Return-to-work programmes needed, says North
THE Government’s overhaul of the benefits system should be balanced by investment in return-to-work programmes, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, has said. When the welfare cuts were announced last month, the Department for Work and Pensions released analysis of the benefits reforms, which suggested that 3.2 million families would lose out by 2030 (News, 28 March). In an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire this week, Bishop North said that, while “benefits is an important mechanism for keeping people out of poverty,” he recognised that “the benefits bill is enormous,” and ways were needed to “liberate” people from them. “Reforming welfare is a long-term project, and it can’t deliver quick wins. To cut the overall bill, we also need to simultaneously invest in other areas, including health, social care, and back-to-work programmes.”
Life ministry ban for former Wakefield Precentor
A FORMER Canon Precentor of Wakefield Cathedral, Dr Jayson Rhodes, has been prohibited from ministry for life for “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders”. The ruling was imposed on 4 March. In July 2023, Dr Rhodes was removed from office and prohibited from ministry for ten years, on the same grounds. Both penalties were imposed under a provision in the Clergy Discipline Measure decreeing that, when the respondent consents to the penalty, no further details of the case are published.
Bishop of Brixworth to retire in the autumn
THE Rt Revd John Holbrook, the Suffragan Bishop of Brixworth, in the diocese of Peterborough, since 2011, is to retire on 30 September. He trained for ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and was ordained priest in 1987. He served his title at St Mary’s, Barnes, in Southwark diocese, before moving to Oxford diocese, where he served in parishes and as a hospital chaplain. In 2002, he became Rector of Wimborne Minster, in Salisbury diocese, later serving as a rural dean and an Hon. Canon of the cathedral. The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Debbie Sellin, said that he would be “hugely missed” and spoke of his pastoral approach.
King unveils plane to mark MAF’s 80 years
THE King unveiled a new humanitarian aircraft at RAF Northolt, last week, to mark 80 years of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) (Features, 4 April) and celebrate 50 years of an independent Papua New Guinea (PNG). He pressed a button to reveal the new Cessna 208 Caravan, the latest addition to the charity’s 118-strong fleet, modified to withstand some of the world’s most challenging flying conditions. The King met PNG nationals and the country’s High Commissioner to the UK, Betty Palaso, as well as MAF’s country director for PNG, and trainee pilots from the UK. MAF UK’s chief executive, Donovan Palmer, spoke of the Fellowship’s long-term commitment to PNG. “By flying food to market, delivering building equipment, transporting teachers, and carrying out medical evacuations, previously isolated villages have been transformed, modernised, and connected to the outside world, some for the first time.”
Portsmouth Cathedral to keep children busy
YOUNG visitors to Portsmouth Cathedral have a new resource: Portsmouth Cathedral Children’s Activity Book, created with Esther Johnson, of Designed by Esther, and includes illustrations and “hands-on” activities, including puzzles, games, wordsearches, and pages to colour. The Dean, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, said that the book “makes the history and beauty of Portsmouth Cathedral accessible to children and families in an engaging and interactive way. We hope it will inspire curiosity and a sense of adventure in all who use it.” It can be bought online and in the cathedral gift shop.
Author’s plan is to help out charities
THE Christian fund-raiser and author Primavera Moretti has founded an independent publishing company, Lumina Publications, to raise funds for charity. Each charity partner will be linked to a specific title, and will receive £1 per copy sold. Ms Moretti, who writes under the pen name Flora Dunn, said: “It’s been getting harder and harder to raise funds, particularly for small charities. I wanted to find a way to turn the tables . . . by creating an additional income source I could afford to give away. I wanted my creative work to count for something more than just entertainment and reflect my Christian faith and practice.” Sales of her book Summer at Tillingford Hall have supported the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, a drugs-education charity set up by Fiona and Tim Spargo-Mabbs, whose younger son died from an overdose of MDMA in 2014 (Arts, 8 April 2016; Interview, 6 June 2016). Mrs Spargo-Mabbs, who was appointed OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours list, said: “This is a really creative approach to fund-raising in challenging times, and we’re very grateful to Primavera for choosing our charity to benefit from the first of her books.”
No-confidence vote at Canterbury Christ Church
THE Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) branch of the University and College Union (UCU) has passed a vote of no confidence in the university’s leadership, including the Vice-Chancellor and board of governors, over the prospect of staff cuts. CCCU was founded as a C of E teacher-training college in 1962, and became a university in 2005. The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, is a governor. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rama Thirunamachandran, said on Saturday that the higher-education sector was facing “unprecedented financial challenges”. Although the university was operating with a small surplus, it was taking “pre-emptive action to ensure we remain both academically successful and financially sustainable into the future”, he said. The UCU vote represented less than 15 per cent of the staff, and less than one per cent of students; but the university “takes seriously the views of our colleagues as we go through this time of change”, he said.
