The Church of England in the South East has launched a series of events across the Diocese of Rochester to raise awareness of domestic abuse and highlight places of support for victims.

It comes as Monday marks the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Rt Rev Simon Burton-Jones has given his backing to the White Ribbon pledge which asks men not to “commit, excuse or remain silent” when they see incidents taking place.

Bishop Simon urged men to join him in an online video campaign:

Bishop Simon White Ribbon Day from Diocese of Rochester on Vimeo.

Speaking to Premier, Bishop Simon said the Anglican Church feels a responsibility to protect victims both in real life and online:

“We feel that clearly the scourge of male on female violence remains a very oppressive threat in the UK today.

“Women in particular are being trolled online in a way that’s meant to threaten and intimidate them into silence and out of public roles. So we thought is very important that we took on our own ownership of what is a global campaign to try to end this scourge.”

Many female victims feel unable to speak out against their perpetrators as they are friends and relatives, Bishop Simon says. He is encouraging men not to “turn a blind eye” to the problem.

“Within all of us this human tendency whenever there might be trouble to turn a blind eye, or to offer a…

The UK’s acknowledged expert on social etiquette, who’s also starred in Channel 4’s Gogglebox, has been speaking of her love for the Church of England’s traditional service book.

“We are fortunate in my village as, once a month, our church near Marlborough in Wiltshire has Evening Prayer using the Book of Common Prayer and I respond well to joining others in speaking words that have been spoken in exactly the same way in the same place at roughly the same time on a Sunday for centuries,” she said.

“So much mystery and numinosity was lost when the Church of England, in aiming to modernise its message, only patronised.

“The Book of Common Prayer, however, is timeless. It’s a type of holy life raft sitting calmly above the turbulent seas.”

Created first in 1549, the revised version which is used today was formed in 1662.

Traditionalists have been keen to keep its use despite a move towards more contemporary forms of worship across the Church of England.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

Francis recalled that Japan’s Catholic bishops called for the abolition of nuclear power plants in the aftermath of the “triple disaster”, in which three reactors at a nuclear plant in Fukushima melted down after an earthquake triggered a tsunami.

The meltdown coated the area in radioactive fallout and at one point forced the displacement of 160,000 people.

Nine years later more than 40,000 people still cannot return home.

Francis did not make the call to abolish nuclear power in his speech before victims.

But in citing the position of Japanese bishops and his own calls for lifestyle changes that consider the environment, he made clear that “important decisions will have to be made about the use of natural resources, and future energy sources in particular”.

“As we think about the future of our common home, we need to realise that we cannot make purely selfish decisions, and that we have a great responsibility to future generations,” he said.

“Consequently, we must choose a humble and sober way of life that recognises the urgent realities we are called to face.”

During his first full day in Japan on Sunday, Francis visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima, sites of where two US atomic bombs were unleashed in the Second World War, and said both the use and possession of nuclear weapons was “immoral”.

He has not articulated a formal position on nuclear power, but the Vatican has…

Mr Lynas passed away on Saturday 23rd November at the age of 77 after a short battle with a stroke and then a brain tumour. 

He began his career with a small fish shop in Coleraine in Londonderry before growing a major family-owned frozen food firm, Lynas Foodservice, to over 560 staff, delivering food to the catering trade. 

The company expanded to Scotland and in the last eleven years Norman supported his son Andrew as he took the business forward. 

Andrew wrote in an obituary: “Dad was a salesperson at heart, he loved getting that extra box into the call. He loved his customers, enjoying calling on them for a cup of tea or seeing them at the different food shows and ensuring that their business was thriving. From schools, hospitals, chip shops to coffee shops he loved ‘serving the Caterer.'”

Norman Lynas also established the Lynas Charitable Trust Fund in 1978 from income from the business to help people struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, giving them the opportunity to respond to the Christian faith. 

With his wife Lynda, he set up Exodus in 1997, an organisation to reach young people and grow them in their Christian faith 

The organisation paid tribute to Mr Lynas, saying: “As staff we are grateful to Norman for his investment in us as a team, his consistency in prayer, his passion for the gospel and his willingness to empower young leaders to step out in faith.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a significant figure in many…

An upside-down cross and the numbers 666 were painted on the door of St Peter’s Church in Bramshaw.

A number of sheep and cattle across the national park were also slaughtered and sprayed with pentagrams and stars.

According to common rights dating back to the 13th Century, the animals of around 800 local inhabitants have been given license to graze in the open forest.

Rev David Bacon, the vicar of St Peter’s Church, has lived in the area for over 15 years and suggested the vandalism may be linked to black magic or witchcraft, given that the New Forest has been “well-known” for such practices for centuries.

Speaking to Press Association, Rev Bacon said: “The church door has been cleaned and needed redecorating but that’s just a pain.

“The attacks on the animals have left people quite disturbed and scared, particularly people who have animals in the forest.

“We have had very very minor incidents in the past, little bits of graffiti, it doesn’t happen very often, nothing like this.”

Tony Hockley, chairman of the New Forest Commoners’ Defence Association has warned of the implications these attacks are likely to have on the farming industry there.

“Things like this will deter people from carrying on the tradition of grazing animals on the forest and that hurts everyone.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like…

The son of the late Billy Graham was speaking on Christian author Eric Metaxas’ podcast promoting the Christmas shoebox campaign by his charity Samaritan’s Purse.

The conversation soon turned to politics, with both men previously offering vocal support for the President.

Metaxas raised concern over the level of opposition Trump faces.

“It’s a very bizarre situation to be living in a country where some people seem to exist to undermine the president of the United States,” he said. “It’s just a bizarre time for most Americans.”

While agreeing, Graham suggested there was a spiritual aspect to it claiming it be a “almost a demonic power” trying to bring him down.

The pair went on to defend the record of Trump, praising him for lowering employment and bringing about a stronger economy.

They also claimed that people hold Trump to higher standards than others.

“It’s a bizarre situation that we’re in, that people seem only to have these standards for the president somehow,” Metaxas said.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.