Worship Workshop site launched

The new Church of England "Worship Workshop" site has been launched. This excellent website has been produced to assist schools with their collective worship but I can see it also being a helpful site for those involved in parish ministry. Hymns and songs can be downloaded (so long as you have a CCLI licence) as well as backing tracks, sheet music etc.
I’ve not had much time to explore this as yet – it’s very new – but I think it’s going to be a fine resource for the Church. Here’s the link.

from "Music Notes" by Jan Payne

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Faith in our Communities

Making the Most of Localism in Cambridgeshire: opportunities and challenges for Faith Groups

Closing address by the Bishop of Huntingdon to the “Faith and Stronger Communities” conference organised by Cambridgeshire County Council and the East of England Faiths Council on 15 November 2011

A very big thank you to the County Council and the Faiths Council for organising this important event and to all of you for coming to it. It is a beginning not an end, and I want to sum up some of what has been in our discussions today and give some pointers for the way forward, which I would like to link three simple words: provision, partnership and principles.

Provision is the obvious truth that there is a whole range of opportunity opening up for faith groups to do what comes naturally to them and serve others in their local communities. This might mean language courses for new migrants, transport schemes for the rural elderly, meeting places for new community initiatives, even more work with young people. Every situation is different, and we have noted that it would be very helpful if the County and District Councils were to share their thoughts with us about what needs were pressing where, as they see it.

Developing new provision comes naturally to most faith groups, but we need self-awareness here about our strengths and weaknesses. We may have warm hearts but weak hands, or need skilling up in new ways. Being sensible about these will help others to trust us to deliver the services that are needed. A key factor, as I see it, in initiating new provision is entrepreneurial vision. There is no necessary conflict – in fact there are increasing examples of symbiosis – between even commercial activity and volunteer endeavour. Social enterprises are likely to be more important as we go forward together. I suggest that to enable such vision we would do well to first enable a network of key community entrepreneurs who can then mentor and support others in seeing opportunities and responding to them. Some of that network is already in placed though not named as such: headteachers, ministers, publicans, WI leaders. Sometimes a paid post might be needed for at least a period of time, but it would give rapid repayment on the investment it represents. Let’s begin by identifying some pilot projects and places and seeing if they can succeed – doing a few things well – and that will give heart for more work to follow.

Partnership comes naturally too to faith communities. At their heart is their common life, fellowship in their faith, and care for one another. “You” is usually a plural word in the New Testament… We need, though, to become better at loving one another beyond the boundaries of our immediate fellowships. It’s in our DNA, but we also let ourselves down far too often and even define ourselves by what divides us – like the Welshman who was found on a desert island and had built two chapels. When asked why two, he replied that one was the one went to, and the other the one he did not go to. There is a clear community cohesion benefit here if we can get it right, but it will take commitment and care, partly because smaller faith groups in particular are fearful of losing their identity and distinctiveness if they work with others. That is not the point of inter-faith work. Our clear aim now is let every note sound in this great tune, even when we are wholeheartedly committed, as I am, to the truth of our own faith; and I accept that there is a special obligation on larger groups such as my own to help smaller ones find their seat at the table. I am also grateful that groups such as faiths councils are being taken increasingly seriously by statutory bodies, and hope that we can work together to help them thrive and draw on their strengths at a time when their own funding streams, which have often been regional, are being cut.

Finally, principles matter. I am heavily involved in helping make sure that our new developments have places of worship built in to their landscapes. They are places from which community can be built and where the vulnerable can find support; but they are also pointers – like the traditional church spire – to what I believe is a deep truth that there really are universal values of right and wrong, good and bad, a sort of grain to the universe and humanity, and that we will build the common good better when we are able to talk about those values together. Too often we fall into the obvious bear-traps of avoiding such talk, perhaps by looking only at the process not the principles underpinning it; by plucking a few old chestnuts from the fire but not engaging more deeply and asking why we have named the values we have; or most damagingly by leaving it all to market forces. There are huge riches here, both theological and philosophical, and I suggest that a rich common good needs a rich discussion of them. I am very glad that the County Council has used its power of invitation to enable today’s discussion, and hope that it will continue to do so, even in the area of principles and values, to help identify what we might all agree was our common good.

