University chapel joins Prayer Book Society
THE chapel of St Anselm Hall on the Victoria Park campus of Manchester University has become the first university chapel to become a corporate member of the Prayer Book Society. The Society has funded two choral scholarships, and donated 50 new pew editions of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer to the recently refurbished chapel. Its chaplain, the Revd Hugh Bearn, said that both students and visitors felt “at home using the language of the Prayer Book at evening prayer and holy communion”.
Government appoints faith adviser
THE Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, who is Convener of the Lords Spiritual, has welcomed the appointment of Colin Bloom as Faith Engagement Adviser at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. Mr Bloom is to lead a review into how the Government should engage with faith groups in England, it was announced on Thursday of last week. Bishop Urquhart said: “The announcement is particularly welcome in Birmingham, where the diverse practice of faith plays a significant role in civil society.”
Charity launches mental-health workshop for churches
THE charity Livability has launched a new mental-health workshop, Live Well Together, to help churches build a “community of well-being” for people living with mental illness. A spokesperson for the charity explained: “Many existing training courses help develop individual understanding of mental-health conditions and good practice for identifying and responding to those experiencing difficulty. Live Well Together offers a whole-church approach, to build communities that can go beyond crisis support to flourish together day in and day out.” The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Too often, our response takes an individualised medical approach that focuses solely on diagnosis and treatment, overlooking the strengths each community can bring to help each other to live a healthy life.”
Welsh evangelism project receives £3-million grant
A £3-MILLION project “to make the Christian faith exciting, accessible, and relevant” in north Wales is to receive grant-funding from the Church in Wales’s Evangelism Fund, which was launched last June. The Llan project (“holy place” in Welsh), from the diocese of Bangor, will focus on people who have little or no experience of the Christian faith. It is to lead pilgrimages, and set up a new Welsh-language church and four new community projects. The Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Revd Andy John, said: “Llan will enable us to become more confident in the gospel across the whole diocese.”
Bristol diocese releases lectionary card deck
Diocese of BristolThe LecDeck
A YOUTH worker in the diocese of Bristol has designed a pack of cards to encourage young people to learn about the lectionary. The “LecDeck” is a deck of 52 cards, each printed with a Bible reading selected from the principal service that week; “thought-provoking questions”; a focus for prayer; a weekly “challenge”; and quotes to “stimulate thought, discussion, learning, and application”. It was devised by the youth and children’s adviser for the diocese of Bristol, Dan Jones, when he was struggling to find lectionary-based resources for young people. “The deck of cards can be used at youth clubs, home groups, Christian Unions, families at home, personal study, or given to young people to flick through in a pew. Our hope is that young people will find depth and meaning in the lectionary readings, and the LecDeck enables them to grow deeper in their relationship with God.” LecDeck costs £8 (free P+P).