Communications Update
– August 25th 2006
Monthly
news bulletin from the Communications Office,
Church House, London.
This month’s contents:
A-level and GCSE Religious
Studies entries increase for third year
Archbishop of Canterbury to
visit China
Middle East Conflict: Protest,
Pray & Fast
Trace your family fortunes
with Church of England’s latest web development
Quarterly investment update
from the Church Commissioners
Church Commissioners submit
plans to refurbish Bishopthorpe
Ever wanted to share your
own Thought for the Day?
A-level and GCSE Religious
Studies entries increase for third year
The publication of A-level
results has brought the third successive rise in the number of
entrants for Religious Studies A-level with an increase of 7.98 per
cent. There were 43 per cent more A-level entrants taking Religious
Studies this year than three years ago. Coupled with this, there is
a 7.25 per cent increase in the number of entrants for AS level
Religious Studies compared with a year ago.
At GCSE level, statistics
released showed a 7.5 per cent increase in the total number studying
Religious Education; 7 per cent more students took the GCSE short
course in Religious Education this year than last, representing an
extra 20,000 students and taking the total to 271,251. The full
course, usually studied over two years, was taken by an extra 12,000
students - an 8.2 per cent rise to almost 160,000 students.
Canon John Hall, the Church of
England’s Chief Education Officer, said: “We will not build a
cohesive society unless we foster understanding of people's
spiritual motivations and needs. Studying Religious Studies can make
a real contribution to that.”
He adds that the statistics
give weight to calls to ensure the inclusion of Religious Education
in the Government’s proposed 14-19 framework: “Implementation of the
proposed flexible framework for study after the age of 14, aimed at
boosting vocational study in the workplace, should reflect the fact
that such a large number of students actively choose to take
Religious Education as a qualification. We must not allow the
subject to be sidelined or ignored altogether by those setting the
curriculum for 14-19 year olds who take advantage of the new
vocational study opportunities. Religious Education must be given
due prominence in the compulsory elements of these students’ time in
school, as the Government has recognised.”
Read more about the A-Level
results:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8506.html
Read more about the GCSE results:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8706.html
Archbishop of Canterbury to
visit China
The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dr Rowan Williams is to visit China this autumn. The visit is at the
invitation of the senior leadership of the post-denominational
Protestant Churches in China and it will take in five cities,
including the capital, Beijing. Dr Williams said: “I am greatly
looking forward to my first direct encounter with China. I very much
welcome this opportunity to come alongside the Church in China, as
well as to gain a fuller appreciation of China’s remarkable
development in recent years and its unique cultural heritage."
Read more about the trip at:
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/releases/060801.htm
Middle East Conflict: Protest,
Pray & Fast
The Archbishop of York embarked
on an act of ‘public witness’, encouraging people throughout the
country to join him in a week long campaign of prayer and fasting
for Peace in the Middle East. Dr John Sentamu camped inside York
Minster for a week during August, where visitors joined him in
prayer throughout the day for peace in the conflict between Israel
and Lebanon and for good neighbourliness in this country. The
Archbishop ended
his vigil by calling for the international community to renew its
efforts in working for a sustainable solution to conflict in the
Middle East. After
the week, the Daily Mail
reported the Archbishop’s reflections: “Dr Sentamu was reflecting on
wrongs in our society. He has come up with four ‘ravenous evils’.
They are idolatry, materialism, militarism and racism.”
Meanwhile, the Church of England
website features a selection of prayers for times of anxiety and for
peace throughout the world, alongside Bible readings to aid
reflection on these themes.
Find more about the Archbishop’s
vigil:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8406a.html
Read more on the Church’s
response to the crisis in the Middle East:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8306.html
Read the Archbishop’s
reflections:
http://www.salvonet.com/diocese_of_york/cgi/news/news.cgi?t=template&a=894
Visit the Prayer section of the
Church of England website:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/
Trace your family fortunes
with Church of England’s latest web development
The Church of England has
launched a new area on its website to assist the thousands of people
currently trying to trace the branches of their family tree. The
Church’s dedicated web area brings together links to a range of
sources for tracing family histories – including the Lambeth Palace
Library – and provides contact points for archives and repositories
up and down the land.
“Local clergy are often
approached by people seeking access to the church’s registers, but
in many instances the records that they are looking for have been
moved elsewhere. We hope that the new guidance will enable people to
visit a single point for information on how the Church of England
can help them research their ancestors’ past lives,” says Declan
Kelly, Director of Libraries, Archives and Information Services for
the Church of England.
The move reflects the huge
popularity of research into family history, after more than 829,000
people visited The National Archive’s Family Records Centres in
London and Kew in the last three years.
Read more about the Church’s
signposts for people researching their family history:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8206.html
Visit the new
pages at:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/librariesandarchives/familyhistory/index.html
Quarterly investment update
from the Church Commissioners
The First Church Estates
Commissioner's newsletter for the quarter to June 2006 has been
published, and is available at:
http://cofe.anglican.org/about/churchcommissioners/news/newsletterq22006.html
Church Commissioners submit
plans to refurbish Bishopthorpe
The Church Commissioners have
submitted plans to York City Council for the refurbishment of
Bishopthorpe Palace, the historic base for the ministry of
Archbishop of York’s since the 13th Century. The extensive work –
the first major scheme for 30 years - aims to bring back into
productive use areas of the building that have been previously
disused, and will ensure the Grade I listed building meets current
disability access and health and safety regulations.
Read more about the plans:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr7806.html
Ever wanted to
share your own Thought
for the Day?
The
Communications Office at Church House, London, has arranged a
training session on Wednesday 20 September in Manchester aimed at
those who would benefit from tailored coaching in preparing and
delivering a ‘Thought for the Day’ type contribution for local or
national radio. The day will offer you the opportunity to write and
deliver 2-3 minutes of compelling radio at the Manchester Studios of
the BBC.
Don't miss the
chance to learn from BBC Radio 4's own
Thought for the Day
producer, Christine Morgan.
Find out more,
or book online at:
http://www.commstraining.cofe.anglican.org/2006/tfd.php