Church 'does not own marriage'

The Church does not "own" marriage nor have the exclusive right to say who can marry, a government minister has said.

Equalities minister Lynne Featherstone said the government was entitled to introduce same-sex marriages, which she says would be a "change for the better".

Her comments come as ministers prepare to launch a public consultation on legalising gay marriage next month. [...]

Ms Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat minister, responded to comments made by Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, who said that "not even the Church" owns marriage.

She said: "(Marriage) is owned by neither the state nor the Church, as the former Archbishop Lord Carey rightly said.

"It is owned by the people."

Ms Featherstone also appealed to people not to "polarise" the debate about same-sex marriages.

"This is not a battle between gay rights and religious beliefs," she said.

"This is about the underlying principles of family, society and personal freedoms."


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Hundreds attend Rev John Suddards memorial service in Witham

HUNDREDS of people attended a service in memory of an "inspirational" Witham vicar.

The service was held on Monday night at a packed St Nicolas Church in Chipping Hill, Witham. More than 500 people attended, many of whom were forced to stand.

The Bishop of Colchester, Christopher Morgan, led prayers, while the Bishop of Chelmsford was also in attendance and the Reverend Simon Garwood preached to the congregation.

"We got as many chairs in as we possibly could but some people still had to stand," said Rev Garwood.

"We estimate it to be well over 500 people – maybe even 550 – and a lot of people from John's previous parish also turned up.

"A lot of people were upset but it was a very good service and very fitting for such a good man." Read more

Abortion investigation: doctors filmed agreeing illegal abortions 'no questions asked'

Doctors at British clinics have been secretly filmed agreeing to terminate foetuses purely because they are either male or female. Clinicians admitted they were prepared to falsify paperwork to arrange the abortions even though it is illegal to conduct such “sex-selection” procedures. [...]

Acting on specific information, undercover reporters accompanied pregnant women to nine clinics in different parts of the country. In three instances doctors were recorded offering to arrange terminations after being told the mother-to-be did not want to go ahead with the pregnancy because of the sex of the unborn child.

One consultant, Prabha Sivaraman, who works for both private clinics and NHS hospitals in Manchester, was filmed telling a pregnant woman who said she wanted to abort a female foetus: “I don’t ask questions. If you want a termination, you want a termination”. Read more

Urgent inquiry called after investigation uncovers doctors 'agreeing to abort babies for being the wrong sex'

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley last night launched an urgent investigation after it emerged that doctors were offering mothers abortions based purely on the gender of their unborn child. 

Doctors working for NHS and private clinics were said to be agreeing to carry out the terminations despite the fact that ‘sex-selection’ is against the law.

They were also allegedly recorded admitting they would falsify paperwork to arrange the illegal abortions.

An investigation by the Daily Telegraph saw undercover reporters accompany mothers-to-be to nine clinics in different regions. On three occasions doctors were reported to have offered to arrange abortions after the pregnant women said they did not want the baby because of its sex.

Mr Lansley has now instructed officials to investigate.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105105/Urgent-inquiry-called-investigation-uncovers-doctors-agreeing-abort-babies-wrong-sex.html#ixzz1nBYtCpCt

£1.2m funding for girl gang member rape victims

The government has announced £1.2 million of funding to help girls involved with gangs who are raped by male members.

A network of people will support victims of sexual violence or exploitation or those at risk of becoming victims, the Home Office said.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said the violence girls and young women in gangs experienced was shocking. Read more

Bishop of Salisbury backs gay marriage

[...] “I think same-sex couples that I know who have formed a partnership have in many respects a relationship which is similar to a marriage and which I now think of as marriage.

“And of course now you can’t really say that a marriage is defined by the possibility of having children. Contraception created a barrier in that line of argument. Would you say that an infertile couple who were knowingly infertile when they got married, weren’t in a proper marriage? No you wouldn’t.”

Bishop Holtam acknowledged the importance the Church has given to marriage producing children, but said he saw perception changing, and argued that children could not be “the single defining criteria” of marriage. Read more

Chelmsford 'Transforming Presence' Website running

View the website, including feedback from the 'Time to Talk' day, here.

Revealed: angels say Giles Fraser 'not on our side'

Dr Giles Fraser, the self-appointed National Spokesman for Right-on Christians, has dismissed Lord Carey as a Thatcherite "yesterday's man" and "a one-man band" for supporting the Government's welfare reforms. It's an unpleasant attack – another one carried by the New Statesman. The former Archbishop of Canterbury said that the welfare state has rewarded “fecklessness and irresponsibility”, a fact which most Britons agree with. So Fraser instructs him: "George, do us all a favour – take up golf." (He's old and retired – gedditt?!?!?)

