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At the end of last year, the number of Christmas services advertised on the Church of England’s church-finding website were up by more than a quarter on pre-pandemic levels. The A Church Near You website was advertising just over 23,850 services and other gatherings. And search engines saw a surge in people searching for phrases...

Deforestation sits at the heart of climate, biodiversity and food and water security challenges, all of which many parts of the world are currently struggling to address. The Church of England has therefore said: “We recognise the need to support a transition to sustainable policies and practices in a way that conserves and restores forests...

Church aims to double number of UK Minority Ethnic Head Teachers A very hard winter for many: bishops respond to recent Autumn statement Millions of people in touch with church community action Domestic abuse must not be a taboo subject Church of England commits £2m to enable charities to purchase housing More than one million...

The Church of England is seeking to double the number of UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) Head Teachers in all its schools in England over the next five years. The Leaders Like Us scheme (https://www.cefel.org.uk/leaderslikeus/) launches this month (January 2023). Applications are now open to teachers from all schools. The scheme aims to equip UKME teachers...

The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, convenor of the Bishops in the House of Lords, and the Bishop of Durham Paul Butler, who speaks on poverty issues in the Lords, have recently responded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn statement. They said: “It is heartening to hear the Chancellor single out the needs...

– as reports to churches increase The Church of England has revealed that there has been a 37% increase in reports of domestic abuse to diocesan safeguarding advisers over the past three years (2019-2021). These are reports relating to the work of the local church in its community, collected in a diocesan self-assessment audit. The...

 – to enable charities to purchase housing to support vulnerable people  The Church of England’s Social Impact Investment Programme, a £25m fund which exists to deploy investment funding granted by the Church Commissioners for England to strengthen communities, has committed £2m towards the second Social and Sustainable Housing Fund (SASH II) managed by Social and...

The number of people using the Church of England’s Daily Prayer audio service has recently passed a million, as the podcasting revolution begins to reshape how people worship. The podcast, also available as audio on the Daily Prayer app, follows the Church of England’s traditional cycle of Morning and Evening Prayer, with a range of voices...

Church leaders in Ukraine continue to protest against Russia Russia’s suspension of Black Sea grain deal a “body blow” to world’s poorest, Christian Aid says New £15 million fund to help churches with energy bills Youthscape charity to work with parishes on reaching young people First sermon in British Sign Language at St Paul’s Cathedral...

The leaders of Churches in Ukraine have urged Christian leaders in the West to help to try and persuade Russia to comply with humanitarian standards of behaviour, and to stop indiscriminately attacking civilians and torturing prisoners and deportees. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations has said “the Russian Federation has significantly stepped-up acts...

– is a “body blow” to world’s poorest, Christian Aid say International development agency Christian Aid has urged all parties to the Black Sea grain deal, which would allow the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets, to persuade Russia to end its unilateral suspension. Elizabeth Hallinan, Christian Aid’s Global Crisis Contexts Lead, said: “Any...

The Church of England is to provide £15 million for dioceses to help churches struggling to pay their energy costs. The Energy Costs Grant will be distributed to dioceses to enable them to help Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) cover the increased cost of heating and lighting church buildings this winter. Dioceses will also be able...