‘LecDeck” is a deck of 52 cards, each containing a liturgical Bible reading, together with a focus for prayer, weekly challenge, and questions for contemplation and discussion.

The idea came from the Bristol Diocese Youth and Children’s Adviser, Dan Jones, after recognising a lack of youth-based resources focusing on the lectionary – a selection of scripture readings appointed for public worship in the Anglican Church.

The discipleship tool has been created for use at youth clubs, home groups, and Christian Unions as well as for personal study.

Jones said he hoped to celebrate the “glories of the Church of England’s liturgical worship” through the multi-functional resource and help young people find “depth and meaning in the lectionary readings”.

“As part of the rich Anglican heritage, the lectionary provides pre-selected Bible readings to use during worship or personal study throughout the year,” he added.

“Our hope is that LecDeck enables young people to grow deeper in their relationship with God.”

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The Victorian priest, hymn writer, and poet was declared a Saint before a congregation of 20,000, at an open-air ceremony in St Peter’s Square.

The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols was alongside the Pope to witness the canonisation of the first English saint of the modern age.

Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols told Premier it’s a day of celebration for Britain’s Catholics: “I’ve been describing it as a party.

“It is just a moment of great joy that this man who whose life is so full, and whose sensitivities are so important, and who struggles through so many difficulties, we can see much more clearly into his heart. And what a great disciple of Christ he was.”

The former Anglican priest controversially converted to Catholicism in 1845 and went on to found a society of priests known as the Birmingham Oratory in 1848.

Cardinal Nichols honoured Newman’s dedication to the people of Birmingham, where he served as a parishioner for 40 years.

“He was an outstanding example for us of a priest working in a parish,” Nichols said.

“Newman worked quite quietly in the parish in Birmingham, where he served the people who serve the poor.”

The theologian, who was made a cardinal in 1879 spoke to many about issues of faith, education and conscience through his various writings and has been described as one of the most…

Mr Justice Williams ruled the woman’s pregnancy could be terminated after analysing the case at a hearing in the Court of Protection, where judges consider issues relating to people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions, in London on Friday.

A lawyer representing hospital bosses said a surgical termination would be performed this week.

The judge heard how a GP had recently discovered that the woman, who is in her 20s but has the mental capacity of a toddler, was pregnant.

He was told that a police investigation was under way.

The woman might have been raped or been made pregnant by a man who also had learning disabilities and a lack of understanding, the judge said.

Police would carry out DNA tests in a bid to establish the identity of the father, he was told.

Bosses at a NHS hospital trust responsible for the woman’s care had asked him to allow doctors to perform a surgical termination.

Barrister Eloise Power, who represented hospital bosses, said the woman had lived with foster carers for most of her life.

Ms Power said the woman’s foster parents were Christians and churchgoers.

But she said the couple were sure that an abortion was in the woman’s best interests.

Ms Power said medical specialists and council social workers involved also all agreed that a surgical termination was the right option.

Mr Justice Williams said medics could restrain the woman in…

Church of Jesus Anointing in Sirsa, in the Haryana region, first opened its doors in August this year to a congregation of over 200 following a church funded development project that began in December 2017.

According to religious freedom network British Asian Christian Association (BACA), the church received a letter from the local authorities within a week of opening, instructing them to cease use of the building due to a lack of planning permission.

On 31st August a team of police, military officers and municipal officials began to demolish the building, flattening its main hall and boundary wall without prior warning of physical action.

BACA claims no other buildings have faced further action from the council despite it reportedly being common for houses and temples within the surrounding area to be built without planning permission.

Church pastor, Newton Das says he’s concerned the swift destruction of their building was an act of religious persecution.

He said: “The saddest thing was that the Committee only demolished the church whereas all other houses and temples built there in the same colony are still there.

“Church members are feeling a great sense of great sorrow and loss our investment has been destroyed.

“It was a great loss of funds which were raised, our hours volunteering have been laid waste – with…

Turkey’s military claims to have seized the key border town of Ras al-Ayn in its attack on the north-eastern border of Syria, a region where many Kurdish people live as well as Arabs, Syrians, and Christians.

The UK says it has ‘grave concerns’ about the action and has called Turkey to end its military occupation there.

US troops were supporting Kurds in the region until President Trump withdrew them, leaving Kurdish people and Christians there vulnerable to Turkish attack.

Archbishop of Hassaké-Nisibi, Jacques Behnan Hindo says he fears a mass exodus of Christians from the nearby cities of Hassaké and Qamishli.

Describing the plight of 5,000 families in his former diocese, Archbishop Hindo told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “In recent days, many had already moved from the border towns to Hassaké.”

The archbishop, who reported the killing of two Christians on Thursday, in attacks on Qamishli, added: “Now the conflict has become even more serious and I fear that many will emigrate.”

Half of Hassaké Catholics and Orthodox Christians are already thought to have fled with similar numbers exiting Qamishli.

Archbishop Hindo says he “fears a similar exodus, if not a greater one” in light of the escalating conflict.

The archbishop spoke out against the international community’s intervention in Syria throughout the countries ongoing conflict and…

Mako Vunipola expressed his concern for family members who had travelled to Tokyo in support of England’s rugby world cup fixture against France, after the nation’s biggest hurricane for 61 years approached landfall on Saturday.

The match originally scheduled for Saturday was cancelled and the England prop, together with his squad were flown 700 miles from the area, as 1,000,000 people were warned to leave their homes ahead of Typhoon Higibis.

Vunipola said he feared for the relatives who had remained in Tokyo saying: “We have families and friends there. That was probably the hardest thing to deal with – realising that the game wouldn’t be on and trying to make plans for them.”

“Japan are pretty used to typhoons and they have regulations to deal with it, so it’s just a case of them doing as they’re told and us hoping and praying that they’re safe.”

“I just hope the damage isn’t too much and people are OK,” he added.

Exeter Chiefs Luke Cowen Dickie, took to social media to warn fans in Tokyo to “stay safe”.

In a video posted on twitter he said: “We are sorry we can’t be there playing … but the main priority is that you are safe.”

To all the England fans in Tokyo…

“Stay safe.”

A message from Ben Youngs. pic.twitter.com/BxBVZgUhld

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 12, 2019

19 people have been reported dead and a further 16 are missing after some victims were buried in landslides and swept away by raging rivers.

Boats and helicopters have been…

Exeter Cathedral is set to host the technology enriched service on Sunday, in which worshippers will take a virtual underwater journey aimed to encourage “contemplations on the depths of Jonah.”

The book of Jonah tells the story of a prophet who runs away from his God-given mission and boards a ship. Following a storm sent by God, Jonah is thrown into the sea where he is saved from drowning when he is swallowed by a whale.

The PlayStation game Abzu, which has been dubbed “an epic descent into the depths of the sea,” will give players the opportunity to navigate through virtual oceans on a large projection screen as they listen to the Old Testament story.

Getting ready for Sunday’s video game enriched worship at @ExeterCathedral. @AbzuGame looks amazing and leads us into contemplating the depths of Jonah. See you there? Please share. 7pm Sunday 13th Exeter Cathedral. #Spirituality #Free #Refreshments #Hope pic.twitter.com/o6Kxqh6kLF

— Andy Robertson (@GeekDadGamer) October 10, 2019

The “virtual journey” will be led by former theology student turned video game journalist, Andy Robertson.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Robertson said he hopes to engage all ages to participate.

“It’s about giving them access to the benefits of the game so they can use it in their worship, rather than trying to make worship cool. There won’t be many kids there, so the challenge…