This represents "a slightly creepy attempt to please his audience at the expense of a monumentally disrespectful and personal attack on another clergyman," says Daniel Finkelstein at the Times. I agree: and it's incredibly badly judged. What is going on here? Is Giles Fraser trying to impress his new mates at The Guardian, where he's been given a job as a leader-writer? Read more

Why women (including me) say 'no' to Question Time

... I can only answer for myself, of course but here are some of the things that flash through my mind when yet another invitation comes along. Do I want to travel to Aberystwyth (yes, that was the last location I was offered) on a Thursday afternoon, to arrive home at maybe two or three am on Friday which is my busiest working day of the week? Do I want to spend the previous week preparing answers for every conceivable whimsical question that might be asked when I actually need to be concentrating on the one or two issues that are my chief journalistic concerns of the moment? Do I want to compete for a few seconds airtime with a handful of maniacally ambitious politicians who are determined to hog the show? (On one memorable programme, a very senior LibDem figure cut across me every single time that I was called on to speak.) Do I want to be bayed at by a well-organised crew of political axe-grinders in the audience?

So, generally speaking, I am afraid that I find myself thinking, "Who needs it?" Read more

Big welcome for our new Bishop of Bradwell

A NEW bishop who will serve parishes across south Essex has been ordained at St Paul’s Cathedral.

The Rt Rev John Wraw, was formally ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, during a ceremony at the famous London church.

In a further ceremony, which will be held at Chelmsford Cathedral on Sunday, Mr Wraw, 53, will be installed and welcomed as the fifth Bishop of Bradwell.

Formerly the Archdeacon of Wiltshire, Mr Wraw will succeed the Rt Rev Dr Laurie Green, who retired in February last year, after eight years in the post. Read more

Archbishop of York John Sentamu slams same-sex marriage

David Cameron would be acting like a "dictator" if he allowed same-sex unions to be called marriages, the Archbishop of York has said.

Dr John Sentamu, the second most senior Church of England cleric, said the government should not overrule the Bible on the issue.

Marriage must be between a man and a woman, he told the Daily Telegraph.

Dr Sentamu also said the Church should do more to avoid its leadership being mainly white and middle class.
The government will open a consultation on the issue of same-sex marriages in March. A consultation on the subject by the Scottish government ended last month. Read more

Payday loans 'sucking money' from poor, say assembly members

Companies that offer short-term loans at high interest rates have been accused of "sucking money" out of poor communities by Welsh assembly members.

The Welsh government was urged to work with councils and voluntary groups to promote alternatives to payday loans.

Assembly members expressed concern that it was becoming increasingly easy to borrow money through websites and smart phones.

But industry representatives said they did not target the poor. Read more

Ex-Archbishop Carey attacks bishops over benefit cap

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has criticised Church of England bishops for opposing the government's £26,000-a-year cap on benefits.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he says the scale of the UK's debt is the "greatest moral scandal" facing the country.

He says the welfare system is "fuelling vices and impoverishing us all', and accuses the bishops of ignoring popular opinion by opposing the cap.

The government has insisted it will press ahead with the policy. Read more

Is it possible to have a happy open marriage?

[...] In interviews, people in open marriages say that although it is not for everyone, it is absolutely possible for adults to be in committed, emotionally satisfying relationships with more than one person at a time.

The preferred term is polyamory, a word coined in the early 1990s in the US in part to distinguish from swinging, in which couples approach sex with other people as a joint endeavour, or arrangements in which partners are allowed to have sex with other people without romantic attachments.

"Polyamorous relationships tend to be ongoing, sustainable, emotionally bonded, committed relationships with more than one person, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved," says Anita Wagner, who says she has been in polyamorous relationships on and off for the last 15 years.

"When it works, it's wonderful. It's an abundance of love and affection and experience."

The keys to a successful, happy polyamorous relationship are up-front consent and negotiation of ground rules and boundaries, say relationship counsellors, sex educators and polyamorous couples.

"That can range anywhere from 'you can only have sex when you go on business trips and you're out of the state', to 'you can have another girlfriend but I'm the primary partner, so I come first'," says Tristan Taormino, a sex educator, writer and feminist pornographer. Read more

University atheist society president forced to resign after cartoon of Muhammad having a drink with Jesus is posted on Facebook

A row has erupted over an atheist society at a top London University posting a cartoon sketch featuring the prophet Muhammad having a drink with Jesus on its Facebook page.

A student Muslim group is demanding the 'offensive' image of Jesus and Mo having a drink at the bar, taken from an online satirical sketch, be removed from the social networking site.
 
