of North Parade back into the prominence that this building was originally intended for.”
A fund-raising auction will take place at the New Day Christian Centre in Lincoln Road on Saturday (November 19).
It will take place from 7pm and there will be a viewing session on the day from 10am till noon. Tickets cost £5 with a buffet included. www.newdaychristiancentre.co.uk
GROUP’S NEW BID TO HELP SHARE BIBLE VERSES
THE Biblefresh movement has launched a challenge to help Christians share Bible verses with their friends, neighbours and colleagues.
The Viral Bible Challenge is part of a wider effort to engage more people in the Bible during the 400th anniversary year of the King James Version.
The concept of the challenge is simple: get your hands on a Bible you are no longer using and register online at the Viral Bible website for a unique code to write in the Bible.
Then pass your Bible on to to someone else and get them to choose their favourite verse, which can then be entered next to the unique code on the Viral Bible website.
The prize for the owner of the first Bible to reach 2,000 entries is an iPad.
Biblefresh creator Krish Kandiah hopes the challenge will give Bibles gathering dust a new lease of life.
He said it was about getting as many people as possible to take part, whether they're Christian or not, and living in the UK or beyond.
“This is an incredible chance to get the Bible out of our houses and into our lives," he said.
"What good is the Bible doing if it’s stuck on our shelf, hiding between the encyclopaedia and cookery books?"
Christians can even get into the spirit of things by customising their Bibles with their own artwork.

“The Bible is not just for the church,” he said. “If we’re not helping our friends who don’t know God discover what the Bible has to say then we’re missing a great opportunity. This is a fun way to get people thinking about Bible stories they still recall, or verses they were taught.”

To take part in the Viral Bible Challenge go to www.biblefresh.com/viralbible/viral-bible-challenge
SERVICE REMEMBERS HOMELESS
THE names of the 146 homeless and formerly homeless people who have died over the last year in London were read out at the Annual Service of Commemoration at St Martin-in-the-Fields last week.
The service is organised each year during remembrance week by St Martin-in-the-Fields, The Connection at St Martin’s and Housing Justice, with Artistic Advisor Rosemarie Cockayne.
Those who take part include staff and volunteers from the many agencies and churches giving aid to homeless and vulnerable people, and homeless and formerly homeless people themselves.
The service brings together all who want to remember and give thanks for those who have died during the year, whether still on the streets, in hostels or in their own accommodation.
The Rev Richard Carter of St Martin in the Fields led the service that this year took as its theme Lost and Found.
Those reading out the names were Steve Barnes of the Simon Community, the Rev Annie Kirke of the Westminster Churches Winter Shelter project, Father Padraig Regan of the Passage and Kaz Mayes of the Connection at St Martins.
Brilliant musical contributions were provided by The Choir with No Name and Streetwise Opera, and a poem from a member of the Connection’s Creative Writing group
An original drawing called “Trust”, done by artist Don Pollard, was used on the poster and postcard given to all who attended. Don’s drawing portrayed a small bird resting on someone’s joined hands.
Don said: “It is on the hands not in the hands because I wanted to show that the bird is still free, that is so important when we trust that we are still free.”
The postcard included the name of one of those being commemorated. Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son was the image over the altar, the picture showing the open hands of the Father welcoming the lost son home and the congregation were invited to place a footprint along the cloth leading toward the altar, on which was written the name of one of those being commemorated.
Dr Paul O’Reilly of Dr Hickey’s surgery, which provides GP services for homeless people, gave a short reflection.
He said: “Each person whose name was read out today belongs to us. In remembering them we remember ourselves and the community which we belong to.”
YOUNG ORGANISE REMEMBRANCE SERVICES ON TWITTER
YOUNG Methodists are holding two services of Remembrance on social networking website Twitter today (Friday November 11) and on Sunday.
They have organised the services to raise awareness of groups working for peace and supporting war veterans and victims.
The events will take place at 10.15am GMT on today (Armistice Day) and on Sunday ( November 13). They are thought to be the first Remembrance services of their kind in Britain, employing social networking and micro-blogging.
Twitter Remembrance will feature prayers and readings as well as hymns and music linked from YouTube. There will also be a two-minute Twitter silence to remember those who have died in, or as a result of, war.
Elements of the service will be live-tweeted by @Poppy_Tweet and will include contributions from a variety of people, including the President of the Methodist Conference in Britain, the Rev Leo Osborn.
James Thomas, from Cardiff, who came up with the idea, said: "I started the project on Wednesday night when I realised that no one had done a Twitter-based Remembrance service before, so I decided to start one," he said.
"We hope to engage young people and other people who wouldn't otherwise engage with Remembrance, whilst raising awareness for the Royal British Legion, Peace Pledge Union and other related charities."
The Rev Joanne Cox, evangelism in contemporary culture officer for the Methodist Church in Britain, has written a special Twitter sermon, designed to be delivered in a number of short tweets.
She said: "Remembrance is a powerful opportunity for us all to stop in the midst of life. As we stop, and as we remember people who have fought for peace in so many different ways, we are also responding to the invitation to be people of peace and courage ourselves."
The group aims to bring a traditional Remembrance service experience to those who are unable to attend a formal act of remembrance for any reason.
APPEAL TO FORCES’ FAMILIES
A VICAR has put out an appeal to hear from families whose loved ones are currently serving in the Armed Forces.
As part of the Remembrance Day Service at St Barnabas' Church in Tuffley, Gloucestershire, the Rev Helen Sammon will pray for individuals.
Families in the parish who have relatives serving in the Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force are encouraged to contact Rev Sammon on vicar@stbarnabasgloucester.org.uk or call 01452 543 738.
