Amelia Braddick

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

CHRISTIAN AID’s 80th anniversary was commemorated in a service at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, with a celebration of the charity’s past campaigns. Substantial changes to the structure of Christian Aid are currently being considered, as the charity attempts to move away from a direct-delivery model of aid work. The proposed changes would involve almost the halving of staff numbers, as employees in the UK and in country offices around the world would be subject to redundancy (News, 2 May).

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

EIGHTY per cent of single parents surveyed by Christians Against Poverty (CAP) are “scared to answer the phone due to being in debt”, the charity reports. For the same reason, 65 per cent are “scared to answer the door”. The charity’s report, No Time to Lose, published on Wednesday, is based on analysis of data from its new clients — 2225 UK-wide client households who “had a Financial Statement activated for the first time in 2024”.

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

POPE LEO XIV blessed cyclists taking part in the final stage of the Giro d’Italia race on Sunday, and told them that they were “role models for young people all over the world”. In the final of the three-week race, 159 competitors from 29 countries cycled through the Vatican Gardens. “May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d’Italia,” the Pope told them. “Congratulations to all of you. May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican.

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

TWO First World War memorial plaques stolen from the lychgate of a parish church in Kent have been recovered — though one of them is the worse for wear. The community of Christ Church, Luton, in the diocese of Rochester, had been “devastated” to hear that thieves had taken the memorial plaques, inscribed with the names of relatives of members of the congregation, the Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Andrea Leonard, said. The metal plaques were found in two scrapyards located in Essex.

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

OPPOSITION is growing to the Toms River town council’s plans to seize the 11-acre plot of Christ Episcopal Church, in New Jersey. The church has been waiting for approval for a 17-bed homeless shelter.