I have myself taken the initiative in calling together such a Cambridge Conversation on Saturday 11^th February at Emmanuel College for around 100 participants, who will include MPs and the Leader and Chief Executive of the County Council, local faith representatives and local leaders of all sorts. Let the conversation begin, and as we debate our principles so we can forge the partnerships that secure new and excellent provision for our communities.

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An Almighty Passion

Alan Hargrave’s first book:

An Almighty Passion, Meeting God in ordinary life

has been reprinted & re-launched by SPCK. It is available from the Cathedral bookshop and from Amazon.

Alan says:

‘As I grow older I believe more and more in less and less. Less and less in the secondary issues of faith (which are often divisive). More and more in the great doctrines of Trinity, Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection, which not only define our understanding of God but also make sense of my life and the lives of others.

This is a book of some 40 stories which seek to illustrate some aspects of those great doctrines. All of them are true (though identities have been changed to protect confidentiality). They do not seek to defend or expound those doctrines. They simply try and relate them to the pain and the joy, the mundane and the surprising, the dull and the dramatic of the everyday life in which God is to be found.

It is through such encounters that God has met me in Trinity, Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection. Hopefully, this book will help you to make sense of your own stories in the light the story of God & of his dealings with us.’

An Almighty Passion was first published in 2002. It has just been re-released by SPCK.

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Healing to live a fully human life

Christian Healing is the strength to live a fully human life – life as God meant it to be. That was Russ Parker’s opening quote at the packed annual celebration of Healing and Wholeness in the Diocese of Ely that opened a few minutes ago. May you too know that strength, whatever today brings.

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Season of Renewal – Lent Course

It’s the time of year when many churches begin to consider whether to run a Lent course in the New Year. ReSource’s Lent course Season of Renewal continues to be widely used, and they are having to reprint it again for 2012. Here’s what happened in just one of the churches which have used it:

I am writing to thank you for the Lent course Season of renewal.  It has been a Spirit led change in my group of Mothers’ Union ladies. Last year my vicar suggested it for our Lent study. Because there was so much in it, we repeated it again this year. Because I felt it was so good for the ladies, I found other groups in the church asking me what I thought about it. We ended up with four groups in the Church doing the course over Lent this year. I think most people from teenagers to the elderly felt there was something in it for them. Today we had a Renewal of Baptism vows in the morning Service and had 18 people rededicating their lives to the Lord. So I felt (never done this before) that you must know about it and it will encourage you as well as us here at St. Saviours Church. Because of you all, the Lord is moving and guiding us to grow here in High Green.

Experience shows that those who use the course experience significant spiritual growth, and often express a desire to build on their experience by establishing small groups as a regular part of the church’s life. St Saviour’s followed the course up with Rooted in Jesus – and more information about the new UK version of that, The God Who is There, can now also be found on the ReSource website.

Season of Renewal is already good value at £30 for a pack of a Leader’s Manual and 10 Member’s booklets – but last year’s price of £25 is being held for the month of November. If you’d like to see a sample session from the Leader’s Manual you can do that here. To order direct from the ReSource website, click here.  

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Help reduce lead theft from church roofs

Cashless Scrap Metal Trade – Amendment to Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964

Responsible department: Home Office

Due to a significant rise in value, metal has become a much sought after commodity. This increased demand has resulted in a sharp rise in metal theft nationally. Metal fencing, gates, manhole covers and other metallic items are stolen on a regular basis. Property is raided for lead, copper and cabling. War memorials and statues have been taken. Overhead power lines are stolen at serious risk to personal safety with huge costs for replacement and major inconvenience to the public. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry. This creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.

Sign this petition

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New Oxford Scanner may help read old manuscripts: hooray!

Like other mediaevalists, I spend hours poring over old manuscripts trying to decipher them. It’s not just the handwriting and abbreviations, not to mention the unusual words, but also centuries of wear and tear that rub away at the surface. Now help is at hand!

