Communications Update

Communications Update  – January 2010

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:

•  Haiti: Prayers and support
• Celebrate marriage – Valentine’s Day special
• Full agenda published for February’s General Synod
• Unwired for sound: Church joins campaign for compensation for organisations “evicted” from special events frequency 
• Zimbabwe appeal – special exhibition
• New for 20101,  Podcasts, training and wedding show resources
• Guide for PCCs missing out on investment income 
• How wild is your churchyard?
• Dying Matters Coalition – CofE contributes further to dialogue on death and dying
• Church of England supports moves to enforce Groceries Supply Code of Practice
• Getting religion is crucial for BBC to meet its public duty, says Church
• Ban on product placement on TV should remain, says Church
• Church welcomes alcohol report
• Wake up with the CofE on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show
• More news from the Archbishop of Canterbury
• More news from the Archbishop of York

Haiti: Prayers and support

• The Archbishops of Canterbury and York Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu have issued messages of support to the people of Haiti affected by the devastation caused by the massive earthquake. Read both messages here (York and Canterbury) along with details of how to support emergency relief.
• There is a special prayer for Haiti on the Church of England website composed for personal and congregational use by the Revd Peter Moger, the National Worship Development Officer.
• Prayers for Troubled Times published this week by Church House Publishing includes words to express concern for those affected by disasters such as Haiti earthquake. 

Themed service for Valentine's Day

This year churches can offer a special Valentine service with themed readings on Sunday 14th February, as the Archbishops’ Council’s Weddings Project has responded to parishes’ requests for liturgical resources – available here. There are suggestions for a Special Service of Celebration for use with A Service of the Word (that can also be used to celebrate marriage at any time); and thoughts on how the

regular Sunday Worship might adopt a marriage/love theme.

Marriage Week UK is from 8th - 14th February 2010 and includes Valentine's Day, many church communities are marking this with a special service to celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of marriage and to show the Church's support for marriage. For other ideas, including suggestions for a Movie Night and the MWUK Logo, see http://www.marriage-week.org.uk

Full agenda published for February’s Synod

Debates on children and young people, mission, TV coverage of religion, science and religious belief, church buildings, relations with the Anglican Church in North America, clergy pensions and legislation feature in sessions of the Church of England’s ‘parliament,’ the General Synod, to be held in London from February 8th to 12th. Further details can be found here.

Unwired for sound: Church joins campaign for compensation for organisations “evicted” from special events frequency 

Hundreds of churches could face bills to replace or retune sound equipment rendered useless by changes to the way that radio frequencies are allocated. It has prompted the Church of England to join an industry-led campaign to press Government to provide adequate compensation for affected groups, and parishes are being encouraged to write to their MP to maintain pressure on the subject. The changes will affect most churches using four or more wireless microphones, and the unexpected bill could total as much as £1 million for Church of England churches and cathedrals alone, according to an estimate. More here (press release19.2.09)

Zimbabwe Appeal – special exhibition
Southwark Cathedral will be hosting an exhibition of photos to mark one year since the launch of the Archbishops’ Appeal for Zimbabwe, in partnership with USPG –Anglicans in World Mission. The photos capture the extensive work being done by the local church to feed the hungry, heal the sick and begin to provide long-term peace and stability for local communities in Zimbabwe. The exhibition will run from the afternoon of Friday 5 Feb to Thurs 11 Feb, 9.30 am to 5pm. Please contact Isobel Owen at Lambeth Palace for more details Isobel.owen@lambethpalace.org.uk  

For more information on the progress of the Appeal please follow this link http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2654

New for 2010 – Podcasts, training courses and wedding show resources
Sarah Smith of Ministry Division gets an update on clergy employment rights from the Rt Revd John Packer, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, who chairs DRACS (the Archbishops' Council's Deployment, Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee). Subscribe to the Church of England podcast here (http://cofe.anglican.org/podcast.xml)

The 2010 Tailor made communications training programmeis now available online. New for 2010 is 'Get an effective website', with revised more indepth versions of the popular 'Better blogging' and 'Connect with your community online' new media courses. A rangeof media, writing and interviewing courses including brushing up presentation skills are also available.
Professional displays and other resources are available for churches taking stands at wedding shows. More information on both from suzanne.gray@c-of-e.org.uk or 020 7898 1465.

Guide for PCCs missing out on investment income  

PCC members of churches with cash reserves are being urged to review where these reserves are invested. “Parishes are potentially missing out on significant investment income,” says the Rt Revd John Packer, chair of the Church of England’s National Stewardship Committee. “It is important that we are good stewards of all that is entrusted to us, whether personally or as parishes and dioceses, and to review our stewardship at least once a year is good practice.” A short guide for PCC members has been produced to guide PCCs through the wide range of alternatives for investments that are not equity linked.

How wild is your churchyard?

Manage, don’t mow your churchyard and give space to endangered plant species. That is the message from the CofE’s national environmental campaign Shrinking the Footprint which has signed up to the United Nations’ International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). More here

Church of England contributes further to dialogue on death and dying by joining Dying Matters Coalition
The Church of England has joined more than 1,000 organisations in the national Dying Matters Coalition. Led by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC), working closely with the Department of Health (DH) and other key stakeholders, the coalition aims to promote public awareness around death, dying and bereavement. More here

Church of England supports moves to enforce Groceries Supply Code of Practice
The announcement that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills has accepted the Competition Commission’s recommendation for a body to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) has been warmly welcomed  by the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, and the Chairman of the Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG), John Reynolds.

Getting religion right is crucial for BBC to meet its public duty, says Church
A proper portrayal of religion that reflects and explores the factors giving people’s lives purpose should form an explicit part of the BBC’s requirement to “sustain citizenship and civil society”, argues the Church of England in its response to a BBC Trust consultation on BBC Television. More here

Ban on product placement on TV should remain, says Church
The ban on branded goods appearing on popular soaps, dramas and other programmes should be maintained, says the Church of England in a submission sent today to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. More here

Church Welcomes Alcohol Report
The Church of England has today welcomed the report on Alcohol, published by the Commons Select Committee on Health. More here

Wake up with the CofE on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show
Church of England priest the Revd Rob Gillion took to the airwaves on Mon 11 Jan to present the first ever Pause for Thought on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Radio 2. More here

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop - Christmas teaches us joy of dependence

Society's rush to create independent citizens is crushing and narrowing children's experiences of childhood, the Archbishop of Canterbury says in his Christmas Sermon. More here

Worshippers barred from churches on Christmas Day

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have condemned the recent resurgence of police intimidation of Anglicans in Zimbabwe. Church goers, including clergy and local bishops, have been barred from entering their churches and threatened with arrest and violence. More here

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message – “The needs of our neighbours are the needs of the whole human family.”

 In his BBC New Year Message the Archbishop of Canterbury set out that in this global society we now inhabit "risk and suffering are everybody’s problem, the needs of our neighbours are the needs of the whole human family." Further details and the You Tube link  here

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of York

Archbishop Posts Christmas Message on YouTube

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, posted a Christmas message for visitors to YouTube. The video message calls on people in Britain to be like the innkeeper from the Nativity story this Christmas. He encourages them to find a space in their heart and home – and to be a similar presence in their community, showing the love of God to others. To view the video go here Press release here