The Church Urban Fund (CUF) have organised over 50 concerts, called Raise Your Voices, where pre-existing choirs will be gathered together to raise money for social action projects around the country.

Many of the choirs have already received grants from the CUF, such as the Memory cafe choir which was founded by a vicar in West London who applied for a grant to help older people in his area who were struggling with dementia or had a relative who was. 

Paul Hackwood, Executive Director for CUF said: “These events are about bringing people together to make a stand against injustice. They’re about collectively doing something that will have a lasting legacy in transforming many lives and communities around the country.

“Of course, these events will be entertaining and fun, but at the core of them is something very important: a group of people prepared to raise their voices and make a difference.”

Abi Bates from Church Urban Fund explained on Premier Christian Radio’s News Hour: “Our first event kicks off next Thursday night at Southwark Cathedral and that will have London International Gospel Choir, the memory cafe choir – so they’re people who either have dementia or have a loved one who’s had dementia – we’ve got the Rolling Tones – they’re basically pitch perfect in England!

“And then we’ve got the Queen’s Park singers…a traditional choir. So, all different…

Leah Sharibu has been held captive by the Boko Haram faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) since February 2018.

The 15-year old was among 110 girls abducted in from their school in Dapchi, Yobe state.

While all of the surviving girls were freed, Leah wasn’t as she refused to renounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam.

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) and the Nigeria Evangelical Fellowship (NEF) have urged the international community to join them in praying for Leah.

Speaking on behalf of the organisations, Bishop Efraim Tendero, Secretary General of the WEA, said in a statement: “Leah is a 15-year old girl who could have saved her life by converting to Islam, but chose not to renounce her faith in Jesus Christ.

“Instead – and at the expense of her freedom – she remained strong in her faith and her relationship with Jesus, which serves as an inspiration and role model for all of us. Please join us in prayer for Leah and Alice that they will gain strength, comfort and assurance that they are in the good hands of our God.”

Alice Ngaddahis, a mother of two, is also being held by ISWAP.

The terrorists recently vowed to make the pair a “slave for life” and said that “it is now lawful for us to do whatever we want with them”.

Bishop Efraim added that the Nigerian government need to make…

A study by unions representing the sector also found 40 per cent are exposed to aggressive or physically abusive behaviour at least once a month.

Ruth is a Christian social worker based in London.

She told Premier’s News Hour that dealing with people is always complex: “You find out that it’s an ongoing process – it’s really difficult.

“So I think that it comes to a point where you think, ‘is it myself or is it the client?’ and I think that sometimes if you’re not giving 100 per cent you would rather just say, ok, I think I need to do something different.”

The online survey questioned almost 3,500 social workers and was carried out for the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and its trade union arm, the Social Workers Union (SWU).

Most called for smaller caseloads or more staff and co-working on the most difficult cases to make the job less stressful.

Ruth said many social workers stick with their jobs by remembering the reason they entered the profession.

“The main reason why you come into social work is because you do have compassion for people,” she explained.

“It’s difficult – you tend to just stay in there because you have to remember the reason why you joined there in the first place.”

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A couple, Natasha and Benjamin Bibby made the request for a blue granite gravestone in memory of their son, Kai-Jay at St Saviours in Ringley.

But the Chancellor of Manchester, Geoffrey Tattersall QC applied strict church rules in rejecting the design.

He said: “The stars, heart, hand and footprints would over-sentimentalise the memorial in a way which is undesirable and unnecessary.”

Mrs Bibby said she saw the the heart-shaped stone as a “symbol of love”.

Premier has contacted the Diocese of Manchester for a full statement.

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People from around the world crafted the handmade poppieswhich adorn St Peter’s Church in Sudbury, Suffolk and the nearby town hall.

Teresa Elford, of Sudbury Town Council, said the cascade over the 90ft church tower is more than 100ft long, including a section draped over the ground at the bottom.

More than 23,000 poppies were contributed, with more than 21,000 on the church tower and the rest placed on the front of the town hall, she said.

Some of the poppies are purple rather than red, in memory of animals who died during the war.

Ms Elford said people had wanted to do something special to mark the centenary of Armistice Day and their idea was inspired by a previous knitted poppy display in Walsham-le-Willows, 28 miles away.

“Our initial target was 5,500 poppies and we were just going to do something on the town hall.

“We smashed our target within weeks – they just came in floods.”

She said poppies arrived in the post from as far afield as Australia and Denmark as word of their project spread on Facebook, and a weekly volunteer group was set up in the town hall to attach the poppies to the netting with cable ties.

The cargo net for the church tower display was donated by RAF Honington and firefighters hung it in place last week.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “Every time…