BISHOP BACKS WINTER FUEL CAMPAIGN
AN appeal to help pensioners cope with winter fuel bills has had practical backing from the Bishop of St Edmundsbury.
The RT Rev Nigel Stock is supporting The Suffolk Foundation’s Surviving Winter appeal by donating his Government Winter Fuel Payment so the charity can use it to help elderly people in the county who are struggling to meet the bills for keeping warm.
While talking to members of Grundisburgh Lunch Club about their problems coping with cold winters, Bishop Nigel said: “This is a simple campaign that I am very happy to endorse. For people who don’t need their Winter Fuel Payment, we’d like to ask them to consider donating it in this very direct way to help those who really do need extra help.”
Another who has pledged her payment is Clare, Countess of Euston, who is president of Age UK Suffolk and vice-chairman of The Suffolk Foundation.
Lady Euston, whose family own the Euston estate near Thetford, said: “When I turned 60 recently, I was surprised to find that I am eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment. I want to donate my Winter Fuel Payment and give my backing to a national campaign that will make a genuine difference this winter particularly here in Suffolk.”
The foundation says all money it receives will be spent by Age UK Suffolk in Suffolk, where NHS figures show that over the past three years there have been an average of 409 ‘excess winter deaths’ each year. It is estimated that almost half the 5.4 million UK households in fuel poverty are over 60.
Foundation chief executive Stephen Singleton said: “It is vitally important to provide a channel for those who want to help the most vulnerable members of our community to get through the winter with dignity. We hope others will see what is being done and also wish to lend their support.”
To donate to the appeal either visit www.localgiving.com/survivingwinter or call the Suffolk Foundation office on 01473 734120.
PACK HELPS CHURCHES ADDRESS POVERTY
A NEW resource pack has been published by Christian poverty action groups to help churches address poverty in the UK.
The Breaking Barriers pack has been produced for use during Poverty & Homelessness Action Week, from January 28 to February 5, which also incorporates Homelessness Sunday and Poverty Action Sunday.
The pack contains ideas and tips for addressing poverty and raising funds for local and national projects. There are also materials to support reflection in worship and work with children and youth.
A prayer calendar features different barriers on each day of Poverty & Homelessness Action Week to encourage participants to reflect and to act for change.
Church Action on Poverty is hoping churches, schools and community groups will use the ideas in the pack to show solidarity with people who are pushed to the edge of society, and challenge the barriers of misunderstanding, stigma and injustice associated with poverty.
Alastair Cameron of Scottish Churches Housing Action said: “Our society is full of barriers, and poverty creates many of them – barriers to getting on the housing ladder, or into a job, or even feeling safe in a particular part of town.
"False expectations set up by rampant materialism, status and acquisitiveness build barriers, too.
"The resource materials provide alternatives, giving ideas for how to build bridges within our communities.”

Niall Cooper, national co-ordinator of Church Action on Poverty, said: “Poverty and Homelessness Action Week will provide a timely opportunity for churches to reflect on one of the pressing topical issues of the day, namely: how can we break down the barriers between rich and poor; how can we start to break the barriers between those with wealth, money and power in society and those without.”
The Breaking Barriers resource pack is now available online at www.actionweek.org.uk
MPs TO PROBE CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum will start  hearing evidence today on whether Christians are badly treated by the law and if they are being pushed out of society.
The Clearing the Ground inquiry is holding hearings throughout November to discover if the freedoms that Christians enjoy have been affected by changes to the law and the action of government and the courts.
More than 50 individuals and organisations have already made written submissions to the inquiry, and it is clear that there is a great deal of confusion about how the law affects religious belief and activity.
Many contributions suggested that it is becoming increasingly hard for Christians to live out their faith day by day.
The idea that secularism is best was blamed in part for this trend, as well as equality and diversity legislation and practice.
Gary Streeter MP, chairman of the inquiry, said: “This is a very unwelcome development; the last thing we need is religious people joining the ranks of the self-designated victims that plague modern politics.
“If we look at America we see how religious and secular extremism has polarised society. We’ve got to avoid the culture wars that have come to define religious engagement in the US.
“What we want to do is expose the gap between perception and reality and help to blow away the fog and the fear that currently exists for many Christians.
“We want to dispel any myths that have grown up but also identify problems, and we’re not going to shy away from calling for changes to the law if that is what is needed.”
Gavin Shuker MP, who is serving on the inquiry, said: “Too often it seems like we’re living in a world that doesn’t understand religion, but it needs to. Hopefully this inquiry will help everyone understand religion a little bit better.”
A range of Christian policy organisations and denominations will be giving evidence to the Clearing the Ground inquiry.
The first session starting today (November 8) will hear evidence from the Evangelical Alliance, Premier Christian Radio, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and Maranatha Community.
Mr Streeter added: “We cannot sit back and let the Christian values which we hold dear be eroded by often tiny minority groups clambering for their own rights at the expense of a common good.
“Religious liberty is the historical bedrock of all our other liberties; it is an affirmation that everyone in society should have their faith respected.
“A truly Christian vision for a truly free public square seeks to uphold people’s right to express their views with civility, however contrary or uncomfortable, without fear of public humiliation or prosecution.”
CLERGY WANTS TO LOBBY CITY BOARDROOMS
CLERGY from St Paul’s wants to go into City boardrooms to lobby directors about the gap between the rich and the poor.
The Rt Rev Peter Selby said he wanted to use the publication of a report – delayed because of the furore over the Occupy LSX protests – to debate “appropriate” levels of pay with chief executives.
