Church organisations from across Europe are calling on governments to ratify an international convention on displaced people which has been gathering dust for more than six years.
14 March 1997
The Church of Ireland has a long and proud record of missionary outreach. We have commissioned clergy, teachers, doctors and experts in many fields for service in the Church overseas, we have given financial support to our various missionary societies but to visit those who have gone out from Ireland and to see at first hand the actual conditions under which they are working is an unforgettable experience.
12 March 1997
Royal Mail is to issue a set of Special Stamps 1400 years after the death of Saint Columba of Iona and the arrival of Saint Augustine of Canterbury in England, saints who had a profound influence on the spread of Christianity in Britain.
07 March 1997
Church attendance in Wales per head of population has dropped by half since 1982 according to a new report published by the Bible Society.
07 March 1997
Following the rioting and destruction of three Christian villages in Pakistan earlier this month by Muslims, leaders of the Christian and Muslim communities in the City of Bradford spoke out deploring the violence. In a letter sent to the Pakistani Acting High Commissioner in the UK they urged Pakistan's new Government to restore the confidence of religious minorities in the country and ensure that their basic rights as citizens are protected, and to commit itself to helping make good all the losses. The letter was signed by leaders of both Christian and Muslim communities including the Bishop of Bradford and the General Secretary of the Bradford Council for Mosques.
28 February 1997
A Church and human rights group chaired by the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Richard Harries, has spoken out about the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK.
28 February 1997
A Church of England bishop has joined millions of Christians around the world by 'giving up' something he likes for Lent. But Dr Alan Smithson, Bishop of Jarrow, has made an unusual choice for his Lenten sacrifice - he has given up reading the Bible and has taken up the holy Muslim book, the Koran, instead.
21 February 1997
Church attendance in the Church of England has dropped. The latest statistics which are based on 1995 figures show that the average total Sunday attendance for the Church of England was 1,045,000 in 1995. This is 36,000 lower than the 1994 figures and the biggest fall since the mid-1970s.
14 February 1997
Diana, Princess of Wales, highlighted the devastating effects of landmines on a recent visit to Angola. The Princess visited the country on behalf of the Red Cross and had her visit recorded by the world's press and media. On arrival in Angola she explained her role: "I hope that by working together in the next few days we shall focus world attention on this vital but until now largely neglected issue."
14 February 1997
Churches in England are rushing to obtain copies of a special millennium liturgy designed to be used on Sunday, 6 April this year - exactly a thousand days before 1 January 2000. The liturgy has been prepared by Churches Together in England (CTE), which groups England's main denominations. Stephen Lynas, CTE's Millennium officer, said this week that 7000 sets of the special liturgy had been sent out in just seven days.
14 February 1997