New series of films marks contribution of self supporting ministers - ahead of Vocations Sunday | The Church of England The Church of England’s ‘gifted, talented and brilliant’ self-supporting ministers are celebrated in a series of films published ahead of Vocations Sunday on 26 April.

The Church of England has 2,000 priests who combine their parish duties with secular careers, such as teachers, vets, solicitors & data analysts. A series of films tells their stories.

At St Simon's Church in the parish of Jarrow and Simonside, their debt advice service is celebrating having helped people manage more than one million pounds of debt. 👋

Read the full story at cofe.io/StSimonsDebtAdvice.

Kyiv zoo braves blackouts and bombardment to keep animals warm Staff are using stoves and generators to keep lions, camels and Ukraine’s lone gorilla safe from winter and war

Kyiv zoo braves blackouts and bombardment to keep animals warm

Thought it was v good, just listened!

‘Everything is frozen’: bitter winter drags on for Kyiv residents as Russia wipes out power Kremlin’s repeated targeting of power grid has left thousands without heating, reliant on shelters and desperate home hacks

‘Everything is frozen’: bitter winter drags on for Kyiv residents as Russia wipes out power

Bishops plant olive trees in solidarity with Palestinian farmers | The Church of England Church of England bishops joined an interfaith planting of olive trees in the Holy Land as a gesture of solidarity with Palestinian farmers under threat from settler violence in the West Bank.

www.churchofengland.org/media/storie...

Record number of young adults join ministry experience year | The Church of England More than a thousand young adults have taken part in the Ministry Experience Scheme since it was launched in 2013

“There is a real sense of energy and enthusiasm."

This year's Ministry Experience Scheme (MES) has taken participation to over a thousand young adults since its launch over a decade ago! 🎉

Find out more about this milestone at cofe.io/MESRecordNumber.

Be careful Londoners. The roads seem more icy today than they did on Monday or Tuesday. I’ve seen about 10 falls since I left home 15 mins ago. Cycle slowly, look out for black ice and try and use roads that have been gritted!

Jesus Christ is always at the centre of Christmas. And everyone's invited to experience it with us.

Come and celebrate Christmas at a church near you.

Find services and events in your local community at AChurchNearYou.com/christmas.

National online service broadcast for the first time from a care home | The Church of England A care home resident who founded a worshipping community during the pandemic is to lead the welcome to viewers this weekend for the Church of England national online service.

"That small group that met in the activities room has grown and grown to become an ecumenical group sharing in prayer and care for each other..."

This Sunday, our national online service will broadcast from a care home for the first time.

Read more at https://cofe.io/CareHome

‘The suffering in Sudan is almost unbearable' – Bishop of Leeds tells Lords in his final speech | The Church of England The situation in Sudan is “so dire that ‘urgent' does not do justice to the need for action,” the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, has warned in his final speech in the House of Lords.

“The suffering in Sudan is almost unbearable...”

The Bishop of Leeds, who retires this weekend, highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan in his final speech in the House of Lords.

Read more at cofe.io/SudanSpeech.

VAT blow for Celtic saint's church | The Church of England Uncertainty over the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme could stall work at ancient church

Uncertainty over the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme could stall work at St Levan Church, near Lands' End.

Find out more at cofe.io/StLevanChurch.

"The majority said they felt such a deep burden."

Ahead of the examination of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by committee in the House of Lords, Rev Canon Jonathan Lloyd talks about his experience of working as a priest in Canada - where 'assisted dying' is legal.

Just landed back in Sudan.

Will spend a week here working to stop the atrocities, back peace effort, uphold UN charter, and push for our teams to get the access and funding they need to save lives across the battle lines.

Israeli police order C of E delegation to leave West Bank village after stand-off with armed settlers Archbishop of York’s pastoral visit to the south Hebron hills was cut short

The Archbishop of York was forced to cut short a visit to a family in the south Hebron hills on Saturday, after Israeli police ordered the Church of England delegation to leave the area. #WestBank #Israel #Palestine #ArchbishopofYork

It’s been a powerful and moving day, praying with and listening to our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Thank you Father Fadi for hosting us on day two of our pilgrimage of prayer and solidarity.