He was speaking as the survey said the majority of City professionals think bankers, stockbrokers, bond traders and FTSE 100 chief executives are paid too much.
Asked if it meant clergy would enter boardrooms to ensure recommendations of the St Paul’s Institute report are acted on, Selby said: “It gives us something of a mandate... It gives us cause, along with everything which is going on, to take this situation to higher levels and say, ‘what are you going to do about it?’”
The church’s institutional complicity in finance had made it a difficult topic to address in the past, added Selby, a retired bishop.
The report, Value and Values: Perceptions of Ethics in the City Today, includes contributions by St Paul’s former Dean, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, and former Canon Chancellor, Rev Dr Giles Fraser, who both resigned amid disagreements over the response to the protests.
The study showed 75 per cent of City workers think there is too great a gap between rich and poor and nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of those questioned said salary and bonuses are their main motivation.
The survey, carried out before the protests began, involved 515 interviews and was carried out to mark the 25th anniversary of the deregulation of the City.
Last night Occupy LSX said the report showed a “conflict” between morality and financial incentives. St Paul’s has asked the activists to prepare several written responses.
PRAYER FOR POOR COUNTRIES HIT BY CLIMATE CHANGE
CHRISTIANS around the world joined in prayer yesterday for poor countries that are already experiencing the negative effect of climate change.
Around 50 countries, including the UK, signed up to take part in Hope for Creation. Participating churches devoted a section of their services to climate change.
Organisers Tearfund said there was an "urgent" need for action on climate change and that the impact of erratic weather patterns was already having a "devastating" impact on impoverished communities and their livelihoods.
Ben Niblett, Tearfund’s Head of Campaigns, said: "We need world leaders to take ambitious and fair action to tackle climate change and provide the finance needed to help poor people adapt and develop sustainably.
"Hope for Creation combines the power of prayer, the passion for social justice and the determination to speak out, and demonstrates to the world that the church has a strong and united voice to bring to development issues."
The day of prayer comes ahead of UN climate talks in Durban at the end of the month.
Tearfund is urging world leaders to be ambitious and secure an agreement on funding to help developing countries mitigate against the impact of climate change.
ARCHBISHOP DEMANDS TAX OVERHAUL
THE Archbishop of York has urged the Government to introduce a radical overhaul of the tax system and called for greed to be made as socially unacceptable as racism and homophobia.
Dr John Sentamu claimed many of the wealthiest in society are avoiding paying their dues in a stinging attack on the growing divide between Britain’s rich and poor.
Highlighting the growing gulf between the poorest sections of society and the nation’s uber-wealthy, Dr Sentamu also said those who have accumulated the biggest fortunes should not be included on the Queen’s Honours List.
The Archbishop admitted there needs to be a cultural shift in the nation’s ideology as wealth has “for so long been seen as a mark of status”.
But he maintained the Queen’s honours should not be given to “those who have already rewarded themselves most handsomely”.
“To have to choose between two coveted sources of honour and prestige would be salutary,” he said. “On the same basis, it might be worth extending this to the Queen’s Awards to Industry so that companies with the largest pay differences between senior and junior staff would know that they were less likely to win these awards.”
Writing in the Yorkshire Post Dr Sentamu has launched a broadside against the figures at the helm of Britain’s leading companies, and claimed their massive salaries could not be justified – especially to their own staff
The revelation that CEOs of the FTSE 100 companies received average pay increases of almost 50 per cent last year was a clear indication of the huge discrepancies within Britain’s society, he said.
“Typically these CEOs receive 300 times as much as the least well paid British employees in their companies,” he added.
“If they have a responsibility to their staff, it is hard to imagine a more powerful way of telling some people that they are of little value than to pay them one-third of one per cent of your own salary.
"Top pay has been found to bear little or no relation to company performance, but even if it did, isn’t the performance of a company dependent on the work and well-being of all its staff?”

‘WE’RE PAID TOO MUCH’, BANKERS ADMIT
BRITISH bankers have admitted that they are paid too much, a report into moral standards in the City of London will reveal today.
A survey of 500 workers in City financial institutions, carried out for the Christian think-tank St Paul's Institute, found "a substantial number" believed they were overpaid compared with other professions – particularly frontline workers including teachers and, most of all, nurses.
The results will fuel continuing bitterness towards the industry over its culpability for the financial crisis and its apparent failure to rein in huge salaries and bonuses.
The Independent on Sunday (IoS) revealed last week that St Paul's had suppressed the report following the resignation of Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser, amid fears that it would inflame tensions over the Occupy London protest outside the cathedral.
The study, carried out during the summer by the market research company ComRes, questioned bankers on the ethics of their salaries and bonuses. The IoS understands, when asked whether they thought they were overpaid compared with other professions, a significant number of City workers agreed that they were.
However, many thought that lawyers were more overpaid, while doctors' salaries were in line with their responsibilities.
A source close to the institute said City workers accepted that teachers
and nurses were underpaid.
BISHOP USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO HARNESS PRAYER FOR REGION
THE new Bishop of Durham is harnessing the power of social networking to get Christians praying for the region.
Prayer of the People was launched by the Rt Rev Justin Welby at St Nicholas’ Church in Durham on Friday.
He is inviting locals to share their hopes, dreams and prayers for their communities and the people who live in them.
A key component of the initiative is the use of social networking to allow people to submit their prayers.
The launch was joined by the Bishop of Jarrow, the Rt Rev Mark Bryant, and students from St Aidan’s Church of England Academy in Darlington, Durham Johnston School, the Venerable Bede School in Sunderland, and Blue Coat Junior Church of England School in Durham.
