THE Bishop of Blackburn has warned the Government against damaging education through inadequate resources or ill-considered taxation policies.

Speaking at the Easter Day Eucharist in Blackburn Cathedral, the Rt Rev Alan Chesters said: "Wherever the Church has gone it has taken the life-giving force of education - literacy and numeracy, as well as the Christian faith.

"From the earliest times it has provided shelter, brought healing, hospitals and hospices. It has cared for young and old and what is more it still does.

"This is a fact which government and local authorities should not underestimate in their allocation of resources, and not least in their taxation policies, where often a simple adjustment to the tax allowance costs voluntary bodies millions in covenant income without any counter measures to sustain the work."

The Bishop, was recently appointed chairman of the Board of Education of the General Synod, the "parliament" of the Church of England. He said many people were in danger of believing that wealth and affluence, "not bad things in themselves," were sufficient to motivate people to look after themselves and to care for others. "I do not believe this is true," he said. This Easter we announce once more the Lord is risen and we do it in a country where, as the Archbishop of Canterbury put it the other day, 'people are somewhat allergic to religion'. "The Church - which means you and me - has to hold its nerve and present that faith in new ways to bring a spiritual dimension into life, so that the light of hope really can shine in the darkness of poverty, disease, war and injustice.

"The Church of today, which is us, is called to keep alive the new life for eternity which Christ offers until once more society realises that materialism is not enough to build a caring community in which all matter, and in which hope is there for all, and men and women are inspired to fight what is evil."

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