Church ponders lottery aid 'ban'

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Churches in parts of Yorkshire could be told not to apply for National Lottery funding because it promotes gambling.

Canon Tony Shepherd of St Peter's Church in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said: "The church shouldn't benefit from other people's misery."

He has put a motion to the synod of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds encouraging parishes not to apply for lottery cash.

"When the lottery was proposed 15 years ago, churches opposed it," he said. "I feel we've taken our eye off the ball."

Ripon Cathedral recently received a grant of £514,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a major redevelopment of its lighting and facilities.

It has rightly been described as a tax on the poor to benefit the rich Canon Tony Shepherd

Meanwhile other large churches including St. Mark's, Harrogate, and St Matthias' in Burley, Leeds, have decided not to apply for lottery funds for major redevelopment projects costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Canon Shepherd said that by accepting Lottery money the church was, in effect, "blessing" the National Lottery.

He said: "It has rightly been described as a tax on the poor to benefit the rich.

"Wherever there is addiction, misery follows hard on its heels, and there have been many well publicised examples of this."

The synod meeting in Richmond on Saturday was being attended by representatives from the 169 parishes of the diocese, with churches from inner city Leeds to rural North Yorkshire.

The Rt Rev John Packer, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, said: "The Government has decided on a system for giving grants towards our heritage which uses money raised through the National Lottery and many feel that while regrettable it is important that the church uses this money for good purposes."