Communications Update

Communications Update  – November 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:

• Advent ready steady slow
• Use cash not credit cards - new CofE videocasts
• Economics is 'housekeeping' for humanity – Archbishop of Canterbury
• C of E Launches 7-Year Climate Change Action Plan
• Latest on women bishops (Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate)
• Apostolic Constitution (Vatican publication) – Bishop of Guildford responds
• Bishop encourages commuters to get to work on prayer
• Pioneer minister in finance and business role
• Quarterly update from the Church Commissioners
• Archbishop of York speaks out on Prostitution
• Church academies ‘family’ launches ‘new phase of development’
• Response to 'misconceived' article in Financial Times regarding the clergy pension scheme
• Thousands of church school pupils get ready to mark inaugural inter faith week
• Youth Council anniversary celebration – should you be there?
• Faith leaders – tackling climate change is a “moral imperative”
• More news from the Archbishop of Canterbury
• More news from the Archbishop of York
• New Bishop of Peterborough
• New Bishop of Whitby (York Diocese)

Advent ready steady slow
Take time out this Advent at www.whywearewaiting.com with go-slow lifestyle challenges and stories for all along with daily videos and podcasts from around the Church of England - and beyond. The online calendar opens on Advent Sunday November 29 with a special video message going live on Thursday November 26. The website will also have daily Bible passages and prayers.

Use cash not credit cards - new CofE videocasts
Leave your credit cards at home and use cash when you are Christmas shopping if you want to stick to your budget - that’s the advice from Dr John Preston, the Church of England’s National Stewardship Officer. It’s just one of many money-saving tips to be found in three new videocasts available on the Church of England website.

Archbishop - Economics is 'housekeeping' for humanity

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has urged us to keep economics in perspective as it is only one aspect of human existence. In a keynote address to the TUC Economics Conference today he said: "‘Economy’ is simply the Greek word for ‘housekeeping’.  Remembering this is a useful way of getting things in proportion, so that we don’t lose sight of the fact that economics is primarily about the decisions we make so as to create a habitat that we can actually live in."  Read the full text

C of E Launches 7-Year “Church and Earth” Climate Change Action Plan
The Church of England has launched its environmental strategy for the next seven years, as global faith leaders and UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, met in Windsor to discuss commitments on climate change, before the world’s political leaders meet in Copenhagen in December. More here   

Revision Committee on Women in the Episcopate
The Revision Committee met for its third scheduled meeting (13 November) since 8 October (see earlier statement). It concluded a substantial exploration of ways in which the draft legislation could be amended to enable certain functions to be vested by statute in bishops who would provide oversight for those unable to receive the episcopal and/or priestly ministry of women. More here

Apostolic Constitution – Bishop of Guildford responds
Responding to today's publication of the Apostolic Constitution and its complementary norms by the Vatican, the Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford and Chairman of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, spoke. Text here

Bishop encourages commuters to get to work on prayer
The Church of England has published a book of prayers and reflections to help frazzled commuters prepare for the winter ahead – and then unwind on the way home.  More here

Yorkshire Bank chosen for official service of pioneer chaplain to business community
In a break with church tradition, a special service has been held at the headquarters of a major regional bank in Leeds at which the Bishop of Knaresborough has licensed a new minister to pioneering new chaplaincy role with the financial and business sectors of the city. The Revd. Rob Hinton (40) will begin his new post as the Church of England’s first ‘Pioneer Minister to the Business Community’. More here

The Archbishop of York speaks out in the House of Lords on Prostitution

House of Lords Tuesday 3 November – Crime and Policing bill
My Lords, Clause 14 is entitled: “Paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force”. That is the controlling element: the force. It seems to me that a person who purchases sex ought to know. If I drive a motor car that does not have a proper license, an MOT or insurance and then say, “I did not know”, the law is very clear. I have always believed that law always states public policy. If you withdraw the whole question of strict liability, it will become very difficult, as the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, said.” See full text here

Quarterly news from Church Commissioners
The quarterly update from the Church Commissioners is now available online at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/churchcommissioners/quarterly/  

Church academies ‘family’ launches ‘new phase of development’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, addressed a special gathering of the leaders of the Church of England’s growing network of academies, which have already provided a fresh start to the educational chances of 30,000 young people largely from economically deprived backgrounds. More here

Response to 'misconceived' article in Financial Times regarding the clergy pension scheme
An article in today’s Financial Times, headed ‘Vicars’ pensions under threat as church is seduced by equities cult’, is misconceived and fails to take adequate account of the scheme’s relative age compared to other schemes, says Dr Jonathan Spencer, Chairman of the Church of England Pensions Board.

Thousands of church school pupils get ready to mark inaugural inter faith week
Students and staff at many of the Church of England’s 4,500 primary and 220 secondary schools joined in the UK’s first inter faith week, which began on Sunday (15th November). More here

Youth Council anniversary celebration – should you be there?
Westminster Abbey is preparing to host a fifth birthday celebration for the Church of England Youth Council (CEYC). Young people from across the country who have been involved in the development of this national representative body have been invited to mark the occasion. More here

Faith leaders – tackling climate change is a “moral imperative”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has hosted a meeting of faith leaders and faith-based and community organisations at Lambeth Palace. He discussed the response of faith communities to the environmental crisis. With a couple of weeks to go before the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit the participants have pledged to work together to raise awareness about the effects of ‘catastrophic climate change’ on the world’s poor and to take whatever action they can to "to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable practice."  At the meeting a number of presentations have highlighted the kind of action faith communities and faith-based organisations were already taking in the UK and with partners overseas. More here

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of Canterbury

• Joint Statement by The Archbishop of Westminster and The Archbishop of Canterbury: “An announcement on the 20^th October of the Apostolic Constitution is a response by Pope Benedict XVI to a number of requests over the past few years to the Holy See from groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and are willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church.” More here
• Archbishop's Diwali message for 2009: The Archbishop of Canterbury sent his annual message to Hindu communities for the festival of Diwali. Text of the message here
•  Archbishop and faith leaders launch 'Inter Faith Week':
• Archbishop welcomes the work of microfinance charity, Five Talents: The Archbishop of Canterbury and a priest from Southern Sudan promoted the benefits of microfinance for the poor through the work of the charity, Five Talents at a reception at Lambeth Palace.

MORE NEWS from the Archbishop of York

• House of Lords speech on Sheep-Tagging: The Archbishop of York asked the following question in the House of Lords on Wednesday 4 November: "To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to provide additional support to sheep farmers following the implementation of new electronic identification requirements in 2010, given the current inaccuracies in tag reading equipment.” More here
• Porvoo Communion in Finland: Climate change, diaspora congregations and the understanding of communion amidst the current economic crisis were among the topics discussed as the primates and presiding bishops in the met in Porvoo, Finland on October 12^th– 13^th 2009.  More here
• Consecration of new Bishop of Warrington
• Archbishop meets new Bishop of Whitby at Middlesborough College

New Bishop of Peterborough announced
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the next Bishop of Peterborough is to be the Ven. Donald Allister, currently Archdeacon of Chester. He succeeds the Rt Revd Ian Cundy, who died in May. The Church of England’s Peterborough Diocese unites churches in Northants, Rutland and most of Peterborough city. More here

New Bishop of Whitby  

The Reverend Canon Martin Clive Warner MA, Canon Treasurer of St Paul’s Cathedral, has been appointed by the Queen as the Suffragan Bishop of Whitby, in succession to the Rt Revd Robert Ladds.  The announcement was made at Middlesbrough College at 11.00am on Monday 2nd November 2009. More here