Getting lost and disorientated in the Barbican is a time honoured tradition. I've worked out a few routes after many years of visiting. Can be a bit stressful if you are meeting somebody else who is getting lost too.

From the car park to the altar: how a church transformed its access after a disability grant award | The Church of England Step-free access has been introduced from the car park to the altar for the first time at a parish first built in the 19th century, following a £50,000 grant from the Church of England disability project.

Step-free access has been introduced from the car park to the altar for the first time at a parish first built in the 19th century, following a £50,000 grant from the Church of England disability project.

Read more about the project at cofe.io/StepfreeChurch.

As criticism grows, is UAE ready to walk away from Sudan’s RSF militia? After mass killings in El Fasher and four years on from a coup, UAE now admits its Sudan policy has gone wrong

As criticism grows, is UAE ready to walk away from Sudan’s RSF militia?

Please remember especially in your prayers the LNER staff member who is in life-threatening condition in hospital, for his loved ones and those treating him.

Prayers in churches this Sunday, esp in Huntingdon, with all those affected by the distressing train attack last night. We pray for all injured and caught up in this.
Our prayers express love and commitment to living in God's ways of light & peace.
@dioceseofely.bsky.social @churchofengland.org

Railway Mission prayer email & thought for the week: This week, I reflect on the challenges of Christian leadership and invite us to pray for those who serve faithfully in miand nistry, often under quiet and unseen pressure. .... Also, We are thankful ...

Please see the Railway Mission’s prayer email and thought for the week. This also has the additional prayer request following the multiple stabbing on a train yesterday on the train at Huntingdon

mailchi.mp/dfa8c869f81d...

Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student Fitzwilliam Museum has uncovered student’s work from 1977 that revealed Cambridgeshire location of child’s burial place

Fine article @theguardian.com today on our local church, St Andrew’s Chesterton, #Cambridge & recent finding of grave of Olaudah #Equiano’s daughter, Anna Maria Vassa, who died in 1797. Prof Victoria Avery, Fitzwilliam Museum, @camunivmuseums.bsky.social & Dr Philip Lockley, Vicar, are quoted.

As the names of loved ones who have died are read aloud, candles are lit on the altar, then #stbrideschoir sings Allegri's sublime "Miserere".

#allsouls #allsoulsservice

I'm presuming this is the New Statesman's contribution to the campaign against assisted suicide?

“A Death Sentence” – Aid Agencies Warn of Israel's Assault on Gaza City - Caritas On 12 September 2025, Caritas Internationalis, together with 44 other humanitarian and civil society organisations, signed a statement warning that Israel’s assault on Gaza City amounts to a death sen...

This creates obligations for all states, including EU countries:
prevent it, avoid complicity, uphold international law. Measures proposed by the Commission are a first step - they must be approved and enforced.

Read the statement➡️ www.caritas.org/2025/09/a-de...

We stand with Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Jerusalem and other aid agencies: Israel’s assault on Gaza City amounts to a death sentence for over 1M Palestinians.

The ICJ confirms Palestinians in Gaza have a right to protection from genocide. ⬇️

Doctors protesting against the Leadbeater Bill outside the House of Lords today

Canada shows the slippery slope is real In parish ministry, Jonathan LLoyd has seen patients who felt pressured to end their lives

This was written in November, ahead of the Second Reading of the Leadbeater Bill but still pertinent today - a chilling account of 'assisted dying' in Canada. Free to access. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

Prayers for peace in Epping In response to the increasingly violent demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in Epping, the local United Reformed Church will open its doors to offer a place of peace, silence and prayer to those...

Churches Together are hosting prayers for peace in Epping on Sunday, 2pm. Coincides with a protest at an asyum hotel (which Tommy Robinson said he would attend, though he has since suggested he might not) + a stand up to racism demonstration, 2pm, on the premise he will
cte.org.uk/prayers-for-...