UK can lead G8 in striking at causes of poverty, say religious leaders
Religious leaders from across the G8 countries have called on heads of government to follow the UK in fulfilling existing commitments to spend 0.7% of national income on aid, in a letter to the Financial Times. More than 70 religious leaders point out that from today 1000 days remain to achieve the Millennium Development Goals [...]
150 years of teaching Muslims, Jews and Christians together in Jaffa
With a student body of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Druze and Buddhists, the Tabeetha School, now commemorating its 150th anniversary, is like no other in the country [Israel]. It was the mid-19th century, and Jane Walker-Arnott, a blue-eyed Scotswoman of delicate health, decided to leave her windswept lowlands home and travel to the Holy Land, [...]
‘Antisemite’ vicar in Board of Deputies complaint
The Board of Deputies has made an unprecedented formal complaint to the Church of England over the conduct of a controversial Anglican vicar. Reverend Stephen Sizer is accused by the Board of “conduct unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders”. It is understood the complaint will trigger action [...]
Moderator meets the Dalai Lama
Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, visited Edinburgh today as part of a two-day tour of three cities and met the Moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, the Right Reverend Albert Bogle. Mr Bogle was amongst those who welcomed the Dalai Lama to Edinburgh before giving a talk at the city’s Usher Hall, [...]
Prayers removed from Edinburgh full council meeting
New 10 minute “Pause for Reflection” sessions will be held before Edinburgh Council meetings in place of prayers during them. Group leaders and the Lord Provost agreed unanimously to the move. They will be open to all staff, councillors and visitors who would normally be attending the full council meeting. The sessions are to be [...]
Teen Heather handed compassion award by Dalai Lama
A row may have flared over the non-appearance of the First Minister, but there was one special person the Dalai Lama was far more interested in meeting during his visit to Edinburgh. Heather Mann, 17, was at the Usher Hall to receive the inaugural Evening News-backed Youth Compassion Award from the man himself. The award [...]
Religious groups call for gay marriages in Scotland
Five religious groups are joining together to call for same-sex marriage to be allowed in Scotland. The Unitarians, Quakers, Metropolitan Community Church, Pagan Federation and Liberal Judaism are backing members of the Scottish Youth Parliament in their campaign on the issue. Earlier this month the Scottish government launched a 14-week consultation on the issue of [...]
Top Jewish academics quit union in anti-Semitism row
Four leading Jewish academics in Scotland have quit one of the largest UK lecturers’ unions over its stance on the definition of anti-Semitism. The lecturers resigned from the 12,000-member University and College Union after it rejected the European Union Monitoring Centre’s working definition of anti-Semitism. The detailed guidance paper defines it as a hatred towards [...]
Baroness Neuberger sets social care sights high for faith bodies
The first female rabbi to address the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has profiled the high standards that should be expected of faith-backed social care providers. Baroness Neuberger, a high profile social reformer and member of the House of Lords, praised the Church of Scotland for its “truly amazing” care to older people [...]
Religious slaughter meat should be labelled, says minister
Meat that has been slaughtered in a religious way should be clearly labelled, according to the Food and Farming minister. His comments came as the European Parliament prepared to debate the highly controversial issue, with a late amendment to a food labelling bill being described by a leading Jewish organisation as "the 21st century equivalent [...]