A scanner which combines the convenience of a desktop scanner with the functionality of a powerful laboratory imaging device has been developed at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Classics, and is now being commercialised by a new company Oxford Multi Spectral Limited which was today spun out by the University’s technology transfer company Isis Innovation.

The scanner was developed for imaging ancient papyri and the technology has been used to successfully scan, restore and archive over a quarter of a million historically significant manuscripts.

Oxford Multi Spectral Limited (OMS) will focus on the applications in restoring manuscripts and art, as well as the huge potential market for detecting forged security and border control documents, bank notes and forensic evidence.

Managing director of Forensic Document Services, the biggest forensic document company in the Asia Pacific, Paul Westwood, explained the Oxford scanner could be used to analyse a huge variety of samples, including crime scene samples such as counterfeit and altered documents as well as documents bearing erased or faded entries and signatures: ‘The portable nature of the scanner means that it will be a great resource when document examiners are required to undertake examinations out of the laboratory environment, such as at Court Registries or the offices of opposing lawyers.  

‘We anticipate that using the Oxford scanner will be like moving from using a dark room to using a modern digital camera. We can use it to detect what is currently invisible and make it visible.

‘The compact design and powerful imaging and analysis will be of great benefit to document examiners worldwide.’

OMS CEO, Mike Broderick said: ‘OMS delivers multispectral imaging capabilities superior to large laboratory systems in a very cost-effective apparatus.

‘Current multispectral imaging kits use cameras, but they are large, expensive and need specialist operators. Our scanner uses well-proven flat-bed scanner technology and powerful image processing to scan visible and ‘invisible’ features which absorb and reflect light at different wavelengths such as inks, pigments, polymers or papers.’

Dr Alexander Kovalchuk, the physicist who invented the scanner explained: ‘An ordinary colour image has three layers: red, green and blue; a multispectral image has many more layers, some of which are invisible to the human eye, but all of these layers contain potentially useful information. Our scanner is capable of registering an unlimited number of layers.’

Dr Dirk Obbink, University Lecturer in Papyrology and head of the research group which developed the scanner said: ‘The technical leaps we made mean many ancient documents which were previously unreadable can now be scanned and read.

‘We can take digital images at different wavelengths of the light band and layer them on top of each other, using software to analyse them. We can set the equipment to interrogate a feature we are interested in: the surface structure, fibres, stains, watermarks, fingerprints, or alterations. We can detect an artist or writer’s signature under multiple layers of paint or the pencil sketch under a watercolour.’

OMS has secured an investment of £250,000 from a Chinese investor Changsha Yaodong Investment Consulting Co and its UK based partner RTC Innovations to commercialise, manufacture and market the scanners globally. It received £47,600 from the University Challenge Seed Fund last year for prototyping work.

Isis Innovation managing director Tom Hockaday said: ‘OMS will be the first spin-out from the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Classics and indeed from the University’s Humanities Division. We are delighted to see the impact of this technology across other disciplines.’

Scanner spies document secrets – University of Oxford

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The Good BookStall Newsletter

 

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Helping you find the books you need and showing you others that you did not realise were available. These books are for everyone who enjoys reading! Keeping you up to date by means of our reviews of the pick of the latest and backlist titles. Keeping informative and comprehensive directories of Bookshops, Publishers and Suppliers of Christian Product.

All of our work is undertaken by a small team of dedicated unpaid volunteers as we are a not-for-profit organisation.

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The Editors Spot

Have you read any Christian Fiction yourself? If not, why not?
We have now had to split the fiction category into eight separate sections as so many publishers have joined in with publishing good stories. There really is something to suit all tastes. You only have to see which I have reviewed to tell what I like, though I do have to post titles to other reviewers that I would love to do myself!

In the first five months of our financial year we have already had well over one million pages looked at, so somebody is reading reviews of Christian books, and hopefully coming to Christian shops to buy them!
W have bookmarks with a space for shop details for you to give to give out. Please ask if you would like some or need some more. The more people who know about us, the more book reviews that are read and hopefully the more books that will be bought.

