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News
Calls for Easter synchronization Sunday trading is back centre stage New poverty website for children Virtual door opens on documentary heritage Launch of baptism book and cube New Charity Commemorates 20th Century Christian Martyr With the Pope’s blessing, Don Maclean sings the parables
Calls for Easter synchronization New calls have been made for the worldwide Church to mark Easter on the same day, and promote Christian unity in the process. “Especially for churches in Muslim countries, it is a scandal if Christians cannot celebrate together, “Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said. Easter is celebrated most years on two different days, one by most Protestants and Roman Catholics, and the other by most Orthodox Churches. The different dates stem in part from disagreement over reform of the calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th century.
Sunday trading is back centre stage A crucial few weeks lie ahead for the Keep Sunday Special Campaign and a plethora of other organisations and individuals who are determined to fight off the threat of more shopping hours on a Sunday.
The campaign has called upon a group of eminent politicians to examine the effect that weekend working is having on community and family life. The Parliamentary panel will meet over a period of weeks and will take evidence from an assortment of witnesses from children and family organisations, trade unions, retailers, religious groups and consumer groups.
The new threat to what remains of the family weekend comes from an alliance of major retailers calling themselves ‘Deregulate.’ Members, including Tesco, Ikea, B&Q and Asda, want the Government to lift all restrictions on large-shop trading on a Sunday. They are seeking to convince the Department of Trade and Industry that the demand comes from consumers hungry to spend even more than they already do on Sunday shopping sprees.
Heading the panel will be Labour’s Lord Anderson, together with Ann Widdecombe, Gary Streeter, Andy Reed and Colin Breed. Their task will be to report by Easter to meet a tight Government deadline.
One of the first things they will be asked to examine is the huge discrepancy between poll results issued by the big stores and the NOP commissioned by KSS which demonstrated that 72 per cent of those interviewed would prefer to have a regular shared day off with their family and friends rather than have more time to shop on a Sunday.
This result does not stand alone. Usdaw, the shopworkers union with many members in Tesco stores, produced a similar NOP poll result. A survey of 500 shop staff found that 62% came under pressure to work on Sundays and only 11% have had the confidence to use their legal right to opt-out of Sunday working.
The attitude of many back-benchers in the House of Commons has raised hopes that Parliament will not on this occasion go for an extension. Nearly 180 MPs, among them many Labour members, have signed an Early Day Motion opposing any extension to Sunday trading.
There are many other concerns for the Panel to consider. Promises made in the 90s to pay shopworkers premium rates on a Sundays have been largely disregarded; ancillary workers serving the supermarkets have had to work harder for less compensation and probably the most serious of all effects has been on communities which have lost their local shops.
In villages all over Britain the elderly, the handicapped and those without transport have found a valuable social link has been cut off when their local shop closes down.
Campaign Manager of Keep Sunday Special, John Alexander, says it is essential to re-engage the interest of the churches right across Britain. ‘Already many practising Christians have been denied the opportunity to worship on a Sunday and with even three extra hours of trading on a Sunday many more will find the opportunity to attend their local church will be even more limited.
“If Christians in particular and other faiths in general, are discriminated against in order to privilege the minority that actively want to shop and trade on a Sunday, the Government will be putting the clock back so far as non-discrimination is concerned.”
More information from Keep Sunday Special website: www.keepsundayspecial.net
New poverty website for children Tearfund has launched a new website for children. It aims to introduce them to issues of poverty around the world. The Action Pack site for eight to 11 year-olds features a selection of games, facts and action ideas, aimed to help children engage with world issues. It comes with a devotional book and a CD-Rom. The site can be found at: www.tearfund.org/actionpack.
Virtual door opens on documentary heritage Information on the rich documentary heritage of the Church of England is now only a click away with the launch of a dedicated Libraries and Archives section on the Church of England's website. Information about Lambeth Palace Library, the Church of England Record Centre and the Library of the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, as well as links to the major ecclesiastical libraries and archives throughout England, have been brought together. Visit: www.cofe.anglican.org/about/librariesandarchives/
Launch of baptism book and cube Two new resources aim to bring the baptism service to life for young children, in colourful and accessible formats that help to explain the symbolism of the sacrament. My Baptism Book and The Baptism Cube have been produced in response to demand from children’s work specialists in dioceses and parishes across the Church of England. My Baptism Book and The Baptism Cube (Church House Publishing, £4.99; £5.99 are available from all Christian bookshops and Church House Bookshop, bookshop@c-of-e.org.uk.)
New Charity Commemorates 20th Century Christian Martyr Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered on 17 February 1977 for standing up to dictator Idi Amin. In memory of this much-loved Christian leader, The Archbishop Janani Luwum Trust was recently launched in London at Westminster Abbey.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu is President of the Archbishop Janani Luwum Memorial Trust. Dr Sentamu said, "Archbishop Luwum was a major influence on my call to the ministry. I am honoured to have a part in this permanent and practical memorial to him."
The Trust will promote Janani Luwum’s passion for the Christian Gospel and the wellbeing of all people, by supporting poverty relief and promoting education and health in war-torn Northern Uganda.
Janani Luwum is one of the 20th Century Christian Martyrs commemorated in stone on the West Front of Westminster Abbey See also www.jananiluwumtrust.com (site undergoing revision)
With the Pope’s blessing, Don Maclean sings the parables Don Maclean, who recently relinquished hosting BBC Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday show after 15 years, has just launched his own Singing Parables CD.
Don, well-known from his days as a presenter of Crackerjack and a proud native of Birmingham, says: “I know it sounds bizarre, but no-one's done the Parables in this way before.”
They have been translated into modern lyrics and set to music by Fr John Daley of the Watermead Apostolate. He asked Don to record them. All the best known are included - for example the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. A few not so well known are also on the list - the Pestering Widow and the Tale of the Talents.
Don adds: “Some are done, as you would expect, with a certain amount of humour, but we hope they all get across the original message which Jesus intended.”
Don Maclean recently visited the Venerable English College in Rome, and later was introduced to Pope Benedict XVI to whom he presented the initial copy of this CD. The trip was arranged by colleagues at BBC Radio as a surprise on his ‘retirement’.
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