Displaying items by tag: Bristol

Avon and Somerset police have issued an apology to Pastor Dia Moodley, who was arrested while street preaching in Bristol. Moodley, a grandfather and pastor, was detained for thirteen hours after being accused of 'racially or religiously aggravated harassment without violence'. The arrest followed an incident where Moodley answered a question contrasting Christianity with Islam and expressed his belief in binary gender. During the confrontation, he was pushed from his stepladder, and his signs were damaged. One of the signs, which contained a Bible text, was destroyed by university staff when instructed to do so by the police. Moodley, represented by the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF), sustained a soft tissue injury during the altercation. His counsel called the treatment 'appalling' and urged the strengthening of free speech laws to protect peaceful, lawful expression of beliefs. Although the police dropped their investigation, the event highlights concerns over discriminatory policing and the freedom to share Christian beliefs publicly.

Over 100 schools in Bristol have faced criticism for using the Think Family Education (TFE) app, which provides safeguarding leads with easy access to pupils' and their families' interactions with police, child protection, and welfare services. Staff using the app have reportedly kept it secret from parents and carers. The city council and Avon and Somerset police, who collaborated on the system, maintain that the app is meant to protect children and is not secretive, with information about its existence publicly available. Critics argue that most parents are unaware of the app's existence, and that it should be shut down to prevent the profiling and criminalisation of children. The app draws data from the Think Family database, which contains information from around 50,000 families in Bristol, collected from various agencies. It uses ‘targeted analytics’ to identify children at risk of exploitation, though critics argue it may disproportionately affect children from minority ethnic or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Marvin Rees, the mayor of Bristol, has urged residents to take asylum-seekers into their homes so that they don't end up living on the streets during a housing crisis. He has given his support to a scheme whereby volunteers host refugees in their spare bedrooms - adding that the city should be a place 'where everyone feels welcome and safe'. The city council has provided housing for a number of asylum-seekers during the coronavirus pandemic, covering the cost, but the arrangement is due to finish. The charity Bristol Hospitality Network (BHN) has asked for twenty volunteers to offer a room for three months or more. The network provides accommodation and board to destitute asylum-seekers, and has helped to host over 100 people from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan since 2009, giving them the safety and security to rebuild their lives in the UK. Refugees are evicted from Home Office accommodation 21 days after being refused.

A church in Bristol, closed after it suffered bomb damage during the Second World War, will be reopened with a vision of making Jesus known to the city's young adults and vulnerable people. Rev Toby Flint, formerly a lead pastor at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, is going to lead St Nicholas on Baldwin Street. He said, ‘We're really excited to have been invited to reopen and restore the church to its original purpose, demonstrating the love of God. We want to build on the deep foundations of faith in the city, to reimagine church for a new generation, and play our part in meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged in Bristol.’ The setting for two major universities, Bristol has experienced an influx of students and young professionals in recent years. It is estimated that 60% of people living in the city centre are aged between 15 and 29.

God does amazing things through his Church, often when different denominations work together in unity. Christians who work in this way find they are blessed. This was shown when Bristol HOPE brought together 1,400 volunteers from 3 to 7 April, to take part in a city-wide mission in 25 communities on 170 community projects, 25 events, and 15 family fun days. It resulted in more than twenty people becoming Christians; they are now being followed up by local Bristol churches. The volunteers included 500 young people from Soul Survivor, serving alongside local churches and organisations to bless the local community, putting Jesus’ love into words and actions.

On Tuesday Bristol magistrates convicted two Christian preachers of public order offences, many believing they rode roughshod over principles of freedom of speech. They imposed a fine and costs on each of them, totalling £2,016. The case arose over an outreach in Bristol where Michael Overd and Michael Stockwell had preached the Gospel in front of John Wesley’s Chapel. They told the crowd that ‘the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy’, adding that people were on their way to hell because of their view of Christianity. It was decided that the inclusion of homosexuality in a list containing thieves and drunkards was abuse. Michael Phillips, defending, told the court the list of sinners was in 1Cor. 6:9-10. It was the same passage cited in the Appeal Court case of Alison Redmond-Bate, where important principles of free speech were laid down and her conviction set aside. There, as in this case, a hostile crowd gathered and police were called. There, as in this case, the preachers, not the trouble-makers, were wrongly arrested.