The Sunday Mail
Christians, Muslims, Jews share ‘temple’
Nearly 5 000 people have signed a petition protesting against plans to turn a Christian hospital chapel into a Muslim prayer room.
The Spiritual Care Chaplaincy team at North Manchester General Hospital in the UK intends to change the way the Catholic Chapel of Saint Raphael is currently used in order to create a Muslim prayer room, the Catholic Herald reports.
Worship space will also be provided for Jewish people and Christians and there will in addition be a “quiet room” for people of no faith at all.
However there will be no space that is specifically Catholic.
St Raphael’s Chapel currently contains the Blessed Sacrament and Mass is celebrated weekly.
According to a petition launched by Father Ged Murphy of St Patrick’s and St Malachy’s parish in Collyhurst, the chapel is well used and highly valued by patients, staff and visitors as a “valued resource which is much needed when people are at their lowest ebb”. Rev John Hall, chaplaincy co-ordinator at the trust, told the Catholic Herald there were “no plans to close any facilities” but that they were “currently looking at how these chapels and rooms are used so that we have the best possible arrangements that meet everyone’s needs”. – Christian Today.
TB Joshua in YouTube milestone
Nigerian prophet TB Joshua has reached an impressive milestone on social video-sharing site YouTube with his Christian channel Emmanuel TV recording 200 000 subscribers.
Joshua’s controversial videos have been viewed 70 million times on YouTube with one clip of an alleged deliverance titled “No Man Can Resist My Body” amassing a whopping six million views in just over one year.
Emmanuel TV tops the YouTube ranks in Nigeria, some of its closest competitors being Nollywood Pictures with 195 000 subscribers, Channels TV with 188 000, comedian AY with 179 000 and online news platform Sahara Reporters with 99 000.
In religious circles, Joshua’s channel is among the most viewed worldwide; foreign counterparts such as Bishop TD Jakes with 127 000 subscribers, Joseph Prince with 147 000, Joel Osteen with 75 000 and Joyce Meyer only 58 000. Despite being among the richest and most influential in the world, Joshua’s fellow religious leaders in Nigeria are lagging far behind in online video viewing. Redeemed Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s official channel has 15 000 subscribers, Sam Adeyemi’s Day Star church has 2 500 and David Oyedepo’s Winners Chapel has 4 300. – Entertainment Express.
