He’s been named on the short list for the role in the Diocese of Brechin in Scotland.

The development comes 15 years after he was nominated as Bishop of Reading but stood aside after the then Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams asked him to withdraw from the process in order to avoid a church split.

Reports since suggest he’s been put forward a number of times but to fall at the final hurdle. Last year his nomination as Bishop of Llandaff was blocked by Welsh bishops.

Jeffrey John entered into a civil partnership with Grant Holmes in 2006 after a 30 year relationship. They have stated their relationship is celibate.

There are three other candidates left in the selection process to become Bishop of Brechin. The election is due to take place in June.

Commenting on the short-list of candidates the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Most Rev Mark Strange, said: “I thank members of the Preparatory Committee for the work they have done and am delighted that four candidates are being nominated to the Electoral Synod.

“We hope that the discernment in the Electoral Synod will enable them to elect a new bishop who will lead the Diocese of Brechin in its future ministry and mission, and hold each of the candidates and the Diocese in our prayers during this process.”

Also shortlisted is Rev Christopher Newlands from Lancaster.

He’s being considered for the vacancy for new Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld &…

Putting a harsh figure on the reality that has been dominating crime stories, the police say they’ve recorded 39,598 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2017.

Rev Nims Obunge used to advise the Metropolitan Police on reducing knife crime and is now Chief Executive of the Peace Alliance as well as pastor of Freedom’s Ark Church in Tottenham in London.

Before any discussion of the causes or political solutions, Rev Nims says church members need to pray and get out on the streets.

He told Premier: “Blood is on our streets…there’s a need to call our churches to prayer.”

“Don’t just stay on the fringes, roll up your sleeps, let’s work together”

Speaking of the various causes which lead to later violence he said: “Whatever the issues may be with these disaffected, angry young people – there are some young people that have got revenge and hatred in their hearts.”

He said there was a huge gap for the church-going population to show people love: “Some young people have said they just never grew up with love and that’s a very strange issue.”

“There was a young man I tried to embrace who was going through a very hard time and he said he’d never been hugged in love ever in his life. “

His call to Christians is: “Don’t be afraid of them, reach out to them, engage with them, show them that we care for them,

“Show them that they can have hope in life…make them see…

American psychologists from universities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania found that Christians count their pennies when it comes to grocery shopping and also make fewer impulse purchases.

The researchers said the findings support the notion “that many religions emphasise the value of being prudent with money.”

John Morris from Christian financial advisors firm the Harvest Partnership told Premier’s News Hour being frugal can be helpful.

“Financial prudence is something we can all learn from and all benefit from, because in the end the household budget is what it is,” he said.

“We have to be very wise in our spending and determine what we should spend our money on.

The resources that the Lord has given us are for us to have control over and use according to his will and also to meet the needs of our family.”

However, he said it’s possible to go overboard with being too penny-wise.

Morris added: “Some people who are wealthy are tight. They don’t give very much away and they’re very, very careful with their expenditure and I don’t think that’s automatically good. “

The study surveyed 2,400 shoppers in ten states. 

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Criticising the lack of vision for the under-pressure health system, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said the value of such an agency was “blindingly obvious” and described the response by the administration as “deeply disappointing”.

The creation of an Office for Health and Care Sustainability, likened to the fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility, had been a key recommendation of a Lords select committee on the long-term sustainability of the NHS and adult social care.

In its conclusions, the committee highlighted a “culture of short-termism” in the NHS and adult social care.

Criticising the “short-sightedness” of successive governments, the inquiry found almost everyone involved in the health service and social care system seemed “absorbed by the day-to-day struggles, leaving the future to ‘take care of itself'”.

The committee said a new political consensus on the future of the health and care system was “desperately needed”.

Speaking during the Lords debate on the report, the bishop, who sat on the committee, stressed the need for a long-term view.

He told peers: “We need to be looking at 15 or even 20 years ahead and at present that is simply not happening.”

The Government had dismissed the suggestion of an independent body arguing it would “replicate existing mechanisms”, but he said: “Existing mechanisms are not currently prompting or helping anyone to plan for the…