Amelia Braddick

Islington, London

Arts & Culture writer (& news) | Words: @guardian @Independent @everytheatre etc | Editorial @city_matters | @BigIssue Breakthrough, @ADJnews '23 | @PA NCTJ

Articles

St Paul’s recalls Blitz spirit in 80th anniversary commemorations

1 week ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

TO COMMEMORATE the 80th anniversary of VE — Victory in Europe — Day, St Paul’s Cathedral held a special evensong on Thursday. The service featured readings, music, and prayers, honouring those who served, fought, and died in the armed services, as well as remembering Londoners who lost their lives during the Blitz, and throughout the war. After the service, there was a blessing of the “Lamp Light of Peace” on the west steps by the late Queen Elizabeth’s pageant master, Bruno Peek.
Convicted killer of Australian missionary family in India released from prison

1 week ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

A MAN convicted of killing a missionary and his sons in India more than 25 years ago has been released from prison. Mahendra Hembram, 50, was given a life sentence for his involvement in the deaths of the Australian Christian missionary Dr Graham Staines, 55, and his two sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, in Manoharpur village (News 29 January 1999). Mr Hembram was one of 14 people accused of involvement in the killings, and claimed at the time that he was innocent.
VE Day 80: ‘The brave and the true’ honoured in Westminster Abbey service of thanksgiving

1 week ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

JUST before midday on Thursday, the sound of trumpets echoed through Westminster Abbey, heralding the arrival of the King and Queen for the national service of thanksgiving to mark the 80th anniversary of VE — Victory in Europe — Day. This starkly contrasted with what followed: at noon, a two-minute silence was observed, and the King and Queen joined Prince William and Princess Kate around the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is a ‘step forward’ Bishop of Manchester says

1 week ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

THE Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could “represent a step forward” in supporting families, the Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, told the House of Lords last week. The Bill, which is at its Second Reading, is sponsored by the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson. The Lords debate on the Bill was moved by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour).
Pupils take part in Young Interpreter scheme

2 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

PUPILS at Diss Junior Academy, which is part of the diocese of Norwich’s St Benet’s Multi-Academy Trust, are involved in the Young Interpreter scheme to support fellow classmates learning English as an additional language. The initiative, developed by Hampshire County Council, welcomes children, helps them to settle into a new school environment, and, Norwich diocese says, also offers training for pupils to learn a range of communication techniques that strengthen their own academic learning.
Truth and ethics are important to future of news, Bishop of Oxford says

2 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

THE Future of News, a Communications and Digital Committee report, was debated on Friday in the House of Lords, after it was published in December (News 13 December). Baroness Stowell of Beeston (non-affiliated), who moved the debate, warned peers that local news was the worst affected.
Church bells to ring out across the country on 80th anniversary of VE Day

2 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

THE 80th anniversary of VE — Victory in Europe — Day, on 8 May, will be “a time to remember with deep gratitude the courage and sacrifice of those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today”, the Bishop of St Germans and Bishop for the Armed Forces, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, has said.
Guide dogs inspire vicar to run the London Marathon

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

A TEAM VICAR in the diocese of Canterbury will swap her cassock for running gear on Sunday when she enters the London Marathon to raise money for guide dogs. The priest, the Revd Melissa Carter, who is 44, has been registered blind since she was 16. She is running the 26.2-mile race in aid of the charity Guide Dogs, she says, because “For me, having a guide dog gave me the courage to go out. God heals in different ways.
Bishop of Oxford backs Tobacco and Vapes Bill in Lords debate

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

THE Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a chance to “love our neighbours and seek their good”, the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, has said in the House of Lords. The Bill, which was receiving its Second Reading, on Wednesday, is intended to make steps towards creating a “smoke-free generation” in the UK by 2030. If passed, it would make selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 illegal, effectively raising the legal age for customers each year until the sale of tobacco was banned.
Vicar expresses sadness for vandals who sprayed obscene graffiti on gravestones

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Amelia Braddick

A VICAR has said that he feels “very sorry” for vandals who wrote obscene graffiti on nearly 40 gravestones and on the exterior of St James’s, Leyland, in Lancashire, before the Easter services. Discovering the graffiti on Good Friday at about 9 a.m., the Vicar of St James’s, Leyland, the Revd Marc Wolverson, told the Church Times that he was alerted by a member of his congregation to the “horrific blasphemous words” and “sexually explicit images with rude remarks on them”.