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News
Introducing the new Archbishop of York
Christians to help fight gun crime
Number of future clergy are on the rise
Church welcomes RE 'golden hullos'
How Christians can help in the debt crisis
Archbishop challenges the media
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Introducing the new Archbishop of York
The Rt Revd Dr John Sentamu, currently Bishop of Birmingham, is to
succeed the Rt Revd Dr David Hope as the next Archbishop of York. Here
are some background notes to introduce him:
Bishop Sentamu, who is 56, was born in Uganda. He was educated in
Uganda, graduating in Law from Makerere University, Kampala and is an
Advocate of the High Court of Uganda. He practised Law both at the Bar
and at the Bench before he came to the UK in 1974.
Here he read theology at Selwyn College Cambridge, where he gained a
Masters Degree and a Doctorate. He trained for ordination at Ridley
Hall, Cambridge, then part of the Cambridge Federation of Theological
Colleges. Following his ordination in 1979 he served as Assistant
Chaplain at Selwyn College, Cambridge. From 1979-1982 he was Chaplain at
HM Remand Centre Lachmere House and Curate of St Andrew's, Ham in the
Diocese of Southwark.
From 1982-1983 John Sentamu was Curate of St Paul, Herne Hill, and from
1983-1984 Priest-in-Charge at Holy Trinity, Tulse Hill and Parish Priest
of St Matthias Upper Tulse Hill. He then became Vicar of the joint
benefice of Holy Trinity and St Matthias from 1984-1986. Between 1987
and 1989 he was also Priest-in-Charge of St Saviour Brixton Hill. He was
appointed Bishop of Stepney in 1996 and Bishop of Birmingham in 2002.
Bishop Sentamu says: "I am looking forward to working with the
Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops to lead the Church of England
in its mission to the nation. It is imperative that the Church regains
her vision and confidence in mission, developing ways that will enable
the Church of England to reconnect imaginatively with England.
"It is important that the Church of England's voice is heard locally,
nationally and internationally, standing up for justice, bringing Good
News to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, setting at liberty
those who are oppressed, and proclaiming the death of Christ and his
resurrection until he comes again. What an exciting prospect."
In a statement from Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
Rowan Williams welcomed Bishop John Sentamu as Archbishop of York. “He
is someone who has always combined a passion for sharing the gospel with
a keen sense of the problems and challenges of our society, particularly
where racism is concerned. His ministry in London and Birmingham has
been praised by Christians of all backgrounds. He is a caring pastor and
an exciting communicator. I look forward with great enthusiasm to
working with him."
Bishop Sentamu is married to Margaret, a Senior Selection Secretary in
the Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council, and they have two
grown-up children, Grace and Geoffrey. Bishop Sentamu's interests
include music, cooking, reading, athletics, rugby and football.
From 1997 to 1999, Bishop Sentamu was Adviser to the Stephen Lawrence
Judicial Inquiry and he chaired the Damilola Taylor Review, 2002. He has
been the chairman of the NHS Haemoglobinopathy Screening Programme since
2001.Between 2002 and 2004 he was Chairman of the EC1 New Deal. He
became President of Youth for Christ in 2004 and President of the YMCA
in April 2005.
**
Christians to help fight gun crime
A new initiative by London's church leaders to combat gun crime in
London has been launched by Joel Edwards, General Director of the
Evangelical Alliance.
The new scheme has brought together senior officers from the Met's
specialist units fighting gun crime and London's church leaders to work
out new ways to tackle the worrying rise in violent attacks. 'Hope for
London', a church leader's prayer network responding to prominent issues
in the capital, helped launch the scheme, involving up to 250 pastors
and church leaders across London.
Police have recently stepped up the number of armed patrols in London to
address a surge in shootings.
The Rev Joel Edwards said: “This Spring witnessed a huge rise in
shootings in London involving feuds between Yardie-style gangs. It
prompted me to draw together church leaders and the police to see what
we could do to stem the tide. As Christians, we not only have a major
presence in our communities, but we can offer something radical in
response to crime. We can also pray. History shows that nations and
cities can be transformed when people pray."
**
Number of future clergy are on the rise
A total of 564 men and women were recommended to train as future clergy
in the Church of England in 2004; the highest number in six years.
The figure represents an increase of more than 10 percent over the 505
recommended in 2003. It has only twice been exceeded in the last 20
years: in 1986 and 1998. The recommendations include 284 men and 280
women.
There were 51 selection conferences last year, attended by 727
candidates testing their vocations. This year is expected to see 52
selection conferences with more than 740 candidates.
"God still calls, people respond, and the Church rejoices - it's very
encouraging," said Ven Dr Gordon Kuhrt, Director of Ministry.
The increase in 2004 was among candidates in the 50 plus age bracket,
where recommendations rose from 150 in 2003 to 210.
The Ministry Division is responding to this trend through a young
vocations initiative. The initiative will include teams of clergy and
ordinands in their 20s giving presentations in parishes or Higher and
Further Education chaplaincies, taking stalls at university careers
fairs and encouraging incumbents and chaplains to actively recruit.
"Attracting young people to ordained ministry is key for the Church's
present and future mission and ministry," said the Rt Rev John Gladwin,
Bishop of Chelmsford, who chairs the Ministry Division. "What young
people may sometimes lack in terms of experience they more than make up
for in terms of energy and potential."
