Ely Diocesan Prayers September 30

Lordsbridge Team: Comberton St Mary, Toft St Andrew and Caldecote St Michael and All Angels

Team Rector: Michael Booker

Priest: Michael Reiss

LLMs: Barbara Preece; Philip Dean

Link: MAF (Caldecote)

Thank God for Children and Families worshipping in Comberton. We pray for God’s blessing on new all-age services. Pray for inner-city links with Toft to grow and for more contact with new residents in Caldecote.

Ife (Nigeria) – The Rt Revd Oluranti Odubogun

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Ely Schools News

The second edition of the new school year’s Schools Bulletin is out now. You can download all the pages from the Diocesan website at http://www.ely.anglican.org/education/schools/schools_bulletin.html.

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Harvest at Ramsey St Mary

Jean and I shared in a real old-fashioned local Harvest Festival at Ramsey St Mary’s a few days ago. Look at that sugar beet! And the lovely smiling face of Mary Swale who is standing by the lectern that has just been refurbished in memory of her husband. We sang all the right songs, thought about the importance of being praying thankful people in particular places like Ramsey, building community together, and then had a great lunch at the school and raised money for a good cause by auctioning all the produce. Thankyou!

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Ely Diocesan Prayers September 29

Cambourne

Vicar: Peter Wood

ALMs: Julie Whitbread (administration); Rachel Leonard (Youth); Nicola Marsh (Pastoral assistant)

Link: DR Congo

We continue to give thanks for the new church building in Cambourne and for the opportunities it provides to share the gospel and serve the community.  We ask for insight and wisdom in realising and using these opportunities to glorify God in this place.

St Michael and All Angels

The Vine Inter Church Primary School

Ideato (Nigeria) – The Rt Revd Caleb Maduoma

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British Library launches Digitised Manuscripts website

The British Library has launched its Digitised Manuscripts website www.bl.uk/manuscripts this week.

The website currently contains 284 Greek manuscripts which have been digitised with a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The Library will be developing the functionality of the website and adding more content during 2011.

Please see http://www.bl.uk/news/2010/pressrelease20100927.html for further details.

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MU report challenges the commercialisation of childhood

Bye Buy Childhood  is the title of the Mothers’ Union’s new report into the Commercialisation of Childhood. It makes disturbing and challenging reading. Look at yourself by clicking on the link: Bye Buy Childhood.

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Huntingdonshire Equality Scheme

Huntingdonshire District Council have published their new Single Equality Scheme which includes support for the Hunts Faiths Forum and improving their understanding of and relationship with the faith groups in their area. Click on the link to access the document: SINGLE EQUALITY SCHEME.

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Women in the Episcopate

The papers for the reference to the dioceses of the draft legislation that would allow the consecration of women as bishops have now been published and are available at

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8210.html

Dioceses have until Monday, 14 November, 2011, to debate and vote on , according to documents published this week.

The four documents are:

- a background note on the history of the legislative proposals;

- the text of the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of

Women) Measure and draft Amending Canon No 30;

- an explanatory memorandum relating to the draft Measure and draft

Canon; and

- a procedural note together with a copy of the response form which diocesan secretaries need to send the Clerk to the Synod recording the diocesan decision by 5pm on Monday 14 November 2011.

The membership of a group established to assist the House of Bishops in preparing a draft of the statutory code of practice that would be required under the Measure will be announced shortly.

Article 8 of the Constitution of the General Synod provides that certain kinds of legislation may not receive the final approval of the General Synod unless they have first been approved by the majority of diocesan synods. Legislation to enable women to become bishops falls within the scope of Article 8 and hence this reference of the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure and draft Amending Canon No 30 to dioceses.

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Ely Diocesan Prayers September 28

Lordsbridge Team: Dry Drayton St Peter and St Paul

Team Vicar: Alison Myers

Rtd Priests: Prof Michael Langford; Les Manderson

LLM: Julia Jones

For the school and all groups who contribute to the life of the parish. For the good relationship with our Methodist friends.

Dry Drayton Church of England Primary School

Idaho (USA) – The Rt Revd Brian J Thom

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Noble Gembeeram

A very warm welcome to the Revd Noble Gembeeram from our link diocese of Vellore in South India. Noble joined me today for lunch together with Canon Fiona Brampton who is organising his visit, and we enjoyed getting to know each other.

I have especially asked Noble to look at us with fresh eyes during his stay and help us see what we have become blind to about ourselves and our opportunities for mission and ministry. I will convene a meeting in the New Year near the end of his stay for him to share his thoughts!

Writing earlier, Fiona said:

In the autumn, the Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council hopes to welcome a priest from Vellore, to be with us for three months. His name is Noble Gembeeram. Over the past 20 years, he’s been an invaluable help to the Vellore group and to visitors to Vellore especially, and comes with a recommendation from all those who have met him.
Bishop William, the Bishop in Vellore, would like Noble to act as an
ambassador for the diocese of Vellore, and to speak to churches and groups about the diocese, as well as learn about life in Cambridgeshire. For a number of years, Noble has been in a pastorate in Vandavasi, in the centre of the diocese of Vellore. Much of the focus of his work has been to restore and enhance the diocesan hospital in that place, which has included setting up outreach clinics in some of the nearby villages, and support work for families of those affected by HIV/AIDS. His wife is a doctor. If you saw the DVD on the work of the diocese of Vellore (available to borrow from me, or the Resource Centre, and only 10 minutes long), he is recorded on that, speaking quite movingly about the way he sees the link between health and healing in his and his wife’s work.

I’m looking for some parishes, or groups of parishes, or places of ministry. who would be willing to host Noble for a time – anything from a week (sorry, I don’t want him moving his suitcase every couple of days). Those with a healing ministry would be especially welcome, but any parishes who are keen to show their work, and to really get to know someone from another part of the world will be warmly accepted. There will be a (very small) weekly allowance towards the cost of his stay. Also, I’m looking for preaching opportunities. Noble’s English is good and what he has to say is interesting.

If you would like to be involved in the wonderful opportunity, please contact me on 01353 740309). Thanks very much.

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