worth a look ...
On this page you'll find news and interesting items, with newest at the top.
Back to Church Sunday
Warm congratulations to everyone who got right behind Back To Church Sunday this year and helped make double the difference, increasing the numbers returning from 37,000 to 82,000 in the UK, and over 104,000 worldwide.
It helps to get right behind any initiative, and BTCS doesn't happen by itself; it needs real champions.
But all the evidence is that when mission and communications people combine their energy and vision then we can give local churches a sustainable addition to the church year which delivers potential and actual growth - year after year.
Back To Church Sunday 2010 is September 26.
Here are the details for this year: the full release is at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr10909.html
Church House Communications write:
- The number of people returning to the Church of England on 27 September 2009 alone could have filled the O2 arena in London twice over – and still left a queue of 7,000 (the highest quoted membership of the National Secular Society) outside without a seat;
- The total number of people returning to participating Churches across the UK would have filled Old Trafford, home of Manchester United FC;
- If a conservative estimate of 12 per cent of returners continue into more regular chuchgoing, Back to Church Sunday 2009 will have added 9,900 people to UK pews – almost twice the maximum capacity of the Royal Albert Hall
BBC / OU survey: 57% would return to church if they could
The BBC has done it again.
From the producer who brought us The Miracles of Jesus and Around the World in 80 Faiths, we have A History of Christianity. Who says religion is dead? I heard that the programmes triple the regular BBC 4 audience when shown.
Jean Claude Bragard, the producer for BBC Religion and Ethics, has brought to life the events and issues of yesteryear with fresh insights for today. However, it is not so much the history and programme which I would like to comment on, so much as the online survey which accompanies it.
If you go to the Open University website http://www.open2.net/christianity/survey.html you will see that viewers are invited to say what Christianity means to them. The results are instantly available and revealing.
The introduction to the survey reminds us that 71.6% of the UK population described themselves as Christian in the 2001 Census, although only 15% of that number belong to, or go to church. Interestingly, the questionnaire is designed to ask people who call themselves Christian why they do not attend.
Visit the web link above and see how it is worded. The questions make it is difficult to fill in if you do go to church. The results probably produce a bias which is less representative of the church going population as a whole, which presumably makes the various conclusions all the more encouraging to people like me.
So far, 3239 people of all ages and backgrounds have completed the online survey This is a great response, not least as many surveys which shape industry or get quoted on the national news are often only based on a sample of 1000 respondents. Of those who have taken part so far, 77% say they call themselves Christians to other people, and a further 18% would sometimes say so to their friends. These figures are very high which is not surprising as prompted by a programme about the Christian faith.
More striking though, if I have read the results right, is that nearly twice as many men as women have completed the questionnaire: 2114 compared to 1125. I am not sure what that says: do more men watch the programme or take part in online surveys? Virtually all are from the UK as only 207 say they are not.
In passing, I was also interested to see the distribution across the age groups. Apart from the under 20’s where 216 questionnaires were completed, and the over 70’s where 126 replied online, the twenties (533), thirties (575), forties (644), fifties (637) and sixties (508) provide a fairly evenly spread.
The first thing to note is that more than half of the respondents go to church every week and pray every day. No doubt they are the most motivated to complete the questionnaire but remember they have been discouraged in the introduction. More than ¾ pray more than once a month. Of the survey target audience nearly half do not attend church regularly so what have they to say to us all?
When asked why the people don’t go to church, the least significant reason is lack of time and peer pressure, while many more say that they ‘don’t feel comfortable’ or ‘not found church that suits me’, or simply ‘don’t need to go to church to be a Christian’.
Having said that, significantly for such initiatives as ‘Back to Church Sunday’, 57% of respondents then said they would go more often if they could. Chiefly, for these people, what stops them is work, family and other commitments, rather than the church itself.
I find all this very encouraging when the invitation is for people who don’t go to church to respond and more men than women have done so, and more than half would go more often if they could.
Christianity is not just about history and the past, but very much about the present, and with a future to look forward to. Thank you ‘Aunty’, for producing A History of Christianity and the stimulating survey which helps us reflect on this. Written by Jim Currin
To see A History of Christianity visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ntrqh
'Blazing Glory' comic / website for Halloween outreach
'Crossed Over' is a new resource for reaching 8-12 year old children with the Gospel, especially focussed at the moment with 'Blazing Glory', a magazine and website with Halloween in mind:
PM on Premier re Christianity in the Public Square
Posted: 17 Aug 2009 03:15 AM PDT
The Prime Minister has been interviewed by Premier radio about the role of Christianity in the UK. The pod cast can be heard at: http://www.premier.org.uk/features/gordon%20brown.aspx
PM on Premier re Christianity in the Public Square
The Prime Minister has been interviewed by Premier radio about the role of Christianity in the UK. The pod cast can be heard at: http://www.premier.org.uk/features/gordon%20brown.aspx
Archbishop Rowan: "God's Mission and ours in the 21st century"
Here's a link to the text of ++Rowan's lecture to the International Church Society on "God's Mission and ours in the 21st century" - as you'd expect it's full of ideas, images, provocations, encouragement. Please let your networks know about it.
Available at http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2450
Includes this wonderful image:
I've sometimes used the metaphor ... that the gospel placed in our hands is like a small, highly active animal: it won't sit still, it'll leap out of our hands to go somewhere else. As soon as we've received it, off it goes, it has (as we say) a life of its own. We receive a gospel that will not just settle down in us in inaction as something that we can possess and put away in a bottom drawer. We receive a gospel that makes us active, and pushes us out, and leaps out of our hands into the lives of others.
SPONSORED LECTURES
Information from the Montgomery Trust:
"Sponsorship is available for lectures on contemporary Christian responses to the Bible, science and ethics, popular culture - which may be more grandly described as Christian apologetics .