Prayers can be submitted to the bishop by ‘liking’ the Prayer of the People Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Prayerofthepeople) or following the initiative on Twitter (@prayerof and #prayerofthepeople).
Bishop Welby said he hoped people would take even a few minutes to speak to God about the things on their mind and the region’s future.
“We all know that times are hard in this area,” he said. “Many people are really struggling with jobs being lost and the future can feel very bleak. But the spirit of the people in the North East has always prevailed in hard times.
“When things are tough, sensible people turn to God. We often make prayer sound really difficult, but at its heart prayer is sometimes telling God our hopes and dreams, and then letting him shape us and our future.”
He added: “We see social networking as important because it’s a whole new way of attracting people to the word of God.”

CHURCHES SHOULD HELP TACKLE POVERTY - BISHOP

CHURCHES can play a part in challenging the structures which keep people poor, a senior clergyman has argued.
The Bishop of Derby, the Rt Rev Dr Alastair Redfern, whose diocese includes South Derbyshire, makes his point in an article in this week’s Church Times.
His comments come as over the way the Church handled anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Occupy London campaigners are demanding an end to a global financial system which they argue serves the interests of a rich elite at the expense of others including the world’s poor.
The bishop highlighted Christian Aid’s belief that developing countries lose around £100 billion a year due to tax dodging in richer nations.
“Although some have questioned this huge figure, even the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said the problem is likely to cost more than they get in aid — some £75bn a year,” he says.
“As in the UK, this financial haemorrhaging hits basic services such as schools and hospitals and the infrastructure that will attract investment and jobs.
“It also exacerbates poor countries’ dependence on aid and sustainable debt.” The bishop says revenue authorities are generally weak in many countries and fail to collect the taxes they should.
He also points to tax haven accounts and unacceptable levels of secrecy in accounting as reasons why tax dodging is so prevalent.
“When rich countries, such as the UK, do cosy deals with tax havens such as Switzerland, they reduce the pressure for a more international solution,” he says.
“Like the Jubilee debt campaign, the churches can play a part in challenging the structures that keep people poor.
“The Church of Scotland, and the Baptist and Methodist churches have all lent their voice to the campaign.
“Now the Church of England has an opportunity to do the same.” Dr Redfern is expected to raise these concerns in future months as a member of the House of Lords.
SCHERZINGER LINES UP FOR JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
SINGER Nicole Scherzinger is set to play Mary Magdalene in the new Jesus Christ Superstar film.
The US X Factor judge is hoping to build on her burgeoning film career and put her musical talent to good use in the big screen revamp.
A source told The Sun: :Nicole is a big fan of the songs and was desperate to be involved. She can sing and dance equally well so musicals are a natural step forward."
Scherzinger met in secret with Andrew Lloyd Webber to talk about the part and it took them over six months to hash out a deal.
The ex-Pussycat Dolls singer already has a cameo as 'futuristic vixen' Lilly in Men In Black III alongside Will Smith and Josh Brolin.
Rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar was first staged on Broadway in 1971 before being made into a film in 1973.
BBC DANCE SHOW UNDER FIRE
THE BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show has faced anger from viewers over sexually suggestive dance moves aired during last Saturday’s pre-watershed programme.
Ex-footballer Robbie Savage was at the centre of complaints with viewers unhappy with him thrusting his hips and provocatively grabbing his crotch.
He finished his dance by jumping on the judges’ table and grabbing himself in front of Craig Revel Horwood.
The BBC said it received 325 complaints about the routine. Mr Savage said he was simply emulating a dance move made famous by Michael Jackson.
But fans hit out at the performance with one saying: “We thought that the use of ‘hip thrusts’ by Robbie Savage during his performance tonight was particularly vulgar, deplorable and completely unnecessary.
“They were particularly suggestive especially to the younger audience and the action in front of Craig was very much out of order.
“It is not necessary for him to hold his crotch in that way to give a good performance. We hope that this will not be repeated in future.”
Another viewer remarked the thrusts were “quite unnecessary” and hoped they would not be repeated.
The viewer added: “Our grandchildren were here this evening and they saw that ‘action’ and wanted to know what he was doing.”
Robbie Savage responded by asking why viewers “thought it was inappropriate to do a Michael Jackson move at 7pm on a sat night to one of his songs”.
He continued, writing on the online social networking site Twitter: “Seriously what is the world coming to when on an entertainment show people complain about a famous MJ move which my 5 year old loves doing !”
The BBC said: “Robbie danced a Paso Doble to Michael Jackson’s Bad on Saturday’s show and the choreography emulated some of Michael’s most famous dance moves.
“Strictly is a live entertainment show and with it being the Halloween Special, Robbie wanted to pull out all the stops. We would like to assure viewers no offence was intended.”

STAR VISITS MALAWI TO TALK ABOUT HIV WORK
SINGING star Beverley Knight has visited faith leaders in Malawi as part of a Christian Aid appeal to tackle the stigma of HIV in the country.
Beverley, who is the organisation’s HIV Ambassador, made the visit as part of Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal.
Beverley (pictured left during the visit) went to see the work of The Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (MANERELA+).
The interfaith organisation works with 200 community volunteers across the country to help some of the 1.65million Malawians living with HIV.
It provides a holistic service and offers anti-retroviral drugs and the nutritional food which is vital to ensure the drugs are effective, as well as spiritual help through support groups.
Beverley, a devout Christian who grew up singing in church, said: “Eleven per cent of Malawi’s 15m population are estimated to be living with HIV.
