Denbighshire council in North Wales was criticised by Councillor Paul Penlington, alongside the National Secular Society for the practice which he said was “discriminatory to non-Christians” and asked for them to be moved to a room away from the council chambers.

The council responded by referring to a similar case from 2012 in Devon, in which Bideford Town Council were found to be acting unlawfully by having prayers at the start of their meetings, but were told they could still hold prayers before the meeting as long as no one was forced to attend.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “Meetings do not formally begin until after prayers are said.

“The issue of prayers at Council meetings was considered by the High Court in a case in 2012 brought by the National Secular Society against Bideford Town Council, Devon.

“The court ruled that requiring members to pray was a breach of the Equality Act’s prohibition on religious discrimination and the right not to hold religious beliefs and not to be discriminated for that lack of belief contrary to Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The Court further found that there was no specific or implied power for Councils to require this. The Court made a declaration that the point of this case was very narrow, that it only precluded prayers as part of the formal business of the meeting, and…

Rev Dr John Bradbury currently oversees four churches in Cambridgeshire.

If approved by the URC Mission Council he’ll take over from Rev John Proctor who has announced his retirement after 6 years in the role.

Welcoming the nomination, Rev Nigel Uden, one of the Moderators of the URC General Assembly and convener of the Nominating Group, said: “In John Bradbury, the Nominating Group believes it brings the name of a person with the combination of gifts and graces the United Reformed Church requires in these changing times.

“A person of intelligence and warmth, of experience and energy, John offers much to build upon all that his predecessors gave and to join with us all in working for the church’s next chapter.”

Rev Bradbury was ordained in Liverpool in 2004. He’s served at as vice-principal at Westminster College and moved to his current position in 2017.

Speaking about his new role, he said: “I’m delighted to have been called to serve as General Secretary. The next few years will bring huge opportunities and challenges to the United Reformed Church.

“I look forward to working with colleagues in the General Secretariat and across the life of the Church as we seek Christ’s will in a fragile and troubled world. I ask your prayers for all in the URC whose lives will be touched by transition in the months to come.”

If his nomination is approved, Rev Bradbury will be…

A charred shell is almost all that remains of the partially-collapsed development in Worcester Park, Sutton.

The London Ambulance Service said no injuries had been reported.

Richard Bee, a deacon at Worcester Park Baptist Church, told Premier some members of the church live near where the fire happened and were up since the early hours providing help.

“We’re in the process of working with the council to work out what the best response we can offer is.

“They’ve been deluged by donations from the local community and have started putting up their hands and saying, ‘please don’t bring us any more stuff until we until we know what we actually need.’ ”

Church members are helping the council sort through the donations. Some members have also offered spare rooms for those with accommodation needs.  

He said their aim to meet practical and spiritual needs in the situation.

“There is a space for bringing the hope of the gospel into it. But also, we need to be really careful that we’re not conflating two different things. There’s a very real practical need which we can meet in the immediate term. Then following that, there’s a very real spiritual need which we can meet.”

Resident Stephen Nobrega, a father of three children aged between eight months and 13 years old, told the PA News Agency he had “lost everything” after his ground-floor flat was destroyed.

He said:…

A ComRes survey of over 4,000 adults also showed two thirds had fond memories of celebrating it in the past.

Bringing in food, singing hymns and saying prayers were some of things people remembered about Harvest at schools while teaching on generosity and the environment were the main benefits according to those questioned.

Only half of respondents said their children currently participate in the festivals at school though.

It’s thought some schools don’t mark the occasion at all.

The Church of England’s chief education officer, Rev Nigel Genders, said: “Harvest Festival is just one of the ways that the Christian tradition enriches the lives of children of all backgrounds as part of daily collective worship.

“It’s encouraging to know that parents agree and there is a clear call for more schools of all kinds to use the coming weeks to celebrate harvest, and I hope many will do so.

“Harvest is a wonderful opportunity for all schools and nurseries to help children and young people to think about how food reaches their plates and to say thank you for all they have received, as well as giving to those in need.”

Churches across the country will hold harvest collections in the coming weeks which will support local foodbanks.

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Thousands of Mauritians waved palm branches as Francis arrived on Monday to celebrate a mass honouring the Reverend Jacques-Desire Laval.

While Catholics represent less than a third of Mauritius’ 1.3 million people, Father Laval is seen as a unifying figure for all Mauritians, most of whom are Hindu.

Francis is in the Mauritian capital Port Louis for just a few hours to meet with government leaders on the final day of his week-long Africa trip.

Attending the mass was a 50-member delegation from the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago that includes the US air base on Diego Garcia.

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The country’s capital, Antananarivo was filled with worshippers waving yellow and white ‘Vatican’ flags, many of whom had camped out over night to see the Catholic leader.

Catholics make up 35 percent of Madagascar’s population of 26 million people.

Addressing the crowd, the Pontiff spoke out against “practices that lead to the culture of privilege and exclusion”, and condemned those who “abused the name of God” to justify acts of murder and violence.

Referencing Luke’s gospel, he said: “”When ‘family’ becomes the decisive criterion for what we consider right and good, we end up justifying and even ‘consecrating’ practices that lead to the culture of privilege and exclusion: favouritism, patronage and – as a consequence – corruption”.

“The Master demands that we see beyond this. He says this clearly: anyone incapable of seeing others as brothers or sisters, of showing sensitivity to their lives and situations regardless of their family, cultural or social background ‘cannot be my disciple’ His devoted love is a free gift given to all and meant for all.”

Pope Francis concluded his homily with a prayer: “May this humble realism – it is a realism, a Christian realism – inspire us to take on great challenges and give you the desire to make your beautiful country a place where the Gospel becomes life, and where life is for the greater glory of God.

The Pontiff’s visit…

Worshippers from St Jude’s Church in Southsea, together with St Simon’s Church, St Margaret’s Church, the Vineyard Church, the Methodists and Kings Church in Southsea re-created the feeding of the 5,000 as part of a free community festival.

120 volunteers gave out free food to members of the public together with a copy of the story recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as part of the #Feeding5K event.

The initiative was organised to bring to life Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish and encourage people to consider his life and works.

Speaking before the event, Rev Neil Smart of St Jude’s Church said: “We want to put Jesus back at the centre of the life of our city by showing that he still does miracles among us today.”

The community festival included live music from Christian singer Jessie Dipper, talks, interviews, and specialist activities for kids and youth.

The event was financially supported by the Love Portsmouth Fund and the Portsmouth Diocese’s Mission Opportunities Fund.

Thousands of passers-by were fed as Southsea churches recreated one of Jesus’s miracles. The #Feeding5k event involved 5,000 freshly-battered cod in bread rolls being handed out – plus live music, games, kids’ activities and a samba band. Details: https://t.co/u6cMgAOOOL pic.twitter.com/9kwg9SIJDZ

— Portsmouth Diocese (@CofEPortsmouth)