At CRE Sandown we had a celebration of our first ten years. Thank you to those who came and joined us for a very happy occasion.

At the Christian Retailers and Publishers Retreat at High Leigh, I was very honoured to receive a long service award from Christian Resources Exhibitions. Those of you who know me, also know that I am getting a bit long in the tooth and The Good BookStall is looking for someone to take at least some of the work from me.
If you, your staff or any booklover you know, are approaching retirement (or sadly, redundancy), then please give consideration to helping in this very pleasurable voluntary work. I would be delighted to hear from them or you.

Mary Bartholemew – editor@thegoodbookstall.org.uk

Septembers Top Five viewed reviews!

Building Community – O’Halloran
When Someone You Love No Longer Remembers – Sparks
The Death of a Child – Stanford
Gods Adventurer – Windsor & Jones
Life Lessons – Myers
NEWS & MORE

Remember to check www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk to keep informed with what’s going on in the world of Christian Books, Publishing and Retailing.

Remember although called The GoodBOOKstall, we do not only review books so readers will find an increasing number of reviews on site of DVD’s listed alongside books in the appropriate subject section – enjoy!

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Not only visiting our site, but also being active and engaging with it and positively promoting it – selling it even – into your network circles.

Print out our reviews (remember to include our URL on the review) and make a feature of them with the books, and remember if you have a website it is possible to add our reviews directly onto your site, or even on your Facebook page, just ask for more details!

Advertising Spots Available with 10 years of experience as standard!

There is plenty of scope for advertising on www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk and when you advertise with us you are helping to support us whilst advertising yourself in a strong and profitable way. Client advertisements click straight through to the webpage of their choice, and adverts now also appear on our individual ‘one page’ reviews. To find out more about how to advertise on The Good BookStall, contact the editor – editor@thegoodbookstall.org.uk

If you have any comments and suggestions or want to be added to our newsletter then please contact Melanie Carroll: thegoodbookstallnews@aol.com

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Concerts at Ely Cathedral

Belshazzar’s Feast Walton

Celebrating the Quincentenary of St John’s College, Cambridge
Friday 18 November – 7.30pm

ELGAR In the South
MAHLER Das Knaben Wunderhorn
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast

Ann Murray mezzo soprano
Leigh Melrose baritone
St John’s College Choir
Clare College Choir
Caius College Choir
Jesus College Choir
Trinity College Choir
Philharmonia Orchestra
Andrew Nethsingha conductor

Tickets: £40 – £20 reserved, £10 unreserved available ONLINE and from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349

Read more

Verdi Requiem

Saturday 26 November – 7.30pm

CUMS Chorus, East Anglia Chamber Orchestra

Stephen Cleobury conductor
Rachel Nicholls soprano
Madeleine Shaw mezzo-soprano
Justin Lavender tenor
Jamie Hall bass

Tickets: £32, £26, £20, £8. Students £4 reduction of full ticket price and £5 on the door (subject to availability) available ONLINE and from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349 and Cambridge Corn Exchange Box Office on 01223 357851

Read more

Winter Wonderland

SEASONAL SWING with MUSIC FROM STAGE AND SCREEN
Saturday 10 December – 7.30pm

This very special event takes place in the magical setting of the historic Cathedral, with its magnificent decorated Christmas tree. The boy choristers are joined by the gentleman of the choir and Ely Cathedral Girls’ Choir to let their hair down by teaming up with the renowned Cambridge-based swing band 78RPM. They will be performing seasonal favourites from stage & screen such as
Let it Snow, Winter Wonderland and White Christmas. It’s a long call from the more traditional choral music usually performed by the choirs and it promises to make for a truly fun and festive evening.

In addition to the concert, you can purchase tickets to attend an interval reception in the magnificent Lady Chapel with seasonal canapés and mulled wine. Lady Chapel interval refreshment tickets are an additional £10 available by telephone only from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349

Retiring collection in aid of MAGPAS

Tickets: £20, £15, £10, £5 available ONLINE and from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349

Read more

Carols by Candlelight

Ely Cathedral presents its much-loved Christmas Carol Concert
Thursday 22 December – 7.30pm

The Cathedral is a magnificent building and this time of year with the sparkling lights on the forty foot decorated tree providing a particularly festive air.