The position of the church is one of huge importance here. Coming from my background, to see the whole relationship with the church and its community tackling such a huge problem, was one of the most inspiring parts of my visit.”
If you would like to donate to Christian Aid's Christmas Appeal, or find out more about its work on health and HIV, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/christmas or call 0845 7000 300.
PRAYERS OVER CHURCH PLANS
CHRISTIANS are praying that their bid to build a new church in Cambridge will be blessed.
Cambridge Community Church has submitted plans to demolish the former St Stephen’s Church and adjacent parsonage on the junction of Brooks Road and Coldham’s Lane.
It wants to build a replacement church costing around £2m on the site, including a main hall, meeting rooms, and a café.
A previous scheme was rejected last year after being branded “overly dominant and monolithic”.
The proposals have been redesigned, with the church now set back further from the road and neighbouring buildings.
Steve Campbell, pastor of Cambridge Community Church, told the Cambridge News: “When we purchased the facility it was always the intention to redevelop the site because it is not fit for purpose for us as a church.
“We use it extensively because we run a lunch club, a youth club, and a food bank, but on Sundays we gather at St Bede’s School because the facilities are not adequate and there is not enough space.
“We never wanted to build this so it can be used for a few hours on a Sunday, so there are many rooms – it would be as much a community centre as a church building.”
Worshippers from St Stephen’s moved to St Philip’s in Mill Road when the two churches merged several years ago.
Cambridge Community Church has a 300-strong congregation and wants to build an auditorium without daylight to suit its use of sound and video during services.
The designs show a two-storey building fanning out around the corner of Brooks Road and Coldham’s Lane.
Mr Campbell said he hoped the latest scheme succeeded because there had been extensive consultation with the community and city council.
A city council consultation on the plans runs until November 14.
NEW BISHOP BACKS ‘ROBIN HOOD TAX’
THE North East’s most senior churchman – a former financier – has backed calls for a “Robin Hood tax”, saying banking must return to serving the common good.
The new Bishop of Durham, The Rt Rev Justin Welby, spent 11 years in the oil industry, rising to become group treasurer of Enterprise Oil.
He was speaking after the Archbishop of Canterbury aligned himself with anti-capitalist protestors camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral and backed the idea of a tax levied on financial transactions.
Bishop Welby (left) told The Northern Echo: “There needs to be a significant swing back to the idea of finance as a service industry which is there for the common good.
“It’s obviously allowed to make money in its own right, but it’s also there for the common good and to benefit the rest of society.”
On a so-called Robin Hood tax, he said: “If it can be agreed across the major economies, where 95 per cent of the financial transactions take place, then, yes, it would be a good idea.”
Bishop Welby’s intervention in the dispute only days after he was consecrated in York Minster, signals the 55-year-old’s desire to spearhead the North-East’s regeneration, which he said must be material and spiritual.
Earlier, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, writing in the Financial Times, had described the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration as an expression of a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment.
The protest outside St Paul’s, in London, had raised awareness of the unfinished business of financial sector reform, he wrote.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, David Cameron said Dr Williams had spoken for the whole country in condemning excesses at the top of society, and called for greater responsibility from high earners in the City of London.
However, he played down the idea of a Robin Hood tax, saying Britain would only back it if it was adopted worldwide.
Speaking last night, Bishop Welby suggested the global financial system was not working and was “a bit out of control”, leading to the North East being side-swiped”.
“Anyone who didn’t have a certain amount of sympathy with what people are expressing, not only in London but around the world, I think would have to be very hardhearted indeed,” he said.
The St Paul’s protest has exposed divisions in the cathedral’s hierarchy, leading to the resignations of its dean, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Giles Fraser and chaplain Fraser Dyer.
St Paul’s has suspended legal action against the protestors and the City of London Corporation said it was pausing its action, prompting delight from protestors.
Bishop Welby said the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, had set a good model for handling such situations and said he agreed with the cathedral’s desire not to be involved in forceful, violent disruption of the camp.
SUGGS TO LAUNCH CHRISTIAN AID’S BIG CHRISTMAS SING
MADNESS frontman Suggs will follow in Olly Murs and Beverley Knight’s footsteps by launching this year’s Christian Aid’s Big Christmas Sing. Kicking off the nationwide fundraiser, Suggs is hosting and performing at a free concert where he will be joined by other high profile artists.
He’s encouraging others to warm up their vocal chords and join in this year’s Big Christmas Sing, taking place on December 9–11.
The annual Big Christmas Sing invites everyone who loves a good sing-a-long to Christmas hits, past and present, to raise money for Christian Aid.  
Events are diverse as they are festive, including everything from classic carol concerts to karaoke with colleagues. It’s easy to get involved, and it’s good fun too.
Last year 500 events took place across the country – from Truro in Cornwall to the Isle of Skye – raising over £80,000 for people living in some of the world’s poorest communities. This year’s is set to hit all the high notes and be bigger than ever.
Suggs said: “The Big Christmas Sing is a great way to get into the festive spirit and have fun while raising money for a good cause. There’s nothing like the Christmas classics that everyone knows and loves, so follow in our footsteps and organise an event of your own or find one taking place near you. If you rock the mike, the donations will roll in!”
Anyone can hold a Big Christmas Sing and people all over the UK are encouraged to invite friends and family to their own event at home, school, work or in a local pub or community hall.
Everyone who registers at www.christianaid.org.uk/bigsing will receive a free fundraising pack containing guidelines, tips on how to hold a Big Christmas Sing, publicity posters and access to downloadable song sheets.
