Theresa May’s first EU summit as PM
The Brussels summit, which brought together the leaders of all EU member states, did not particularly focus on the UK's Brexit. The official agenda was dominated by migration, trade and Russia. However, Brexit still loomed large, particularly at a working dinner last night, where Mrs May gave a brief ‘Brexit update’. Open discussion has been ruled out but Brexit will remain the red, white and blue elephant in the room during all the official discussions tabled at this summit. There is a distinct hardening of attitudes, even amongst Britain's closest EU allies like Germany. Leading Brexiteers boast confidently that Europe's most powerful nation is bound to push hard for a good EU deal for the UK. They cite German self-interest and a four-letter word - cars. The UK is Germany's third largest export market, while one in five German cars is sold in Britain. See:
Archbishop meets Patriarch
The Archbishop of Canterbury met for the first time with His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, amid what Lambeth Palace acknowledged are ‘tensions’ between Russia and the UK. Earlier, Welby and the Bishop of London were present as the Queen hosted the Patriarch at Buckingham Palace. The relationship between the two churches has endured for more than three centuries. The two men discussed the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in the Middle East. In a statement they acknowledged that tensions currently exist between the governments of their two countries, but they agreed that the first loyalty of the Christian Church is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they affirmed that reconciliation is the key ministry of the Church in situations of conflict.
MakeLunch
Schools this week will be on their half term break. Their kitchens will be closed. Nearly two million children rely on free school meals as their only hot meal of the day. MakeLunch is a network of churches working to fill the holiday hunger gap. Volunteers based in churches, community centres or sometimes school buildings believe that one meal for one child makes a difference. Not daunted by the scale of the issue, they focus on providing what they can when they can, offering a free hot meal to children from low-income families, and seeking to ensure that the families that need it the most get invited. Just one example is St Mark’s Church in Milton Keynes which will provide 300 children with meals this half term, in three primary schools and a children’s centre. Rev’d Paul Oxley talks about how his church’s involvement in meals provision for children has grown over the last year. Listen to the story at:
The Bible? Not for me, say most Britons
For almost 75 years it has been a reassuring weekly fixture following an unchanged format, part of the fabric of the nation. But the pace and reach of social change appear to have left Desert Island Discs behind. A new poll suggests that only 31% of people in the UK would like a copy of the Bible to take to a desert island. The Radio 4 programme’s imaginary castaways are given a Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, along with their choice of eight pieces of music, another book and one luxury item. With increasing secularity and diversity of British society, the poll found that 56% of respondents would not choose a Bible, and 13% were unsure. Fewer than one in three welcomed the inclusion of a Bible in their musical and literary accompaniments to a solitary existence. There was a noticeable generational difference: 18% of 18-to-24-year-olds would choose a Bible, compared with 39% of over-65s.
