InReview July 2015

The National Church Institutions working for you

July 2015

Archbishop Justin hosts Grand Imam of Al-Azhar at Lambeth Palace - full story on p2

WELCOME to the latest edition of InReview, featuring news from the National Church Institutions.

Our aim is to keep people in touch with the activities of the Archbishops’ Council,

Church Commissioners, the Pensions Board and other bodies who serve the Church at national level.

Do check out In Focus, our sister publication designed to be a centrespread for A5 parish magazines.

inreviewwww.churchofengland.org

First ever Church of england funerals conference - p3 Also in this edition:

• Pledge to tackle climate change signed by Archbishops - p2

• “A new edition every day” - updated Crockford website launched - p3

• Church of England schools awarded Character Education Grant - p4

Page two | The National Church Institutions working for you

The Archbishop of Canterbury welcomed the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Professor Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, to Lambeth Palace as part of a two-day visit.

The formal relation-ship between the office of the Archbishop of Can-terbury and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar was officially established in 2002 after the events of 9/11 in 2001. Archbishop Carey and His Eminence Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawy believed it was important to encourage learning and dialogue between the Christian and Muslim faiths.

Archbishop Justin met with Shaykh Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb to discuss this existing commitment established by their predecessors and consider how they want to move this forward. It was agreed that there would be an annual meeting for the principals, alternating between London and Cairo, followed by a meeting of a delegation from the Anglican Communion and from Al-Azhar to dis-cuss a topic of common interest and concern.

As part of the visit, Archbishop Justin hosted an evening reception at Lambeth Palace for the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, which was attended by

Christians, Muslims and members of other faiths.The reception was an opportunity to commend

the wide range of positive, innovative and creative interfaith work being done around the UK.

Speaking at the reception Archbishop Justin hailed “the significant change” taking place within interfaith work, which he said was becoming more global in its outlook, more focused on action and more grounded in relationships of transparency and integrity.

More information about the visit, including remarks made by Archbishop Justin, are available at:www.archbishopofcanterbury.org

Archbishops joins faith leaders in call for urgent action to tackle climate change

Other celebrations of the Magna Carta anniversary

Church celebrates 800th anniversary of Magna Carta

Archbishop Justin and the Grand imam to “build bridges of peace” between religions

Faith leaders in Britain have pledged to fast and pray for the success of key international negotiations over climate change in a new declaration warning of the “huge challenge” facing the world over global warming.

Representatives of the major faiths including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said climate change has already hit the poorest of the world hardest and urgent action is needed now to protect future generations.

In the newly-launched Lam-beth Declaration, signatories call on faith communities to recognise the pressing need to make the transition to a low carbon economy.

The call comes ahead of the international climate change talks in Paris this December where negotiators from more than 190 nations will gather to discuss a new global agreement on climate change, aimed at lim-iting greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 when current com-mitments run out.

The Declaration, signed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and other faith leaders in the UK, warns that world lead-ers must agree to reduce emis-sions to avoid average tempera-tures rising beyond 2⁰C, widely considered to be the threshold above which it is considered that the impacts of climate change will be most severe.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment said:

“The impact of climate change is something about which all people of faith are

concerned. We need to work together in order to find our responses to some of the most significant moral issues facing the world.”

Signatories include repre-sentatives from the Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communities as well as the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Methodist Conference and other denomi-nations and faiths, with more leaders continuing to sign.

Hundreds more people are expected to sign up to the dec-laration as it travels rounds the country during a summer of pilgrimages.

Churches and Cathedrals across the country have been involved in celebrating the 800th anniversary of the creation of Magna Carta.

The Archbishop of Canter-bury attended the Magna Carta 800th anniversary celebration at Runnymede in Surrey.

Archbishop Justin spoke at the celebrations, which were led by The Queen and attended by senior members of the Royal family, and parliamentarians led by prime minister David Cam-eron. In his speech, Archbishop

Justin said:“Archbishop Stephen Lang-

ton was mediator between the King and his barons, counsel-lor to both, and an advocate of civil harmony, cohesion and goodwill. His great legacy was this remarkable document, the spring from which so much of the human quest for political lib-erty has drawn, here and abroad, especially in the United States of America.”

The full speech is available at: bit.ly/magnacarta800speech

Other celebrations across the country for the anniversary of Magna Carta included a pil-grimage (pictured, above) and pageant at Salisbury Cathedral.

The Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson (below) has blogged on the relevance of Magna Carta to contemporary politics and the relationship

between church and state.In an extract from the blog,

Bishop Andrew said:“The relevance of this to

today’s debates – where the con-cept of universal rights is often assumed to be the product of the secular Enlightenment, and ‘reli-gion’ (whatever that is) is regularly regarded as a problem not a solu-tion – can hardly be overstated. The call on the Church to continue in the footsteps of Archbishop Langton is well articulated in the fourth of the Anglican Five Marks of Mission: a call ‘to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and recon-ciliation’”

The blog is available at:bit.ly/magnacarta800blog

Magna Carta Memorial - credit: mtgf93 through Flickr Creative Commons

InReview | Page three

Caroline Spelman MP announced to become new Commissioner for parliament

“A new edition every day” - brand new Crockford website launched

Caroline Spelman MP has been announced as the next Second Church Estates Com-missioner, replacing the Rt Hon Canon Sir Tony Baldry.

