News Round Up

Church redevelopment will further enhance Trafalgar Square, says Mayor

The refurbishment of St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in central London will further enhance the improvements to London’s newly pedestrianised Trafalgar Square, according to Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

Westminster City Council has informally consulted the Mayor on plans to refurbish the church. Proposed alterations include a glazed pavilion entrance offering public access to a new foyer at the east end of the Church Path, and a new public space within the reduced churchyard, including gated and stepped access from Adelaide Street.

Welcoming the plans, Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: “St Martin-in-the-Fields is the UK’s most visited church, an architectural masterpiece and haven among the bustle of London’s landmark Trafalgar Square. These plans achieve the impressive feat of marrying respect for the church’s architectural heritage with substantial improvements in public access and public space.

The overall cost of the refurbishment to St Martin-in-the-Fields Church would be £34m, £14.7m of which would be provided by an award from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

St Martin-in-the-Fields was designed by James Gibbs in 1721 and completed five years later. The church is characterised by the Italian Baroque tradition.

The Mayor re-opened Trafalgar Square on 2 July this year following a major refurbishment masterminded by Foster & Partners, including the pedestrianisation of the North Terrace in front of the National Gallery and the installation of a new stairway, café and lifts to improve disabled access

Church of England's first National Wedding Show stand

Future brides and grooms had the chance to discuss their wedding with a bishop at the recent National Wedding Show at the NEC Birmingham. The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, opened the Church of England's first ever stand at the Show.

"The Church has a proud record of, every year, arranging something special for thousands of couples on their wedding day. Couples are increasingly using shows like this to help plan their weddings," the Bishop said, "so we were grateful to have this opportunity to be part of that planning: to add the missing piece in the wedding show jigsaw."

"The Church of England has 16,000 marriage venues across the country, often of outstanding beauty, but it also offers a framework of meaning which will grow as a couple's love and family grow," says Bishop Tim. "Ancient tradition and modern experience are held together in the skilful hands of clergy who seek to have a personal relationship with the couple, offering preparation for the married life that follows the wedding, as well as being available for support and counselling in the years that follow."

Children’s Society roadshow is coming your way!

Big-hearted supporters of The Children's Society will receive a huge thank you from the charity at a series of roadshows taking place across the country this autumn.

The Children's Society has just visited London diocese, and will be in:

Southwark diocese on Friday November 14, at the Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP

Lichfield diocese on Wednesday November 19, at the Holiday Inn Telford/Ironbridge, Telford International Centre, St Quentin Gate, Telford TF3 4EH

Derby diocese on Wednesday November 26, at The Aston Court Hotel, Midland Road, Derby, DE1 2SL    

Chester diocese on Wednesday December 10, 2003 at the Chester Racecourse, The Racecourse, Chester, CH1 2LY

The charity is also inviting locals who want to find out more about its work to sign up to attend.

Admission is free, but by invitation only. Those who would like to attend should contact Faye Dixon at The Children's Society on 020 7841 4400 or email faye.dixon@childrenssociety.org.uk.

Director of fundraising at The Children's Society, Stephen Blunden says, "The roadshows are a marvellous opportunity to celebrate our work and meet local supporters.

"They are the life blood of the charity and it is their support that makes it possible for us to work with some of this country's most vulnerable children and young people, including youngsters at risk on the street, child refugees and asylum seekers and young people involved in the justice system. We hope they will leave the events with renewed enthusiasm and dedication.

"We're also very excited about what the future holds for The Children's Society and are delighted to have the opportunity to communicate this to our supporters."

The Children's Society is a national children's charity working with 50,000 children and teenagers in 90 towns and cities. It works in partnership with communities, schools and families to tackle bullying, exclusion, youth justice, drug and alcohol misuse and supports young carers, child refugees and asylum seekers.

It’s time to integrate children with special needs, says Blackburn author

Churches have been challenged to integrate their local children with disabilities and special needs into their day-to-day ministry.

A new book, ‘Special Children, Special Needs’, shows churches and para-church organisations how they can better help children (and their families) with disabilities or special needs.

There are around 550,000 children and young people in the UK who have some form of disability and/or chronic illness. “Churches have a moral responsibility to ensure that these children are welcomed and nurtured. They should be involved in every aspect of church life, as well as Sunday schools and children’s activities,” argues Simon Bass, the author.

‘Special Children, Special Needs’ has been endorsed enthusiastically by leading writers and researchers. In the book’s foreword, Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, says: ‘It answers not only the ‘what’ and ‘how’ question but also the vital ‘why’.”

The book covers areas where disablement and special needs are significant challenges for churches and outlines good working practices and detailed information on special needs.

Simon Bass is a qualified social worker who has worked with the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) since 1998. Copies of Special Children, Special Needs, £5.95 plus £1 p&p, can be obtained by contacting CCPAS on 0845 120 4550.

Should churches be allowed to smoke?

The burning of incense in churches has become an issue in Irish government circles after a junior Minister, who is also a medical doctor, said that it could harm children in church.

His comments come at a time when Ireland is debating government plans to ban all smoking in workplaces, pubs, restaurants, prisons and psychiatric units.

Dr McDaid said that altar-boys and -girls may be at risk from incense-burning in the Roman Catholic Church. “Carbon is a carcinogenic agent. Wherever you have smoke, you are actually looking at carbon molecules, and if you happen to be inhaling them, there is the chance that you will be doing damage.”

In the Church of Ireland, incense is a rarity: only two Dublin churches use it.

Make time for your children

A new campaign for family enrichment has been launched by Keep Sunday Special, CARE and the Relationships Foundation.

Keep Time for Children (KTC) was devised after research found that an estimated 10 percent of parents with children under 14 now work regularly on both Saturdays and Sundays.

According to KTC, one of the most serious constraints on modern family life is ‘time poverty’, and it is concerned for the impact that this has on both children and parents.

KTC is lobbying for all employees of school age children to have either Saturday or Sunday off each week.

How you could help RE at your local school

Schools across the country have been targeted by a new initiative to get churches to sponsor RE resources.

The 10 Church Challenge is being run by the Identity Project, a non-profit making company based in Manchester, with the aim of getting ten churches from each town to agree to sponsor materials for a local school.

Resources include a laminated 60ft Old Testament timeline, with accompanying teaching resources.

Evangelicals growing in number, but what about depth?

Evangelical churches are still growing in membership, bucking the overall trend of decline, according to new statistics to be released next year.

The survey comes in a forthcoming book by former Cabinet Office statistician, Dr Peter Brierley, entitled Coming Up Trumps.

The figures show that 61 per cent of Free Churches, including Baptists, are now evangelical, a three per cent rise on 1989, the last year for which statistics are available.

The number of Anglican evangelical churches has risen by four per cent, and the Roman Catholic ones by two per cent.

There are now seven per cent more evangelical churchgoers in the Church of England, and over three percent in the Roman Catholic Church, according to Dr Brierley’s research.