Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Church leaders have called on people to send an extra card this Christmas, to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas MP, asking him to end the detention of children in the asylum system.
Revd David Gamble, President of the Methodist Conference, said: "Britain is the only country in Europe which locks up the innocent children of people who have had their asylum claims declined. Every year hundreds of children are sent to detention centres; most of them are under five years old and many of them are locked up for more than a month. Holding innocent children in detention centres can never be justified."
People should send their cards to Phil Woolas MP at the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF and can find tips for drafting their Christmas message at www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/childrenindetention.

The Charter for Compassion (http://charterforcompassion.org/), reproduced in full below, was launched globally on 12 November 2009.

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves.

Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

For decades Margaret and John Fall have been mainstays of St Andrew's Tennis Club, with its own hard courts on Graham Road, acting as secretary and treasurer. Now they have handed on these responsibilities, along with the club's proud reputation as a friendly group where people of all abilities are welcomed, the club has thanked them with the presentation of a specially commissioned painting of the club. For more information about St Andrew's Tennis Club, see the Falls or Marion Howdle.

"The United Reformed Church believes support for the BNP to be incompatible with Christian discipleship. We have consistently advised members not to vote for parties holding racist views. If a BNP representative does appear on Question Time, we expect it to demonstrate clearly that the party's views are extreme, and are held by very few people." The Revd Richard Mortimer, Deputy General Secretary of the United Reformed Church

Fred Kaan, one of the great hymnwriters of the twentieth century and a minister of the United Reformed Church in Britain, has died at the age of 80. He passed away in the early hours of Sunday 4 October 2009.
Kaan's hymns are found in most Protestant English language hymn books. Among the best-known are ‘For the healing of the nations' and ‘ Now let us from this table rise'.
He is also famous for the 1960s refrain 'Sing we a song of high revolt', penned to the tune of The Red Flag, which reflected his passionate commitment to social justice as an integral part of the Gospel message.
Although his health had been failing for some time, Fred Kaan was well enough to make a special appearance at the United Reformed Church General Assembly in 2008, where he took part in a public discussion with two other well known hymnwriters, Brian Wren and Alan Gaunt.

Mr Hussain writes:
The inhumane attacks on the homes of Pakistani Christians which resulted in the deaths of eight people is a major crime. Senior Muslim scholars from Pakistan personally known to me, have unambiguously condemned this as a serious crime, and a sin. They have shown their solidarity and extended hands of friendship to the bereaved Christian families. Amongst these scholars are the following: Pir Ameen al Hassanat, spiritual leader of the Chishtia order; Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah, President of Jammat ahl Sunna and Haji Fazal Karim. Our British charity Muslim Hands has already visited the affected Christians to provide support to the victims and will continue to do so.
I would like the Pakistani High Commissioner in London to do two things to stop this kind of violence against minorities ever happening again:

After our summer of beginning worship at 10.30am, from September we will be reverting to the previous time of 11am. Our November church meeting will discuss whether we would like to leave the beginning of worship permanently at 11am, change it permanently to 10.30am, start earlier in summer (June-August) or during British Summer Time (April-October). Do come and give your views!

From the Sheffield Star of Wednesday, June 17th, 2009:
Projects by a Sheffield church and mosque to help disadvantaged people have been highlighted in a regional report.
The Broomhall Breakfast at St Andrew's United Reformed Church which provides food for the destitute and work done by the Masjid E Umar mosque, on Barnsley Road, are among initiatives showing 'grace and generosity'.
The initiatives are mentioned in the report by the Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum, being made public in Leeds tomorrow by Isobel Mills, Deputy Regional Director of the Parliament and Communities Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber.
To watch a short video celebrating the Breakfast, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaDAS6lIrLE

Here is food for thought from a national organisation, the Christian Muslim Forum:
As members of the Christian Muslim Forum we are deeply committed to our own faiths (Christianity and Islam) and wish to bear faithful witness to them. As Christians and Muslims we are committed to working together for the common good. We recognise that both communities actively invite others to share their faith and acknowledge that all faiths have the same right to share their faith with others.
There are diverse attitudes and approaches amongst us which can be controversial and raise questions. This paper is not a theology of Christian evangelism or mission or Da'wah (invitation to Islam), rather it offers guidelines for good practice:
1) We bear witness to, and proclaim our faith not only through words but through our attitudes, actions and lifestyles.

For the months of June, July and August we will be beginning worship at St Andrew's at 10.30am rather than 11am. Unwary worshippers may find themselves entering at 11am just before or just after the sermon, with no idea as to what has led up to it; while this may enliven a boring sermon, it is not generally recommended.