The UK government has written an open letter to Sri Lankans in Britain to say it stands with the community in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks which took place on 3 April killing at least 250 and injuring hundreds more.

In the letter, James Brokenshire MP, Secretary for Housing Communities and Local Government, referred to the New Zealand atrocity against Muslims and said the attacks ‘completely failed to achieve the divisions sought’.

The United Reformed Church’s (URC) short film series which explores themes from the book Holy Habits continues with the Holy Habit of Gladness and Generosity.

The short film, directed by the Revd Dr Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer for Global Justice and Partnerships, shows the importance of this habit in shaping the kind of world we want to live in.

Holy Habits author, Andrew Roberts, said: ‘If we live in a world that is mean and me-centred, is ungrateful and moaning all the time, then that just diminishes life. But if we live gladly and generously everybody is blessed.’

The United Reformed Church (URC) has joined many other faith groups in urging the government to maintain its aid budget ahead of the comprehensive spending review.

Published in the Observer on Easter Sunday (21 April), an open letter, signed by the Revd Nigel Uden, Moderator of the URC General Assembly, and 26 other faith leaders, also called on the government to prioritise aid for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.