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Is it really church?

So asks Rowan Williams in the first edition of Mixed Economy, the new annual journal of Fresh Expressions.

Fresh Expressions, I’ve suggested, has helped us see something of this liberating vision. It’s true, from one point of view, that this takes us beyond a concern with denominational identity; and for some this is worrying. Is it really Anglican, or Methodist, or Baptist? What I hope is that, in the next phase of the work of Fresh Expressions, as it continues to enter more fully into the bloodstream of the churches, we start asking instead - of Fresh Expressions, but also of some of our inherited patterns - ‘Is it really Church?’

Is this a place and a community where people are expecting the Risen Jesus to be tangibly at work and the Holy Spirit making a difference? Is this a place and a community where people can begin to see that what makes the Church what it is and holds it together is the sheer strength of God’s promise and invitation through the living Jesus?

You can download the complete article as part of the whole magazine here - see the pink section at the bottom of the page. Alternatively Fresh Expressions will send you a paper copy in return for a donation.

20/11/2008 13:50:00 | No comments | Email a friend

Pubs becoming churches

I've noticed a couple of 'pubs becoming churches' stories this week. First of all on North Uist on the Western Isles, where the Free Church is to take over a local pub. The story is in the Herald: Converted: inn to become a church and the BBC: Regulars say amen to island pub.

Then in Antrim, where a church has put in a bid to buy a local bar: Church in bid to buy pub premises

Of course church ownership of pubs can have its own complications - in Birmingham a local vicar is in the news following plans to change the name of an historic pub owned by the church. See the Birmingham Mail: Famous Saracen’s Head to lose its name. The vicar of the pub in question, Canon Rob Morris, responds here: Saracen’s Head history will not be obliterated. If the name of the pub is familiar it could be due to the fact that the Saracen's Head won the BBC 'Restoration' TV competition in 2004: See Spellbound by the Saracen's Head.

20/11/2008 11:00:00 | 2 comments | Email a friend

NEAC meeting

I've been attempting to understand the goings-on at a meeting of Evangelical Anglicans that took place in London on Saturday. Things apparently did not run entirely smoothly at the NEAC (National Evangelical Anglican Consultation) meeting organised by the CEEC (Church of England Evangelical Council).

To find out why you are best hearing from those who were there or those with a closer connection with those involved than I do. See for example:

On Fulcrum: NEAC 2008: a Evangelical Dutch Report by Wim Houtman
Also: The Restoration of Evangelicalism: Differences without Division by Graham Kings
From the blogs - David Keen: NEAC 2008
Tim Goodbody: As saints of old still line the way ...
Peter Ould: Talking Together, Staying Together

If you have a bit more time a variety of interesting accounts and reactions have appeared on a thread on the Fulcrum forum entitled "NEAC 2008" - the post-event commentary is on pages 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 (latest posts at the bottom of the page - frustratingly this is not the default on Fulcrum).

18/11/2008 23:00:00 | No comments | Email a friend

New North American province planned

Four American dioceses have now voted to leave the Episcopal Church: San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, Quincy and Fort Worth. According to this report in the Living Church, this press release on the Common Cause Partnership site and this video on Anglican TV a convention is planned for December 3 at which a new North American Anglican province will be formed.

Thinking Anglicans and Mark Harris have been doing a good job of chronicling the North American developments.

I had a look for a definitive list of the provinces of the Anglican Communion and found this one on the Anglican Communion website (although it doesn't seem to mention Canterbury and York). I would not be expecting this new province to be added to this list in the near future.

17/11/2008 16:00:00 | No comments | Email a friend

The Bible Society buys the Christian Booksellers Convention

News from the world of Christian bookselling: The Christian Booksellers Convention (CBC), which as the name implies is the annual convention for Christian booksellers, has been taken over by the Bible Society, who run the the Christian Resources Exhibitions (CRE). See the press release: Bible Society is set to take over Christian Booksellers Convention

Phil Groom sees this as bad news for the Christian bookselling industry: CBC RIP? Christian Booksellers Convention to Merge with Christian Resources Exhibition. Talking about the plan to hold the CBC at the same time as the CRE he says:

"This, quite simply, makes it a non-starter for a retailer focused trade event. We are already faced with online competition from our suppliers: are we also expected to smile sweetly and welcome direct, face-to-face competition as those same suppliers offer our customers deals to walk away with that we will never be able to match because those suppliers will not offer us terms that will make such deals possible?"