The role of the Second Church Estates Commissioner is to provide a link between Government, Parliament and the established Church.

The Second Church Estates Commissioner answers oral and written questions from MPs about Church of Eng-land matters in the House of Commons, is a member of Parliament’s Ecclesiasti-cal Committee and steers Church of England legislation through the House of Com-mons. She is also an ex-officio member of the General Synod and a member of the Church Commissioners’ Board of Governors.

Commenting on her appointment Caroline Spelman, said: “I am honoured to be asked to undertake this role as the Church is important for the future of our country and I want to help it navigate the challenges of the modern

world with the support of our parliamentarians.”

A committed and lifelong Anglican, she worships at Knowle Parish Church in her Meriden constituency, has been a longstanding member of the Christians in Parliament all party group and joined the Ecclesiastical Committee in 2014. In March 2014 she initiated a House of Commons debate on the contribution of women to the ordained minis-try of the Church of England.

For more information about Caroline Spelman:bit.ly/2cecannouncement

The Church of England has launched a new version of the clerical directory Crockford, delivering a daily update to the 157 year-old directory of Angli-can clergy in the UK and Ireland.

The new subscription site has been designed to allow daily updates to details about people and places listed in Crockford, as well as featuring a completely new layout, with clearer lan-guage to explain clergy roles as

well as more free content.The latest edition of the

website also provides a guide to the structure of dioceses and churches, enabling people to ‘thumb through’ their local church context.

Thomas Allain-Chapman, Head of Publishing for The Arch-bishops’ Council said:

“Church House Publish-ing are delighted to unveil the updated version of Crockford

online. There has been an online service for over a decade, but we are really confident that the new version will make Crock-ford much more accessible and useful for the mission and min-istry of today’s church. Being able to design a brand-new site has given us the oppor-tunity to create something far more mobile/tablet-friendly and ensure searching for what you need is simpler and faster.”

Crockford con-tinues to be avail-able from Church House Publishing as a 1300-page book produced every two years - with the 104th Edition due out in December this year.

The new Crockford website is available now at:www.crockford.org.uk

Bulletin showcasing mission work around the country released

The latest edition of the Resourcing Mission Bulletin is available now, featuring sto-ries and case studies of min-istry and mission from around the country.

The bulletin, which is pub-lished by the Strategy & Devel-opment Unit of the Archbishops’ Council and Church Commis-sioners, aims to help dissemi-nate the lessons learned from existing ministry and mission, spread ideas about the oppor-tunities for growth and, more generally, stimulate thinking on a range of resourcing issues.

The latest bulletin includes interviews with the Bishop of Burnley, Philip North; Pioneer Minister Revd Tim Matthews in Bournemouth; and Canon Anna Norman-Walker from Exeter Cathedral, who talks about fresh expressions of worship in a Cathedral Context.

The Holy Ground project (pictured), shows how offering a fresh and alternative expression of worship in Exeter Cathedral

Nearly 200 clergy and read-ers from 38 dioceses attended the first ever Church of England national conference on funeral ministry, held near Leam-ington Spa.

The conference began with a range of speakers literally stand-ing on soapboxes outside the venue, sharing their perspec-tives in short talks beginning “If I could say one thing about funerals..”. Speakers included the Rt Revd James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester, who then formally opened the conference. Others included a funeral director, an independent celebrant, a chaplain and an artist.

Delegates were able to hear Canon Dr Sandra Millar sharing the key messages that have emerged from the Archbishops’ Council work around death, dying and funerals. Alongside this there were ple-nary sessions from leading theological and socio-logical academics, plus 12 different workshops on specialist topics. An outdoor Eucharist and a gala dinner with Adrian and Brigid Plass gave us opportunity to give thanks, to laugh and to weep a little. One delegate said” Singing ‘endless is the victory though over death hast won’ under a glorious blue sky in the context of the conference is not something I will ever forget.”

On the Friday morning, the delegates boarded buses to go to the National Funeral Exhibition at Stoneleigh, the leading trade show

for the funeral industry. Exhibitors were surprised and delighted at the sudden appearance of dog collars invading the show! “They changed the atmosphere” said one exhibitor. And as delegates explored coffins and candles, hearses and han-dling, they were often amazed at all they discov-ered. “ I have been humbled” said one delegate “ meeting all these professionals and seeing their skills, their commitment and their dedication.”

