WAR CRY

New international leader announced by Salvation Army

COMMISSIONER Lyndon Buckingham is to be the next General of The Salvation Army. He will be the first international leader of the church and charity to come from New Zealand and will take up his responsibilities in August on the retirement of General Brian Peddle. Speaking shortly after being chosen, the commissioner – who, along with his wife Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, led The Salvation Army in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2018 – said that he felt ‘overwhelmed but humbled’ while also ‘excited about the opportunity’ to lead the organisation that is working in 133 countries around the world.

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has encouraged churches to equip themselves to provide better support for people with mental health issues, the Premier Christian News website reports.

At a wellbeing conference organised by the ChurchWorks Commission – a national network of Christian organisations – the Most Rev Justin Welby said that church ‘should be a place where we’re comfortable talking about mental health’.

‘The pastoral and spiritual care of the church is not a substitute for the expertise of mental health professionals,’ he said. ‘But the gifts offered by spiritual and pastoral guidance, and just by the love of the church community, have a valuable role in our wellbeing.’

He added: ‘Faith doesn’t mean the absence of mental health challenges. But it does mean that there is comfort for us when we’re experiencing hard times.’

Swift action at cathedral

DURHAM Cathedral has installed speakers to attract birds to its belfry.

The high-powered speakers sit 60ft above ground and will broadcast the sound of swift calls to attract young birds looking for their first nest site. It is hoped that the swifts will breed in nest boxes, which were fixed to the belfry tower last year.

Motion-triggered cameras have also been installed to allow the cathedral to update the public on the progress of its wildlife project.

Swifts spend most of their life in flight and only land to breed. Between 1995 and 2020 the population declined by 60 per cent, so the bird is on the red list of the UK’s most threatened species.

Edward Twiddy, of Atom Bank, which funded the installation of the swift boxes, said: ‘The cathedral is already home to many wonderful bird and bat species that enjoy the sanctuary of the towers and the cloisters. Helping the swifts to come back year after year from Africa to find perfect nesting conditions felt like a small but right thing to do.’

Oldest Bible sold for $38m

THE world’s oldest Hebrew Bible has been bought at Sotheby’s in New York for $38.1 million.

The New York Times reported that the American Friends of ANU bought the near-complete Hebrew Bible for the Museum of the Jewish People in Israel.

The Bible, which is known as the Codex Sassoon, is only missing 12 leaves.

A donation from Alfred Moses, a US lawyer and former ambassador to Romania, made the purchase possible.

‘The Hebrew Bible is the most influential in history and constitutes the bedrock of western civilisation,’ he said.