Monthly news bulletin from the Communications Office, Church House, London.

Feel free to forward this to others, or to use in diocesan or parish newsletters or magazines.

This news bulletin is issued to members of General Synod, recipients of the e-mailed daily briefing, within the National Church Institutions’ All Staff bulletin and to parish magazines via the http://www.parishpump.co.uk website. It is also available on the Church of England website at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/cofegazette/

Please scroll down to read items. Comments, please, to Peter Crumpler, Director of Communications on peter.crumpler@c-of-e.org.uk

This month’s contents:

• How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian?
• Bishops challenge BBC on lack of religion on Radio 1
• Churches to spread the benefits of Olympics tourism in 2012
• No smoking regulations - how they affect churches
• Church Commissioners announce annual results
• Opening the electronic gateway to the Church of England
• Archbishop's Prayers for Alan Johnston and the students of Virginia Tech
• Archbishop of York Interview with Pam Rhodes on St. George's Day Songs of Praise
• Easter Swells Attendance at Cathedrals
• Archbishop's Easter sermon - human failure is overcome by God's love
• Walk of Witness - Making our Mark
• Archbishop's sermon at Westminster Abbey- slavery is 'God's grief'
• Staying fresh: DVD launched to help Fresh Expressions evolve in unexpected places
• Taking Responsibility for Crime
• Archbishop to visit US Church
• Archbishop - Church must be ‘safe place’ for gay and lesbian people
• Archbishop - Church needs to listen properly to the Bible
• Archbishop in Burundi meeting
• Tailor made: communications training to suit you

How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian?

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has endorsed a newly-published booklet that encourages Christians to play their part in helping to stop climate change. Aiming to counter the idea that stark warnings on the state of the environment seem too colossal for individuals to make any real difference, the book – called How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian? - argues that Christians not only can have an impact by adapting their lifestyle, but actually have a moral duty to do so. Full details and how to order copies here: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393425 The publication supports the ongoing campaign to shrink the Church's own carbon footprint. Full details here: http://www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org/

Bishops challenge BBC on lack of religion on Radio 1

A Church of England and a Roman Catholic Bishop have called on the BBC to include religion on Radio 1, describing the omission as the 'most striking exclusion of religion from the BBC 's output'. The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, senior Church of England spokesman on Communications and Bishop John Arnold, Chair of the Strategic Communications Board, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, raise this and other issues in their response to the BBC Trust's consultation on its Service Licences and Purpose Remits which will help the Trust to govern BBC output. Full details at: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr3407.html

Churches to spread the benefits of Olympics tourism in 2012

Church and cathedral tourism generates some £300 million a year for the economy and has the potential to generate more and could be used to spread the expected benefits of Olympics tourism across the country in 2012, the Church Heritage Forum has told the parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Full details here: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr3207.html

No smoking regulations - how they affect churches

New regulations banning smoking in public places in England come into force on July 1st. Church representatives have met with the Head of the SmokeFree team from the Dept of Health, together with their consultant on publicity matters. The meeting centred on how the Church and the Department could work together positively to minimise the impact and get the true implications of the legislation understood. A number of useful practical points arose:

• the signs do not have to be permanently fixed to the fabric - a poster on the noticeboard, or a sign in a portable stand, will do;
• the Regs do require one A5 notice at all public entrances, which must include the international (red circular 70mm) no smoking sign. It must also carry the wording 'NO SMOKING It is against the law to smoke in these premises'. But the 'in this premises ' wording can be changed to read 'in this church' 'in St Mary's Church' etc: and could be adapted to be included in a general notice encouraging appropriate behaviour for a house of prayer;
• a small 70mm international sign is also required at all staff (i.e. not public) entrances;
• there will be no cost to parishes /cathedrals: signs will be provided on request, via local authorities/Dept of Health
• enforcement (by local authority officials) will be light touch: priorities will be premises such as pubs where non-compliance is likely to be more of a problem;
• the whole signage policy is to be reviewed by Government in three years' time, by when it is hoped that no smoking will be much more absorbed into the public culture and signage unnecessary;
• the Department are keen to work with us on advice and guidance - including advice specifically about churches on their website (they took our point about needing to damp down the potential enthusiasm for enforcement of the officious local authority employee).

