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Editor:  Welcome to our new WEEKLY news update, to help you keep up to date with the latest stories from the National Churches. These will be suitable for use on your church website this weekend, as well as your magazine. First online prison church service to be broadcast by Church of England Faith leaders make...

Editor:  There are several major themes running through the News just now, and in order to help you get a quick overview of all our stories this month, we have grouped them under various headings.   These stories were all released by the end of June, but things are moving so rapidly that by August, the...

Following the recent Government announcement that church buildings were able to reopen for public worship from 4th July, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who leads the Church of England’s Recovery Group, said that the months since lockdown began “have been an extraordinary time – the first period without public worship and the sacraments in...

The Church of England, together with the Royal School of Church Music, has encouraged the Government to be proactive in ensuring music-making can resume in church buildings, once it is safe to do so. Responding to the latest guidance, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said: “We are encouraging the Government to be alert to the consequences...

Sadiq Khan has praised church leaders for providing hope and leadership throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking recently to Premier radio, the Mayor of London praised the support he has received from faith leaders in the lockdown. He spoke of “the massive contribution… (that) the leadership of the Christian community has provided. I’ve spent some time...

A new commission is to be set up to drive forward ‘bold changes’ to ensure racial equality in the Church of England, following a series of reports and recommendations, it was recently announced. The House of Bishops voted to back the creation of the Archbishops’ Racism Action Commission. It will start work early next year,...

The Church of England has more than 16,000 churches and 42 cathedrals, almost all of which are home to memorials and monuments to individuals from a period spanning more than a thousand years. A recent statement put out by the Church of England explains: “Monuments and memorials tell us a lot, not just about individuals,...

Church of England bishops recently joined with counterparts from around the Anglican Communion in signing a statement warning of ‘Environmental Racism.’ The Archbishop of Canterbury together with the Bishops of Salisbury, Oxford, Truro, Dover, Woolwich, Sherborne, Loughborough, Kingston, Reading and Ramsbury, and former Archbishop Rowan Williams have joined a list of eight archbishops and 38...

The events of recent weeks have shone a spotlight on the history and legacy of the slave trade, prompting renewed reflection by many organisations in this country and across the world. The Church of England’s history in this regard is complex: marked both with pride in the role of William Wilberforce and others who led...

A new campaign, Climate Sunday, has been launched by a coalition of churches and charities, as part of a call for action on climate change. From next month, 6th September, churches throughout the UK will be encouraged to have a Sunday dedicated to the theme of climate change. This could be held at any time...

A number of aid agencies have reacted with anger to the recent government decision to merge the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office in September. The new government department will be called: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It will be led by the Foreign Secretary. The Government remains committed to the target...

Women made up the majority of deacons ordained in the Church of England last year for the first time, according to the latest statistics. A total of 570 deacons were ordained in 2019, with women making up just over a half, or 51% of the new intake. Deacons are the first of three orders of...