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Following Rehman Chishti’s recent resignation as Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Open Doors, who works with the Persecuted Church, has called for another Special Envoy to be appointed as quickly as possible, “to continue this important work”. It was in September that Rehman Chishti MP resigned his position. He had...

Bible Society teams worldwide provided almost 3.7 million Scripture items for children last year.  More than 1.1 million children’s Scriptures were distributed in Egypt alone. This is the largest number for one nation, in a place where ministry with young people is a top priority. Through festivals, competitions and quizzes, the Bible Society of Egypt engages with hundreds of...

Report: The toll of lockdown on low-income families C of E Pensions Board helps launch a new Net Zero Investment Framework Church of England and RSCM await next steps on singing safety Turkey turns another church into a mosque Oppressed Christians struggling under Covid-19 Churches enjoy Zooming Our teenagers are the least happy in Europe...

Coronavirus has left low-income families struggling with a significant deterioration in living standards and high stress levels.  So warns a new report from Child Poverty Action Group and the Church of England. The report, Poverty in the pandemic: The impact of coronavirus on low-income families and children, is based on a survey of families with children...

A new ‘Net Zero Investment Framework’ provides the first-ever practical blueprint for investors to maximise the contribution they make in tackling climate change and achieving net zero emissions globally by 2050. The framework has been developed with over 70 global investors, representing more than USD 16tn in assets, including the Church of England Pensions Board. The initial...

The Church of England and Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) have been awaiting updated guidance on singing in places of worship after findings of a Government-backed study were published. The research project, known as ‘PERFORM’, recently published its findings on measuring aerosol production from humans.  It measured singing, speaking and breathing in a zero-background...

Just a month after converting the famous Hagia Sophia into a functioning mosque, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that another historic church has been turned into a place of Islamic worship. The historic Chora church, one of Istanbul’s most recognisable Byzantine buildings, was officially commissioned as a mosque in late August. The mediaeval church contains several 14th century...

Oppression and discrimination against Christians has increased during Covid, says Release International, which has launched an appeal to help Christians suffering during the pandemic. Many Christians have been denied food and relief aid and excluded from support systems during lockdown. They have been abandoned by families because of their faith and refused relief by governments and...

Most churches who used digital channels during lockdown, in order to keep in touch with their congregations, found that their favourite platform was Zoom. A recent survey by Ecclesiastical found that Zoom was used by 78 per cent; Skype by 12 per cent, and other platforms, including WhatsApp, by eight per cent. Nearly one third...

So says the Children’s Society in its recent Good Childhood Report, an annual consideration of childhood in the UK. The Church of England charity found that 15-year olds in the UK score lower levels of life satisfaction than those in 24 other European countries. Levels of poverty, a lack of close friendships and pressure in...

Bishop calls for targeted sanctions to protect Uighurs ‘Big Conversation’ launched on clergy care and wellbeing London ‘more religious than the rest of the country’ says new report MU’s ‘Thank You Key Workers’ Appeal CAP launches Church Resources page Churches and young people in lockdown Bishop of Bristol to take up national safeguarding role **...

A new system of targeted sanctions could be used against the perpetrators of “gross human rights abuses” on the Uighur people in China, a bishop has told the House of Lords. The Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff, also urged the Government to consider the use of sanctions specifically to protect freedom of religion or belief...