Jarrod McKenna from Cornerstone Church, Perth, set out on the 31st October to walk the 499km border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and pray ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.

An open border has been in place between the two countries allowing free passage of people since 1923 and preventing a hard border in the region has been a point of contention throughout Brexit negotiations.

McKenna, whose ancestors came from Ireland, told Premier he felt lead to serve communities impacted by the recent discussions over the Irish backstop.

“I just remember writing down ‘peace pilgrimage’, I woke from a dream with a very strong sense that that was what God was asking me to do.

“Brexit means a lot of pain for a lot of people on all sides. When I had this dream, it was very clear that what was being asked of me was to walk in such a way where I can listen and listen to the pain that this isn’t about people talking politics from afar, but any talk of a border brings back for people and unearths trauma and pastorally wanting to listen in such a way where those things can be heard and healed.”

McKenna started his border walk in the Northern Irish town of Newry.

Over the course of ten days he has visited a number of towns along the borderline, listening to the stories of locals and praying for healing and…

The new building at the Methodist Church in Baildon is believed to be the first of its kind in Britain to be built to standards that reduce its ecological footprint and produce ‘ultra-low energy emissions.’

Enhanced insulation, electricity-generating panels and triple-glazing have all been incorporated into the build in order to comply with government targets to reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Rev Kerry Tankard, chair of the Yorkshire West Methodist District, referred to the building’s low carbon footprint, saying it “sits lightly on the earth” at its dedication ceremony on 3rd November.

The church has raised over £800,000 in the last 10 years to cover the cost of the building.

The upper level of the two storey building named ‘The Fold’ will facilitate a range of local community groups, while the lower floor will serve as a space for Baildon’s 40-year-old preschool.

John Anderson, trustee of Baildon Methodist Church, said: “Both Parliament and Bradford Council have declared a climate emergency. Baildon Methodist Church is not just wringing its hands over this, not just talking about it: it has acted.

“The design of the Fold challenges those constructing new buildings to reach the same standards so that we may meet the government’s targets of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.”

Two hundred people attended the opening service, including the…

About 400 homes have been flooded in the north of England and 1,200 properties have been evacuated, the Environment Agency said.

Boris Johnson is to chair a Cobra meeting, the Government’s emergency committee, to discuss the response to the severe flooding in parts of the UK.

Several areas in Yorkshire had more than a month’s worth of rain in a single day.

Around half the 700 residents of Fishlake village, near Doncaster, left the village and those who stayed behind have faced waist-high waters.

Church warden of St Cuthbert’s church in Fishlake, Peter Pridham, told Premier: “The current situation is that the level of the river has gone down, it normally hangs around between two and three metres and it got up to almost seven metres. It is now coming down and is a more manageable situation.

The church has been providing support to residents and flood victims and Pridham said St Cuthbert’s has been a base for relief activity: “We are open continuously 24/7 and have been since Friday night and it’s being used by all and sundry and people are coming. We had nearly 200 people coming to take food yesterday.

“We have been inundated with donations of food and clothes from across the UK, for which we are very grateful.”

The rain is set to move south on late on Tuesday, according to forecasters. The Environment Agency has 30 flood warnings in place as well as five severe…

Researchers at the University of Surrey and King’s College London surveyed 720 women from six different ethnic groups in England – white, Caribbean, African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.

They wanted to understand why certain women might delay seeking medical help, and asked participants how strongly they agreed with 11 statements designed to assess potential barriers.

Some 30 per cent of the women (except Bangladeshi) said they would pray about a symptom compared with 10 per cent of white women.

The research also found between 75 per cent and 91 per cent of ethnic minority women were too embarrassed to talk to their family doctor, compared with just 8 per cent of white women,

Being too scared of what the symptom could indicate and a poor understanding of what the GP is saying are also potential barriers to treatment, according to the Cancer Research UK-funded study.

African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were also more likely to say they might use traditional remedies.

But it is not known whether they would do these instead of, or as well as, going to the doctor.

Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s head of health and patient information, said: “Making sure ethnic minority women are aware of things that can be done to make a doctor’s appointment easier, such as the use of translation services, will hopefully give them the confidence to speak openly to…

According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the Armenian Church leaders were traveling in car to Deir ez-Zor to inspect an Armenian Catholic Church which has suffered damage because of the Syrian conflict.

The organisation said Fr Hanna Bidu, also known as Father Abrahim Petoyan, was killed instantly during when the attackers opened gunfire on the vehicle. His son, Fr Hovsep Petoyan (pictured above), reportedly died at the hospital as a result of the injuries. The deacon, Fati Sano from the Armenian al-Hassakeh Church was wounded.

ISIS’s official Amaq media outlet claimed responsibility saying:“Two Christian priests were killed today, ISIS shot them down.”

ICC said the attack happened as three nearly simultaneous car bombings occurred in the city of Qamishli. One of the explosions occurred near a Chaldean church.

Video footage obtained by Hawar News shows that the car the priests were in had a special tag in its front window which showed that it was traveling for business with the Armenian Catholic Church.

Claire Evans, ICC’s regional manager for the Middle East, said the tragedy has “deeply wounded the region’s entire Christian community”.

She added: “Christians have long warned that ISIS will seek every opportunity to continue its genocide against religious minorities. Meanwhile, Turkey’s actions in the area have generated an environment…