Latest News

Stay up to date with the latest events in Northern Ireland

The Trump administration’s indefinite refugee ban, stop work orders, and failure to reimburse resettlement agencies in a timely manner have had a devastating impact on tens of thousands of refugee families in communities across the country and around the world.  The abrupt halt of life-saving funds on January 24 were initiated by “Stop Work Orders” pursuant to the Reevaluating and ... Read More

In Scotland, we campaign for making the purchase of sexual services illegal and to decriminalise the selling of sexual services – Chris Ringland explains why

United Methodist-related Africa University is among the institutions struggling as employees with jobs funded by the United States Agency for International Development stop getting paychecks.

Refugees significantly give back to the communities that welcome them—starting businesses, paying taxes and contributing to the local economy. In fact, a Department of Health and Human Services Refugees study found that, over a fifteen-year period, refugees brought in $124 billion more in state and local revenue than they cost. Aside from the economic benefits to welcoming, newcomers also bring ... Read More

[Church of England] In a national online service Feb. 9 that marked the 30th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday, viewers heard that racial justice reflects “core” Christian values and is “rooted in love.” The bishop of Edmonton, the Rt. Rev. Anderson Jeremiah, led the service, in a broadcast from St. Francis at the Engine Room Church in Tottenham, north London, with participants from across the country. The online service was one of a series of Church of England events and services to mark Racial Justice Sunday, including a service at Manchester Cathedral where Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell preached. In opening remarks at the start of the online service, Anderson said, “Racism begins when we fail to love, when we turn away from justice, when we do not practice compassion. “Racist attitudes take away human dignity and disfigure the image of God in each and every one of us, and that is why racism is a sin – because it is not of God. “Racial justice is rooted in love and recognition that it is through love that equity and dignity can be redeemed. “So, we are invited as children of God to hold each other, to hold on to the idea that our beings are interdependent, we are inter-woven. We cannot live without the other.” The Rev. Sharon Prentis, the Church of England’s deputy racial justice director, also contributed to the service, and Dover Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin read intercession prayers. Prentis said that the call to love one another is at the heart of the Christian faith, and racial justice reflects “core Christian values.” “Jesus exemplified the importance of racial justice by reaching out to the marginalized and speaking against oppression,” she said. “As Christians, we are called to follow his example by confronting racism, listening to the voices of the suffering, and standing in solidarity with them.” Other services took place across the country. These included at Guildford Cathedral, where the bishop of Dorking, the Rt. Rev. Paul Davies, led a special Eucharist, along with guest preacher the Rev. Folli Olokose, lead area director of ordinands for Kensington (Diocese of London) and a former member of the Diocese of Guildford Racial Diversity Advisory Group. The bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt. Rev. Julie Conalty, led a celebration at St. John’s Church, Hartford, featuring voices from across the Diocese of Chester reading the Lord’s Prayer in Tamil, Spanish, Urdu, Telugu, Welsh, French, Romanian, Malayalam and Chichewa. A Racial Justice Sunday service also took place at St. Anne’s Church in Bewdley, organized by the Diocese of Worcester Racial Justice Forum. The bishop of Dudley and acting bishop of Worcester, the Rt. Rev. Martin Gorick, preached. Gorick said, “Racial Justice Sunday is an important opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our world church and lament the inequalities, lack of understanding and prejudice that still exist. “This diocesan service will be a chance to hear experiences and perspectives from those of Global Majority Heritage and make a commitment together to work toward a better world.”

Join us for a church leaders lunch on Thursday, 6 March, 11.30am–1pm at The Hills Church, L/Derry

Join us for a church leaders lunch on Thursday, 6 March at The Hills Church, L/Derry

On 8 February, the St Thomas Mar Thoma Syrian Church in Chunakkara, India, celebrated its 125th anniversary, marking a long history of spiritual service and community involvement.

[Church in Wales] The Rt. Rev. Anthony Pierce, who was bishop of Swansea and Brecon between 1999 and 2008, has appeared at Swansea Crown Court and has admitted five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16. The offenses date from between 1985 and 1990, when Pierce was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea. Pierce has been remanded on bail, and a provisional date of March 7 has been set for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court. The allegations came to the attention of the Church in Wales in 2023 when the survivor made a disclosure to a Church in Wales safeguarding officer. The disclosure was immediately passed to the police, and the Church in Wales worked closely with our statutory partners as the case was investigated and prosecuted. Following criminal sentencing, the Church in Wales Disciplinary Tribunal will consider further appropriate action. We acknowledge the bravery of the survivor in coming forward and thank the police, Crown Prosecution Service and the local authority for their careful work in this case. The Church in Wales is appalled at the offenses which have been revealed in this case and expresses its deepest sympathy with the victim for the abuse they have suffered. It is a cause of the most profound shame that a priest in the Church in Wales should have been convicted of such shocking crimes. Our prayers are with the survivor and with all victims of abuse, whose welfare must always be at the heart of our work. We hope that the manner with which the disclosure was handled when it came to light in 2023 will give confidence that the church is serious about dealing firmly and decisively with any such cases. An internal investigation prompted by the disclosure suggests that in 1993 a small number of members of the Church in Wales had been aware of a further allegation against Pierce but that this was not shared with police until 2010. The Church in Wales Safeguarding Committee has now commissioned an independent external review of the Church in Wales’s handling of this second allegation, which will commence immediately and will be published upon completion. The review will also consider how safeguarding allegations are handled in the church’s current systems for the appointment of archdeacons and bishops and whether any changes to these processes are necessary. The Terms of Reference of the Review will be published shortly on the Church in Wales website. The Church in Wales is determined to demonstrate that it is a safe place, and that anyone coming forward will have their concerns or disclosures taken seriously, treated with compassion and taken forward according to the highest current standards. If our people and processes have failed victims and survivors of abuse in the past, we intend to take responsibility for that fact and to fully apply the lessons which have been learned. There is no place for any form of abuse in the Church in Wales. We give the highest priority to the care and protection of children and vulnerable people in our communities. To this end we regularly review our safeguarding procedures and provide extensive training to staff and volunteers. We encourage anyone with safeguarding concerns to contact a member of our team via the Church in Wales website Alternatively, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with either the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales, or the Church in Wales.​ You can contact the Safe Spaces team by its website or email.