Church Commissioners announce annual results

The Church Commissioners achieved a return of 13.6 per cent on their investments in 2006. This exceeded the return of 10.5 per cent from the fund’s comparator group. Over the past ten years, the Commissioners’ total return on their investments has averaged 10.7 per cent per year, placing them in the top two per cent of funds in the comparator* group for the decade. Full details here: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr3107.html

Opening the electronic gateway to the Church of England

Details of the extensive collection of archives and manuscripts cared for by Lambeth Palace Library and the Church of England Record Centre are now available online through a searchable catalogue. The move means that readers worldwide can search the joint catalogue of these archives of the Church’s National Institutions via the Lambeth Palace Library website, www.lambethpalacelibrary.org. The development will enable users to retrieve information from almost 130,000 records across the two sites. Full details here: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr2907.html

Archbishop's Prayers for Alan Johnston and the students of Virginia Tech

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has led prayers for the BBC journalist, Alan Johnston, and for the victims of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. Full details here: http://www.salvonet.com/diocese_of_york/cgi/news/news.cgi?t=template&a=1057

Archbishop of York Interview with Pam Rhodes on St. George's Day Songs of Praise

"For England to have this patron saint whose loyalty to Jesus cost him his life, you say to yourself, hey this is what actually what makes this country an amazing place." (Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York). For full interview see here: http://www.salvonet.com/diocese_of_york/cgi/news/news.cgi?t=template&a=1060

Easter Swells Attendance at Cathedrals

The number of Easter worshippers at Church of England cathedrals has risen steadily since the millennium, new figures show. Attendance at cathedrals on Easter Eve and Easter Sunday has increased by 9% since the year 2000, to a total of 52,400 in 2006. Such a trend, if continued this year, would have seen well over 53,000 worshippers celebrating Easter at a Church of England cathedral.

The annual figures also show that attendance at regular services in cathedrals has increased by 17% since 2000, representing continued growth of approximately 3% every year. The sheer architectural scale of the 43 cathedrals cared for by the Church of England for the nation is matched by the scale of the numbers passing through their doors, which averaged a total of 27,400 visitors for every day of 2006. It is likely that nearly half of these visitors said a prayer or lit a candle. Full details here: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr2807.html

Archbishop's Easter sermon - human failure is overcome by God's love

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams said in his Easter Day sermon that the whole weight of human failure cannot extinguish the creative love of God. In his sermon, preached at Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Williams said that conflict and failure are part of the human condition, but that Jesus' death and Resurrection turns that on its head. Read the full text of the sermon here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/releases/070408.htm

Walk of Witness - Making our Mark

Almost 4,000 Christians gathered in London to take part in the Church of England's Walk of Witness to commemorate the Bicentenary of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.

People travelled from all around the country to join the walk on March 24th led by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York, the West Indies and Ghana, alongside leaders from other Churches, civic leaders and representatives of foreign governments. After beginning at Whitehall Place and crossing the Thames over Lambeth Bridge, the walkers headed to Kennington Park, where they met hundreds of people led by the Bishop of Southwark and other bishops from the diocese who had walked from Holy Trinity Clapham, the church of William Wilberforce. At the park, an Act of Worship - including prayer, drama, dance, music and reflections by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York - gave the gathered walkers an opportunity to acknowledge the legacies of the slave trade and to commit to the ongoing fight to tackle modern-day forms of slavery. Extracts from the event were televised across the world.

The Making Our Mark website has been updated to include the programme of the day's event and a wide range of photographs from the day, which are now available to view or purchase online: http://www.makingourmark.org.uk/downloads.html . The organisers are also inviting reflections from those who joined the walk, which can be submitted via the Making Our Mark website: http://www.makingourmark.org.uk/contact.html . In addition, an educational pack for schools - including a DVD of the Walk of Witness - is currently being produced for release later this year, reflecting on the themes of the Bicentenary.

