News HM
The Queen to inaugurate Eighth General Synod Her
Majesty The Queen inaugurated the Eighth General Synod of
the Church of England in Church House, The
inauguration ceremony followed the Eucharist in
Westminster Abbey, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Dr Rowan Williams, presided, and the Revd Professor
Frances Young (until her recent retirement, Edward
Cadbury Professor of Theology at the More
than a third, 37%, of the elected members of the General
Synod are starting their first five-year term. Among
issues they will consider in that period are the
legislative proposals for the consecration of women as
bishops. Other legislative business will include the
outworking of the reviews chaired by Professor David
McClean on Clergy Terms of Service and by Professor Peter
Toyne on the Dioceses and Pastoral Measures, relating to
the diocesan and parochial structure of the Church, the
legal framework for new initiatives in mission, and the
closure of church buildings. Facing
the Challenge of Terrorism The
new Synod began its work with a major debate on Facing
the Challenge of Terrorism. The debate was resourced by a
report from the The
report recognises that an effective counter-terrorism
strategy will require understanding and addressing the
underlying causes of terrorism without excusing violence.
In considering legislation, it urges political parties to
heed the warnings from history over the progressive
erosion of fundamental rights. It concludes with a call
to members of the Church of England to promote greater
understanding, reconciliation and respect within their
local communities, especially where there are significant
numbers from other faith traditions. Legislative
Business The
major item is the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure
and related legislation. The
items, which come before the Synod for First
Consideration, give effect to the recommendations of the
Toyne Review of the Pastoral and Dioceses Measures, which
were approved by the Synod in February 2004. The
general aim of the draft legislation is to improve the
Church's structures and processes in a way that will
enable it to further its mission, in the broadest sense.
In particular, it develops the process for diocesan
reorganisation (at present to be found in the Dioceses
Measure 1978), so that the Dioceses Commission can take a
proactive role. It also helps to simplify, devolve and
make more flexible the procedures in the Pastoral Measure
1983 for reorganisation at parish level and the closure
of churches for regular public worship; and it provides a
new legal framework for 'mission initiatives'. The
Admission of Baptised Children to Holy Communion
Regulations, which also come before the Synod for First
Consideration, will replace the existing Guidelines on
this subject, produced by the House of Bishops in 1997,
and will take account of the developing practice of
admitting children to Holy Communion before Confirmation. Seminar
on Episcopacy This
theological seminar on the episcopate was intended to
enable Synod members to reflect further on some of the
wider theological issues relevant to the debate on women
bishops. The Synod considered the report of the Bishop of
Guildford's Group, which identified the options for
taking forward Synod's decision to remove the legal
obstacles to the consecration of women as bishops, in
February 2006. Nine
leaders from six major faiths stand against euthanasia In an
unprecedented move, nine leading figures from the six
major faith groups in the The
nine leaders, representing many millions of adherents,
published an open letter - signed by them all - that was
sent to all members of both Houses of Parliament. The
religious leaders reminded Parliament that legalising
assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia would radically
alter the moral basis of our society by severely
undermining respect for life. They collectively re-affirmed
their belief in the sanctity of human life which is
underpinned by rapid advances in palliative care. These
mean that suffering can be minimised - the arguments put
forward by the pro-euthanasia lobby that assisted suicide
is necessary to ease the sufferings of the terminally ill
therefore lack any credible scientific evidence. The
leaders also stressed the opposition of the vast majority
of medical professionals, including GPs, to any change in
the law on intentional killing. They pointed to the
serious problems being faced by countries that have
legalised euthanasia or assisted suicide. In the They
concluded with a warning that the so-called 'right to
die' would inexorably become the duty to die and
potentially economic pressures and convenience would come
to dominate decision-making. Bishops
give 'Angels' their support Songs
such as Robbie Williams' Angels and others with a
spiritual element do not turn a civil marriage ceremony
into a religious service and could be included if a
couple wishes, according to the Church of England's House
of Bishops Responding
to a consultation document from the General Register
Office on the content of civil ceremonies, the bishops
said 'some of the prohibitions made in the past in
relation to certain readings and music have been
excessive'. "There
is scope for a somewhat more generous approach," the
bishops say, "provided it does not start to blur the
fundamental distinction between a civil ceremony and a
religious event." Maintaining such a distinction,
they say, is as much in the interests of the State as of
the churches and other faiths. The
Rt Rev Martin Wharton, Bishop of Newcastle, said: "The
Church sees marriage as central to the stability and
health of human society and so to be encouraged and
supported. While there does need to be a clear difference
between a religious marriage ceremony and a civil one,
the House of Bishops doesn't see songs like Angels and
readings with some spiritual element as creating a
religious service. They wouldn't be part of a usual
Sunday service, for example." In
its response to the consultation, the House of Bishops
proposes a set of principles that would offer registrars
clear and easily applied tests to use when couples are
planning their civil ceremonies. The
response argues that the Marriage Act 1949, in
prohibiting a 'religious service' for a civil marriage
ceremony, should not be seen to preclude the inclusion of
material which mentions God or contains a spiritual
element, or the playing of background music from sacred
works. Registrars should, however, the bishops say,
continue to decline to include the following: * any
part of or extract from an authorised or recognised
marriage service of any church, denomination or faith
community; * any
other religious rite or ceremony or any part of one; *
prayers or intercessions * any
vows or blessing with a religious content *
religious addresses (e.g. sermons/homilies) *
readings from recognised religious texts which are
foundational to the Church, a denomination or faith
community and such as would form part of its religious
services ( e.g. readings from the Bible, the Koran, the
Torah and similar) *
hymns, worship songs and chants of a kind which would
form part of a gathering of members of the Church, a
denomination or faith community for worship together. Hitting
the pause button on hectic living New
book and website aim to look afresh at the concept of
'Sabbath' As
major chain stores line up to appeal for all-day opening
on Sundays, a new resource published by Church House
Publishing aims to re-inject the original meaning of the
Sabbath - as a period of pause, reflection and
decluttering - into overcrowded and busy lives. Organised
over five interactive 90-minute sessions, Life Balance is
a step-by-step guide to exploring the concept of Sabbath
in the twenty-first century and offers tips on 'cutting
across' preconceived ideas about the need for creating
space to think and reflect. The authors show how Sabbath
principles of resting, thanksgiving, justice and
generosity can be taken into the whole of life and
applied through the week. Out
goes the image of the Sabbath as a day of putting your
feet up. Gone too is a "shallow definition of rest
and relaxation as an individualistic pursuit". The
authors also readily dispense with the idea of the
Sabbath being about "religious observance with no
social conscience". In
its place, the book suggests, come drawing up lists of
'favourite things' to help celebrate the best things in
life; and activities designed to highlight how much time
we proportionately spend working, playing and resting.
