Comms Update Sept 09

Communications Update  – September 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 is also available on the Church of England website at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/cofegazette/

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 are welcome, to Peter Crumpler, Director of Communications, at commsupdate@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:

• Make it personal – support the poor by counting your carbon
• Churches take to the airwaves to extend warm welcome
• Archbishop of Canterbury’s environmental videocast
• Be the change that you want to see – Archbishop of York’s Youth Trust
• Top of the Pods – latest CofE downloads
• Church Commissioners latest news
• Student numbers grow for sixth year running in Religious Studies A-Level
• Eleventh annual increase in number of students taking Religious Education

• More news from the Archbishop of Canterbury
• More news from the Archbishop of York
• New Bishop of Warrington (Liverpool Diocese)

Make it personal – support the poor by counting your carbon
Count the cost of your carbon footprint for the sake of the developing world - is the message from the CofE’s Climate Justice Fund, launched, as the College of Bishops meets in Oxford this week, with support from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).  Read  the full story.

Churches take to the airwaves to extend warm welcome
As half a million people across the UK are set to receive personal invitations 'back to church' in the next few days, thousands more will be hearing their invitation over the breakfast table or on their drive home. Read more here

Archbishop encourages ‘response to God’s hope for us’ in environment videocast

The Archbishop of Canterbury shares concerns for the planet in a new videocast encouraging viewers to sign up in advance, via the Internet, to the Church of England’s environmentally-themed online Advent calendar for 2009, with its daily green challenges and thoughts. The Ready Steady Slow videocast is available on the website www.whywearewaiting.com and on YouTube. It is the first of a number of Ready Steady Slow events, including a stand at the Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham which happened over the August Bank Holiday.  More here

Be the change that you want to see

The Archbishop of York Youth Trust has been set up to help and motivate young people to be leaders of change in their local communities. Read more about the awards here including a special video message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Top of the Pods
Canon Paul Bayes talks about this year's Back to Church Sunday and the professionally produced 40-second radio advert that is helping churches promote this year’s initiative. Meanwhile, Canon Stephen Lake of St Alban's Cathedral encourages clergy to make the most of church weddings, via the pages of his book Welcoming Marriage. Listen in at www.cofe.anglican.org/podcast.

Church Commissioner’s latest news

The Commissioners manage a diverse portfolio of assets on behalf of the Church of England. These are held in stock market investments and commercial, residential and rural property and were valued at £4.4 billion as at December 2008. Andreas Whittam Smith First Church Estates Commissioner provides the latest quarterly update about the fund’s performance.

Student numbers grow for sixth year running in Religious Studies A-Level

Church highlights ‘inconvenient fact’ that matters of faith interest young people

The publication of A-level results marked the sixth year in a row that the number of students taking Religious Studies A-level has risen, with an increase of 4.7 per cent over 2008. More here

Eleventh annual increase in number of students taking Religious Education GCSE

Highest number ever of GCSE students opt to explore the world through lens of faith

A 1.8 per cent rise in the number of students taking Religious Education at GCSE level marks the eleventh annual rise in entrants for the subject, according to figures released in August. More than 182,000 students across the UK have received the news of their grades for full course Religious Education, which also sees a rise in the proportion taking the subject. The results indicate that 73.4 per cent of RE students achieved a grade between A* and C (compared to 72.5 per cent last year). More here

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of Canterbury

• Newsnight interview - more details here
• Archbishop’s greetings for the start of the Jewish New Year
• Dr Williams awards Nikæan Cross to Bishop Hubert
• Details of Japan visit
• The Archbishop on Understanding Prayer
• Blasphemy law in Pakistan: online petition. More here

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of York

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Labels Leeds Teenager “An Inspiration”

He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, chairman of The Elders, and was recently at the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama. More here

News from the Diocese of Sheffield

New Bishop of Warrington announced

The new Bishop of Warrington is to be the Venerable Richard Blackburn. Richard is currently Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham, a post he has held since 1999. He will be consecrated at a special service at York Minster on November 3^rd. More here