Communications Update Feb 09

Communications Update – February 2009

Monthly news bulletin from the Communications Office, Church House, London.

Feel free to forward this to others, or to use in diocesan or parish newsletters, magazines or websites.

This news bulletin is issued to members of General Synod, recipients of the e-mailed daily briefing, within the National Church Institutions’ All Staff bulletin and to parish magazines via the http://www.parishpump.co.uk website. 

It can also be subscribed to at no charge for automatic delivery every month to email inboxes via http://www.cofe.anglican.org/commsupdate.html/

Please scroll down to read items. Comments, please, to Peter Crumpler, Director of Communications, at peter.crumpler@c-of-e.org.uk 

Key fingertip facts about the CofE can be found at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/thechurchofenglandtoday/

This month’s contents:

• Zimbabwestatement – support for troubled country
• ‘Clarion call’ for society – Archbishop of Canterbury on new report 
• Archbishop highlights need to reconnect God with the world of work
• In touch online – latest from the CofE on the Web
• Asylum seekers, the financial recession, women bishops … General Synod February sitting
• Comment on the inauguration of the new American President
• Provisional attendance figures for 2007
• Church makes Lent a family affair  
• Latest from bishops in House of Lords
• More news from the Primates meeting in Alexandria
• Money can’t buy you love, say Valentines couples in Church survey
• Church celebrates Darwin’s ‘forgotten’ parish work
• Diocese Commission begins review of structures
• CofE opposes proposed increases in stakes and prizes for gaming machines
• Intolerance towards Christians in public sector an affront, says Archbishop of York
• Green light for eco-youth quiz
• Book corner – news from Church House Publishing
• Elections to Church Commissioners

• New Chair for Central Readers Council
• Christian scholars call for New Year’s resolution to daily prayer
• New Secretary for Ethical Investment Advisory Group
• More news from the Archbishop of Canterbury
• More news from the Archbishop of York

Zimbabwe statement – support for troubled country

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York will be launching an Archbishops' Appeal for Zimbabwe on Ash Wednesday (Feb 25), in the context of a Day of Prayer for the country. Earlier this month the Primates of the Anglican Communion, meeting in Alexandria, Egypt this month, heard first hand reports of the situation in Zimbabwe, and noted with horror the appalling difficulties of the people of this nation under the current regime. “We affirm the initiative of the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist (ACSA) in collaboration with Lambeth Palace, the Anglican Communion Office and the Church of the Province of Central Africa in establishing a chaplaincy along the Zimbabwe-South Africa border for the pastoral care of the many refugees, and call upon the Anglican Communion to support this work,” concluded the statement. Read the full text here.

‘Clarion call’ for society says Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury has warmly welcomed the launch of the Children’s Society Good Childhood Report, describing it as 'a clarion call' for society to listen to its children: "Our children deserve the best we can give them, and I hope this Report will stir us to action in the wide variety of areas it touches upon.” Read the full statement here.

Archbishop highlights need to reconnect God with the world of work

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, today outlined the "desperate need" to reconnect faith in God with the workplace. Speaking at the launch of the new God at Work course at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), the Archbishop said: "There should not be a separation from what goes on in Church and in our prayers with what goes on in the boardroom, office or shop floor." Dr Sentamu explained: "All of life is religious and there is a desperate need to reconnect the sacred and the secular. There is no more urgent time than now to break down the compartmentalised thinking that separates trust in God from the world of work." Read the full story here

In touch online – the C of E on the Web
Facebook, blogging, even the odd Twitter, the Church of England is enjoying the latest new media to make its mark on the World Wide Web and wants to know what YOU think. Take a look at the new online survey put together by C of E webmasters who want visitors’ views on the site to help them develop work in this area. Find out more about the C of E’s new media work, and answer our survey here.

Asylum seekers, the financial recession, women bishops … General Synod February sitting

What is General Synod? For a helpful background report click here

Overview of the February sitting
Major debates concerning the Church’s ministry and relations with other Churches, the financial crisis and the Church’s engagement with wider society were on the agenda at the General Synod when it met at Church House, Westminster from Monday to Friday, 9-13 February.
For a full summary with audio links click here
For a shorter summary with no links (suitable for parish magazines) try here

Archishop of Canterbury at Synod
Presidential Address
Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure
Welcome to the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

Archbishop of York at Synod
The implications of the financial crisis and the recession. Read the full text here. 

Provisional attendance figures for 2007
Figures from the Church of England released today show further evidence that, while some trends in churchgoing continue to change, the overall number of people regularly attending church has altered little since the turn of the millennium. The 2007 figures confirm that attending a Church of England church (including cathedrals) is part of a typical week for some 1.2 million people. Read the full story here

Comment on the inauguration of the new American President
The Church of England’s Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns has discussed the impact of the election of the new American President, reflected in the following statement from the committee's chair. Read the full text here.   

Church makes Lent a family affair  
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, are encouraging families to share in simple acts of kindness together during this Lent. Suggested acts of kindness in the third instalment of the Church of England’s Love Life Live Lent programme, launched today, include having a clear out of unwanted clothes and toys and donating them to a charity shop, producing simple home-made gifts for Mothering Sunday, creating a prayer space in the understairs cupboard, making a bird cake or learning some basic first aid skills. Read the full story here.

