THE ORIGINAL CHURCH NEWSPAPER. ESTABLISHED IN 1828 THE CHURCHOF ENGLAND Newspaper Accepting The latest Evangelicals movies Listening to T, reviewed, NOW AVAILABLE ON NEWSSTAND page 15 p10 FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014 No: 6231 BBC wins at Church opposes HS2 for media awards By Amaris Cole ‘desecrating graves’ The BBC’s The Story of the Jews IN A SURPRISE move that made this building will have to close Estates Commissioner, called on HS2 was the big winner front page headlines in the press the because the line will be only 200 ‘to engage and consider what they at the annual reli- Church of England has announced metres away. There will be signifi- can do to mitigate the impact on gious broadcast- its opposition to the proposed new cant noise and vibration that could churchyards and remains they may ing awards this high speed train line (HS2) on the damage this mediaeval church. The have to inter’. week. grounds that it will desecrate thou- chancel and nave of the church prob- ‘It is a serious point and a matter of Picking up two sands of graves and shatter peace ably date from about 1250 and a common decency that when people accolades at the along its route. north chapel was added during the are buried in consecrated ground Sandford St Mar- The Archbishops’ Council has said early C14th. they expect their remains not to be tin Awards on that it is opposed to the line because Local residents of the areas along disturbed except in truly exceptional Tuesday, episode human remains will not be ‘treated in the line of the HS2 are likely to wel- circumstances’, he said. four of the five- a decent and reverent manner’. It come the support of the church. In The petition from the Church of part series, Over says it cannot back the bill unless Wendover and other Chiltern towns England was published a week the Rainbow, took safeguards are introduced to provide there is almost total opposition and before many churches and cemeter- a personal look at Melvyn safeguards for graveyards. It also local Conservative MPs have defied ies were getting ready to observe 3,000 years of Jew- Bragg says it is concerned that the noise whips to vote against the measure. ‘Cherish Your Churchyard’ week ish history. and vibration from the line could The Labour Party has given qualified which runs from June 7th to 15th. Oxford Film and cause some churches to close. approval with strong support coming During the week communities are Television for BBC Two made the film, with In a ‘humble petition’ to the House from Labour councils in the NW and encouraged to put on events to get Simon Schama as presenter, winning both the Tel- of Commons the Council asks that Ed Balls expressing reservations people to appreciate interesting evision Award and the Radio Times Readers the Bill to enable HS2 to go ahead about the cost, put at £43 billion. green spaces that are often on their Award. ‘not be allowed to pass as it stands’. Church sources made clear that doorstep. The week is organised by The Radio Award went to BBC Scotland Fea- The expansion of Euston Station is they were not totally opposed to HS2 the charity, Caring for God’s Acre, ture’s I Have A Dream, heard on BBC Radio 4. said to require the exhumation of but were petitioning for changes to which has the Prince of Wales as its The programme brought together well-known more than 30,000 graves at St James’ the bill. Sir Tony Baldry, Second President. personalities to read portions of the famous Gardens, an C18th burial speech by Martin Luther King, including the late ground. A further 2,600 Maya Angelous, Doreen Lawrence and His Holi- will have to be exhumed In ness the Dalai Lama. from a C12th graveyard at The Trust’s new award for Local, Community Stoke Mandeville, Bucks, and Online programming went to Sounds Jewish: and more graves will have The Jewish Revival in Poland, a podcast produced to be disturbed in Birm- by JW3: Jewish Community Centre for London ingham to make way for a and broadcast by guardian.com. new terminal. The story follows Denise Grollmus as she trav- The petition states that els to Poland to search out her ancestral roots. ‘the clauses in the legisla- this month… Broadcaster Melvyn Bragg received the Person- tion do not make ade- al Award. Roger Bolton, trustee of the Sandford St quate provision to ensure Martin Trust, said he was being recognised for that during and after the The TV station that gives a voice to Middle East ‘putting religion at the heart of human experience removal of human Christians Find out about the remarkable story of Sat-7 and exploring it in such a way that it has enriched remains they are treated and how it preaches the Gospel without borders public discourse for decades’. in a decent and reverent The Rt Rev Nick Baines, Bishop-elect of Leeds manner or that they are Simon’s new quest Meet Simon Barnes. The