Short reports and links @ 7.00 am
Climate Change:-‘Shrug Culture’ Challenged by Ash Wednesday Declaration
ACNS – Leaders representing the UK’s mainstream churches yesterday called for repentance over the prevailing ‘shrug-culture’ towards climate change. Rt Hon Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; Rt Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London; Most Rev Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales; Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and leaders of the Methodist, Baptist and URC churches were among those signing Operation Noah’s Ash Wednesday Declaration.
A short public service of prayer and dedication to launch the Declaration was held at St Mary-Le-Bow, Cheapside, London and at numerous churches around the country. The Declaration, also signed by Most Rev Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, is framed around seven biblical themes and argues that, to be a Christian is to accept the call to radical discipleship and to work through the implications for church life of a real change in lifestyle.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/2/22/ACNS5046
Church launches Pray One For Me website
ACNS – Prayer is in the news; banned from council agendas and, according to one opinion poll, ignored by many of those calling themselves “Christian”.Yet in time of trouble, crisis, and thanksgiving many of us do ‘say a prayer’. Research conducted for the charity Tearfund in 2007 concluded that as many as 20 million adults in the UK (42% of the population) pray.But for those who find it difficult, the Church of England launches a new website, www.prayoneforme.org, where anyone can post their prayer requests and know that they will be prayed. The site was launched yesterday – Ash Wednesday. The new site and its supporting page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/prayoneforme) will also have short profiles about some of the people and groups who will be praying the prayers. It will also link to information for those wanting to know more about praying for themselves.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/2/22/ACNS5044
Lent appeal to buy 4x4s for ministry work in Angola and Mozambique
Christianity Today – The Bishop of London is asking Christians in the capital to consider donating a portion of their travel costs during Lent to support ministry work in Angola and Mozambique. The Rt Rev Richard Chartres suggested that Christians give a percentage of their Oyster card usage or a portion of their fuel costs. This year’s Lent Appeal will go towards buying three 4×4 vehicles for the Diocese of London’s ministry partners in Angola and Mozambique.
Read more –
Bishop reopens prayer request Facebook page
ACNS – A Devon Bishop is again inviting anyone in need of prayer to send their requests through Facebook. The Right Reverend Bob Evans, Bishop of Crediton, has received hundreds of requests during Lent in the past two years. Now, prayer pleas can be posted from Ash Wednesday, February 22, until Easter Sunday. Bishop Bob said: “Prayer is hugely important for many people, whether they are churchgoers or not. I want to encourage people to pray, and many people feel very supported in knowing that someone else is praying for them, or alongside them.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/2/22/Bishop-reopens-prayer-request-Facebook-page
Only £1 per pupil spent on RE in UK
ACNS – Most state schools spend just £1 per pupil each year on religious education, a new study claims.The subject is under-funded and lacking in time and resources, according to research by James Conroy, professor of religious and philosophical education at Glasgow University. His report, based on a study of 24 UK schools, warns that RE lessons are becoming less about exploring issues of faith and now cover everything from citizenship to sex and relationships.
Read more – http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/2/22/Only-1-per-pupil-spent-on-RE
Protesters refused cathedral appeal
Belfast Telegraph – Anti-capitalist protesters camping outside St Paul’s Cathedral have been refused permission by the Court of Appeal to challenge orders evicting them. Three judges headed by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, dismissed applications for permission to appeal against Mr Justice Lindblom’s ruling in the High Court last month. Granting orders for possession and injunctions against Occupy London, Mr Justice Lindblom had said the proposed action by the City of London Corporation – which it pledged not to enforce pending appeal – was “entirely lawful and justified”, as well as necessary and proportionate.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/protesters-refused-cathedral-appeal-16121109.html#ixzz1n7iCZBEe
Also : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17011324
New recording of familiar works by George Herbert
RSCM – The familiar hymns of George Herbert such as ‘Let All the World’ and ‘Teach Me, My God and King’ still have the power to stir us today. Now a new choral recording features these great pieces alongside a wide range of new settings by contemporary composers of other much loved Herbert poems.
George Herbert was Rector of the small parish of Fugglestone with Bemerton, on the outskirts of the city of Salisbury, from 1630 to 1633. Over the last ten years, a group of neighbours in Bemerton has organised events to celebrate Herbert’s life and work. Five years ago they invited a group of composers with Salisbury connections to write new hymn tunes for his poems, amongst them Barry Ferguson, David Halls, Simon Lole, Howard Moody and Alec Roth. The collection of 18 hymns was published by the Royal School of Church Music in 2007, entitled Another Music: Through the year with George Herbert.
Now a recording of these new hymns has been made in Salisbury by local choir Sarum Voices under their director Ben Lamb, with organist Cathy Lamb. George Herbert: Hymns New and Old includes all the recently-commissioned works, and a selection of settings of Herbert poems that have been much loved over many years.
A selection of sample tracks can be heard on the RSCM website at http://www.rscm.com/publications/new.php, including ‘Trinity Sunday’ by Barry Ferguson, ‘Matins’ by David Halls, and Alec Roth’s ‘The Flower’.
The CD, George Herbert: Hymns New and Old, may be purchased from RSCM Music Direct
Price: £12.00
Order Number: VRCD077
Tel: 0845 021 7726
The hymnbook, Another Music: Through the year with George Herbert, may be purchased from RSCM Music Direct
Price: £5.00 (RSCM affiliate price: £3.75)
ISBN: 978 0 85402 164 7
Order Number: D0211
Tel: 0845 021 7726
Email: musicdirect@rscm.com
Online: www.rscm.com/shop
Roman Catholic Church leader rejects claim UK Christians are persecuted
The Guardian – Rt Rev Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, says he doesn’t think Christians should use that term. The statements of the English Catholic bishops in favour of civil partnership (as an alternative to gay marriage) contrasts very noticeably with the grumbling anathemata issuing from the Scottish and Irish churches on the subject.
Read more – http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/22/catholic-church-reject-uk-christians-persecuted?newsfeed=true
London mulls Rio-style Jesus statue for Olympics
Michelin Guides – London may erect a replica of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue to mark the passage of the Olympic torch to Brazil at the end of this year’s games, reports said Friday. The 30-foot (10-metre) sculpture would sit atop Primrose Hill, one of the most popular viewing points in the British capital, according to “secret plans” uncovered by the Camden New Journal, the local newspaper. The upscale area in north London is home to actor Jude Law, supermodel Kate Moss and opposition Labour party leader Ed Miliband. The paper said the scheme was set to go before the local council’s planning department and would be funded by the Brazilian government to mark the end of the 2012 London Olympics as Rio takes on the mantle for 2016. The Brazilian national tourist board, Embratur, said it was “surprised” to see the story in the newspaper. “This is only a concept that was being considered as part ofa wider platform of promotional activities for Embratur and the Brazilian Government for 2012, when the focus moves from London to Rio,” Embratur said in a statement, which was issued through the Brazilian embassy in London. It said it had held consultations “to gauge local opinion for a temporary installation that we hoped would be a celebratory landmark that helped to give the London Borough of Camden and Primrose Hill an opportunity to be part of the Olympic story.”
Read more – http://travel.viamichelin.com/web/Destination/Great_Britain-London/News-London_mulls_Rio_style_Jesus_statue_for_Olympics-?from=NWL