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:

Opening the Advent door on Christmas - Church of England Online Advent Calendar launched
Church leaders to make pilgrimage to Bethlehem
Rewiring parish churches for mission – rediscovering old ideas for the New Year
Archbishop interviewed on report on Commercialisation of Childhood on BBC One Breakfast
Reflecting on the future of the parish system
Chief Education Officer appointed
Archbishop defends rights of Christian Unions
Women Bishops Legislative Drafting Group announced
Archbishop gives statement on HIV/AIDS for World Aids Day 2006
Archbishop calls for Trident White Paper to provoke wide debate
Church publishes inspiration to help parishes "rediscover a sense of adventure"
Church aims to ‘make its mark’ with a national Walk of Witness to commemorate Bicentenary of the Act for the abolition of the slave trade

Archbishop gives cautious welcome for TEC proposals
Get noticed! – List your parish website on the national Church of England site
Tailor Made: Communications Training to suit you

Opening the Advent door on Christmas - Church of England Online Advent Calendar launched

The Church of England has launched an online Advent calendar for the first time, drawing together a range of real-life stories about what Christmas means to people today – from a paramedic in Carlisle, to a donkey sanctuary owner in Oxfordshire, to an estate agent in Tunbridge Wells.

On each day of Advent, a virtual ‘window’ is unlocked for visitors to click open, revealing the personal words and a portrait photograph of Christians specially interviewed for the calendar. From stories of joy at coming to faith, to stories of pain at being separated from loved ones, the calendar aims to present glimpses of how the celebration of the birth of Jesus impacts on people today.

Visit the Advent Stories calendar today: http://www.adventstories.org
Read more about the calendar: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12206.html

Church leaders to make pilgrimage to Bethlehem

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, and Free Churches Moderator, the Revd David Coffey will be undertaking a pilgrimage to the Holy Land on December 20th. During the pilgrimage they will travel to Bethlehem where they will visit the Grotto of the Nativity and an ecumenical service will take place.

The Church leaders have asked parish churches and congregations throughout the country to pray for ‘the little town of Bethlehem’ as they approach the final week of Advent.

Further details can be read: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
releases/061205.htm

Rewiring parish churches for mission – rediscovering old ideas for the New Year

A new book poses a range of questions to help parish churches as they pledge a ‘mission-shaped New Year’s resolution’ to transform their church and community in 2007. The Bishop of London, Rt Revd Richard Chartres, is backing the book as a study guide for churches looking to refocus their work and mission for the coming year.

Written by the Revd Paul Bayes, the Church of England’s National Mission and Evangelism Adviser, and the Revd Tim Sledge, Mission Enabler for the Diocese of Peterborough, Mission-shaped Parish takes a fresh look at a typical parish church’s ‘bread and butter’ activities and identifies how these day-to-day responsibilities can be enhanced in the light of God’s mission.

Discover more about Mission-shaped Parish: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12706.html
Order it online today: http://www.chbookshop.co.uk/
product.asp?id=2394160

Archbishop interviewed on report on Commercialisation of Childhood on BBC One Breakfast

The Archbishop of Canterbury has encouraged parents to talk to their children, and criticised the tactics used by advertisers to encourage consumerism in children, during an interview on Breakfast television. “We’re looking overall at a rising level of social concern about what we’re doing to children in terms of the stable background that we give them, the expectations that we lay on them, and the way in which we don’t allow them to have a proper childhood, to expand into being children."

Read the transcript of the interview: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
sermons_speeches/061213.htm

Reflecting on the future of the parish system

The parish system of the Church of England is examined in a new book featuring 12 leading thinkers. Including contributions from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Peterborough and Maidstone, The Future of the Parish System discusses the challenges facing the parish system, and suggests principles for future development and growth.

Presented in three sections – Understanding our Context, Theological Resources, and Ways Forward – the collection of essays forms the latest in the Explorations series, a growing library of books that aim to stimulate debate within the church.

Read more about the new book: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12606.html
Order your copy in time for Christmas!: http://www.chbookshop.co.uk/product.asp?id=2392651

Chief Education Officer appointed

The Revd Janina Ainsworth has been appointed as the next Chief Education Officer for the Church of England in succession to Canon John Hall, who was recently installed as Dean of Westminster Abbey.