X FACTOR HOPEFUL QUIT OVER HALLOWEEN THEME
A MEMBER of The X Factor group The Risk has quit – because the show’s Halloween theme went against his Christian faith.
Ashley Baptiste, 22, said he felt uneasy celebrating the holiday as it had its roots in pagan rituals.
A show source said Ashley (pictured left) had ­struggled to fit in because of his faith and added: “He’s on a ­different ­wavelength to the rest. He doesn’t want to upset his ­bandmates but knows this is for the best.”
The Cambridge graduate, who lives in South London, tweeted: “I love The Risk but am not in the right place to commit. I love the boys and all you amazing people.” Ashford Campbell, of ousted band Nu Vibe, has been drafted in as a replacement.
ACTOR STARTS GOING TO CHURCH AFTER PLAYING REV
ACTOR Tom Hollander has revealed that he has become a churchgoer since playing a beleaguered vicar in the hit BBC comedy Rev.
The actor, 44, is returning to the role of inner-city vicar for a second series of the sitcom, which was a surprise TV success last year.
Tom told the Radio Times: "People we have met in the church since have said: 'Thank you for making us look normal.' Because they're used to being treated as weirdos.
"The moment they start talking about faith or a belief in God, people start to behave as if they have got the plague."
He added: "I believe in the idea of God now. Since doing Rev I believe in what the idea of God represents, but I can't say anything more concrete than that."
Asked whether he goes to church, other than for research, he said: "Occasionally, yes. It began mostly to check if I was getting it right but then I was doing it so often it became a habit.
"Since we stopped shooting I look forward to poking my nose in without it being work."
However he said he would never consider a job in the church if the acting work dried-up, telling the magazine: "No, it would be hard to take myself seriously, wouldn't it?..
"To go from a fictional vicar to a real vicar would be very strange. I don't think I want to go pro.
He said of Rev: "There is certainly something inherently funny about men wearing dresses, but we set out not to make Adam Smallbone (Tom's character) a comedy character.
“In a way he's the straight man of the show and that's why we have been welcomed by the church because, unusually, we don't make the priest appear ridiculous."
BISHOP BACKS FUND TO HELP ELDERLY IN WINTER
THE Bishop of Carlisle is backing a fund set up to try to cut the number of older people dying from cold-related factors in Cumbria.
Cumbria Community Foundation is asking those receiving unwanted winter fuel
payments to donate them to a fund.
Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, spent Sunday night at Dove Cottage, Grasmere, to highlight the problems of trying to keep warm.
NHS Cumbria said there were 300 "excess winter deaths" in the county each year.
It said statisticians look at the number of deaths between December and March and compare them to those during the rest of the year.
Bishop James spent the night at Dove Cottage, where poet William Wordsworth lived, to highlight the difficulty of heating a traditional Lake District house.
He said: "Rising fuel costs, low incomes and poorly insulated homes means hundreds of older people in Cumbria are in danger of becoming ill and even dying because of the cold."
Cumbria Community Foundation's Winter Warmth Fund started last year.
It involves redistributing the winter fuel payment, paid to those over 60, from those who feel they can manage without it to people in need.
Cumbria Community Foundation director Andy Beeforth said he hoped the community would "embrace the idea of our special fund and share the warmth this winter" instead of being forced into a situation where they had to make a choice between eating or heating themselves and their property.

MOVIE ABOUT REFORMED ADDICT TO HIT BIG SCREEN

A MOVIE released tomorrow (November 2) will tell the astonishing story of a reformed drug addict who was called by the Lord to serve the children of Sudan.
Machine Gun Preacher follows the remarkable life of Sam Childers, who is played by Gerard Butler (left) – the star of The Bounty Hunter and other hit films.
It tells the story of how Sam discovered cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol which led to many years of drug addiction, drug dealing.
Sam also developed a love for motorcycles and the lifestyle that often follows a Hell’s Angels biker.
It was in 1992 that he described as a conversion during a revival at an Assembly of God church and claims his pastor prophesied that he would go to Africa.
It was at the end of 1998 that Childers made his first trip to Sudan and it was during that and the many that followed that he was exposed to the acts of the Lord's Resistance Army, which he described as atrocious.
More than 30,000 children have been abducted in the region by Joseph Kony, and relief organisations say that as many as 50,000 children have been abducted and 1.7 million people have been displaced.
The abducted children are generally forced to be child soldiers or sex slaves until they escape, are rescued or killed.
Thousands of children have become orphans as a result of brutal LRA attacks on remote villages in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda.
Not long after his first trip to Sudan, Childers and his wife Lynn founded the Angels of East Africa, the Children's Village in Southern Sudan. The Children’s Village currently houses and educates over 300 orphans,with more than a thousand children rescued since its inception.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND’S THREAT TO PULL INTERNET INVESTMENT
THE Church of England is threatening to use its financial power to stem the tide of Internet pornography.
It is considering withdrawing the millions it has invested in Internet Service Providers (ISPs) unless they take action.
Concern over the easy availability of vile images which demean women and corrupt the young has intensified following the disclosure that Jo Yeates’s killer Vincent Tabak was obsessed with websites showing sexual violence, bondage and strangulation.
Police are under pressure to treat the worst pornography in the same way as child abuse images that are investigated by dedicated teams with substantial resources.
And ISPs such as Virgin Media, BT Broadband, AOL and Sky are under fire for failing to protect vulnerable children from being confronted by shocking images available at the click of a mouse.
The Church of England, which wields significant financial clout on the markets, is reviewing investments worth tens of millions.
It refuses to invest in firms which fuel the very problems Christians are trying to tackle and has already leaned heavily on supermarkets to be more responsible in the way they sell alcohol.
