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This news bulletin is issued to members of General Synod, recipients of the e-mailed daily press summary, 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:

• Key debate on women bishops in a diverse agenda for General Synod
• Guildford Group sets out proposals for women bishops
• New attendance figures show mixed picture for church-going
• Churches packed for Christmas past
• Milestones on the Christian journey
• Church event throws spotlight on education
• Resourcing Mission for a 21st century Church
• Archbishops’ Council: lay members elected
• Forced marriage is a wrong, not a right
• Housing in Retirement
• Building Faith in our Future
• Government Minister calls for chaplaincy in every college
• Launch of new Introduction Course for Health Service Chaplains
• Family Life and Marriage Education Network residential conference
• Work in Progress – Premier Radio’s weekly feature on the work of the Church of England

Key debate on women bishops in a diverse agenda for General Synod
The February Group of Sessions also promises a glimpse of a wide range of work and mission from right across the Church – from rural affairs to hospital and health care chaplaincy. The agenda also includes debates on the Church’s built heritage, Anglican/Baptist relations, Church colleges and universities, and ethical investment.

See the full agenda: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/feb06.rtf
Read the full preview: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0706.html
During the Synod, regular updates on business done will be published on the Church of England website: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/feb2006.html

Guildford Group sets out proposals for women bishops
A Church of England group is proposing a way forward aimed at both permitting women to become bishops – should General Synod vote in favour of this - and of preserving the maximum amount of unity within the Church.

Read the full report of the committee chaired by the Bishop of Guildford: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0606.html
Read Presidents’ notes from the Archbishops as a preface to the report and a summary of the proposed next steps in the debate: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/gs1605a.rtf

New attendance figures show mixed picture for church-going
Annual figures offering a statistical insight into the shape of the church were released this month. They reveal that church attendance showed a mixed picture over 2004, with regular Sunday church attendance falling by one per cent – largely offsetting a similar increase the previous year. Weekly and monthly churchgoing held steady, while the number of children and young people at services rose by two per cent – and 16 dioceses saw annual increases in their attendance numbers.

Get the whole picture: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0306.html
Jump straight to the full figures: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/2004provisionalattendance.pdf

Churches packed for Christmas past
Reports from across the Church of England suggest Christmas 2005 was a cracker for church attendance. Packed crib services and extra services laid on at cathedrals up and down the country paint a picture of the growing popularity of finding space for church at Christmas.

Read the local reports: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0506.html

Launch of Christian Muslim Forum
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, hosted the inaugural meeting of the Christian Muslim Forum this month. The Forum came into being as the result of a Listening Initiative first proposed in 1997 whose report, published in 2004, recommended that a formal structure for dialogue and encounter would bring stability and promote understanding between the two faith communities. As the Forum’s Founding Patron, Dr Williams welcomed senior faith leaders and politicians, including the Prime Minister, at an evening reception to mark the Forum’s inception.

Find out more: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/releases/060120.htm

Milestones on the Christian journey
The latest in the Common Worship series has been published, offering parishes a single resource for marking important occasions in the life of the Church - and the lives of individual Christian worshippers. Landmark rites for confession join worship resources that celebrate baptism at the heart of Christian life, including the definitive services for Baptism and Confirmation.

Read all about this new publication: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0906.html

Church event throws spotlight on education
The stage is set for Education Sunday, a national day of prayer and celebration for all those involved in the world of education. Taking place on Sunday 12th February, Education Sunday has been marked each year for well over a century, and this year, organisers from across the Christian groups in England and Wales are hoping for the best ever response from local churches and schools.

Read more on this story: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0806.html
Find out how you can get involved: http://www.natsoc.org.uk/parishes/education_sunday.html

Resourcing Mission for a 21st century Church
The report of the Resourcing Mission Group, chaired by the Bishop of Bath & Wells, has been published in its final form following positive reaction to its interim report which came out last summer. The report covers a wide range of issues concerning the Church’s mission, in the context of which it makes some specific proposals relating to the use of the Church’s national funding.

The full report is available: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/rmgreport.doc

Archbishops’ Council: Lay members elected
The House of Laity of the General Synod has elected two members to serve on the Archbishops’ Council for a term of five years: Mr Paul Boyd-Lee (Salisbury diocese) and Mrs Christina Rees (St Albans diocese).