Briton who was and Chair of the Sandford St Martin Trust, subsequently re-interred running the American Bible Society is now said: “This year’s entrants were a true reflection of in consecrated ground’. running the Send-A-Cow charity the quality and depth of religious broadcasting in As well as graveyards this country. the Church is also con- Lest we forget Download our new free magazine from “While they all sought to illuminate, educate cerned about a number of J John on the anniversary of the First World War newsstand via The Church of England and entertain us, they also stretched our under- churches along the line Newspaper app on your Apple device. standing - vital in the complex modern world. and about Chetwode St David Suchet Also available through the Pressreader More such broadcasting can only make us Peter in Bucking- Your chance to win copies of his new CD app for Android and from our website, stronger as a society.” hamshire in particular. collection where he reads the whole of the New www.churchnewspaper.com There are worries that International Version of the Bible [email protected] facebook.com/churchnewspaper @churchnewspaper i2 www.churchnewspaper.com Friday June 6, 2014 News Lichfield Parliament to consider hosts vigil for Stephen interfaith bank holidays By Amaris Cole be a reality. The Backbench Business very good idea. How many festivals are Sutton Committee has now received the e–peti- there for other religions? Should they all tion and will decide its suitability for be marked with a public holiday? The BANK HOLIDAYS for Muslim and debate. country would grind to a halt.” Hindu festivals could soon be consid- Jon Timmis drew up the campaign, The practicalities were also pointed ered by Parliament. saying: “I believe that, given the number out by Mr Popat. Under the rules for e-petitions intro- of Muslims and Hindus in this country, it As Diwali is worked out on the lunar duced in 2011, once a campaign has is only fair we allow them to have the calendar, the date would be different received over 100,000 signatures, it most important days in their faith recog- each year and therefore hard to set. The should be considered for debate in the nised in law.” festival that marks the end of Ramadan, House of Commons. Many religious and community Mus- Eid, too, is changeable. A petition to request a day off for lim and Hindu leaders have distanced Other commentators have celebrated Hindu festival Diwali and Muslim cele- themselves from the idea, but the chair- the petition though, with online cam- bration Eid has attracted more than man of The British Hindu Voice has spo- paigners saying it is unfair to get a day 119,000, meaning the first non-Christian ken out. off for Christmas when no other faiths religious holiday in Britain could soon Vinod Popat said: “I don’t think it is a are recognised through bank holidays. Slavery on Search for volunteers By Amaris Cole According to latest data from the the agenda Office for National Statistics, Britain’s ONE OF THE country’s biggest vol- richest one per cent has accumulated A TWO-DAY VIGIL drew hundreds of unteering charities has launched a as much wealth as the poorest 55 per people to Lichfield Cathedral to mourn DETAILS HAVE been announced of Arch- major recruitment drive on the eve of cent of the population put together. the passing of Stephen Sutton. bishop Justin Welby’s second visit to Rome Volunteers’ Week. At the same time, 20 per cent of all The Dean and Chapter offered the to see Pope Francis. St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is children (2.6 million) are living in Cathedral to his family soon after the The visit will last from 14-16 June and will using the national celebration of the absolute poverty. Similarly, 17 per death of the inspirational teenager focus on modern slavery and trafficking. contribution made by millions of vol- cent of working age adults (6.1 mil- from cancer. The medieval cathedral is The Pope and the Archbishop announced a unteers across Britain, running from lion) and 18 per cent of pensioners not far from the family home in Burnt- joint initiative on this problem earlier in the 1-7 June, to encourage more people (2.1million) are living in absolute wood, Staffordshire. year. to help. poverty. The 19-year-old’s body arrived in the During his time in Rome the Archbishop The SVP has almost 10,000 mem- “The current economic climate is cathedral on a horse-drawn carriage will visit the Anglican Centre, where he will bers of all ages across England and impacting on an increasing number and lay for two days in a prominent be present for the launch of the new Angli- Wales, who do work ranging from vis- of people who are turning to organi- place to enable people to have a chance can Roman Catholic Commission on Unity iting the lonely and isolated to provid- sations like the SVP for help.