Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at your Church

The number of people offering themselves for ordination to the Church of England has fallen by 38 per cent since 2020. In the autumn of 2020, there were 591 men and women beginning ordination training. This autumn it will be about 370. The Ministry Council has said the goal is to secure a “stable” number...

The brutal civil war in Sudan has pushed the country to the brink of famine. And even food given by humanitarian agencies is now being used as a weapon in the conflict. So says the South Sudanese RC Bishop of Yei, the Rt Revd Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo, who says that both sides of the...

So says the charity Open Doors. It warns that the election of the cardiac surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian as the new ‘reformist’ President of Iran is not a signal that the lives of Christians are likely to improve, even though Pezeshkian has lived and studied in the United States. A persecution analyst with Open Doors’ World...

 The ‘deep roots’ of the UK housing crisis requires a long-term strategy, as well as immediate solutions for homeless people and for those living in rural areas. So said the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, in a recent debate in the House of Lords.  As the C of E’s lead bishop on housing, she...

Anglicans are more likely to say that they are satisfied with their lives, and many older churchgoers say that they never feel lonely. A recent survey for the Belonging Forum, which supports dialogue between faiths, has found that there is a strong association between belonging to a faith group and having greater well-being and health....

Archbishop of Canterbury urges end to violence in Sudan  Tearfund working amidst the crisis of South Sudan Refugees find hope through music charity supported by MAF Archbishop of York patron of Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Friendly Churches Warm Welcome grows larger Christian charities working to help the people of Ukraine **  Archbishop of Canterbury urges...

Archbishop Justin Welby has urged an end to the ‘unconscionable’ suffering in Sudan, calling on the countries supporting the destruction to instead “channel their resources into peace negotiations.” It is estimated that between 8 and 11 million people have been displaced, and that famine and other forms of insecurity are now inevitable. The archbishop said:...

Tearfund has warned that now 70% of the people in South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The church in South Sudan is responding to this ‘forgotten’ humanitarian crisis with support from Tearfund’s match funded summer appeal. A staggering one in three people in South Sudan have had to...

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is partnering with an unusual programme which reaches out to traumatised refugees in Bidibidi, in northern Uganda, the world’s second largest refugee settlement. ‘Brass for Africa’ is a music programme that visits the settlement twice a week, bringing joy to hundreds of stranded people who have barely survived the horrors of...

Archbishop Stephen Cottrell has recently become a patron for the new organisation, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches. He said: “I’m delighted to continue encouraging churches to offer support for Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.” Archbishop Stephen introduced the 2019 General Synod debate ‘Centuries of Marginalisation and Visions of Hope’ which called for the Church to...

As summer will soon turn to the cool of autumn, the Warm Welcome Campaign has recently announced that it is beginning a ‘new chapter’. It explains: “What started as a crisis response to keep people warm through the winter has blossomed into a movement to reconnect individuals and communities across the country all year round.”...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused devastation to millions of people. They have lost family members, their homes, and livelihoods. They are displaced and desperate. Now, with colder weather soon approaching, the need will be all the greater, both for those displaced inside Ukraine, and for those sheltering in nearby countries. The Christian charity...