A recent survey by YouGov, commissioned by church insurer Ecclesiastical, has revealed that two thirds of the general public, regardless of whether they are Christian or attend church, would be concerned if their local church fell into disrepair.

Meanwhile MPs have started to sign an Early Day Motion entitled “Save Our Churches Campaign,” tabled by Frank Field MP:

“That this House acknowledges the vital role that churches play at the heart of their communities; recognises that the UK's churches are under threat as never before; notes that two churches in Britain close every seven days due to lack of a congregation and that a fifth of churches are forecast to disappear over the next generation; and supports The Sunday Telegraph's Save our Churches campaign, with its goals of increasing government funding for the conservation of places of worship, introducing grants to enable listed places of worship to become focal points for the community, keeping listed places of worship exempt from paying VAT on repair work, and making it easier for listed places of worship to be adapted for community use.”

Ask your MP to sign the Motion

The Friends of Essex Churches Trust awards grants to help preserve the fabric of places of Christian worship in Essex and East London. On September 13 the Friends will hold their annual ‘Ride and Stride’ fund-raising event. To take part, download a form from www.foect.org.uk

The Barking area comprises the five east London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest, together with Epping Forest, Harlow and Ongar in West Essex. It is one of the largest and most multi-cultural areas in England.

The Bishop of Barking, Rt Revd David Hawkins, is thrilled with the mix of the newly ordained, commenting, “This area is so rich in its mix of culture and traditions and I am delighted that this is beginning to be reflected in the backgrounds of these twelve new curates.

"Within the group there is a good balance of gender, of theological tradition and of ethnicity that reflects the communities they will be living and working in.  Equally importantly, this group reflects the whole spectrum of the Church of England and that is very healthy and exciting. It’s a clear demonstration of the continuing relevance of the church and of Jesus Christ to people of all backgrounds and traditions."

At Sunday’s ordination service the 12 candidates from the Barking area were ordained alongside a further twelve people from the rest of Chelmsford Diocese.

Pictured (from left to right): Ken Ashton; Sally Lynch; Ven Elwin Cockett, Archdeacon of West Ham; Bridget de Mello; Gill Anderson; Emeka Ejinkoyne; Rt Revd John Gladwin, Bishop of Chelmsford; Rt Revd David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking; Geoffrey Eze; William Obedoza; Shaun Moore; Andy Poultney; Sheila Fernandes; Lyn Hillier; Neil Walsh; and Ven Peter Taylor, Archdeacon of Harlow.

ASDA Rayleigh has made a donation of over £15,000 to the fund to carry out urgent repairs to the East Wall of the ancient church building of St Nicholas in Rawreth, meaning that the entire restoration work can be fulfilled immediately.

When the church was informed earlier this year that the necessary repairs would cost £20,135, a public appeal was launched to raise the money.

Through special gift envelopes and media awareness through newspapers and radio, a total of £4,912 was raised – still way short of the amount needed.

When Matt Featherstone, general store manager at ASDA Rayleigh heard about the plight of St Nicholas, he immediately resolved to help.

“This fine old church truly is central to the communities it serves and I just thought that we couldn’t stand by and do nothing”, said Matt.

He spoke to the ASDA Community Foundation, set up by the supermarket organisation to support community initiatives, and as a result the entire amount outstanding - £15,223 - has been pledged by the Foundation.

St Nicholas’ priest-in-charge, the Revd Paul Trathen said: “This is an overwhelming gesture and we are all indebted to ASDA for its generosity and community-mindedness.”

The cheque from ASDA will be handed over to Paul at a special ceremony to give thanks and celebrate the conclusion of the fundraising drive on June 29th.

The Bishop described Christian Aid’s Death and Taxes report as being rooted in vital Christian values and in the sense of the dignity of the human person and the totally unacceptable face of poverty in our world. The report turns around the old phrase, ‘no taxation without representation,’ he said, and raises a fundamental question: without taxation how can people be held to account and how are societies to develop best practice in equal and democratic values? 

