Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer has said on the BBC programme Decision Time that a discussion now “needs to be had” on whether the Church of England should be disestablished.
In it he makes a point that I have not seen focussed so sharply before:
"If you are the State Church you’ve got to be able to speak not just to your own members but to the members of the State whose Church you are because of the issues about the Roman Catholic ban on inheriting the throne and because the Anglican Church is more and more hemmed in by foreign Anglican churches from moving to being in tune with some of the times here. Its role as a Church able to speak in the State whose church it is gets more and more difficult so I think a discussion needs to be had and this is probably the time to have it."
So question: if push comes to shove, does the C of E as an established church reflect the nature of English society, or the international stream of approach to Christianity that it has fostered?
Ruth Gledhill has blogged the whole interview.
Filed under: Thoughts for the Day
The Hungate Medieval Art project at St Peter Hungate, Princes Street, Norwich will be formally opened on 2 April 2009. Conceived in 2007 by Kate Weaver (formerly of the Churches Conservation Trust) and Fellows Paul Binski, Anthony Barnes, Jeremy Haselock and Carole Rawcliffe, this project was established with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Pilgrim Trust to use St Peter Hungate Church in Norwich as a centre for celebrating the remarkable medieval artefacts to be found in Norfolk’s churches. The opening exhibition focuses on Norfolk’s rich legacy of stained glass. The church will be open to the public 10am to 3pm on Thurs, Fri and Sat (and to pre-booked groups on other days). Admission costs £3 (£2.50 concessions), but is free on 4 April 2009.
Filed under: History, Travel , Art, Hungate, mediaeval, Norwich
Just added Mary Beard’s “It’s a Don’s Life” Times Blog to my feed. Go there now for an elegant demolition job on the TV documentary — ‘Cleopatra: portrait of a killer’ — shown on BBC1 on 23 March. Mary last hit the newstand when she lectured on Roman jokes on Red Nose Day. Their sense of humour wasn’t quite ours. Her favourite:
Three men — a scholasticos (an ‘egghead’), a barber and a bald man — went on a long journey and had to camp out at night. They decided to take it in shifts to watch over their luggage. The barber took the first shift but got bored. To pass the time, he shaved the head of the sleeping scholasticos — then woke him up to take his turn. The scholasticos got up, rubbed his head and found that he had no hair. “What an idiot that barber is,” he said: “he’s woken up baldy instead of me.”
Filed under: History, Humour, Media Matters , Mary Beard, Romans
Ely Cathedral 10th July 2009 (7.15pm til’ midnight)
With bands performing all evening!
Guess who will be there this year (See clue to left!). It’s always later than you think, so get ready to book now (See details below). ‘Fraid I’ve pulled rank and been booked in already. Watch out for the Rodeo Bull, Gladiators Arena, The Eliminator, Circus Skills, Rowing machine races, NEW! Inflatable Assault Course! Nintendo Wii Games, Large Screen Games, Computer Dance Mats, Spirit Zone (with interactive prayer walk), Customised motorbikes!, Giant Barbecue in the courtyard, Chillout Café with separate music/choir programme, Dance-floor with lasers and lightsticks. Plus… free very large balloons falling from the roof!
Tickets on sale from first week of May £7.50 before 9th June, then £9. Cheques must arrive at the RITN box office by 9th June to qualify for the reduced ticket price of £7.50. To book send a cheque made payable to ‘EDBF’ to
RAVE IN THE NAVE BOX OFFICE
Diocesan Office,
Barton Road,
Ely, Cambs. CB7 4DX
Tel: 01353 652725
resources.centre@office.ely.anglican.org
Filed under: Church of England, Resources , Ely Diocese, Rave in the Nave, youth
Tune in to BBC Two this Tuesday at 7pm.
The debate between religion and evolution has been hijacked by extremists: on one side stand fundamentalist believers who reject evolution, and on the other side are fundamentalist atheists who claim that Darwin’s theory rules out the possibility of God.
Philosopher and theologian Conor Cunningham declares that it’s time to set the story straight and argues that it is possible to be both a 
Christian and accept the theory of evolution. At last!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/darwin
Filed under: Current affairs, Media Matters , Darwin, evolution
You may be able to be in London today, or like me you may not. The mighty army of the Mother’s Union (I’m teasing but not mocking – they’re fantastic and a real world-wide force in their own right) have a Lady Day Service here in Ely and I’m pleased to be on parade. If I have time I’ll add the script of my reflection on the blog, but for now: in body or in spirit, can I urge you through your presence and your prayer to add your voice to the chorus calling on the G20 leaders to get their act together and help us all do business a better way.
Here’s the rallying cry from the Put People First coalition:
On 28th March thousands will march through London as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20, ahead of their 2nd April summit on the global financial crisis.
Even before the banking collapse, the world suffered poverty, inequality and the threat of climate chaos. The world has followed a financial model that has created an economy fuelled by ever-increasing debt, both financial and environmental.
Our future depends on creating an economy based on fair distribution of wealth, decent jobs for all and a low carbon future.
There can be no going back to business as usual.
People from all over the country will join the march on March 28.
Be one of them. Put People First!
Filed under: Current affairs , G20, Put People First
Tony Watkins has written a great CultureWatch piece on the new film Knowing that really opens up its debate about free will and determinism, plus the other theme that develops during the film (he puts that bit in a spoiler-marked separate page)
Since I’m booked to be grilled by some sixth formers in a local school on this subject after Easter, I’d better bone up on it. And the film should make a great discussion starter.
Filed under: Media Matters , determinism, free will, Knowing
We’ve just watched Toby Buckland’s Gardener’s World Special on Peat-Free Compost. What a great programme! No drama, fair presentation, practical, loads of facts simply put, and it didn’t keep on repeating itself but actually built up an argument. Conclusion: we’ll be reading the labels and cutting out the peat wherever we can. For some reason the BBC doesn’t seem to let us look at the programme on-line, but this is the page in case they change their mind. And here’s a quote from Toby Buckland when he was interviewed on taking on the GW job:
The Government has set targets of being 90 per cent peat-free by 2010, so gardening in a peat-free world is something that we will all have to learn. I will be showing viewers how to use alternatives: coir, wood fibre and green compost. All behave differently to peat but can, if you have the know-how, outperform peat. That said, even the gardeners at Kew, who have been peat-free for years, say some plants need a little peat in their potting mixes – citrus trees, for example. So if we talk about growing lemons, we’ll recommend peat as one of the ingredients. We won’t ignore the issue – we’ll be honest to help viewers.
Filed under: Environment, Gardening, Media Matters , Gardeners' World, Peat free
Here’s my re-telling of the Passion according to St John, cinema-style. You’ll find it in the latest edition of the URC’s Reform Magazine.
I’d be very happy for it to be used or adapted for your own Holy Week worship. Or have a go at writing your own.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Resources , Holy Week, John's Gospel, Passion, story
Jeff Skoll founded eBay, made a billion, and is now using the proceeds to good purpose. The annual Skoll World Forum has just met in Oxford as part of a big operation to encourage social entrepreneurs. In everyday language that’s about businesses that both balance the books and build social capital of some kind. One award winner this year is into the supply of safe drinking water for instance.
You can have local, low-scale businesses too that even a parish church can get into. One I know set up a second-hand shop that supplied affordable goods, provided training, was a base for building a fresh expression, and made money too.
Find out more about Skoll at LICC, and about the 72 social enterprises in Cambridgeshire here.
Filed under: Current affairs , ebay, Skoll, Social Enterprise
Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer has said on the BBC programme Decision Time that a discussion now “needs to be had” on whether the Church of England should be disestablished. 
