It’s a Church of England Ecclesiastical Court. As the Church of England is the Established Church (a state Church), it has connections to a variety of government functions in England, and has its own official court system recognised by Parliament and convened under the authority of the Crown.
The article is somewhat sensationalist and misleading. The intention is to replace the traditional wooden pews which are cumbersome and uncomfortable with more comfortable modern seating. This is not specifically being done to appeal to Muslims, but to make the Church more comfortable for everybody using it. Modern heating and toilet facilities that are wheelchair accessible are also being installed.
It is true that the Church offers outreach to the local community which is largely Muslim, but the major part of that is actually missionary work to try and encourage people to join the Church - it’s a Bible Study group delivered in Arabic and Farsi.
While the building is historically significant and dates from 1855, the current pews were only installed in the 1970s.
I left the Church of England because I thought it had lost its way - but this particular parish actually seems to be trying to do the right thing - encouraging Christian locals to come back to services by making the Church more comfortable, and providing non-Christian locals the opportunity to study the Bible.
Thanks for your detailed answer
Sometimes not everything red is wearing tights and horns and a pointy tail.
Dumba$$.
They are removing pews to enable the pagan Muslims to ‘pray’ with their bums in the air in a ‘Christian church.
Are they allowing followers of Allah to pray for our demise in this church?