Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The UK and Commonwealth will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a four-day holiday weekend (2 to 5 June). HOPE Together is working to help churches around the Commonwealth to mark this special occasion and, in particular, to celebrate the Queen’s seventy years of faith and service. It has produced a web-page resource (see link below) with information to assist churches and organisations as they plan their celebrations. HOPE have commissioned a new anthem, ‘Rise Up and Serve’, written by Graham Kendrick and Rend Collective for choirs to sing as part of the celebrations. The highlight for many will be on Pentecost Sunday, where services in churches around the Commonwealth will give thanks for the Queen’s life of service and witness to her Christian faith.
Pentecost broadcast: Come to the Table
The Come to the Table global broadcast is an invitation for believers all around the world to gather on Pentecost weekend (3 to 5 June) in a time of worship, prayer, fellowship and communion. Its website reads: ‘Amidst great shakings across the earth, we would invite you to join us in John 17 unity as we pray, believing in the 2 Chronicles 7:14 promise of the healing of our lands. This 46-minute broadcast celebrates how God’s family from every nation and tribe and language, coming together as one, can experience the transformation of cities and nations that comes through the powerful convergence of prayer and missions! Expect to be inspired, encouraged and challenged!’ Come to the Table is live from Friday 3 June.
Second anniversary of George Floyd’s death
On 25 May, Christians across the nation were encouraged to mark the second anniversary of the killing of George Floyd by lighting a candle. Churches Together in England (CTE) called for the Church to pause for one minute. Shermara Fletcher of CTE said, 'We invite the nation to share their stories of the work they have done in challenging racial injustice and highlighting the systems they have set up to tackle racism within their churches and within broader society'. Reflecting on this anniversary, CTE president Rev Helen Cameron said, 'It is not enough for good people to be horrified but then do nothing to work for change. We must dismantle white privilege, name racism when we encounter it, and commit ourselves to change. This will be costly, but God calls us to seek justice and release hope for all.'
Churches closing and relocating across the UK
A survey released by evangelical organisations has found that while around half of the country’s population identify as Christian, only 6% are 'practising' and active enough in their faith to attend church at least once a month. This is one reason why over 2,000 churches have closed during the last decade. Grants can help struggling churches make repairs, but not all are able to remain open. Meanwhile, churches themselves are meeting in new spaces according to community needs. 'I’ve never known such innovation in the UK, with church planting in different places in different communities,' says Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance. 'People are planting churches in coffee shops or in homes, and a lot of this church planting wouldn’t be measured. I’m excited about a fresh move of God in the UK, and the measure for that will not be how many church buildings we have: it will be how many active disciples we have, and I’m not sure those two things give you the same answer.' This is also borne out by the fact that the fastest-growing churches in the UK are immigrant and black-majority churches, which typically meet in school halls or cinemas, focused on people and community rather than on a building.
