Rededication of stone carving
AN ANCIENT stone carving believed by some historians to be the earliest-known sculpture of St Thomas Becket has been restored to the chancel of St Lawrence’s, Godmersham, in Kent — a church on the ancient pilgrim route between Winchester and Canterbury — and rededicated (News, 31 May). The service last weekend was attended by both Anglican and Roman Catholic representatives. The stone carving had been worn and fragile, “and we had been told that it could not join an exhibition at the British Museum some years ago, because it was too delicate to move, and that we’d need to get it restored and repaired,” James Russell, a former churchwarden, said. Conservation grants from Church Care, the Pilgrim Trust, and the Radcliffe Trust had made a “huge difference” in the work to repair the carving.
Date set for Ripon Cathedral annexe hearing
PLANS to build an £8-million annexe at Ripon Cathedral will go before North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee for scrutiny and judgment on 3 December, almost two years after the application was first submitted (News, 9 August), Yorkshire Bylines reports. More than 2700 people have formally and publicly objected to the plans, and organisations including the Woodland Trust, Ripon City Council, and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have raised concerns. Yorkshire Byline has sought clarification as to how calculations by the Cathedral Support Group that the annexe would bring a £3-million regional benefit were made.
Irish teacher risks return to prison
A TEACHER, Enoch Burke, who was jailed for contempt of court after defying a court order to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School, a private boarding school in Ireland, has risked going back to prison by returning to the school last week, the Irish Times reported last Friday. Mr Burke, an Evangelical Christian, was suspended and then sacked in January of last year, after he refused to address a student by a different name and use “they/them” pronouns (News, 14 April 2023) . He then began showing up at the gates of the school in protest, prompting the school to apply for an injunction compelling him to stay away from the property (News, 26 May 2023). His failure to comply resulted in his being jailed between September last year and June. Last month, the High Court rejected his application for a permanent injunction to prevent his exclusion from the school.
Vandals accidentally live-stream their offences
VANDALS who “set fire to palm crosses” and “defaced orders of service” accidentally live-streamed their offences at Holy Trinity, Longlevens, in Gloucester diocese, its Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Rachel Forrest, told BBC News last week. On 15 and 17 August, three children were “messing about — but messing about like that can be really dangerous”, she said. “It’s the whole attitude of disrespect, not caring, and thinking it’s quite a laugh.” They had accidentally switched the church live-stream on. Gloucestershire Police has urged anyone with information about the incident to contact officers.