Archbishop's sermon at Westminster Abbey- slavery is 'God's grief'

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said the enslavement of human beings is the greatest cause of grief to God's Spirit. During a service to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade at Westminster Abbey on March 27th, Dr Williams told the congregation that slavery was an offence to human dignity and freedom. Read the full text of the sermon here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/070327.htm

Staying fresh: DVD launched to help Fresh Expressions evolve in unexpected places

A network of cell churches within Merseyside police force, a pair of surfers preparing to set up a church centre on Newquay’s beachfront, and a special monthly service in Cambridge for Goths: they all feature in a DVD released on 16 April to mark the continuing expansion of Fresh Expressions, a movement led by the Church of England and the Methodist Church to nurture contemporary forms of church life alongside traditional ones. Order copies here: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393440 and full details here: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr3007.html

Taking Responsibility for Crime

With the Offender Management Bill and Serious Crime Bill both currently before parliament, the Church of England has placed a briefing paper on its website that outlines the Church's current work in and theological approach to the field of criminal justice. The paper 'Taking Responsibility for Crime' can be viewed by following a link on the page of the CofE website for the February 2007 General Synod: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/feb2007.html (scroll down). The Archbishop of Canterbury's widely reported February 2007 lecture on prison policy to the Prison Reform Trust can also be seen here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/070201.htm

Archbishop to visit US Church

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has announced that he intends to visit the United States this autumn in response to the invitation from the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church. Speaking in a press conference in Toronto, Dr Williams said he would undertake the visit together with members of the Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council:

"I look forward to some sharing of our experiences as pastors as well as discussion of the business of the Communion. These are complicated days for our church internationally and it's all the more important to keep up personal relationships and conversations. ….my aim is to try and keep people around the table for as long as possible on this, to understand one another, and to encourage local churches".

Archbishop - Church must be ‘safe place’ for gay and lesbian people

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that the churches of the Anglican Communion must be safe places for gay and lesbian people. His comments come in a welcome to an interim report on the Anglican Communion’s Listening Process, a commitment to listen to the experience of homosexual people. Dr Williams warns that the challenge to create the safe space for their voices to be heard and for their dignity to be respected is based on a fundamental commitment of the Communion. Read the full statement at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/releases/070328.htm

Archbishop - Church needs to listen properly to the Bible

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, told an audience of theological students that both intensely liberal and ultra conservative readings of the Bible are 'rootless' and are limited in what they can contribute to the life of the church. In the Larkin Stuart lecture, delivered at an event hosted jointly by Wycliffe and Trinity theological colleges in Toronto, Dr Williams said that Christians need to reconnect with scripture as something to be listened to and heard in the context of Jesus' invitation to the Eucharist and to work for the Kingdom. Read the full text of the lecture here: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/sermons_speeches/070416.htm

Archbishop in Burundi meeting

The Archbishop met with the Vice-President of Burundi, Dr Martin Nduwimana, in London. The meeting took place at Lambeth Palace on 20th April and the two discussed the continuing difficulties faced by Burundi after a 12-year civil war. The Archbishop last visited Burundi in 2005 where he saw the ongoing effects of the destruction caused by the civil war. He said that the meeting had been positive and encouraging :

"I was grateful to have the opportunity to hear at first hand how things have progressed since my visit to the country in 2005. As in so many places, the church is well placed to play a vital role in the aftermath of conflict and tragedy, providing a structure through which aid can be delivered and construction organised.

The challenges of providing adequate health care and education remain key priorities and I and colleagues here at Lambeth will continue to do what we can to be of service as the church and state in Burundi meet these challenges."

Tailor made: communications training to suit you

The 2007 programme of communications training courses is tailor made to help churches get their message across. Coming up in June is a new course designed to help churches harness the power of blogs and online communities to make their voice heard. Come and learn how MySpace and blogging has been used to promote everything from rock bands to the award winning Churches Advertising Network campaigns. For more information go to http://commstraining.cofe.anglican.org/2007/boc.php