Church questions Government redefinition of child poverty; Bishop of Worcester becomes next Lord High Almoner; Woolly mitre for bishop; Call to UK government: combat global tax avoidance; Church fun days boost Southsea congregation
Church questions Government redefinition of child poverty
The Church of England has questioned the Government’s proposals to redefine the way child poverty is measured in the UK, as the End Child Poverty campaign reveals that almost half of children in one parliamentary constituency are living in poverty.
Such an approach would take the focus of the child poverty strategy away from its core objective of improving the living standards of the poorest families.
In response to an open consultation, the Church’s Mission and Public Affairs Council suggests that poverty is fundamentally about people lacking the material resources to meet minimum needs by society’s standards. Poverty, as currently measured, has been shown to have damaging effects on children’s lives and future life chances.
The Departments for Education and Work and Pensions are proposing a new multi-dimensional measure of child poverty that also looks at whether children have access to a good education, a decent home, stable family, and parents who are working and in good health. These are vitally important to children’s lives – and key priorities in their own right – but the church’s response argues that combining all this information into a single index confuses the causes and effects of poverty, with poverty itself, and would be difficult to explain or interpret.
The consultation paper argues that a multi-dimensional measure of poverty would encourage a focus on the root causes of poverty, as opposed to cash transfers aimed at lifting households above a particular level of income. However, The Rt Reverend Tim Stevens, the Bishop of Leicester, notes that, “The real issue is committing to, and resourcing, an effective long-term strategy to tackle child poverty, rather than finding alternative ways of measuring it.”
Along with its partners in the End Child Poverty Coalition, the Mission and Public Affairs Council believes that the existing set of child poverty measures is the best available, and intends to continue using these measures to assess the Government’s progress in this area.
Bishop Tim is seeking greater clarity on the status of the existing child poverty measures in a series of written questions to the House of Lords: “It would be worrying if the Government were intending to replace or downplay the legally binding targets for reducing child poverty by 2020. With the recent cuts in welfare, it is especially important to be able to monitor the impact on the numbers of children growing up in poverty.”
Bishop of Worcester becomes next Lord High Almoner
The Bishop of Worcester has been announced as the next Lord High Almoner.
The Right Reverend Dr John Inge replaces the Bishop of Manchester, who held the office from 1997 until his retirement in January.
The Lord High Almoner is responsible for the liturgical arrangements for the Royal Maundy Service, in which the Queen distributes ‘Maundy Money’.
The tradition takes place in a different cathedral each year and symbolises the giving of alms to the poor.
Today Maundy Money is given to elderly men and women chosen because of their service to the church or community.
The Lord High Almoner organises the service on Maundy Thursday and delivers the Royal Maundy lecture in which the history and symbolism of the tradition is explained.
Bishop Inge said he was “honoured” to take on the role, which goes back some 900 years.
“I shall be responsible for the Royal Maundy service which is a wonderful reminder each year that the ideal of Christian service lies at the heart of the monarchy, an ideal which Her Majesty the Queen has embodied so wholeheartedly in her devoted service to her people for over sixty years,” he said.
Woolly mitre for bishop
The Bishop of has received an unexpected gift in the form of a woollen mitre and scarf.Bishop John Holbrook was “yarn bombed” with the crocheted gift from a local group of artists.
Yarn bombing is a form of knitted graffiti in which woollen adornments are made and then attached to public objects, such as statues or trees.
Made in Peterborough, the knitting group behind the bishop’s mitre and scarf, has around 25 regular members who knit and embroider among other crafts.
The group has run pop-up shops in the town selling locally made goods, and contributed to the establishment of six craft businesses.
Call to UK government: combat global tax avoidance
Christian Aid is calling for decisive action concerning tax avoidance ahead of the publication of the Public Accounts Committee report:
Alex Prats, the churches’ global development agency’s Principal Adviser on Economic Justice, said: “Tax avoidance is a major problem across the world and it’s especially devastating for developing countries, which lose billions every year as a result of tax avoidance by multinationals.”
He continued: “Their tax authorities also have to contend with multinational companies’ armies of highly-paid accountants and tax lawyers. It’s not a fair fight.
“The UK could very easily help poor countries start catching up with multinationals by using next month’s Budget to require such firms to reveal the tax avoidance schemes that affect developing countries.
“The Chancellor has promised action at the G8 and G20. He should also use his power, under bilateral and multilateral treaties, to tell developing countries’ tax authorities about the schemes, and help them recover taxes dodged by British multinationals.”
Christian Aid is part of the Enough Food for Everyone IF… campaign, which is calling for the forthcoming Budget to include this important reform.
Church fun days boost Southsea congregation
A church in Southsea, Portsmouth, has seen attendance soar by 45 per cent since starting a fun day initiative. St Jude’s Church holds a Funday Sunday every two months where people can come to church for breakfast and children’s games followed a family service.
While the grown-ups sit down to bacon sandwiches and coffee, the children can have their faces painted, play table football, or have a go on the Wii.
This is followed by a 45-minute presentation on an aspect of Christianity that incorporates comedy sketches, messy challenges and lively songs.
There is the opportunity for the guests to text the leaders, with the responses appearing on the big screens during the morning.
Funday Sunday is intended as ‘church for people who don’t do church’. Word gets out through special invitation cards handed out to friends and family by members of the congregation.
The vicar of St Jude’s, the Rev Mike Duff said: “I’ve been impressed by our congregation’s willingness to invite their friends and neighbours to join them on our Invitation Sundays.
“Each time I see dozens of new faces, and we also hear how much people have enjoyed their time with us. Some have chosen to join our regular services, our Alpha courses or our midweek groups.”
Funday Sundays have proved a massive success with the regular 200-strong congregation swelling to as high as 350 when the fun days are hosted.
The event has contributed to a 10% increase overall in the number of people attending regular Sunday morning services in the last two years since it was launched.
Funday Sundays coincide with another evangelistic service at St Jude’s called ‘Come and See’, which invites people to participate in a more traditional service of Choral Evensong or Evening Prayer, followed by tea and cakes.
This service typically attracts around 70 people and is held on the assumption that guests know nothing about Christianity.
Rev Duff said: “This was part of the vision we had to open up what we do at St Jude’s to those who wouldn’t normally come.
“Many people who would like to come to church would prefer something more traditional, so we try to make it a more reflective service, but just as welcoming.”
He added: “It all comes out of a desire to share the good news about Jesus, and a willingness to use our Sunday mornings and afternoons for styles of worship that will appeal to those who don’t normally come to church.”
In the coming months, St Jude’s will be using Funday Sundays to explain more about baptism, Communion and wedding services.
Madara Sniedzina, who originally comes from Latvia, will see her children Alex, 4, and Elizabeth, 2, baptised on the Funday Sunday teaching about the meaning of baptism.
She said: “I like Funday Sunday because it explains things and makes it easier. I think it will be a more relaxed service for our family and friends.”
Funday Sunday leader Helen Bolton, a mum-of-three, said: “Whenever we have a baptism service, we often have lots of visitors join us on a Sunday morning. We thought it would be good to hold a baptism during Funday Sunday, which is specifically designed to be welcoming. Hopefully, we can help people to understand some of the symbolism that is used, and do so in a fun way.
“We also thought that Communion services can be difficult for people to understand if they aren’t used to the language involved. Why is it bread and wine? What do we mean by it being the Body and Blood of Christ? I hope we can make those words come alive for people on the day.”