Church leaders use Twitter for Christmas messages; Church responses to UK autumn budget; Kirk takes action against breakaway group
Twitter Christmas sermons for Anglican bishops
BBC News – Britain’s senior Anglican bishops will be tweeting their Christmas Day sermons for the first time this year.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the archbishop-designate, as well as clergy and congregations around the UK, will be celebrating the birth of Jesus in a campaign making use of social media.
Worshippers in the Church’s 16,000 parishes are being encouraged to tweet on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The Archbishop Council said it was a chance to spread Christmas “good news”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, his soon-to-be successor Bishop of Durham Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu will be tweeting.
They are likely to tweet from carol, crib and midnight services, before carrying on into Christmas morning when the highlights of the sermons at Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster and Durham Cathedral will be tweeted.
The campaign will use the hashtag #ChristmasStartsWithChrist, which is set to go live on Christmas Eve.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20656357
Follow the Christmas story (Natwivity) on Twitter
It’s only the beginning of December, and already Natwivity looks set to be the most successful social media project linked to a Christian festival.
The Facebook and Twitter project, which marks the Advent season to tell the Christmas story in the form of tweets, got off to a flying start in its first few days.
The joint project between Share Creative and Tearfund saw record numbers of hits on www.tearfund.org homepage over the weekend of 1 and 2 December.
Most tweets have received 25–30 retweets, with the opening announcement being retweeted 170 times.
‘It’s been an incredible start to the Christmas season, and one of the most successful social media projects we’ve ever been part of,’ says Andrew McCracken, Tearfund’s UK Director.
‘I’m very excited that Natwivity, which has been immensely popular over the last three years as well, is this year brought to life by some beautiful images that we’ve collected from around the world. We hope and pray that the messages and pictures inspire people to use Advent to pray, reflect and wait for the promises of God revealed to us in Christ.’
Natwivity is the brainchild of Huw Tyler of Share Creative, who developed the project and has been running it since its inception in 2009. Huw joined Tearfund’s staff last year, and has brought together the resources and inspiration of both organisations to create a storytelling project that is bigger than ever.
‘I’m pleased that this continues to be one of the most widely shared seasonal social media projects,’ says Huw. ‘The inclusion of photos brings a new realism and we hope that people will once again find connection with this amazing story, beyond the school nativity and mantelpiece figurines.
Follow Natwivity on Twitter: @Natwivity Facebook: www.facebook.com/natwivity
Many working families will be £3k a year worse off by 2015
New one per cent caps on tax credits and child benefit, announced by the Chancellor in his autumn statement, will contribute to some working families being £3,000 worse off a year by 2015, warns the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The TUC has calculated that the combination of real terms cuts to child benefit, announced today and in previous budgets, will leave a household with two children £315 a year worse off by 2015/16.
Cuts and welfare changes having a “scandalous” impact, say church leaders
Thirty church leaders in the North East of England have written an open letter to the Prime Minister warning that spending cuts and welfare changes are having a “scandalous” impact on communities in their region.
The letter, signed by church figures from Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, United Reformed, Baptist, Moravian, Quaker, Lutheran, Salvationist, Pentecostal and Evangelical traditions, was sent before the chancellor’s recent autumn budget statement, but pertains directly to the policies and concerns it raises — including further welfare cuts hitting the poorest in society.
The letter has been coordinated by the ecumenical Churches’ Regional Commission in the North East (CRCNE)
Kirk acts to stop removal of property by breakaway group
The Church of Scotland says claims that a prayer meeting at St George’s Tron was deliberately disrupted by legal officers at its instigation are misleading and unfair.
The Church of Scotland has been seeking to prevent fixtures, fittings and moveable items being taken illicitly from the building, and to stop those already removed from being disposed.
One million disabled people left vulnerable by Autumn Statement
At least one million disabled people are not ‘protected’ by the autumn budget statement, despite government claims, says Disability Rights UK.
“If you listened to the Autumn Statement and thought you heard ‘disability benefits are protected’ you may wish to know that Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is not protected and will be subject to a 1% increase for the next three years,” the coalition points out.