A Church spokesman said members of its ethical investment advisory group are considering new guidelines on pornography which take into account how easy it is to access with modern media.
Campaigners claim the seemingly unstoppable flood of hard-core and violent pornography is corroding the very fabric of society.
They criticised the apparent failure of laws introduced in 2009 to outlaw images of rape, torture and extreme sexual violence as well as bestiality and necrophilia.
Anyone caught visiting such websites to view ‘violent and extreme’ pornography was threatened with up to five years in jail and an unlimited fine.
But officials admitted they expected to see only a small number of prosecutions and no extra funding was made available for a proactive police response.
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CHRISTIAN GROUP HITS OUT AT TAX AVOIDANCE
A GROUP of leading Christians has hit out at the widespread use of tax avoidance strategies by big business.
In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the group said: “We are concerned about the impact that tax avoidance is having on the public purse in this economic climate. In an age of austerity and spending cuts, we believe that tax avoidance is morally unacceptable.”
The letter goes on to claim that “tackling widespread tax avoidance will reduce the need for further damaging cuts in public spending.”
It also says that while the authors welcome current measures to tackle the problem, they want to see “stronger and more decisive action to crack down on the unjustifiable tax avoidance measures”.
Figures cited by the group suggest the practice costs the British economy at least £335bn a year, or the equivalent of about nine per cent of all tax revenue.
In the letter, they said: “The efficient collection of this revenue would lessen the demand to cut social and welfare expenditure which is hurting the poorest in our communities. Treasury figures also suggest that those who are avoiding paying their contribution are mainly wealthy individuals and corporations, so recouping this money would not harm the poorest and most vulnerable.”
Among the signatories of the letter, which will be delivered to the Chancellor later today, are the Rt Rev David Walker, the Bishop of Dudley, the Rev Leo Osborn, the President of the Methodist Conference and Alison Gelder, the chief executive of Housing Justice.
CONTROVERSIAL DROP-IN CENTRE LIKELY TO BE APPROVED
PLANS by the Jesus Army to open a drop-in centre for drug addicts, prostitutes and asylum seekers in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter are likely to be approved – despite vigorous opposition.
The proposal to convert offices in Lionel Street into a church, meeting rooms and cafe resulted in objections from the owners of up-market bars, restaurants and hotels who fear their businesses will suffer from an increase in anti-social behaviour.
More than 250 residents and businesses signed petitions urging the city planning committee to throw the application out.
The protest was backed by the Jewellery Quarter Heritage and Regeneration Group which claims that “the Jesus Army will lead to unacceptable anti-social behaviour and an acceleration of crime”.
Residents were “worried and distressed” by the proposal, the group claimed.
Solicitors acting for the owners of Cornwall House offices in Lionel Street are threatening legal action against the council if the application is approved.
But a report by West Midlands Police raises no objections and stated that a similar Jesus Army outlet in Coventry has “generated hardly any offences”.
Planning committee members will be recommended to approve the drop-in centre at their next meeting.
City planning officer Neal Allcock said the centre, which will only operate in the day, would not lead to an outbreak of crime.
He added: “The drop-in centre will provide voluntary training and help people in society aiming to increase their knowledge and training to better integrate them into society.
“The mixed commercial and residential location of the application site and the daytime operating hours of the drop-in centre means that the proposed use would not have an adverse impact on the amenity of the surrounding area.”
Jesus Army spokesman John Campbell said the group was “seeking to do good in the community” and the council should welcome the centre.
CHRISTIAN ACTIVISTS TO ‘DEFEND PROTESTORS WITH PRAYER’
CHRISTIAN activists have promised a non-violent “ring of prayer” to defend protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral if eviction threats are realised.
A majority in the Chapter at St Paul's remain intent on seeking an injunction to break up the protest, and the Bishop of London has issued an ultimatum to Occupy the London Stock Exchange (OLSX) to leave the site in exchange for a discussion on terms determined by himself and City of London figures.
In response, Christian campaigners say that it is their duty to stand up for peaceful protest, economic justice, and a Gospel vocation to offer sanctuary, not eviction.
"Jesus threw the money changers out of the Temple, but St Paul's wants to throw out those who are criticising the money changers," one protester told the website Ekklesia. "This is a shameful betrayal of the Christian message."
Christian groups publicly siding with the Occupy London protesters include one of the oldest Christian charities, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and the oldest national student organisation, the Student Christian Movement, together with the religion and society thinktank Ekklesia, Christianity Uncut, the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, the Christian magazine Third Way, London Catholic Worker, the Society of Sacramental Socialists and Quaker groups.

1,400-YEAR-OLD TOKEN OF FAITH FOUND
A tiny, exquisitely made box found on an excavated street in Jerusalem is a token of Christian faith from 1,400 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said yesterday.
The box, carved from the bone of a cow, horse or camel, decorated with a cross on the lid and measuring only 0.8 inches by 0.6 inches (2cm by 1.5cm), was likely carried by a Christian believer around the end of the 6th century AD, according to Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel
Antiquities Authority, one of the directors of the dig where the box was found.
CBS News reports that when the lid is removed, the remains of two portraits are still visible in paint and gold leaf. The figures, a man and a woman, are probably Christian saints and possibly Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
The box was found in an excavation outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City in the remains of a Byzantine-era thoroughfare, she said. Uncovered two years ago, it was treated by preservation experts and extensively researched before it was unveiled at an archaeological conference last week.
The box is important in part because it offers the first archaeological evidence that the use of icons in the Byzantine period was not limited to church ceremonies, she said.
