Present and Future of English Cathedrals; Women Bishops – Enough Waiting; Hillsborough – What the church should be doing; Love Life Live Lent to keep 2012 Games feel-good flame burning
Present and Future of English Cathedrals
The consultancy the Grubb Institute and the theology think tank Theos published a report on cathedrals in contemporary England: Spiritual Capital: the Present and Future of English Cathedrals last week.
Church of England cathedrals have a unique and widely admired position within English society. Praised for their architectural magnificence, aesthetic appeal and historical significance, this report shows that their impact on and significance for English life extends far beyond their role as tourist destinations.
Based on an extensive and detailed research programme carried out by The Grubb Institute and Theos over 2011-12, Spiritual Capital looks at Cathedrals in contemporary England, assessing the breadth, depth and nature of their activity and appeal, with the objective of helping those who run and work in them to understand and respond better to the challenges of the 21st century.
http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/publications/2012/10/12/spiritual-capital-the-present-and-future-of-english-cathedrals
This week’s Church Times has published this editorial What cathedrals are good at –
“Cathedrals have been the flavour of the past decade, to such an extent that parish churches cannot be blamed for finding them a touch irritating. Attendance at cathedral services began rising at the turn of the millennium, and those working in C of E public relations have been more than happy to quote figures that buck the downward trend.
Viewed as a whole, cathedrals have become much more professional in welcoming visitors and nurturing the spiritual yearning that lurks in many. Government grants have contributed to this, and new statistics – that more than a quarter of the adult population of England visited a cathedral in the past year, including one fifth of those who said that they belonged to no religion – will support the present level of funding, however inadequately it meets the demand.
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/19-october/comment/leader-comment/what-cathedrals-are-good-at
and this news article by Ed Thornton Cathedrals ‘appeal to non-religious’
“Cathedrals give non-religious people a “powerful sense of the sacred” which they do not experience elsewhere…”
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/19-october/news/uk/cathedrals-appeal-to-non-religious
Other press reports include:
Nick Spencer in The Guardian about The cathedral as a broad church.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/oct/15/cathedral-broad-church
Ruth Gledhill in The Times Cathedrals are finding spirit of the age [republished by Theos]
http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2012/10/15/cathedrals-are-finding-spirit-of-the-age
John Bingham in the Telegraph ‘Pilgrimage’ makes 21st Century come-back as 11 million visit cathedrals
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9608915/Pilgrimage-makes-21st-Century-come-back-as-11-million-visit-cathedrals.html
Philip Maughan in the New Statesman What are cathedrals for?
http://www.newstatesman.com/cultural-capital/2012/10/what-are-cathedrals
Women Bishops: Enough Waiting
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has “begun a campaign to persuade General Synod members to back the new women bishops legislation when it returns to debate it next month” with this article in today’s Church Times What is at stake in the Synod vote
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/19-october/comment/opinion/what-is-at-stake-in-the-synod-vote
He concludes:
My hope for next month’s debate is that it will tackle what is really before us, not what it is assumed or even suspected to mean; that it will give us grounds for trusting one another more rather than less; that it will be rooted in a serious theological engagement with what makes for the good of the Church and its mission, a serious attempt to be obedient to God’s leading – and, perhaps most soberingly, that it will not ignore the sense of urgency about resolving this that is felt inside and outside the Church, often with real pain and bewilderment. As a Synod, we are asked to act not only as a legislature but as a body that serves the Kingdom of God and takes a spiritual and pastoral responsibility for its actions. And I know that Synod members, myself among them, will be praying hard about what this entails.
The Church Times also reports on the contents of the article: Williams urges waverers to back women-bishops Measure.
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/19-october/news/uk/williams-urges-waverers-to-back-women-bishops-measure
Lizzy Davies in The Guardian Rowan Williams issues warning over women bishops vote
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/19/rowan-williams-women-bishops-vote
Jerome Taylor in The Independent – Vote for women bishops or face further turmoil within the Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams warns
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/vote-for-women-bishops-or-face-further-turmoil-within-the-church-archbishop-of-canterbury-dr-rowan-williams-warns-8218758.html
Hillsborough – What the church should be doing
David Conn of The Guardian has interviewed the Bishop of Liverpool: Hillsborough panel chairman: ‘This is what the church should be doing’.
“I was aware,” he tells the Guardian, in his first major interview since the panel reported, “that MPs, the police, the media, the judiciary, possibly the government of the day, were in the frame. People might think we in the church are naive; we’re not. We know exactly what we are engaging with.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/18/hillsborough-panel-interview-james-jones
Love Life Live Lent to keep 2012 Games feel-good flame burning
A campaign encouraging people to harness the 2012 Games spirit of goodwill has been launched this week – the call to action contained within a ‘sampler’ booklet being posted out to 20,000 Church of England clergy around the country.
Love Life Live Lent – Be the Change!, written by theologian Dr Paula Gooder and her husband the Revd Peter Babington, leads people through simple daily activities to make small but revolutionary changes to the world around them during Lent 2013, and comes recommended by the Archbishop of York and athlete Christine Ohuruogu.
Two brand new booklets, an Adults’ Version and a Kids’ Version, will be available, containing fun activities, such as:
Adults’ Version:
• Phone someone you love but haven’t seen for a while • Think about what might make someone you know happy, then do it! • Try something new, for example a different food or a new experience
Kids’ Version:
• Make a list of up to five people you have met today, and then pray for them. • Give your pocket money to a charity that works with children overseas • Think about something you have done wrong and say sorry for it
People will encourage one another to keep going throughout Lent by sharing their own Love Life Live Lent experiences on Twitter by using the hashtag #livelent; and there will be regular Tweets of encouragement from @LiveLent.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, says in his foreword: “When there are Christians around, that should be good news for everyone because we are making the love and grace of God real in everything we do. Why not use Lent and this little book to catch a glimpse of what is possible when we take a risk of grace? With God’s help, each of us can be the change we want to see in the world.”
Christine Ohuruogu recommends the booklet, saying: “The 2012 Games inspired millions to join together and celebrate everything that’s good about life. Love Life Live Lent offers an opportunity to take the feel-good factor a stage further by being the change we want to see in our own lives and communities. You’ve seen the athletes play their part. Now it’s your turn!”
The 2012 Games has already inspired hundreds of churches to host community events all over the country – with resources for organising community celebrations viewed over 35,000 times on the Church of England website.
Published by Church House Publishing, Love Life Live Lent – Be the Change! will be used in parishes and schools around the country as a way of observing the season of Lent – which begins on Ash Wednesday (13th February 2013) and runs until the day before Easter Sunday.
It is available to pre-order, individually or in packs (of 1, 10, 25 for the adults’ version ISBN 978 0 7151 4311 7, and 1, 10 and 50 for the kids’ version ISBN 978 0 7151 4 3148), from www.chpublishing.co.uk.