Other aspects of the course draw inspiration from
watching clips from films as diverse as Amélie and
Chariots of Fire. The book remains anchored to biblical
study - and offers a broad yet incisive sweep of
references to the concept of rest and the history of the
Sabbath throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. The
book is ideal for Lent courses, cell or house groups
requiring an imaginative, thoughtful resource that helps
guide those taking part through activities and dialogues
towards a new way of approaching 'down time', as a time
for refocusing on, sharing, and enjoying the beauty of
God's gifts to humankind. The authors, Sue Mayfield and
Revd Robert Warren, pledge to help readers dig up the
long-forgotten treasure of the Sabbath and have pedigrees
that suggest they will be successful. Sue
is a fiction writer with many years youth-work
experience, while Robert was the Church of England's
National Officer for Evangelism between 1993 and 1998 and
spent five years as a full-time member of the Springboard
team. The
Bishop of Reading, The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, commends
the book: 'Keeping the Sabbath holy is not just another
commandment conveniently forgotten in the society that
loves being busy; it is a gift of God in creation: a way
of restoring balance to life... A free holy-day is
guaranteed with every purchase!' The
book is supported by a separate minisite, www.chpublishing.co.uk/lifebalance,
which contains extra resources for those leading groups
through the course. Life
Balance is published by Church House Publishing, priced
only £3.99, and is available from all Christian
bookshops and Church House Bookshop, Statistic
of the Month Rapid
growth of lone parent families There
have always been some families with just one parent,
often in the past because one parent died prematurely.
Divorce, temporary relationships - whether with casual or
co-habiting partners, or sometimes artificial
insemination are more likely to be the reasons in the 21st
century. Government
figures show that in 2001, one-quarter, 25%, of all Most
lone-parent families are lone mothers. Just
3% are lone fathers, and 2% are widow(er)s. Lone parent
children are however less likely to well at school or to
be well adjusted later on, and more likely to take drugs,
have under-age sex, or live in a poorer standard of
housing than average. They are also often likely to be
less welcome in church! How do we go out of our way to
encourage those in such circumstances? 2%
by 2040? The
Daily Telegraph featured an article in September which
indicated that if nothing changes the percentage of the
population attending church by 2040 could be as low as 2%,
compared with 7% in 2005. This
dismal forecast was based on the numbers in Religious
Trends No 5, published by Christian Research. G K
Chesterton once wrote that "five times in the last 2,000
years the church has to all appearances gone to the dogs.
In each case it was the dogs that died." The view
expressed in Religious Trends is that the Part
of the worry is that by 2040, 65% of the 1.2 million then
attending church will be 65 or over. That clearly is
likely to be bad for the church’s image as well as a
considerable problem in terms of people with energy to
organise and run church activities. The
report stresses that there is an opportunity now to
change these trends. We need to reach out in imaginative
ways, and to encourage those churches already
experimenting with "fresh expressions" of
worship and attendance. Parents
Fail To Report Missing Children The
Children's Society is urgently calling for a national
network of refuges for runaway children as new research
reveals many parents are not reporting their children
missing and thousands are being harmed on the streets. The
charity's campaign is being driven through its core
church supporters and clergy. An
estimated 100,000 children aged under 16 run away from
home or care overnight each year in the * Two
thirds say their parents or carers did not report them
missing to the police * One
in six say they were forced to sleep rough or with
strangers * One
in 12 say they were hurt or harmed while away from home The
charity and its church supporters are alarmed that so
many children say they were not reported missing as this
puts them at greater risk of being harmed on the streets
and forced into criminal activity. More than one in 10
children in the survey said they were forced to beg,
steal or resort to other dangerous survival strategies. Local
authorities in There
are only three official refuges for runaways in the Bob
Reitemeier, The Children's Society's chief executive says:
"The charity is deeply concerned that with only ten
refuge beds thousands of children will remain at risk on
the streets. Unless the Government urgently funds a
national network of refuges for runaways, these children
could slip into the hands of dangerous adults and be
harmed." "The
number of children not reported missing is alarmingly
high. While some parents may know where their children
are staying, the figure is still shocking. We are
concerned that if the police are not alerted, the only
people looking for these children will be those we pray
won't find them." Church
supporters, parishes and a coalition of organisations
including The National Missing Person's Helpline and
existing refuge providers (NSPCC, St Christopher's
Fellowship, Aberlour) are backing the charity's Safe
& Sound campaign call. A
petition signed by more than 100,000 supporters - one for
every child who runs away - will be delivered to The
campaign has also been boosted by parishioners who have
lobbied 83 local authorities
to implement Government guidelines ensuring services are
provided for runaways. For
more information about The Children's Society's campaign
visit the charity's website www.childrenssociety.org.uk/safeandsound |