Other Bible Society acquisitions over the last couple of years include CRE and Christian Research.

17/11/2008 13:00:00 | No comments | Email a friend

Spiritual steps for sustainable living

This was the title of the inaugural Operation Noah lecture by Father Christopher Jamison at St Alban’s, Holborn, London this week. The full text of the lecture is now available.

We report on the lecture in today's Church Times, Don’t let Nike lead you to greed on the brain, urges abbot. See also the Church Times Leader, Where there is no vision the people perish

Already campaigners are anxious that the environmental movement might be running out of steam, owing to the Government’s lack of commitment and now the pressure that the recession is likely to exert on investment in alternative technologies. The Church’s special contribution, said Fr Christopher, is to model its tradition of virtuous living rooted in faith, hope, and love.

14/11/2008 08:50:00 | No comments | Email a friend

Youthwork

Some youthwork-related links:

Methodists invest £4 million in new youth strategy. They plan to employ 32 young people as part time 'Youth Enablers'. This is quite a courageous commitment for a denomination which (in common with the Anglicans and others of course), faces serious financial challenges. The launch will be celebrated at the forthcoming Methodist Youth Conference.

Youth violence will be one of the items on the agenda at the aforementioned conference. Meanwhile in London, lawyers, anti-crime activists, clergy, and front-line medics have been meeting to show their determination to stamp out knife crime. A piece in last week's Church Times, by Bill Bowder, quotes pastor Rev Nims Obunge: “It is in our churches now. In church and out of church, it’s everybody’s problem,” Read more here: Knife-crime conference: ‘We all have a part in this’

Youthwork Conference in Southport and Eastbourne. Another conference - this is the main event for Christian youthworkers in the UK, and takes place over the next two weekends. It has been on my mind as I have spent quite a lot of time over the last week or two doing some artwork for one of the participating organisations. Inspire says that tickets are still available.

Young people in the media. BBC broadcaster Martyn Lewis launched a campaign this week to encourage young people to get their voice heard in the media. Read more on the Guardian Organ Grinder blog and on the campaign website.

13/11/2008 14:20:00 | 1 comment | Email a friend

Free church

A congregation in Glasgow have been given a free church building by a Brethren fellowship who had become elderly and small in numbers. The story of the building given to the Glasgow Thornwood Free Church (Continuing) can be found on their website. It has also been picked up by the Evening Times (Gift of church is answer to prayers) and the BBC (Church has home prayers answered).

The Minister, Rev William Macleod writes:

If we had been given several million pounds to spend in building a church for ourselves this is exactly what we would have desired. God knows what we need.

This spirit of co-operation is at odds with that seen in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem this week, where rival groups of monks once again fought over the right to worship (Guardian: Christian monks brawl at Jerusalem church, Times: Riot police called as monks clash in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Richard Kew comments here on the Covenant blog.

Reports last month suggested that the inability of the different factions to get along could lead to catastrophe, as the building is in danger of collapse.

12/11/2008 10:30:00 | 1 comment | Email a friend

Remembrance

Bishop David is on his way to deliver a thought for BBC Radio Scotland: Another day another thought
Damian Thompson: On Remembrance Day, spare a thought for the despicable White Poppy appeal
Jonathan Bartley on Ekklesia: The default politics of remembrance
Jonathan Bartley in the Church Times in 2006: Choosing between red and white
A well-crafted blog post by Diamond Geezer: Two minute silence

11/11/2008 10:00:00 | No comments | Email a friend

Obama and the bishops

From today's Church Times: Jubilant bishops greet first black US president

The Bishop of North Carolina, the Rt Revd Michael Curry, said on Wednesday: “This is a day that I honestly never dreamed I would see. I think about my grandmother, who was the daughter of a sharecropper here in North Carolina. My ancestors were slaves here. My daddy went to jail so folk could vote.

Also ‘Hope and healing for the world’

The Bishop of Maseno West in Kenya, the Rt Revd Joseph Wasonga, told Ecumenical News International: “I want to congratulate Obama. I think his winning will bring hope and healing to the whole world. His election has shown that America is truly democratic. . . I hope he will be able to challenge bad governance in Africa.”