Church of England points ‘Christmas is for all’ message forward of Tommy Robinson carols rally | EUROtoday

A senior bishop within the Church of England has hit out at pretend claims that “Christmas has been cancelled” and criticised these searching for to politicise Christianity forward of a carols occasion organised by anti-migrant activist Tommy Robinson.

Robinson, whose actual identify is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has urged supporters of his Unite the Kingdom motion to “put the Christ back into Christmas” this Saturday with an out of doors occasion in Whitehall.

In a major intervention, the Right Reverend David Walker, the Bishop of Manchester, has mentioned it’s “offensive” that individuals are “appropriating this great Christian festival of light triumphing over darkness as a prop in a dim culture war”.

Writing for The IndependentDr Walker mentioned: “Each year we see a rather strange tradition: familiar claims that somewhere, someone is trying to ‘ban’ Christmas.”

He warned that populists are eager to scour the web looking for “something, anything, to show that Christmas is supposedly being taken away”.

He continued: “While they focus on something different each time, at heart it’s usually the same tale: that some ‘other’ out there wants to erase the traditional idea of Christmas. Sometimes it is said to be a shadowy but somehow ubiquitous ‘woke’ elite, sometimes minorities, and often people of other faiths.

“The people behind these stories are not doing this to share the message of Christmas – of joy and love – but to spread division.”

He hailed Christmas as “one moment in the year when, even in our more secular society, the powerful message of love, of God coming and living among us as one of us, cuts through”.

This vacation season, Dr Walker, who has been bishop of Manchester since 2013, known as on believers and non-believers to “look up towards the angels proclaiming peace on Earth and goodwill to all, rather than scroll down in the comments”.

The intervention comes forward of a Christmas carols occasion organised in London by the far-right activist, Robinson.

In preparation for Saturday’s occasion, Robinson has been sharing claims on X (Twitter) that Christmas is “cancelled” in Paris or that Muslims in Manchester have been “disrespecting” a Christmas market.

The anti-migrant campaigner has deliberate a follow-up occasion to his Unite the Kingdom march, which noticed greater than 100,000 folks end up for what was billed as a “free speech” protest and included Elon Musk telling the gang that “violence is coming to you” and “you either fight back or you die”.

Robinson, who has been talking extra about Christianity since popping out of jail in May this yr, has promised speeches and music on the Whitehall occasion on Saturday. In a latest video posted to X, he informed his followers: “We can’t keep moaning in this country, saying ‘It’s a Christian country’… unless we are going to celebrate and identify as Christians and be Christians.”

He has pledged that Saturday’s occasion “will not be a political protest”.

Writing in The IndependentDr Walker mentioned: “It is a precious time of year. And in the times in which we’re living, its simple but powerful message, sung by angels – peace on Earth, goodwill to all – could scarcely seem more urgent.

“Yet – each year we see a rather strange tradition: familiar claims that somewhere, someone is trying to ‘ban’ Christmas.”

Referring to tales about Christmas being “taken away”, he mentioned: “For all the talk of defending the Christian essence of Christmas, they are doing the very opposite: reducing the majesty and mystery of the birth of Jesus, God coming to live among us, to silly stories about the labelling of consumer products.”

His intervention comes because the Church of England posted a video on their social media account on Friday, difficult claims that Christmas is below menace.

“Every year, we hear stories that somehow Christmas is being cancelled, or that somehow the joy of Christmas is under threat,” the video mentioned.

“It’s news to us, because in every church, every parish, every Cathedral in every corner of our country, you will find a story of hope and love.”

The publish added: “It’s Christmas. It belongs to us all, and everyone’s invited.”

Meanwhile the bishop of Southwark, the bishop of Croydon, the bishop of Kingston, and the bishop of Woolwich issued a joint assertion condemning “any co-opting or corrupting of the Christian faith to exclude others”.

They mentioned: “We are gravely concerned about the use of Christian symbols and rhetoric to apparently justify racism and anti-migrant rhetoric.”

The bishops spoke on to Robinson’s supporters, saying: “We would encourage them to think again, to consider what kind of world they want to be a part of – and to choose compassion and understanding over hostility and conflict.”

Robinson has seen some assist from Christians outdoors of the Church of England, with Ceirion Dewar, who’s listed as a Bishop within the Confessing Anglican Church, that includes within the trailer for the occasion.

Chris Wickland, a pastor from the Living Word Church Network, can also be pictured within the promotional materials, as is Rikki Doolan, a musician who wrote a “theme song” for the Unite the Kingdom rally.

The Right Reverend Arun Arora, the bishop of Kirstall and the Church of England’s co-lead on racial justice, informed The Independent final weekend that the Church had an obligation to “confront and resist the capture of Christian language and symbols by populist forces”.

Speaking about Robinson’s latest activism, Bishop Arun mentioned: “I rejoice that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has recently come to faith in prison. Having experienced the wide mercy of God’s grace, Stephen does not now have the right to deny it to others.

“Having embraced and accepted God’s welcome, he can’t now restrict it from others who may be equally lost. Nor does he have the right to subvert the faith so that it serves his purposes rather than the other way round.”