Celebration of Prayer Book on British Culture; Work continues on implementing the Anglican Methodist Covenant; Support for referendum on gay marriage; Major new Church initiative to help poor of Middlesborough
Celebration of Prayer Book on British Culture
On Tuesday 27 November in the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP and the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, co-hosted a celebration of 350 years of the official book of public worship of the Church of England – the Book of Common Prayer, 1662.
Over 100 members of the local community of all faiths – including school children and students – came to the beautiful surroundings of the Gallery, which opened in 2010, to hear about the importance of the Prayer Book in English language and culture through words and music.
The Secretary of State and Bishop Stephen were joined by a former Foreign Secretary, the Lord Hurd of Westwell and an Oxford Professor of the History of Christianity and well-known television presenter, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Kt. The Lord Hurd read some short extracts from the Prayer Book and Professor MacCulloch presented some of the reasons why he thinks the Prayer Book’s influence is as strong today as it was 350 years ago.
Some beautiful choral music of the period was sung by the Choir of Wakefield Cathedral directed by Thomas Moore.
The Rt Revd Stephen Platten, the Bishop of Wakefield, commented, “We are extremely honoured to be able to host this very important anniversary reception here in West Yorkshire and indeed in Wakefield itself. The Prayer Book over four centuries has had an enormous impact on the life of the nation.”
The Revd Christopher Woods, Secretary of the Church of England’s Worship and Liturgy Commission who helped to co-ordinate the event, said, “So often, very familiar words and phrases which we use in our everyday language come from much older roots and one of these sources is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Coming together for an event like this helps today’s culture begin to understand how important our history is. Even though the Prayer Book is 350 years old, it is still influential.”
Work continues on implementing the Anglican Methodist Covenant
The Joint Implementation Commission (JIC) of the Anglican Methodist Covenant has voiced its disappointment that the General Synod has not found a way to move forward on the question of women bishops. It added, however, that, although the vote in General Synod on Tuesday failed to remove a major obstacle to growing into that unity to which the Church of England and the Methodist Church are committed in the Covenant between them, the basis of that Covenant has not changed.
“There is much that still unites us and we will continue to work towards the full visible unity of our churches,” said the Rt Rev Christopher Cocksworth and Prof Peter Howdle, who co-chair the JIC.
“The relationship between our churches has been growing at all levels – national, regional and local – since the Covenant was made in 2003, with many examples of sharing and working together especially at local level. The JIC is committed to helping our churches continue to grow together and to find new opportunities for serving the common good under the Covenant.
“We hope that Methodists and Anglicans, bound together in Covenant and a common history, in the light of the General Synod vote, will continue to pray for each other, value each other’s spiritual heritage and work tirelessly with renewed determination for the unity of the whole Church.”
The Anglican Methodist Covenant was signed at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, on Saturday 1 November 2003 in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.
The Covenant was made on ‘the basis of our shared history, our full agreement in the apostolic faith, our shared theological understandings of the nature and mission of the Church and of its ministry and oversight, and our agreement on the goal of full visible unity’, and commits the two churches ‘to work to overcome the remaining obstacles to the organic unity of our two churches, on the way to the full visible unity of Christ’s Church’.
The full text of the Covenant Statement can be read at http://www.churchofengland.org/media/36037/anglicancovenant.doc .
The Joint Implementation Commission was established following the signing of the Covenant in 2003 to carry forward the Covenent commitments.
The Anglican co-chair of the Joint Implementation Commission is the Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth. The Methodist co-chair is Professor Peter Howdle.
http://churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/11/work-continues-on-implementing-the-anglican-methodist-covenant.aspx
Support for referendum on gay marriage
Over half the public want a referendom on the Government’s plans to legalise gay marriage.
The ComRes poll found that 54% of people want a public vote on the controversial plans, which did not feature in any of the parties’ manifestos. Just 26% disagreed.
There was also strong support for the existing definition of marriage to be retained. Asked if marriage should continue to mean the lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, 62 per cent agreed compared to just 28 per cent who disagreed. Among Conservative voters this figure rose to 68 per cent.
The poll also suggested that the Prime Minister’s marriage plans are going to cost the Tories votes at the next General Election.
By a majority of 8:1, those who voted Conservative in 2010 but say they no longer intend to, revealed that gay marriage had put them off returning to the Tory fold.
The hardening attitude could mean a loss of up to 1.35 million votes – or around 13% of those who voted for the Tories in the last election.
There is also strong suspicion surrounding the Prime Minister’s motives, with nearly seven in 10 people (65%) agreeing that the policy was being pushed to make the Tory party look trendy and modern, and not because of Cameron’s personal convictions.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/3/support.for.referendum.on.gay.marriage/31137.htm
Together Middlesbrough
A major new initiative to help the poorest people in Middlesbrough is being launched by the Archbishop of York on Sunday 2nd December.
Together Middlesbrough is a joint venture between the Church Urban Fund and the Diocese of York, to help churches tackle poverty together. A service to launch Together Middlesbrough will be held at St Barnabas Church, Linthorpe, at 2pm on Sunday 2nd December.
One of the people helping organise the service is the Revd Dominic Black, the Rural Dean of Middlesbrough and vicar of Holy Trinity Church North Ormesby. He said, “Together Middlesbrough will help churches across Middlesbrough, from all different traditions, work together to tackle poverty. It’s a great idea to combine the skills and experience of the Church Urban Fund and the local knowledge of the Diocese of York in this project.
“The scale and spread of deprivation in Middlesbrough is amongst the worst in the country. 47% of the town is ranked in the bottom 10% poorest places to live, and in these communities up to 59% of children are living in poverty. These statistics can seem overwhelming, but Christ calls us to respond to the needs of our neighbours, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, to befriend the lonely, to care for the sick. Together Middlesbrough is a practical Christian response to local need. By coming together, we can support, resource and encourage one another to make a significant difference in our communities.”
Paul Hackwood, Chair of Trustees of the Church Urban Fund said, “I am delighted that we are working in partnership with the Diocese, in Middlesbrough to tackle poverty. We are firm believers in the power of churches working together, to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalised, through the quality of relationship and solidarity that we build with them.”
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said, “I’m delighted that the Diocese of York and the Church Urban Fund are working jointly for Together Middlesbrough. It’s a great example of changes happening at grass roots level, and from within Middlesbrough itself.
“We have a very unequal society. Overall income inequality is higher than at any time in the last 30 years – and whilst the poorest see their incomes slashed, incomes at the top have been rising rapidly. But everyone deserves a decent quality of life and if we show real determination, and a courage for justice, I believe that we can make that dream a reality. Together we can see God’s Kingdom of love and justice coming across Middlesbrough.”