Wedding handbook published for churches; Global South Primates: next ABC must ‘address the ecclesial deficit’ of Communion; Micah Challenge releases Jesus Agenda; Church of England risks vicars’ pensions in hedge funds; Sussex priest and organist deny child sex charges
Wedding handbook published for churches
A new wedding handbook has been published to help churches make the most of a couple’s big day.
The Church Weddings Handbook explores the seven pastoral moments that matter and draws from five years of learning through the Church of England’s Weddings Project.
It notes that only one per cent of couples were closed to further contact from the Church after their wedding and that they also wanted to meet their marrying vicar as quickly as possible.
Research found that 53 per cent of people think church weddings ‘feel more proper’ and that couples were more than three times more likely to “stick” with a church wedding rather than marry somewhere else if they felt free to choose elements of the service that were distinctly personal to them.
The project trained more than 3,500 vicars in 33 dioceses and equipped the church with brand new resources that have since been used to great effect.
The Church Weddings Handbook: The Seven Pastoral Moments that Matter by Gillian Oliver is available in paperback (ISBN 978 0 7151 4278 5, £12.99) from www.chpublishing.co.uk and from all good booksellers. A Kindle e-book is also available.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/wedding.handbook.published.for.churches/30372.htm
Global South Primates: next ABC must ‘address the ecclesial deficit’ of Communion
A letter to Lord Luce of the Crown Nominations Commission from the Global South of the Anglican Communion expresses Global South Primates’ desires for traits they wish to see in the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
In a widely released communiqué issued the day after writing to Lord Luce, the Primates write:
We have written to the Crown Nominations Commission with concerns from the Global South and important principles for consideration as it nominates candidates for the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury.
In cooperation with the Telegraph, which offered coverage of the letter this week – making allusion to its contents and partially quoting from it – Episcopal Café has obtained a copy of the letter, whose text appears in full below.
Two brief notes apply: (1) material in boldface simply preserves the original of the letter; and (2) although there is a signature block for The Right Reverend Peter Bartlett, “Representing the Primate of Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de America,” Bishop Bartlett for whatever it is worth has not signed the copy of the letter we saw although others listed as “representing” the primate of their province did.
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/blog/comments/communique_of_the_global_south_primates_bangkok_thailand_20_july_2012
Micah Challenge releases Jesus Agenda
Micah Challenge has partnered with Christian Aid and Compassion UK to produce a new DVD titled The Jesus Agenda. This new production is actually a 9-week DVD-based course which explores the biblical framework for advocacy through a social engagement perspective.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/micah.challenge.releases.jesus.agenda/30367.htm
Church of England risks vicars’ pensions in hedge funds
The Guardian – The Church of England has poured £60m of vicars’ pension investments into hedge funds run by some of the world’s richest men. One of the funds is run by US billionaire Ray Dalio, while another is managed from a south London mews house by British …
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/29/church-vicars-pensions-hedge-funds?newsfeed=true
Sussex priest and organist deny child sex charges
BBC News – A Church of England priest and an organist have denied charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of two young boys in West Sussex in the late 1980s. Father Wilkie Denford, 77, of Shoreham, pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecently assaulting a boy …
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-19016676