Part of a similar box was found three decades ago in Jordan, but this is the only well-preserved example to be found so far, she said. Similar icons are still carried today by some Christian believers, especially from the eastern Orthodox churches.
The relic was found in the City of David excavation, a Jerusalem dig named for the biblical monarch believed to have ruled a Jewish kingdom from the site.
The politically sensitive dig is located in what is today the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, just outside the Old City walls in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital.

UK SHOULD BECOME MORE CHRISTIAN, SAYS MUSLIM CABINET MEMBER
BRITAIN should become a more Christian nation, the only Muslim member of the Cabinet has said.
 Baroness Warsi, who is also co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said the Government wanted to create a country where people were not embarrassed to say they believed in God or attended church.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph today, she said: “We need to create a country where people don’t feel like they have to leave religion at the door. That means being proud of Christianity, not downgrading it. It means encouraging people to say that their faith inspires what they do. “It means supporting religious charities in delivering public services in schools, hospices and rehabilitation.”

Lady Warsi said it was a “mistake to assume that you compromise your identity the more you try to understand others”. “The stronger your understanding of your neighbour, the stronger your own religious identity becomes.
“For many years, I have been saying that the stronger we are as a Christian nation, the more understanding we will be of other faiths.
“It is why the Pope’s visit was so important for our country. And it is why I am proud that this year, for the first time, the Prime Minister held an Easter reception in Downing Street.”
Lady Warsi said she wanted “to address head-on the supposed conflict of loyalty” between faiths such as Islam and Christianity. Different faith groups should talk more, to find areas of common ground.
“This dialogue needs to be congregation to congregation, community to community,” she said.
“Time and again, we encounter the assumption that some people of some faiths can be trusted while others cannot.
“Take it from me: there is nothing incompatible about a world of many religions and a world of strong, vibrant nation states.”
CHURCH MEMBER’S BATTLE TO SUPPORT OPPRESSED
A LIFELONG member of the Methodist church has launched a battle to support oppressed congregations – 10,000 miles away in a group of South Pacific islands.
Methodists in Fiji have been banned from holding church meetings except for Sunday worship in a move which has been seen as a crackdown on religious freedom.
Pensioner Vernon Allen, from Freckleton in Lancashire, was so outraged by the ban he lobbied Fylde MP Mark Menzies, who passed his concerns onto the Foreign Office.
On Wednesday, Mr Allen received a letter from Jeremy Browne MP minister of state at the foreign and Commonwealth Office, which supported his concerns and pledged to lobby the Fijian government.
Mr Allen, who is a member of the Lytham Methodist Church, said: “I heard about this when I received a newsletter from the Methodist church in London.
“When I saw it I was extremely concerned because I believe all churches, cultures and ethnic minorities, have a right to worship without any prejudice.
“We are supposed to be trying to live together, and work together in an ecumenical partnership and work with different cultures, and integrate with ethnic minorities. But the Fijian government is trying to isolate itself completely.”
After raising his concerns with Conservative Fylde MP Mark Menzies, Mr Allen was delighted with the response from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He said: “I am extremely pleased. When I read this letter, I was absolutely delighted with what Mark Menzies has done in writing to the Foreign Office.
“And I am delighted the Foreign Office has gone to those lengths to try to eradicate this and get the ban lifted for the Methodists.”
Mr Menzies said: “It is something that needs looking into by the foreign and Commonwealth Office, which needs to have dialogue with Fiji, to make sure it is behaving in a way we find acceptable.
“It is a fair and legitimate thing the constituent has raised which we have raised with the Foreign Office, so let’s see if we can get a positive outcome.”
‘MORAL VALUES OF ECONOMY NEED RE-EXAMINING’
THE moral values underpinning the global economy needs to be re-examined, Christian leaders have said following the eurozone deal agreed by leaders this week.
After 10 hours of talks in Brussels, an agreement was reached to write off 50 per cent of Greece’s debt.
They also approved a mechanism to boost the eurozone’s bailout fund to around 1tn euros (£880bn), which will help shore up the faltering economies of Spain and Italy.
Meanwhile, banks have been asked to raise around 160 euros (£92.2bn) in fresh capital
as part of the deal, intended to stop the spread of the crisis to other countries.
But in a newly published note on international financial reform, the Vatican called for “serious reflection” on the causes of the current economic crisis, and the cultural and moral values “at the basis of social coexistence”.
“The crisis has revealed behaviours like selfishness, collective greed and the hoarding of goods on a great scale,” said the note, issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
The Council expressed particular concern about the widening gap between rich
and poor in the world.
“No one can in conscience accept the development of some countries to the detriment of others,” it stated.
“If no solutions are found to the various forms of injustice, the negative effects that will follow on the social, political and economic level will be destined to create a climate of growing hostility and even violence, and ultimately undermine the very foundations of democratic institutions, even the ones considered most solid.
“Recognising the primacy of being over having and of ethics over the economy, the world’s peoples ought to adopt an ethic of solidarity as the animating core of their action.
“This implies abandoning all forms of petty selfishness and embracing the logic of the global common good which transcends merely contingent, particular interests.
“In a word, they ought to have a keen sense of belonging to the human family which means sharing the common dignity of all human beings.”
In a similar call, the European Evangelical Alliance’s general Secretary Niek Tramper said the crisis reflected a spiritual crisis characterised by fear and egoism, instead of love and respect for God and neighbour.
“The crisis is not accidental but a consequence of a moral crisis,” he said in a statement this week.
“Human and social values of justice, freedom and solidarity have been replaced by distrust, greed and self-enrichment.”