Carols by Candlelight is a celebration of traditional music & carols and will include solos by some of the Cathedral’s boy choristers and well known carols for all to sing. The Cathedral Choir will be joined by the Ely Imps, the Cathedral’s community children’s choir. Accompanying the choirs will be the rousing sound of percussion, two pianos and the Cathedral organ.

For a truly special experience come and warm yourself up with a glass of mulled wine and seasonal canapés in the stunning surroundings of the Lady Chapel. Lady Chapel interval refreshment tickets are an additional £10 available by telephone only from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349

Retiring collection in aid of The Newmarket Day Centre

Tickets: £16/£13 Concessions £10/£7 available ONLINE and from Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349

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New St John’s Advent Book 2011 now available!

These Words of Mine…

Readings & Prayers through Advent

The new St John’s College Advent Book for 2011 is available at £4.99 per copy.

These Words of Mine…contains a series of readings covering the Advent period. The meditations and prayers have been written by staff and students at St John’s College. As you are well aware, the season of Advent is a busy time in the life of the church. Clergy and Readers often find themselves right at the centre of this whirlwind of activity. Our prayer is that the Advent book we produce will bless those who read it by providing a framework for them to stop, think & pray.

All profit from the sale of the books will be used for the student bursary fund and the College development fund.

To purchase: contact Ruth Taylor on 0115 925 1114, email r.taylor@stjohns-nottm.ac.uk

or books may be ordered online at www.stjohns-nottm.ac.uk

or print off this order form and send back to us

Please pass this information on to your church contacts as this resource is particularly valuable to Readers and Leaders of Worship.

‘I am excited by these Advent Readings! They serve as a good guide to ordinary Christians who are genuinely wanting to step up a gear in their walk with God. I will most certainly be using them with my three congregations!’ Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin

‘Thoughtful, challenging and wise, these readings and reflections for Advent will be a real blessing to those who seek to put into practice what God’s Word teaches.’ The Rt Revd Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes

‘I have been both encouraged and challenged by this collection of Advent Bible readings, prayer and teaching. I hope this little book will inspire us all to an effective observance of Advent.’ The Rt Revd Michael Nazir-Ali

‘These readings bring a fresh challenge to live a holy and righteous life – all the more welcome for being unfashionable.’ Rt Revd Graham Dow

‘May you find that this book enables you to anticipate the feast, and be ready to meet the Lord when he comes.’ Canon Dr Christina Baxter CBE

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

To order online, go to http://www.stjohns-nottm.ac.uk/advent-book-201/

To order by mail, print off this form and send this form with payment to:

Advent Book, St. John’s College, Chilwell Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham, NG9 3DS

Please supply ______ copies of These words of mine… for which I enclose £________(Special offer £4.99 per book) – Cheques payable to St John’s College

St. John’s College is at the forefront of training mission-minded leaders for the church of tomorrow. We need more resources to continue grappling with the issues in training we face. Your support will make a real difference. If you would like to enclose an additional donation towards the work of the college, please indicate the amount £_________

If you would like to gift aid your donation, please tick the box below:

Please claim gift aid on this donation and all future donations from today (__/__/__)

Title_______________ Forenames_________________________________________    Surname_______________________

Email___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Telephone_______________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Address_________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________Postcode_____________

St John’s College Nottingham Ltd, Chilwell Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham, NG9 3DS

Tel: 0115 925 1114   Fax: 0115 943 6438   www.stjohns-nottm.ac.uk

Registered charity 1026706. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales number 982780.

Contact Ruth on 0115 925 1114 or email: r.taylor@stjohns-nottm.ac.uk

St John’s College, Chilwell Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham NG9 3DS

St John’s College Nottingham Ltd. is registered in England (No. 982780) as a company limited by guarantee. Registered Charity 1026706.

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