Latest news with #GeneralSynod
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
C of E prepares spiritual response to war as UK military warns of rising threat
The Church of England is considering how it could offer spiritual comfort and leadership to a nation at war as the world faces mounting conflict. Rev Hugh Nelson, the C of E's bishop to the armed forces, said military personnel had been warning him for the past two years of their 'rising concern about the threat of very, very serious conflict, including conflict that involves the UK'. The church was taking the potential challenges seriously, he said. It did not want a repeat of its lack of preparedness for the Covid pandemic, Nelson told reporters in London. Preparations included looking back to how senior religious figures responded to earlier conflicts, such as the second world war and the Falklands conflict. A senior military figure will address the church's governing body, the General Synod, on the current global climate when it meets in York next month. Brig Jaish Mahan, who has served in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, will speak about the challenges facing the UK and his own experiences in conflict. A paper published before the meeting of the synod says: 'While a conflict directly involving the UK is not an immediate risk, given the very serious impact such a conflict would have on every person in the country, we must be prepared.' Nelson referred to the government's national security strategy, published earlier this week, which warned the UK must actively prepare for a 'wartime scenario' on British soil 'for the first time in many years'. The bishop said: 'As a church, we want to take seriously those challenges, both to do everything that we can to pray for and work for and advocate for peace … [and] to begin to have conversations towards plans about how the church might need to respond if there were to be a serious conflict. 'We do not want to be in the situation that we were all in – church and wider society – pre-pandemic, when those that knew things said there will one day be a pandemic, and none of us had done anything in preparation for that. So we want to take that seriously. 'We have looked back at some of the ways in which senior church leadership – archbishops and bishops – led, the things that they said, particularly in the second world war.' Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Proposals for working with schools on issues of peace, war and conflict, and practical suggestions for making churches hospitable and welcoming to armed forces personnel and their families, are expected to be published in the coming months. There are almost 200 C of E army chaplains, serving as regulars and reservists across the Royal Navy, army and Royal Air Force. The synod will consider changes to enable army chaplains 'to do what they need to do without having to go through quite a lot of administrative and bureaucratic steps', said Nelson.
The Independent
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Archbishop of York: Saying Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me
The Church of England's most senior bishop has recalled how meeting the Pope and saying the Lord's Prayer together 'changed me'. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he had been privileged to meet Pope Francis on a few occasions, and remembered one encounter a few years ago when they prayed together. Mr Cottrell said despite having said the Lord's Prayer – also known as the Our Father – countless times before, it was when he said it with Francis that the significance of the word 'our' came through. He told Sky News: 'I've said the Lord's Prayer thousands of times – I say it every day – but sitting there saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis, the opening word of the Lord's Prayer suddenly struck me – our. 'Our Father, our God, and what that means, therefore, is that everybody else who says this prayer is my sister and my brother, whether I like it or not, these are the people that God has made into his church. 'And just saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me – changed and renewed and refreshed my understanding of what it is to be the church, that we belong to each other across these denominational barriers, and then I think, 'what a message for the world'. 'We live in a world that's so divided, you know, where the church itself has made many mistakes and failings. We need to be a humble church. 'We need to be a penitent church but we also need to be a church where we recognise our common humanity and our belonging one to another. That's what Pope Francis reawakened in me, and I believe that will be his great legacy, both to the church but also to the world.' Mr Cottrell has faced his own difficulties in recent times, including calls to resign over alleged safeguarding failures in the Church of England. In February at the church's General Synod – also know as the Church of England's parliament – Mr Cottrell admitted he had 'made mistakes' but vowed he is 'determined' to do what he can to work with others 'to lead the change we all know we need'. Continuing his praise of Pope Francis on Sky News, the archbishop said the pontiff had died while still serving the faithful of the Catholic church. Noting Francis's appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square in Vatican City, Mr Cottrell said: 'It's amazing, isn't it, that, you know he, as it were, died with his boots on. 'Still serving, still praying, still blessing, still doing the things that Christian ministers do. And again, that characterizes his ministry.'
Belfast Telegraph
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Archbishop of York: Saying Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he had been privileged to meet Pope Francis on a few occasions, and remembered one encounter a few years ago when they prayed together. Mr Cottrell said despite having said the Lord's Prayer – also known as the Our Father – countless times before, it was when he said it with Francis that the significance of the word 'our' came through. He told Sky News: 'I've said the Lord's Prayer thousands of times – I say it every day – but sitting there saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis, the opening word of the Lord's Prayer suddenly struck me – our. 'Our Father, our God, and what that means, therefore, is that everybody else who says this prayer is my sister and my brother, whether I like it or not, these are the people that God has made into his church. 'And just saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me – changed and renewed and refreshed my understanding of what it is to be the church, that we belong to each other across these denominational barriers, and then I think, 'what a message for the world'. 'We live in a world that's so divided, you know, where the church itself has made many mistakes and failings. We need to be a humble church. 'We need to be a penitent church but we also need to be a church where we recognise our common humanity and our belonging one to another. That's what Pope Francis reawakened in me, and I believe that will be his great legacy, both to the church but also to the world.' We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Mr Cottrell has faced his own difficulties in recent times, including calls to resign over alleged safeguarding failures in the Church of England. In February at the church's General Synod – also know as the Church of England's parliament – Mr Cottrell admitted he had 'made mistakes' but vowed he is 'determined' to do what he can to work with others 'to lead the change we all know we need'. Continuing his praise of Pope Francis on Sky News, the archbishop said the pontiff had died while still serving the faithful of the Catholic church. Noting Francis's appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square in Vatican City, Mr Cottrell said: 'It's amazing, isn't it, that, you know he, as it were, died with his boots on. 'Still serving, still praying, still blessing, still doing the things that Christian ministers do. And again, that characterizes his ministry.'
