Francis Martin

Reporter at Church Times

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Articles

MPs amend Leadbeater Bill in adjourned debate

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

THE debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will continue on 20 June, after further parliamentary time was devoted to the proposed legislation on Friday. Clauses that prohibited doctors from raising the topic of assisted dying with the under-18s, and banned advertisements for assisted-dying services, were added to the Bill during Friday’s debate.
MPs quiz Synod legal adviser about new Clergy Conduct Measure

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

THE Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament is taking time to consider whether the new Clergy Conduct Measure (CCM) is “expedient”, after a session on Tuesday in which its members asked questions of one of the lawyers in charge of drafting the Measure. The CCM received final approval from the General Synod in February (News, 14 February) and is due to replace the Clergy Discipline Measure.
Eighty years of Christian Aid marked in Westminster Abbey service

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).
Friendship forged between Scottish Episcopalians and Roman Catholics

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

A DECLARATION of friendship between the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland was signed last Friday afternoon, on the second day of the meeting of the SEC’s General Synod in Edinburgh.
Cautious words on Chancellor’s spending review

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

THE Government’s new spending plans, unveiled on Wednesday by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have drawn a mixed response from bishops and Christian charities. Ms Reeves announced increased spending on the NHS, housing, school buildings, and defence — the latter at the expense of the overseas aid budget.
Trans people are welcomed unconditionally, Scottish Episcopal Church Synod affirms

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

SCOTTISH Episcopalians affirmed that transgender, non-binary, and intersex people are “made in the image of God” after a debate at the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod on Saturday. Half an hour had been scheduled for the debate on the final morning of the Synod, but, in the end, the item stretched to almost three times that length.
Scottish Episcopal Church Synod wrestles with fallout after return of Bishop Dyer

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Francis Martin

THE fallout over the return to work of the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, meant that this week’s meeting of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s (SEC’s) General Synod had been “assailed by words even before we gathered”, members were told on Thursday. Bishop Dyer is attending the Synod, having returned to work after a long suspension (News, 3 October 2022).
‘With a heavy heart’ Bishop of Leicester steps down as lead on Living in Love and Faith

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Francis Martin

THE Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, has announced that he is stepping down as lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. On Facebook on Friday afternoon, he wrote that he was doing so “with a very heavy heart”.
SJE Arts finds new home at Oxford college

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Francis Martin

A CONCERT series based in the former Cowley Fathers’ Church, St John the Evangelist, adjoining St Stephen’s House, Oxford, has found a new home, after the theological college gave it notice to quit. A spokesperson for St Stephen’s House said: “SJE Arts has been a great and well-loved success over the last thirteen years since the College founded it.
Bishop of Gloucester returns to the West Bank

3 weeks ago | churchtimes.co.uk | Francis Martin

AS THE world watches the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza, violence in the occupied West Bank is increasing, and should not be overlooked, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, said after her visit to the region last weekend. Her position was not about being “pro-Palestine” or “anti-Israel”, she told the Church Times on Monday.