The above video highlights the persecution of Christians in India.
The Church Times reports how Peers were told of attacks and discrimination suffered by Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan.
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said that fewer than 2% of the population of Pakistan were Christian but Christians accounted for more than 80 % of the sewerage and street-cleaning workforce, "where hazardous conditions and a lack of workplace health and safety regulations and protective equipment cause untold preventable accidents, illnesses, and deaths. The accounts of their working conditions are truly repugnant, made even more shocking by the fact that the government agencies advertise cleaning positions for Christians and other religious minorities only."
Lord Alton who introduced the topic said that 3.72 % of the 230 million people in Pakistan were from religious-minority backgrounds. He referred to evidence, found by the APPG for Pakistani Minorities, of "discrimination and persecution against minorities, entrenched in school textbooks; stigmatisation in schools and colleges; and primitive and dismal conditions in the so-called colonies where Christians live, which are often devoid of running water, sanitation and electricity."
According to the Christian Non Government Organisation Open Doors "one in seven Christians worldwide face persecution and discrimination for their faith."
Meanwhile, Letters to the Editor in the Church Times contain a response to the continuing persecution of fellow Anglicans in their own Church by Women And The Church (WATCH) who, devoid of any integrity, think it their Church alone.
If there was any doubt that the most dreadful of Andrew John's chronically bad choices of Bangor deans, the arch-buffoon Sion ap Rhys Evans won't be seen again at Saint Deiniol's cathedral it was apparently blasted out at today's Eucharist. All his Roman pomp gone and both the Gloria and communion Motet sung by the 30+ strong choir in Baptist evangelical JAZZ ... even the organ replaced by a jazz pianist, double bass and percussion. Cobwebs went flying. Not everyone's cup of tea of course and even the alter clergy looked stunned by the razzamatazz but it was certain signal that Bangor Cathedral is no longer the Vatican-in-Wales and the wannabee Pontiff is ousted
ReplyDeleteAnd yes AB this does have pertinence to the theme Persecution ... no more persecuting honest, decent, traditional Welsh Anglican communicants by a mad and underqualified Dean of Andrew John's TGLBQXYZ or whatever favouring. I think Bangor can safely say that experiment of our archbishop is yet another which has failed abysmally
Ding Dong the witch is gone.
DeletePoint of fact - the Chilcott Jazz Mass has been performed twice previously under the 'pontifical' regime... Perhaps your hearing aid needs adjusting Clerum?
DeleteScarlet
@ St Mungo
ReplyDeleteindeed the Bell appears to have tolled at last;; but gone ...? Where and why? Surely the long suffering clergy and members of the Diocese of Bangor deserve and are due to be told? If he were the local MP there would be statement. Does the idiot Andrew John not realise that silence is simply feeding unwelcome rumour which never bodes well as he ought to know. Is he unaware that one of his senior clerics accidentally let slip last week that: 'there will be announcement about the NEW dean of BANGOR in the next two or so months'. How much is the CinW or RB head of communications Ms Morrel paid for being so stupid in her counselling to the nonsense Archbishop of Wales. And how stupid is failed bishop John in not working it out for himself that the reducing number of semi intelligent congregants haven't figured it out for themselves.
Outrageous
Two fundamental errors IMHO CL.
DeleteOne, you assume the chocolate teapot gives a 💩 what the few remaining pew sitters think.
Two you assume he's sufficiently intelligent to work out anything for himself
On past form, neither is the case.
The mincer is gone, take the win.
++Andrew’s path to his current position has been built on the backs of others. People who had his friendship and confidence as they helped him take a step up the ladder; who then had the ladder kicked from under them when a new, shinier, more ambitious acolyte came along.
DeleteBeen & Gone
I would be extremely surprised to hear the Chilcott Jazz Mass in a Baptist church - jazzy and modern it may be, but it is still firmly grounded in the "English church music" tradition. Baptists - and I'm not saying that this is necessarily a good thing! - are much more likely to sing "worship songs" or "Gospel" style music, led by a music group. Incidentally, having sampled another rendition online, I think the Bangor offering could have actually been more upbeat, although the acoustics of both the building and the recording may have inevitably dulled things a bit.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't there Baptise Trainfan so other than 2nd hand comment can't vouch for the quality ... except to report my source saying there was much squirming and ear-wax popping. But I agree the Baptist singing tradition is to be envied.
DeleteSadly that isn't always the case. Although Baptist singing scores points for enthusiasm, I find a lot (not all!) of the modern worship songs vacuous, me-centred and devoid of musical quality. Sometimes the aim (and this can of course be true in the classical tradition) seems more to be about creating a certain "atmosphere". I don't want to be stuck in the past, and I realise that worship songs "do it" for many people. But I also think we're losing our hymnodic tradition and heritage, which is a shame.
DeleteREMINDER: 'Anonymous' comments for publication must include a pseudonym.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx0331xxd7xo
ReplyDeleteThe religion of peace hard at work once more.
Plus the added benefits of multicultural enrichment thrown in as a bonus.
Deport these scum, along with their extended families.