We currently are not spending our annual income and would like to increase the number of lectures sponsored - whether they be one off lectures, one in a series, part of study day or residential weekend. The approved list includes John Bell, Richard Burridge, Rebecca Nye, Elaine Storkey and 21 other very interesting people! You provide a venue and audience of 30+; and select your lecturer from an approved but varied list of 25. Christian Education will book the lecturer and the Montgomery Fund will pay the lecturer an honorarium and traveling expenses."
The Montgomery Trust is an Anglican foundation, funded by a legacy bequest. Christian Education administers the Anglican Montgomery Trust, but the remit of the trust is wider than simply school-based education. More information is available at www.retoday.org.uk/montgomery.htm , though to get a list of those they sponsor to lecture you need to contact them - email : professionalservices@christianeducation.org.uk
Affirming Catholicism is hosting this conference, led by Stephen Cottrell:
LOVE’S LABOUR - 06/10/2009
About Love’s Labour
Love’s Labour is a practical day for catholic Anglicans, led by Bishop Stephen Cottrell. Through worship and workshop we will discover anew how evangelism is close to the heart of the catholic witness to the faith. There will be opportunities to consider questions as to why and how we approach evangelism as well as the chance to engage, challenge and inform. Our speakers are recognised authorities in their areas and the day will be of considerable interest to all who want to renew their vision of catholic evangelism.
Please note that you must be registered to book this event (registration is free).
This event is to be booked on-line. Full details and booking »
DISCIPLESHIP IN THE WORLD
If you missed it in the Church Times, you can still access the book review section titled "About drudgery and divinity" at http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=76678 . Here Duncan Dormer from St John's College Cambridge provides helpful comments on 3 very different "reflections on faith in the workplace."
It is perhaps interesting to note that 2 of these books have the word "you" in their title, as well as the word "work". One of the other challenges in this area is how to encourage the Church as a whole to encourage / promote / be excited about discipleship in the world - as well as offering materials in this area encouraging individuals (the many "you" to whom the materials / books are addressed).
More work is obviously needed in this area (see also 'Help Wanted' below), but here are some Materials / information that address the issue from this 'church' perspective, at least to some extent:
* The LICC 'Imagine' project is picking up and researching the issue of "disciple making churches" (not just convert making) and the need for culture change http://www.licc.org.uk/imagine/. There are some useful principles / vocabulary coming out of this project (e.g. "Church Based not Church Centred"), even though the picture of discipleship presented doesn't tend to focus on the more detailed reflections of faith / work)
* Also out of the LICC stable, Mark Greene's booklet Supporting Christians at Work is still available http://www.licc.org.uk/shop/product/supporting-christians-at-work . Yes, it is simple and, it has been said, seems "more interested in making Christians at work than in making work Christian" . Maybe it doesn't go very far - but it does go further than very many parishes do, has some simple suggestions that could be implemented, and is an easily accessible resource. Trainers might, for example, encourage people to augment / try out ideas as part of a Reader or IME 4 - 7 programme.
* (sadly this seems to be out of print - but worth finding / revisiting if you have one) MINISTRY IN DAILY LIFE – William Diehl 1996 - ISBN 1 56699 172 2
Subtitled 'a practical guide for congregations’, and full of 'how to' ideas. Chapter headings include 'affirming the people', 'equipping the people', 'supporting the people', 'the pastor's role' etc.
* Starting ideas from the Alban Institute website for developing 'Every member Ministry" :
* The After Sunday project is keen to do work with congregations on this issue. See the newly revamped website at http://www.aftersunday.org.uk/
Joanna Cox, National Adviser in Lay Discipleship and Shared Ministry in the Church of England, has pointed us to these interesting resources:
LEARNING WITHOUT 'COURSES'
A high proportion of resources developed for lay development / education in the church are based on 'courses' / series of group meetings. A course can provide a community experience - Alpha and other courses have drawn attention to the value of the community, and adult educators will draw attention to the importance of learning from others and collaborative learning.
But group courses are not for everyone (or everywhere), and questions have been raised about alternatives that can be signposted.
1. Foundations21 web based materials are now being offered FREE by BRF as "a gift to the church" - rather than each user needing a paid subscription as in the past. Much of the framework originally started life as a diocesan 'ay foundation basics' course, but there is a very much wider choice of material now and numerous links (though at present these are less diverse than many would hope for and tend to relate to sites that are theologically conservative)
Unlike many websites, Foundations 21 does offer 'learning materials' with activities and exercises that can be undertaken on-line. From an educational viewpoint, an interesting dimension of Foundations 21 (as some of you will remember from past AAEN conferences) is that it acknowledges and gives people an opportunity to work with their different learning styles (Honey and Mumford didn't call them Matthew, Mark, Luke and John pathways - but you will find connections!). See http://www.foundations21.org.uk/
2. The 'rejesus' website at http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ has a growing wealth of material exploring Jesus' life, character, teachings and followers. There are now quite a lot of so-called 'modules' (under the headings Story / Lives / Spirituality / Creativity) - some - with a load of interesting visual material, some primarily just information based and some interactive .
This site could be used in a wide variety of ways - there is basic information offered without being potentially patronising, and there is material relating to contemporary culture too. A good site to suggest to people who are not necessarily rooted and grounded in the Christian tradition, and which also offers some bits that could be suggested for 'homework viewing' to more traditional learners.
3. The website http://www.spiritualjourneys.org.uk/ is worth exploring for the links it offers to a range of sessions / explorations you may not have discovered. This is the site related to the printed book "Sense Making Faith – Body, Spirit, Journey" Published 2007 by CTBI (available via http://www.ctbi.org.uk/253/ ) - which was used as the BBC radio 4 Sunday worship during Lent this year.