The president of the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society at the prestigious University College London (UCL), Robbie Yellon, has stepped down over the controversy.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088811/University-atheist-society-president-forced-resign-cartoon-Muhammad-having-drink-Jesus-posted-Facebook.html#ixzz1jylfw3BZ

When Islam met the diversity industry…

[...] Islam has a long history of accommodating itself to its host culture without watering down its tenets. In 21st-century Britain, that means pressing the Islamophobia button, and pressing it hard.

Would conservative Christians be allowed to extol the beauty of the Gospel in secular primary schools and hospitals? Don’t be silly. The public sector knows which stereotypes it’s happy to challenge and those it would rather leave undisturbed.

The IDC is a “non-judgmental place”, according to its advertisements. No doubt that’s true – so long as you don’t count the stuff on its website about the unrighteous burning forever in “the fire of hell”. But somehow I doubt that the subject crops up in diversity workshops. Read more

Bishop of Chelmsford's 'sharp sense of humour'

THE Bishop of Chelmsford's sharp sense of humour was apparent when he said enjoying Christmas without going to church is like gate-crashing a wedding and simply indulging in an orgy of eating and drinking.

His mischievous, forthright outlook is important as the church attempts to modernise and appeal to future generations.

The statement raised a few chuckles, but also raised an intriguing argument.

We wanted to find out if our readers agree with the Bishop, so we took to the streets and asked a cross-section of Essex residents what Christmas means to them.

Many of the people we asked agreed with him, claiming that Christmas has become too commercial and should be stripped back to the religious event that spawned it. Read more

Why the Scots want independence from the English

[...] The truth is, however, that differences between Scotland and England are fewer than they used to be. The strongest institution in 19th- and early 20th-century Scotland was the Presbyterian Kirk. It set the tone of the nation. Its values – thrift, self-restraint, self-help, hard work – were thought to characterise the Scottish people. The Kirk was very different from the Church of England, its morality narrower and more demanding. Now it is a pale shadow of what it used to be. Religion plays no greater a part in Scottish than in English life. Both countries have been secularised. For years, too, the Church and Nation Committee of the Kirk produced reports on socio-economic matters that were little different from Labour Party handouts. When Margaret Thatcher was invited to address the general assembly of the Kirk, she infuriated her audience by speaking, from her Methodist background, much as ministers of the Kirk might have done a couple of generations previously.

Assimilation is evident in other visible ways. Shopping centres in Scotland are just like shopping centres in England; the same may be said of what is left of our high streets. We mostly watch the same television programmes, see the same movies, and respond to the same popular music. Football is Scotland’s national game, but Scottish newspapers give far more coverage to English football than they used to, and if a boy is not wearing a Rangers or Celtic replica shirt, he is more likely to wear a Manchester United one than that of another Scottish club. Our postman was early one Saturday. When I asked why, he said he had arranged his shift to get to Old Trafford.

The more life in Scotland is like life in England, the more the need is felt to assert our distinct identity. There is another factor not perhaps given sufficient weight. This is the gravitational pull exerted by London – and increasingly resented. Read more

How can we remain silent while Christians are being persecuted?

Father Immanuel Dabaghian, one of Baghdad’s last surviving priests, is expecting a quiet Christmas. To join him in the Church of the Virgin Mary means two hours of security checks and a body search at the door, and even then there’s no guarantee of survival. Islamist gunmen massacred 58 people in a nearby church last year, and fresh graffiti warns remaining worshippers that they could be next.

The Americans have gone now, and Iraq’s Christian communities – some of the world’s oldest – are undergoing an exodus on a biblical scale.

Of the country’s 1.4 million Christians, about two thirds have now fled. Although the British Government is reluctant to recognise it, a new evil is sweeping the Middle East: religious cleansing. The attacks, which peak at Christmas, have already spread to Egypt, where Coptic Christians have seen their churches firebombed by Islamic fundamentalists. In Tunisia, priests are being murdered. Maronite Christians in Lebanon have, for the first time, become targets of bombing campaigns. Christians in Syria, who have suffered as much as anyone from the Assad regime, now pray for its survival. If it falls, and the Islamists triumph, persecution may begin in earnest. Read more

Nativity scene tradition in Santa Monica threatened by atheists

Every Christmas season the sprawling, life-size displays are put up by local Christian congregations on a bluff at Palisades Park, overlooking Santa Monica Pier and the Pacific.

But the pratice has come under attack from non-believers who this year applied to use the land to deliver their own message.

Santa Monica, which is well known for its liberal politics, decided to institute a lottery to ensure everyone's constitutional rights to frees speech under the First Amendment were protected.

A flood of entries to the lotyter from atheist groups led to them winning 18 of the 21 display spots. Instead of scenes depicting the manger in Bethlehem the area is now staked with signs referring to Christianity as "fables and mythology." One poster depicts God and says "37 million Americans know myths when they see them." Read more