“We are constantly questioning and attacking, for perfectly understandable reasons, the quality of governance in other parts of the world. What do we do to promote governance? We do nothing to promote the issues of governance if we do not tackle the issues of tax evasion, of the ability of the corporate sector to evade its responsibilities to the societies in which it is working and to build up that combination of economic and democratic participation by all the people that enables societies like our own to flourish. This is an important report.”

The Bishop of Chelmsford is the chairman of Christian Aid.

Read more about the report and watch the video of the Bishop’s speech

The Bishop's views were reported in The Times newspaper on 17 May and are reproduced below. 

“The best way to tackle youth knife crime is to support every strategy that builds the confidence of young people in the future, deepens their own sense of self-worth and opens the way for them to take their place in the community and to contribute to the well-being of the wider world.

"To achieve that will require:

• a fresh commitment to the basic importance of good family life and a tackling of the breakdown of family relationships
• greater support for the voluntary work – especially of the churches – in  their work with young people on the streets and in the community
• zero tolerance for all forms of racism and discrimination
• a similar zero tolerance towards all violent activity and the possession of weapons of violence by anyone of whatever age

"For the whole of out society we face an urgent challenge to renew our culture in the values of equality, the fundamental dignity of every human being and with a fresh sense of our shared accountability as children of God for our citizenship of the world.”

The Bishop of Barking, Rt Revd David Hawkins, welcomed 11,000 Christians to Millwall football stadium, the Lions’ Den, on Pentecost Sunday, May 11 for the Global Day of Prayer London.

Boris Johnson MP, the newly elected Mayor of London, spoke at the event. He shared his vision of how churches could work with him in stamping out gun and street crime and asked for ongoing prayer support.  

The Global Day of Prayer London, now in its third year, has received the support of the Prime Minister. In recognition of the increasing importance of the Day in the life of the Church and capital, Gordon Brown held a reception at No 10 Downing Street

Bishop David chairs the board of trustees of the Global Day of Prayer London.

To discover how Prof Ford answered this question download this recording.

Prof Ford is the author of numerous books, including:

• Shaping Theology: Engagement in a Religious and Secular World (2007).
• Christian Wisdom. Desiring God and Learning in Love (2007).
• The Modern Theologians - An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918. Edited with Rachel Muers (2005).
• Theology: A Very Short Introduction (1998).

Order these books through our Resource Centre.

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The BNP constitution states that it "stands for the preservation of the national and ethnic character of the British people and is wholly opposed to any form of racial integration". The BNP has 47 local councillors across the country, including 12 in Barking and Dagenham and 6 in Epping Forest District. The Bishop has been working with churches and others across London and Essex to respond to the BNP. A joint paper between the Bishop and the Churches Racial Justice Network articulates a strong and informed response to racist politics, "based on the Christian belief that all people are created as ONE race, the human race."

Clergy across London have joined the bishop in urging Londoners not to vote BNP in the coming elections. The Diocese of Southwark’s synod has mandated all churches "to ensure respect for all citizens is part of the contribution made by churches to local dialogue".

Parish priests in Bethnal Green, Walthamstow, Ilford, Hackney, Islington and elsewhere have also supported the Bishop’s call for people to vote for ONE human race. Fr Alan Green Vicar of St John’s Bethnal Green said, “I rejoice in the rich cultural diversity of our community. I hope people of faith will vote for those who are committed to London remaining a city where many cultures work together for the common good.”

Other church leaders across the UK have also been urging the faithful to vote for parties which are not racist. In Birmingham, church and other faith leaders are on record for having said, "Voting for or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is like spitting in the face of God".

The Bishop of Barking issued a statement which was read out in churches yesterday. In the statement he says, “Each vote for the BNP will put into reverse the patient, strategic work of healthy, race relations and social integration that is developing in our London Boroughs, Essex and elsewhere in the country.  We are members of one human race.  We must vote for it the ballot box on 1st May.

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