Read more about this appointment: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12506.html

Archbishop defends rights of Christian Unions

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has defended the rights of university Christian Unions, in an article published in the Times Higher Education Supplement. Dr Williams said the judgement that religious views ought to banned because they may cause some kind of offence damages the culture of free exchange on which so much in a university depends.

Read the full article: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
sermons_speeches/061211.htm

Women Bishops Legislative Drafting Group announced

The Archbishops' Council has agreed the membership of the legislative drafting group to consider proposals for allowing women to be consecrated as bishops.

Find out who is part of the Drafting Group: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12306.html

Archbishop gives statement on HIV/AIDS for World Aids Day 2006

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has warned of the alarming impact of the HIV/Aids pandemic and its growing potential effect on women and young people. In a message issued to mark World Aids Day, Dr Williams also paid tribute to development work by churches in the face of the effects of the disease.

Read the full statement: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
releases/061201.htm

Archbishop calls for Trident White Paper to provoke wide debate

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the Government White Paper on the future of Trident requires the widest possible consultation and should start, rather than close down, public debate on the issue.

Read the Archbishop’s full statement: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
releases/061204.htm

Church publishes inspiration to help parishes "rediscover a sense of adventure"

The latest in a series of challenging reflections on the nature of doing mission, Mission-shaped Spirituality, aims to help re-energise both clergy and congregations with inspiring examples of what happens when churches pause to listen to the Holy Spirit, listen to their local communities – and then decide to go ahead and do something about it.

Read more about the book: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12106.html
Order your copy online: http://www.chbookshop.co.uk/product.asp?id=2392446

Church aims to ‘make its mark’ with a national Walk of Witness to commemorate Bicentenary of the Act for the abolition of the slave trade

The Church of England is to invite thousands of people from across the country to join the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for an historic event on Saturday 24th March to mark the Bicentenary of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Put the date in your diary now!

The Archbishops will lead the Walk of Witness through parts of the capital to culminate in a large-scale act of worship at Kennington Park. The event, organised by the Church’s Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC), forms the main part of the Church’s wider awareness campaign, Making our Mark, set up following the General Synod debate in February 2006 on the subject of the Bicentenary.

Read more about the Walk of Witness: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12006.html
Visit the dedicated website (launching in January): http://www.makingourmark.org.uk/

Archbishop gives cautious welcome for TEC proposals

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has given a cautious welcome to proposals outlined by The Episcopal Church in the USA to offer alternative forms of oversight to dissenting parishes and dioceses. Dr Williams said that the proposals would contribute to the process of determining future relationships.

Read the Archbishop's full statement: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/
releases/061201a.htm

Get noticed! – List your parish website on the national Church of England site

The last few years have seen an explosion in the number of parish websites and in response the national site has carried a shop window for such sites at: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/
diocesesparishes/parishchurches/

More than 2,500 sites have asked to be linked to our Parish Church Websites section -and we want to add more. Please post this request into your own diocesan and parish networks so that the national listing can continue to grow. Feedback to the national site indicates how valuable this facility is to many people throughout the Church and beyond. Any queries or requests to be listed should be directed to Alexander Nicoll at: Alexander.nicoll@c-of-e.org.uk

Tailor Made: Communications Training to suit you

You know what you want to say, you know what you want your community to hear, but how can you make this happen? In today's crowded media marketplace it can be a challenge to get your message across, so our communications training courses are tailor made to help you do just that. The 2007 programme is now available at www.commstraining.cofe.anglican.org and includes new courses on blogging, websites and how to communicate the gospel in plain English, as well as our popular presentation skills, Radio, TV and powerpoint training courses.

We can also bring any of our training courses to you, or create a bespoke course tailor made to the requirements of your church, diocese or other organisation. This can be a valuable teambuilding exercise, as well as giving you the opportunity to discuss with an expert the communications issues that you face. For more information please ring Suzanne Gray on 020 7898 1465, or email comms.training@c-of-e.org.uk