Archbishop of Canterbury faces “a challenge for the imagination”; People who ‘do God, do good’, says Baroness Warsi; New child poverty measure ‘fatally flawed’, say British churches; Archbishop prays on streets of Middlesbrough; Demand for winter shelters grows
Archbishop of Canterbury faces “a challenge for the imagination”
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that in his new role he, with the rest of the Anglican Communion, is faced with “a challenge for the imagination.”
Speaking in an interview with the Communion’s official magazine Anglican World he said, “What do we mean by the Anglican Communion, and how does it contribute as a blessing to the world in which we live in its present circumstances?
“That’s something I think Rowan [Williams] has been brilliant at, so have the Primates generally, and the ACC—as we see from the range of subjects covered in New Zealand1. It’s something we need to continue.
“That challenge to the imagination is something that is constantly renewed and we need to be very reactive to it, and not allow ourselves to get bogged down in looking inward.”
The Archbishop’s comments are part of his interview in the second edition of Anglican World, a magazine that has been reporting on the life and mission of the Anglican Communion for several decades. Production was suspended in 2007, but it was relaunched in November 2012.
Along with the feature on Archbishop Welby, the latest edition features articles on the 100th anniversary of the Anglican diocese of Iran, a major youth conference in Central Africa, the commissioning of the Mothers’ Union’s new worldwide president, and the triennial gathering of Anglicans from around the world, which was this time in Auckland, New Zealand.
The full-colour magazine is filled with pictures as well as links to videos of Anglican and Episcopal life from right around the globe. See a preview of this quarter’s edition at http://bit.ly/Z0eYEy
A year’s subscription (four editions) costs only £10 including postage (it is still at the 2007 price) and is available from the Anglican Communion Office online shop http://shop.anglicancommunion.org
People who ‘do God, do good’, says Baroness Warsi
By John Bingham, Telegraph – Britain is becoming increasingly reliant on churches and religious groups to meet “crucial” needs once met by the state, a minister will admit today.
Baroness Warsi will defend the right of Christians, Muslims, Jews and others to publicly practise their faith insisting that “people who do God do good”.
Her comments come in a speech in London marking the first anniversary of a landmark visit to the Vatican by a delegation of ministers in which she claimed that British society is under threat from the rising tide of “militant secularisation”.
It comes as new research lays bare the scale of Britain’s growing dependence on religious groups to meet social needs in the midst of recession.
Churches alone are providing almost 100 million hours of unpaid volunteer work on social projects a year, up by more than a third in two years, while donations for such work are up by a fifth, it found.
Lady Warsi, a practising Muslim, will tell a meeting in the Houses of Parliament that faith groups can “reach areas of need that Government cannot”.
Her comments echo a call last month by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for churches to step in and do things which the state has “run out of the capacity to do”.
He said the financial crisis could signal the “greatest moment of opportunity since the Second World War” for churches to grow. MOre at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9868851/People-who-do-God-do-good-says-Baroness-Warsi.html
New child poverty measure ‘fatally flawed’, say British churches
Four major British churches have criticised government proposals for a new way of measuring child poverty in the UK, which they say masks the problem.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church have accused the Government’s consultation on the proposals of being ‘confused’ and ‘surprisingly badly evidenced’.
“Child poverty is an unacceptable injustice,” said Paul Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church. “While we applaud the Government’s commitment to eradicating child poverty in the UK, the proposed new measure is fatally flawed. It is a confusion of targets, measures and, most disturbingly, the Government’s beliefs about what causes poverty, backed by very little solid evidence.”
The proposed new ‘multi-dimensional’ poverty measure, aims to take a variety of measures that the Government believes are linked with poverty and use these to create a single number to represent UK child poverty. Surprisingly, most of the measures combined in the proposals are more commonly found in those living outside of poverty than those inside.
Particularly concerning is the fact that, despite the majority of families in poverty coming from working families, the Government wants to focus on worklessness as a measure of poverty.
More at –
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18006
Archbishop prays on streets of Middlesbrough
The Archbishop of York was out and about on the streets of Middlesbrough on Wednesday to pray with members of the public.
Dr John Sentamu braved the cold temperatures to hear peoples’ worries and concerns, and offer a prayer on their behalf.
Members of the public were also invited to write their prayer requests down and drop them into a ‘Pray one for me’ box.
“I think it is important that we meet people wherever they are. That might mean going out into the local shopping centre, or the hospital, or sharing time with people getting their lives back on track,” he said.
“Everybody goes through difficult times and sometimes we need someone to be there to listen. God values everyone and is always there to offer support for all. And what’s more, prayer is the greatest tool of communicating with God.”
Dr Sentamu also held Ash Wednesday services at All Saints Church and Teesside University.
In contrast to pancake festivities earlier this week, Dr Sentamu noted that Lent was about “sober contemplation” and reflection on God’s sacrificial love for us in Christ.
“That may not immediately sound like a great thing to you, but actually having time for peace and reflection is very important in our busy lives – whether Jesus is real to you or not,” he said.
“In our daily lives we should think about other people, not just constantly focus on ourselves and our own needs.
“Lent is a time when the Church puts the spotlight on our human condition and in these difficult times there are many around us who need our love and support.”
Prayer requests can also be submitted on the Archbishop’s website at www.archbishopofyork.org/pages/share-a-prayer.html
Demand for winter shelters grows
The Baptist Times reports on the growth of church provided winter shelters and the growing demand for the same.
http://www.baptisttimes.co.uk/index.php/national-news/758-church-night-shelters-an-update-