Jayne Ozanne joins government LGBT Advisory panel
THE General Synod member and campaigner Jayne Ozanne has been appointed by the Government to an advisory panel that will work with the Secretary of State, Penny Mordaunt, on the implantation of the government’s LGBT Action Plan. One of their key commitments, reiterated as a priority by the Minister at the National LGBT Conference last Monday, is to end the practice of conversion therapy (News, 6 July 2018). The Government has also appointed a national adviser on LGBT health issues in the NHS, Dr Michael Brady. He is the Medical Director of the Terrence Higgins Trust and a sexual-health and HIV consultant at King’s College Hospital, London. The Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, announced the appointments on Sunday. She said: “Dr Brady and the experts on our new Panel will give LGBT people and those working on their behalf a direct route to speak to Government and shape policy on decisions that affect their daily lives.”
Derby Cathedral bookshop and café to merge
A SPOKESMAN for the diocese of Derby has commented on a decision to “reorganise” the cathedral bookshop and café into one space, after complaints were made that it was the only Christian bookshop in the city and was being closed to save the café. In response to an enquiry on Wednesday, the spokesman said that the bookshop was not closing, but that it and the café, currently separate, were being “merged, rebranded, and relaunched” to serve the community better in “changing times”. The bookshop would not necessarily be smaller, and would still have an online presence, he said.
Celebrities’ ceramics auctioned for Fishermen’s Mission
FISH-SHAPED ceramic sculptures painted by celebrities, including Fern Britton, Alan Titchmarsh, and Jonathan Dimbleby, and UK artists will be auctioned online on behalf of the Fishermen’s Mission. Almost 100 artists and celebrities have agreed to paint a fish, glaze it, and return it to the Fishermen’s Mission HQ to be photographed and displayed on the charity’s website in its “Catch of the Day” auction. From every £1 made, 88p will be donated to support fishing families. A selection of fish will be displayed in restaurants and community venues until next month.
Hereford diversification project receives £39,300
AN ONLINE project of the diocese of Hereford has won a £39,300 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. The project is the Mission and Mortar tool, aimed at supporting the maintenance of the diocese’s 405 church buildings and the discovery of new ways for them to serve their surrounding communities. It is being piloted in the Black Mountains and Golden Valley, with a view to being fully launched this year. The diocesan officer for community partnership and funding, Wendy Coombey, said that it would be helpful “in signposting parishes to lots of useful existing resources”.
Green Awards winner flushed with success again
THE PCC of St Wenn, Cornwall, who won an award for their biomass boiler in the 2017 Church Times Green Church Awards, have completed their latest eco-venture — an environmentally friendly lavatory. It has a compact water-treatment plant, to enable liquid from the system to be discharged safely into an open watercourse. Stephen Chidgey, who has led the environmental projects at St Wenn, said: “It’s incredibly wasteful to use water that has been treated and is fit for human consumption to flush a toilet.” The Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, preached on Sunday at a service to mark the completion of the works.