Latest from Bishops in the House of Lords on C of E website
The work of bishops in the House of Lords is highlighted in a new section on the Church of England website with up to date links to their contributions in debates. The new area includes background on bishops in the Lords and individual pages for each bishop, listing their interests as well as the web links to Hansard reports on their contributions to debates. Read more and link to the site here   

More news from Primates meeting in Alexandria

The Primates have released a letter to the Churches of the Anglican Communion as part of the last day of the Primates Meeting in Alexandria this month, together with the Report of the Windsor Continuation Group to the Archbishop of Canterbury, released at the same meeting. Read full details here.

Money can’t buy you love, say Valentine couples in Church survey
Nine out of 10 adults say time with their loved one on Valentine’s Day is more important than an indulgent gift – with men valuing quality time more than women. That is the result of research published today by the Church of England’s www.yourchurchwedding.org  website, which asked 1,000 people to choose whether they would prefer more time with their Valentine, or an expensive present, on February 14th. Read the full story here

Church highlights Darwin’s ‘forgotten’ parish work
A new page paying tribute to the ‘forgotten’ church work of Charles Darwin in his local parish of Downe, Kent, has been published on the Church of England’s website, at www.cofe.anglican.org/darwin/downe.html, to illustrate, once again, how science and the work of the Church can combine together. It was published the same week as the world celebrated the 200^th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. The page is part of a bigger section on the website celebrating the life and works of Darwin. Read more details here

Dioceses Commission begins review of structures 
Further provisions of the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007 come into force on 1 February. The Measure makes it a duty of the Dioceses Commission to review the provincial and diocesan structure of the Church of England, including the size, boundaries and number of provinces and dioceses, and arrangements for Episcopal ministry. It will also have the power to draw up reorganization schemes. Read full details here.

CofE opposes proposed increases in stakes and prizes for gaming machines
The Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England (MPA) has opposed Government proposals to double the stakes and prizes for fruit machines and even larger increases for 'crane-grab' machines. The Council joined the Methodist Church, the Quakers, the Salvation Army and the Evangelical Alliance in expressing these concerns in its response to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Second Consultation. The MPA opposes the raising of stake and prize limits on Category C fruit machines to £1 and £70 respectively, and on Category D ‘crane-grab’ machines to £1 and £50 respectively. Full story here

Intolerance towards Christians in public sector an affront says Archbishop of York
“Wherever I am in the world, my day begins with prayer. It was Dom Helder Camara, after Martin Luther, who said: 'I find these days that I am so busy I have to spend at least four hours each morning in prayer.'  While I cannot claim to have the discipline of Camara, I understand what he means. Prayer is important. At its best, it ushers us into the very presence of God. We come before him in our frail humanity with our worries, hopes and fears as well as our requests.” Read the full text here.

Green light for youth eco-quiz
Youth groups and schools are being encouraged to test out their green credentials – from how they travel to school to their packed lunch habits – as part of this year’s eco-themed Education Sunday, which took place this month. The colourful quiz sheet, written by the Church of England’s environment adviser, David Shreeve, and backed by the Bishop of London, gives young people the chance to assess their environmental impact and suggests small steps they can take to cut down their carbon footprint. Read the full story and download the questions here 

Book Corner – Church House Publishing news
CHP has published its latest bulletin to give a taste of some the resources on offer for individuals, families and small groups to use together during the Lent season - including Lentwise, a new course written by Dr Paula Gooder, and the next in the popular Love Life Live Lent series of booklets. Also in the latest update, you can find out which CofE bishop is suggesting that the best leaders are not busy but focused...

In addition, find details of new books such as a definitive guide on how to ensure your church meets the requirements of various pieces of access and disability-related legislation; and a book reflecting on how recent changes to marriage law have opened up new opportunities for using marriage as a mission opportunity, and what those involved in church wedding administration can do to help make those couples feel as at home as possible. Read the full bulletin, and order books online today here

Elections to the Church Commissioners
In its current round of quinquennial elections to the Church Commissioners, the General Synod has appointed three clerical and four lay members. Full details here.

New Chair for Central Readers’ Council
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have jointly appointed the Rt Revd Robert Paterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, to chair the Central Readers’ Council with effect from the end of April 2009. Readers are lay Christians who are trained and licensed by the Church of England to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work. Bishop Robert will oversee the work of the Council which looks after all issues relating to the work and ministry of more than 10,000 Readers who currently serve the Church. Full details here.

Christian scholars call for New Year’s resolution to daily prayer
Renowned Christian authors behind the latest in a series of Bible notes from the Church of England, released today, have called for Christians to reconsider the time and energy they spend on daily Bible study and prayer in the same way as they might be reassessing other areas of their lives at the beginning of the year. Full details here.

New Secretary for Ethical Investment Advisory Group
The Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) has appointed Edward Mason as its new Secretary.   Edward currently heads the London office of Independent Diplomat, a non-profit diplomatic advisory group which he helped to establish.  After Wadham College, Oxford, where he read History, Edward previously worked for the Foreign Office, serving in various posts over fifteen years, including at the British Embassies in Oslo and Zagreb. Read the full story here

North Africa visit, Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, visited North Africa earlier this month.  Background to the visit can be found here. For pictures of the visit click here. 

For full details of Dr Williams diary and activities see main website  

More news from the Archbishop of York
Dr Sentamu dedicates memorial of Olaudah Equiano
Archbishop’s speech to the Anne Frank Trust