With the theme “Follow the Star”, the advert tells the story of Christmas preparations at St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees.

The advert is accompanied by singers from Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir performing “We Three Kings”, which is the Church’s official 2019 Christmas carol. Featuring in the advert are refugees and asylum seekers who attend St Peter’s, together with Stockton residents.

In the ad, members of the congregation speak lines from ‘We Three Kings’ in turn. One line is spoken in the Farsi (Persian) language by an asylum seeker who fled his native Iran.

Other members of the church’s English Language Class, which serves people from more than 30 countries, also feature, together with pensioners who hang a large star from the church tower and a trio of ‘wise men’.

The parish priest, Rev Bill Braviner said: “Jesus was a refugee and the themes of displacement and journeying are at the heart of the Christmas story.

“Nowadays, journeys are not made by donkey or camel but, as in the time, of Jesus they can be perilous – especially for those fleeing oppression and war.

“The star on our church shows Jesus as the destination for all who travel to Christmas, from near and far, wherever they are in the world, and the best bit is that the story doesn’t end after the Christmas lights have come down.”

Michael, a Christian from Iran who speaks in Farsi (Persian) in the…

St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle which dates back to the 1400s, is to sell 35 of its Victorian-era oak pews to raise money ahead of a £6m renovation.

Project chiefs said the decoratively carved benches, made in the 1880s, could become garden furniture or be used in hotels and restaurants.

They will be sold on a first come, first served basis for upwards of £450 and it is hoped the sales will raise up to £20,000.

Their replacement will be “plain, simple benches and chairs” which can be moved about easily for concerts and community events. Pews in the choir area will be left in place.

It comes after Durham Cathedral raised £125,000 by auctioning off 85 weather-beaten pieces of stonework which dated back to the mid-1800s. 

Lindy Gilliland, who is managing the St Nicholas Cathedral project, said “many” churches and cathedrals in the UK are selling items to raise money for maintenance.

She told the BBC: “Christmas is the cathedral’s busiest time so we will only have a short period to take them out before works start in mid-January.

“The pews are mid-Victorian era, from approximately 1882 when the parish church became a cathedral, and are very solid with beautiful decorative carving at the ends.

“It’s a shame to lose them, but we will keep six decorative ends as a record as well as documentary photos.”

The cathedral was awarded £4.2m of lottery funding this year,…

According to The Sun, he shouted the f-word when he tripped over and hit his head as he attempted to walk back to his seat after finishing a reading.

The Sun said members of the congregation at St Giles-in-the-Fields Church in London rushed over to Blessed to see if he was OK. He apparently laughed it off.

The church was holding a fundraising carol service for charity African Promise last week.

The charity works to improve the quality of education in rural Kenyan primary schools.

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The vicar at St Margaret’s church in Rainham said someone broke into the historic church some time on Saturday night.

Rev Nathan Ward said they smashed a stain glass window and surrounding stonework. The damages will cost up to £10,000 to repair.

“The sad thing is that they have seriously damaged one of our old stained glass windows and they seem to have taken very little. There is almost no money kept in the church in any case.
He said the suspects left with £200 from the church’s charity pot.

“We’ve been serving local people for 900 years. If people need help you don’t need to break in, we’ll help you. That’s the tragedy of it all,” Rev Ward added.

The church office was also ransacked and the CCTV camera was stolen. However, the vicar said the break-in will not “dampen spirits” as Christmas approaches.

“This is a season where we especially think of those whose lives have taken a wrong turn and would welcome an opportunity to meet with those involved so we can help and support them. We bear no ill will.”

Police were called to the church art 7:40am on Sunday and were also responding to another break-in at nearby St Thomas of Canterbury in London Road.

The church made arrangements for the congregation to worship at other services in the local area on Sunday as police began…

Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties last month following backlash from the BBC interview in which he sought to address sexual allegations made against him.

His failure to apologise to Epstein’s victims and his lack of recollection of Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to sleep with the Prince as a teenager lead to a number of organisations dropping him as a patron.

He has always maintained the claims against him are false.

The Queen and her son are due to attend St Mary Magdalane Church on the monarch’s Norfolk estate for a Christmas Day service, accompanied by the royal family.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the Times: “The Duke of York is still a part of the royal family and you can expect to see him at family occasions.”

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Concerns were raised by the National Secular Society (NSS) after it received information that Christian doctor Richard Scott, had offered to pray for a patient described as “highly vulnerable” by an acquaintance earlier this year.

The NSS said it was told the patient “felt unable to express discomfort and was not able to raise the matter formally or change GP practice.”

A fitness to practice inquiry was then launched against Scott, who is a GP at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent.

The GMC stated it had a duty to investigate the issue despite the allegations of the unknown patient being heard second hand.

Scott, who estimates he offered prayer to about one in every forty patients told the Times the decision to drop the “vexatious” case was “good news”.

“The result is encouraging to people like myself to share faith and pray with our patients,” he added.

Scott has been instructed to obtain recorded consent from patients when discussing faith in the future.
Formal guidance warns doctors not to “impose” their beliefs on patients’ and ensure professional boundaries remain “unbreached”.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which backed Scott, said: “The outcome of this case not only gives reassurance to Christian doctors and professionals across the UK, but also clear guidance on how they can share their faith in the workplace without fear…

The German Pentecostal preacher passed away “peacefully in his sleep” and “surrounded by loved ones” on Saturday.

His record-setting rallies drew crowds of millions, particularly across Africa where he spent 50 years sharing the gospel.

In 2000, 1.6 million people gathered in Lagos, Nigeria to hear him speak of God’s healing power.

During his 60 year ministry Bonnke is said to have overseen more than 79 million Christian conversions and has been dubbed the “Billy Graham of Africa.”

A statement from his family reads: “It is with sorrow that the Bonnke Family would like to announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 7, 2019.”

The Bonnke family have offered their thanks to all those who have “enabled him to preach the matchless message of salvation to countless people” through their “kind love and unwavering support.”

Journalist Peter Wooding attended his farewell crusade two years ago in Nigeria. He told Premier his “remarkable ministry” has inspired future generations to continue to fan “the flame of evangelism” he modelled so well.

Having interviewed him personally, Wooding recalled being struck by both his humility and relatability amid such influence.

Following his retirement in 2017, CfaN evangelist Daniel Kolenda was named his successor.

“Those who…

The British quiz show which first aired in 1962 pits teams of top University graduates against one another.

The Venerable Paul Ayers, a former student of St. Peter’s, Oxford says he was “invited out of the blue” to participate in the special pre-recorded episode due to be broadcast on 30th December.

Archdeacon Paul described the experience as “exciting, scary, stressful and a privilege”.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks, and it looks really hard,” he added.

“It’s one thing to try to answer the questions when you’re sitting at home; it’s another thing with the cameras pointed at you under Jeremy Paxman’s gaze.”

Fellow team members Gordon Corera (BBC Security Correspondent), Felicity Cloake (Guardian columnist); and human rights lawyer Afua Hirsch will join Archdeacon Paul in representing St Peter’s College as they face Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

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