**
Church welcomes RE 'golden hullos'
The Church of England has warmly welcomed a package of reforms from the
Teacher Training Agency that includes larger bursaries and 'golden
hullos' for PGCE students in Religious Education (RE), as a recognised
shortage subject.
The bursary for such students in training is set to increase from £6,000
to £9,000; a 'golden hullo' of £2,500 when they begin teaching will be
introduced for the first time - an aggregate increase of £5,500.
Canon John Hall, the Church's Chief Education Officer, said: "We have
had a series of meetings both with ministers and with the Teacher
Training Agency, and we are delighted that our sustained pressure has
now borne fruit. This recognises not only the importance of RE as a
subject, but also its growing popularity in schools."
The Rt Revd Dr Kenneth Stevenson, Bishop of Portsmouth and Chair of the
Archbishops' Council's Education Division, said: "The government's
decision is extremely welcome. The importance of RE is that it helps
pupils understand the place of Christianity and other great religions in
our society; it helps them respond to important questions for their own
lives; and the understanding it brings contributes to a more just and
cohesive society."
**
How Christians can help in the debt crisis
“Christians wanting to make an impact on world poverty and health are
right to be campaigning for governments to forgive debts, practise free
trade and give generously, but the debt crisis is also a huge challenge
to the churches urgently to rethink our own attitudes to interest and
debt. It is often easy to point the finger at others, but as Christians
we ourselves need to be living out Christian economic principles”.
This was the uncomfortable message from the Christian Medical Fellowship
as the world's richest countries - the G8- recently agreed to write off
the $40bn (£22bn; 33bn euros) debt owed by 18 mainly African countries.
The package was agreed by G8 finance ministers meeting in London early
this summer. CMF General Secretary Peter Saunders said, “The
international debt crisis is having profoundly adverse effects on health
world-wide, through the social and economic consequences of austerity
measures imposed on developing countries by creditors. Poverty is the
main reason that babies aren't vaccinated, that children catch dysentery
from infected water supplies, that drugs and other treatments aren't
available and that half a million mothers die unnecessarily each year in
childbirth. We cannot deal with health while ignoring poverty. Clean
drinking water, proper sanitation, adequate nutrition and good education
have over the years saved far more lives than any single medical
technology or treatment and these are all directly linked to poverty.
“It is true that the legacies of colonialism, economic mismanagement,
war and corruption have all played their part in weakening developing
world economies. But a huge factor has been the need for already
bankrupt countries to repay debts owed to developed world banks and
nations. We commend the decision by G8 finance ministers to do something
positive about the problem and would encourage them to extend the
measure to other countries.
“It is clear that Western banks, governments and multi-lateral finance
institutions have failed to follow Christ's teaching about no-interest
loans to the poor, debt forgiveness, economic justice and generous
charitable giving. But are we as British Christians really doing much
better?
“Jesus call was to lend, even to enemies, expecting nothing back,
forgive debts and give generously. The teaching of the apostles and
practice of the early church underlined this. The early church fathers,
including Basil, Chrysostom, Clement, Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome and
Augustine - and the early church Councils - followed suit. They
encouraged generosity and debt forgiveness and condemned the taking of
interest.
“Until the time of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), taking interest was
seen as tantamount to theft. However, since the time of the Reformation,
when conservative and radical reformers were divided as to whether
interest charges should be allowed under some circumstances, there has
been a gradual erosion of enthusiasm for these principles not just in
western society but in the church itself.
“Perhaps the international debt crisis is an opportunity for us as
Christians to put our own house in order.”
Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) was founded in 1949 and is an
interdenominational organisation with over 4,500 British doctor members
and a 1,000 student members in all branches of medicine. A registered
charity, it is linked to about 60 similar bodies in other countries
throughout the world.
The CMF exists to unite Christian doctors to pursue the highest ethical
standards in Christian and professional life and to increase faith in
Christ and acceptance of his ethical teaching. For further information
visit www.cmf.org.uk and www.healthserve.org
**
Archbishop challenges the media
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has recently challenged
journalists and broadcasters to regain lost public confidence through a
far-reaching re-assessment of the way the news media operate.
In a major lecture to an audience of media professionals, politicians,
and Church leaders at Lambeth Palace Dr Williams highlighted the central
task of the media in helping to nourish the common good of a society. He
praised the courage and commitment journalists have shown in promoting
"moral change and vision".
But he also argued that: "If the profession is to perform its necessary
job, some aspects of current practice are lethally damaging to it, and
contribute to the embarrassingly low level of trust in the profession
(especially in the UK) shown in most opinion polls."
Dr Williams said that media claims about what is in "the public
interest" need much closer scrutiny: "There is a difference between
exposing deceptions that sustain injustice and attacking
confidentialities or privacies that in some sense protect the
vulnerable...high levels of adversarial and suspicious probing send the
clear message that any kind of concealment is guilty until proved
innocent. That is a case that needs more than just assumptions to be
morally persuasive."
He added: "There are undoubtedly facts which would be of huge interest
to a certain sort of public, but are not by any stretch of the
imagination matters of public interest in the sense that not knowing
them creates or prolongs a seriously unjust situation."
Dr Williams also argued that the way most news is packaged and marketed
tends to work against real engagement and deeper public understanding,
and creates "a parallel universe" remote from most people's real
experience.
At the same time, Dr Williams described "a healthy, morally flourishing
media" as vital and a "necessity for mature democracy". He also rejected
attempts to make the media "a scapegoat. The relation with the wider
society is mutual; societies to some extent have the media they deserve
and license."
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