Canon Dr Sandra Millar, Head of Projects and Developments, said: “ Both the conference and the exhibition were a great success, giving dioceses and parishes across the country the chance to think about their own funeral ministry and take up the opportunities the conference and the exhibi-tion have opened up for us.“For more information about the work visit www.churchsupporthub/funerals or www.churchofenglandfunerals.org

has attracted those who might otherwise not go to church. Anna Norman-Walker said:

“Holy Ground is very much part of the cathedral commu-nity but attracts a congrega-tion of those who prefer some-thing which includes liturgy and the Eucharist but is also a bit different.”

The Resourcing Mission Bulletin is available at:www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/resourcing_mission_bulletin

Taking Funerals Seriously - first Church of england conference on funerals

Page four | The National Church Institutions working for you | InReview

Archbishop of York becomes Patron of volitionThe Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu has

been announced as patron of Volition, the Cathe-dral Volunteer Programme.

Volition is a newly formed national charity which works with local employers to offer unem-ployed people the skills and confidence they need to gain employment.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said: “It is a great joy and privilege to be a patron

of Volition. This programme, which began at Manchester Cathedral, has now been successfully launched at Liverpool Cathedral. Many Volition volunteers are already finding employment with local businesses. This is a creative and innovative way in which our Cathedrals are engaging with some of the most vulnerable people in our com-munities. I am very pleased to pledge my support for the work of Volition as we help many more long term unemployed people back into work”.

Further details about Volition can be found at: www.manchestercathedral.org/volunteering/volition

Appointments

New Secretary General for the Archbishops’ Council

The Archbishops’ Council are delighted to announce Wil-liam Nye has been selected to be its next Secretary-General and Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England. He will succeed William Fittall who is retiring at the end of November after 13 years in this post.

For the last four years he has worked as the Principal Private Secretary to Their Royal High-nesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall where he has led on matters of sig-nificant public sensitivity and organisational effectiveness.

Mr. Nye, 49, is a long serving and active member of the Church of England where he has served as a PCC member for nearly 20 years and a Churchwarden for around 10 years. He has also served as a Deanery Synod

representative.For more details about the announcement, including further biography for William Nye:bit.ly/newsecgeneral

Head of Formation announced

The Revd Canon David Male has been appointed to the new role of National Adviser for Pioneer Ministry. David is presently the Direc-tor of the Centre for Pioneer Learning in Cambridge and is a Tutor in Pioneer Mission Training at Westcott House and Ridley Hall, Cambridge and Pioneer Consultant for Ely Diocese.

David will work as an offi-cial champion for all licensed and authorised forms of pio-neer ministry.To read more about Pioneer Ministry, visit:bit.ly/pioneerministry

Character education Grant awarded to Church of england schools

The Department for Edu-cation has announced that the Church of England will be running one of the projects funded by the Character Edu-cation Grant.

The project will pilot ‘What If Learning’, a cross-curricular model developed by an inter-national partnership of educa-tors. It aims to equip teachers with a practical approach to promoting the development of positive virtues and character traits in the classroom, which lead to success in learning and increased engagement in com-munity and voluntary activities. The model will be piloted in 20 schools across four dioceses. The approach will be independently evaluated and resources will be made available to teachers across the country.

The project will be delivered by a collaborative partnership between the Church of Eng-land Education Office, the Dio-ceses of Chester, Derby, Exeter and Peterborough, Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of St Mark and St John, Plymouth.

The Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, Revd Nigel Genders, said:

“This project is a fantastic example of how the Church’s network in education can work together through partnership to secure positive outcomes for pupils across the country.

“We are delighted to be working with the Department for Education to ensure that teach-ers are equipped to prepare their students to flourish in the future - in work, in their relationships,

in their families and as part of communities.”

Nigel Genders has also writ-ten a blog, Retaining vision for Church schools in new educa-tional landscape, looking at the wider work of Church of England schools across the country.

Nigel Genders said:“We will continue to develop

our diocesan and church school led multi-academy trusts in a way that offers the opportunity to build strong partnerships within the church school family and in a way that welcomes community schools as well.”

The blog is available at:bit.ly/educationvisionblog

To read more about the Character Education Grant:bit.ly/charactereducationgrant

Blogs from the Church of England Communications office

The Church of England Communications blog is a great way to keep up to date with news stories, comments and reflections from the CofE.

Blogs in the last month:

Latest on Livestreaming

Digital Media Officer Tallie Proud looks at the latest social media channel Periscope and talks about practical steps to incorporate it into Church mission and ministry.

2CEC: A voice for the Church in Parliament

Caroline Spelman MP (see page three for full announcement as Second Church Estates Commissioner) talks about her new role.

The greatest constitutional document of all times

The Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson talks about the relevance of Magna Carta, as the 800th anniversary of the document’s creation was celebrated (see page two for more on the story).

To see the latest from the blog, visit:cofecomms.tumblr.com