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Archbishop of York: Saying Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me
The Church of England's most senior bishop has recalled how meeting the Pope and saying the Lord's Prayer together 'changed me'. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he had been privileged to meet Pope Francis on a few occasions, and remembered one encounter a few years ago when they prayed together. Mr Cottrell said despite having said the Lord's Prayer – also known as the Our Father – countless times before, it was when he said it with Francis that the significance of the word 'our' came through. He told Sky News: 'I've said the Lord's Prayer thousands of times – I say it every day – but sitting there saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis, the opening word of the Lord's Prayer suddenly struck me – our. 'Our Father, our God, and what that means, therefore, is that everybody else who says this prayer is my sister and my brother, whether I like it or not, these are the people that God has made into his church. 'And just saying the Lord's Prayer with Pope Francis changed me – changed and renewed and refreshed my understanding of what it is to be the church, that we belong to each other across these denominational barriers, and then I think, 'what a message for the world'. 'We live in a world that's so divided, you know, where the church itself has made many mistakes and failings. We need to be a humble church. 'We need to be a penitent church but we also need to be a church where we recognise our common humanity and our belonging one to another. That's what Pope Francis reawakened in me, and I believe that will be his great legacy, both to the church but also to the world.' A statement on the death of His Holiness, Pope Francis.@Pontifex — Archbishop of York (@CottrellStephen) April 21, 2025 Mr Cottrell has faced his own difficulties in recent times, including calls to resign over alleged safeguarding failures in the Church of England. In February at the church's General Synod – also know as the Church of England's parliament – Mr Cottrell admitted he had 'made mistakes' but vowed he is 'determined' to do what he can to work with others 'to lead the change we all know we need'. Continuing his praise of Pope Francis on Sky News, the archbishop said the pontiff had died while still serving the faithful of the Catholic church. Noting Francis's appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square in Vatican City, Mr Cottrell said: 'It's amazing, isn't it, that, you know he, as it were, died with his boots on. 'Still serving, still praying, still blessing, still doing the things that Christian ministers do. And again, that characterizes his ministry.'
Telegraph
14-04-2025
- General
- Telegraph
The Church of England must face the cold reality of its net zero drive
SIR – Janet Eastham and Natasha Leake once again highlight the damaging effects of the Church of England's net zero policy (report, April 12). Listed churches with shrinking congregations are being pressured into installing unaffordable and often unsuitable heat pumps and under-pew heaters. These may be fine for a small building with reasonable insulation, but a typical Norman or Victorian church with high ceilings and lots of stained glass windows will often require the power of an oil or gas boiler, along with fan radiators, if it is to be heated to a comfortable standard. General Synod passed the net zero rules, leaving parish administrators with little choice but to comply. It would be interesting, however, if the Church dared to commission a survey to see what its general membership thinks of this policy. Ian Graham Carlisle, Cumbria SIR – Thanks to a bequest, our church – which holds 300 people – has been able to scrap its 100-year-old oil boiler and install under-pew electric heating. This cost £20,000 (after VAT recovery). The new devices provide controllable heat directly where it is needed, to the great satisfaction of the congregation. It would really make sense for the central Church to provide grants for this purpose – alongside those already available – to churches less fortunate than mine, while dropping its foolish insistence on trying to make all these ancient buildings green. The £100 million that has been set aside for slavery reparations could certainly help. Donald R Clarke Tunbridge Wells, Kent SIR – I am a churchwarden at a large, Grade I listed church in the Bristol diocese, a mere four miles from the church at Acton Turville mentioned in your article. We spent about £50,000 on an electric chandelier and ancillary heaters last year (under-pew heaters would not have been efficient). Although funding is always a problem for rural parishes, we were fortunate to have received a legacy. We were also able to get a grant from the National Churches Trust. Most importantly, however, we have a very supportive diocese advisory committee, which understood our needs and was keen to help. In my experience this is key when carrying out work on a parish church. Paul White Marshfield, Wiltshire SIR – I was saddened to read of the heating problems at the parish church of Chislet, Kent. The village had a working coal mine until 1969 (part of the now largely forgotten Kent mining area). This was abandoned when steam railways came to an end – with untapped reserves of coal still there. Mark Robbins Bruton, Somerset
