The non-profit organisation says the UK is breaching international duties by ignoring families in hunger.

It is blaming the introduction of Universal Credit, cuts to welfare spending and a falling standard of living.

Jubilee+, a charity that equips churches to engage more effectively with communities and to help them increase their capacity to serve the poor, told Premier it has seen evidence of the Human Rights Watch’s claims.

Head of communications and policy for Jubilee+, Natalie Williams, told Premier: “We are seeing people struggling on a day to day basis in ways that we haven’t in the past.

“The food bank I’m involved with in Hastings has seen a 113% increase in referrals in the last two and a half years since Universal Credit came to our town, so these figures aren’t really a surprise to me, but I do think it’s deeply troubling.”

Natalie told Premier’s News Hour that churches are spending almost £400m a year on helping the poorest in their communities through a range of initiatives, from food banks to debt centres to education coaching and mentoring to tackling modern slavery.

She said: “I think there’s also a personal responsibility for us as Christians, if we know that someone is struggling, if we know that someone’s in need, and if we can afford to help, then to actually kind of live sacrificially and give to those in need around us as well.

“But I think…

The National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, the Reverend Elizabeth Clark, says cuts to the post office network could be “quite devastating”.

Elizabeth Clark warned: “It feels as if it’s just another thing that’s gone. It could start to feel a bit siege-like. Everything is pulling out and leaving us.”

The survey has been carried out by the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters.

The Federation’s Head of Policy, Peter Hall, told Premier some businesses face closure while others would consider cutbacks in services or opening hours.

“In a small village the post office might be the only shop in the village. So if it closes there’s no alternative besides an outreach service.

“That’s a mobile van or opening up in another space like a church hall for a few hours each week.”

Elizabeth Clark says Christians should support local businesses by making sure they use them regularly.

“It’s no good lamenting that the shop’s closed if we never actually went in and bought anything there.

“Perhaps that’s part of our Christian duty, to support the services and facilities that are in our communities so that others can benefit too.”

But Elizabeth Clark thinks if a local post office is forced to close, the churches in the area should consider radical solutions. She praised communities which have agreed to provide post office services in church buildings.

“Some…

The Church Comms Improvement Project is offering churches across the country free website design, new posters and brand identities.

With many UK Churches stretched for resources and budget, the Christian Publishing and Outreach (CPO) initiative aims to improve media quality and engage more people with the gospel message.

CPO representative Jo Swinney told Premier: “Design and communication is not incidental it’s absolutely core to a church’s effectiveness and mission and outreach and its impact on its local community.”

She added: “Some churches still don’t even have a web presence. I think nowadays that’s the first port of call for a newcomer, a quick Google search and they’ll make a call as to whether it’s somewhere they want to go based on the homepage.”

The scheme which allows Christians to nominate a church in need of support, is working to remove some of the barriers that stand in the way of people encountering God’s love.

Ms. Swinney said: “It’s about not putting stumbling blocks in the way of people hearing a message that deserves the very best and the most brilliant and beautiful communication tools possible.”

Grants can be won by churches who apply and could be include training in media, physical resources or website support between the value of £50-£1000. 

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The Right Reverend Justin Welby said he “very cheekily” asked Pope Francis to record a video message for Thy Kingdom Come, the international prayer campaign which has won support from a range of Christian denominations.

The Archbishop says the Pope’s spontaneous reaction was “utterly inspiring”.

In his message, Pope Francis says the Lord’s Prayer helps Christians to ask the Holy Spirit to fill their hearts.

“We all have a problem and that is our hearts tend to shrink, become smaller and close.

“We can’t solve that problem by ourselves. Only the Holy Spirit can solve it.”

Justin Welby used Twitter to ask people to share the Pope’s video message, which implicitly endorses Thy Kingdom Come.

Please watch and share this beautiful message from Pope Francis. Praise God that @thykingdom_come is becoming a global movement of love and hope that’s uniting us around Jesus Christ. #ComeHolySpirit! pic.twitter.com/wB6GRB7rnY

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) May 19, 2019

Video of the meeting shows the Pope and the Archbishop in animated conversation. Pope Francis gestures with his hands to underline the message that Christians depend on the Holy Spirit to find the strength to face life’s challenges.

The Pope concludes his video message, “With my brother Justin Welby, we want to tell you that we walk alongside you in this prayer – Thy Kingdom Come.”

Part of Thy Kingdom…

According to the 2016 global slavery statistics, there are an estimated 40.3 million people living in slavery worldwide. The UK government has been active in driving international change in recent years, with legislation to criminalise modern slavery and development aid in the sum of £150 million given to tackle the issue.

IJM Advocate, Benson Shamala told Premier the government is crucial in bringing perpetrators to justice but the Church also has a responsibility to take action.

He said: “We need to ensure the government is holding the culprits to account, because when laws are informed we believe violence stops.

“The UK government has a responsibility to speak out and highlight the issues of trafficking across the world, but also, as Christians, we have a responsibility to work hand in hand with the government”

Mr Shamala, who has worked to free child slaves in Ghana and is currently fighting against police brutality in Kenya, added: “The Bible is the story about God coming in to rescue, rescue the children of Israel from captivity, but also our rescue as sinners from our sin.

“So we’ve been given a mandate as Christians to be able to continue with the work that Jesus left, which is to proclaim the good news to the people, to set the captives free and to defend those who are bereaved – the widows, the orphans and the oppressed.”

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Led by conductor Christopher Gray, the singers performed ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ by Elton John from The Lion King soundtrack.

The award-winning choristers finished their song and were met with a standing ovation from the audience and all the judges.

Judge, Simon Cowell said their performance was: “Absolutely stunning.”

All four judges said yes to the choir going through to the next round of the talent show.

Truro Cathedral Choir has an unbroken tradition dating back to the 1880s when services took place in a wooden shed whilst Truro Cathedral was under construction.

Nowadays, the choir usually performs with its twelve adult professional singers made up of lay vicars and choral scholars, joined by either its eighteen boy choristers or its eighteen girl choristers.

For the ITV performance on Saturday, it was the boy and girl choristers performing.

Mr Gray told Simon Cowell on Saturday why they chose to take part in BGT: “I guess the show’s done so much for variety and bringing it back into the mainstream and we think that something really traditional can be part of that.”

In addition to singing at seven cathedral services each week, Truro Cathedral Choir perform regular concerts and broadcasts, including regular live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and has made several TV appearances over recent years.

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