UK: Christian charity employee suspended for talking about... Christianity

Monday, April 13, 2009

It was concerning enough to learn that health workers may face dismissal for offering to pray with their patients, or that those in education may be suspended simply for asking friends to pray, or that wearing a small cross is strictly prohibited by a company which calls itself ‘British Airways’ while hijabs, turbans and karas abound.

But it seems utterly incredible – or perhaps in this godforsaken nation under Labour it is no longer so – that an employee of a Christian charity, whose patron is the Archbishop of Canterbury, might be suspended merely for answering questions about his faith.

Yet this is the fate of David Booker, aged 44, a committed Christian who has worked for the English Churches Housing Group (part of the Society of St James) for almost four years. The charity is funded largely by churches throughout Hampshire. The Christian Legal Centre reports: ‘On 26 March, whilst working an evening shift, he had a 35 minute conversation with a female colleague. The colleague asked him about his faith and beliefs. During the conversation he was asked the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and same-sex marriages, which Mr Booker explained. The conversation was free-flowing and Mr Booker clearly explained that he had homosexual friends and that he was not homophobic.’ the rest

British charity worker suspended for talking about his faith