See the announcement: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0406.html

Forced Marriage is a wrong, not a right
The Church of England has supported moves to create a specific criminal offence of ‘forcing someone to marry’ in its submission to a Home Office review on the issue. Emphasising the importance of community education and close liasion with the communities most affected by this issue, the Church’s input was based on reflection on the Christian concept of marriage and fundamental principles of human rights.

Read the full story: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0206.html

Housing in Retirement
The Archbishops’ Council has recently produced a booklet aimed at informing clergy about ways in which they might enter the housing market in preparation for their retirement. The booklet ‘Providing for housing in retirement: a handbook of sources of assistance for the clergy’ brings together details of the schemes already offered by the Church of England Pensions Board (available at or close to retirement) and those offered by three other third party lenders. These are essentially buy-to-let mortgages which incorporate certain special features designed with clergy in mind.

Copies of the booklet may be obtained from the Archbishops’ Council, Ministry Division (Tel: 0207 898 1407) or the Church of England Pensions Board (Tel: 0207 898 1800) or by e-mail: enquiries@cepb.c-of-e.org.uk

Building Faith in our Future
The Church Heritage Forum published Building Faith in our Future in October 2004, focusing on how church buildings contribute to the vitality of communities across the country. The next phase uses this momentum to launch a national campaign targeting decision-makers in Government and other relevant audiences, highlighting the challenges faced by the Church as it attempts to preserve the nation’s heritage landmarks – which are, simultaneously, often the only public building still open in the community.

Catch up on the latest, and how you can help the campaign, with the campaign’s second e-bulletin: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/builtheritage/buildingfaith/newsletter.html

Government Minister calls for chaplaincy in every college
Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Further and Higher Education, has made a powerful public call for all colleges to look at ways of engaging the services of chaplains: “Colleges are the ideal place for young people to develop into rounded members of society through their spiritual and moral development”. The minister specifically endorsed multi-faith chaplaincy as the best means of doing this, and called on faith groups to identify opportunities to help provide this vital service to their local further education institutions. Around 200 colleges currently have chaplains, 40 of which are organised on a multi-faith basis, with the balance being primarily Christian.

Launch of new Introduction Course for Health Service Chaplains
A new partnership in Health Service Chaplaincy Training has been forged this month, bringing together the expertise of St Michael’s College, Cardiff University and the Joint Training Office of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council. From September this year, the Introductory Training Courses for Acute and Mental Health Chaplains will be delivered at St Michael’s College through a new module of the BTh in Practical Theology. It is envisaged that all newly appointed full-time and part-time health care chaplains, of whatever faith, will enrol for this course.

The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Christopher Herbert, Chair of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council, welcomed the move: “The work of Hospital Chaplaincy is one of the hidden treasures of the NHS and this development will ensure its importance and value will continue to grow.”

Family Life and Marriage Education Network residential conference
The Family life and Marriage Education Network (FLAME) has announced plans to hold a weekend residential conference to explore issues of Fatherhood in the context of theology, spirituality and personal experience. The event, being held in Swanwick between June 16th and 18th, is scheduled to include participation from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Thetford, and Fathers Direct. Sue Burridge, Policy Adviser on marriage and family at the Archbishops’ Council, is co-ordinating the wide programme of workshops.

See the FLAME website for further information and booking details, or call 01622 755014: www.flamefamily.co.uk

‘Work in Progress’ continues – Premier Radio’s weekly feature on the Church reaches gold
‘Work in Progress’, the weekly programme about the Church of England, broadcast its 50th edition this month, marking almost a year of programming featuring a wide range of insights into the life and work of the Church. The ten-minute features form part of Premier Radio’s Thursday afternoon shows, with the full ‘back catalogue’ also available online, enabling parishes and other church groups to ‘listen again’ to the interviews in house groups, PCC meetings, and other events.

Premier Radio broadcasts on three MW frequencies (1305, 1332, 1413 AM) in London, is available nationally on Freeview (channel 96) Sky digital and NTL, and worldwide via its website.

Find out more and listen to the archive: http://www.premier.org.uk/engine.cfm?i=261