| News Round Up Archbishop
Rowan Williams takes over as Archbishop of Canterbury The
confirmation of the election of the 104th Archbishop of
Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, took place at St Paul's
Cathedral late last year when, in a formal ceremony, nine
bishops of the Church of England (including the
Archbishop of York) confirmed that Rowan Douglas Williams
had been properly chosen and elected as Archbishop of
Canterbury by the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury
Cathedral. Dr
Williams said: "It's a very humbling thing to be
included in this long succession of Archbishops and a
very humbling thing to be aware of the trust that has
been placed in my hands. "I
pray for God's guidance as I seek to meet this new
challenge - a challenge I face with a sense of inadequacy
but also with hope, with joy and with enthusiasm. I am
deeply grateful for all the support that has been given
to me and the prayers that are being offered." Later
in December, Dr Williams and his family moved to Lambeth
Palace. After a period of rest, retreat and preparation,
he will be formally enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral on
27 February and begin a full public ministry as
Archbishop of Canterbury. Church
visitor numbers seriously underestimated in official
statistics The
English Tourism Council has recently admitted that the
number of visitors to churches across the country was
seriously underestimated in official statistics. These
statistics indicate the importance of the various types
of tourist attractions to the economy, and may influence
government thinking on offering financial support to
churches. The
statistics had shown just 14.7 million visitors to 111
churches and cathedrals, in comparison to visitors to
heritage sites, theme parks, etc. The English Tourism
Council explained that only places with visitor numbers
of over 20,000 per annum were asked for their annual
figures, but that responsibility for identifying which
sites should be approached was left to the knowledge of
the regional tourist boards. Churches
which estimated they have over 20,000 visitors each year
(which can include group visitors, special events such as
concerts and flower festivals and all visitors coming
through the doors) were to contact their Regional Tourist
Board. Numbers could be estimated from visitor books
using accepted academic research to allow for the fact
that only a proportion of visitors sign their name. Concern
has also been expressed at the inconsistency between the
long standing government policy of encouraging visitors
towards more smaller attractions and then failing to
measure the number of visitors to these destinations. The
omission of smaller attractions, particularly churches,
could lead to a distortion of the facts. In the diocese
of Lincoln, for example, much media coverage had been
given to the fact that cathedral visitors had decreased
by 16% over a year, but no mention was made of the fact
that there had been an almost identical increase in
visitors to churches in rural Lincolnshire! Do
you care what our clergy wear? Priests
in the Greek Orthodox Church have voted to keep to their
traditional appearance: beard, cassock and hat. However,
they may wear ordinary clothes when "shopping,
driving, or spending time with their families." This
decision came in a recent Holy Synod of the church, after
some priests had complained that their cassocks and
kamilavki (headgear) were too hot, and irrelevant to
modern life. But it was felt that faithful worshippers
"like to see their priests looking different from
other citizens."
Islam
courts for Kenya? Should
Kenya introduce Islamic law into the country's draft
constitution? The question has sparked off a row that
could have long-term implications. It all began when the
Kenyan Review Commission, which reviewed the country's
laws last year, produced a draft which included a
proposal that Islamic Kadhi courts be instituted at all
levels of the judiciary. Religious
groups across Kenya, including Christians, Hindus, and
traditional African groups, have taken strong exception
to the idea. Until now, the faith groups have been
working together on the new constitution. Ordinary
Kenyans are also concerned: they say separate courts will
divide the country along religious lines. Should
diocesan lay folk join a union? Should
lay people working in administration in our diocesan
office be members of a trade union? For the first time
ever, this has happened in an English diocese. Southwell
Diocese has just entered into a collective agreement with
the trade union Amicus, on behalf of lay people working
in the diocesan office for the Diocesan Board of Finance..
This gives the lay people the right to negotiate over
terms and conditions of employment, including pay, hours
and holidays. Roger Lyons, joint general secretary of
Amicus, has described the scheme as " a good example
to hold up in our campaign for union recognition in the
whole of the Church of England." Clergy
in danger Assaults
on clergy in England rose by 33 per cent last year. More
than 500 were attacked and two priests were murdered.
National Churchwatch, which deals with clergy safety,
published figures for April 2001 to April 2002, and has
urged that theological colleges take seriously the idea
of teaching students personal safety. Religion
on the BBC For
the first time, the BBC has committed itself to a minimum
of 112 hours a year of religion and ethics TV programmes
on BBC1 and BBC2. Output has previously been about 110
hours a year. The
BBC is also using development money to encourage and
promote interested producers in areas such as drama,
current affairs and children's programmes in doing
stories on religion on BBC3, BBC4 and CBBC. The
BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics, Alan Bookbinder, has
been struck by the number of services of national
celebration or remembrance that have been broadcast since
he took up his job. "The BBC can become the national
cathedral" he said. "That's not something new,
but it has been given a much sharper edge because world
events have taken the turn that they have." URC
faces a shortfall of £1 million A
deficit of nearly £1 million was forecast for the United
Reformed Church late last year. Such a large loss could
hit the URC hard. The
URC is heading for a deficit this year of some £400,000,
but the falls in the value of the Church's investments
could lead to a requirement to pay an extra £500,000 a
year into the Church's pension fund for a number of years. Such
a massive shortfall is the equivalent to the salaries of
more than 40 ministers. Convenor Julian Macro explained
that "there is no pot of gold out of which such a
deficit can be met... the money we spend is the money
which is given week by week in the churches." |