Desmond Tutu pricks the conscience

There is a sobering and timely reminder of the impact of climate change on Africa from Desmond Tutu in the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' section today.

Reading this article reminded me to order "How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian? - A pocket guide to shrinking your ecological footprint". I'd been meaning to do it for a while.

This booklet is what has been called in the press, "The Ten Green Commandments" from the Church of England.

I and my family have made a lot of progress (eg. lowish emitting cars, light bulbs, holiday to discover the joys of western Scotland by car this year, dutifully using the recycling bins, the missus hangs out clothes to dry, taking showers instead of baths, putting a hippo in the cisterns, using both sides of paper etc etc) but I think this booklet will be helpful in niggling away at our conscience to do more.

The booklet seems to have been written in such a way as to encourage people by praising small successes. For example, it says: "Sign up to stop receiving wasteful junk mail." and "Use the toaster rather than the grill when making toast to conserve energy". Well, we signed up to the Mailing Preference Service, which stops a lot of junk mail, ages ago. And, I can't remember the last time I used the grill to toast bread. So that gives me a warm glow and will encourage me to go further with other things.

The Ten Green Commandments

The Church of England has issued The Ten Green Commandments, which include sharing cars, using energy saving bulbs and taking local holidays. I know they have done this, because I heard it on Radio Two's news. That was during the Alan Titchmarsh programme. (Hello? I can't believe I am listening to Alan Titchmarsh). But can I find the story on the web? I cannot.

Anyway, well done CofE, and I am preparing to have a guilty flurry of activity.

Archbishop says Church must consider reparations for its role in slavery

I very much welcome the statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury that the Church of England should consider making or paying reparations for its part in the slave trade.

The Church of England received £9,000 in the 19th century as compensation for freeing slaves under its control. At the very least, this money, including a substantial amount for inflation and interest, should be paid by the Church as reparations. The Archbishop asks who it should be paid to.

I am sure he will think of someone or some body, or bodies, to pay it to.

One centre of the Church of England's involvement in slavery was Barbados.

A five second Google on "Barbados Charity Poor" reveals the Barbados Children's Trust. Sounds ideal. This charity has an added attraction: Cliff Richard has been involved with it.

Unrelieved Old hymns and King James - a recipe for the slow death of the Church of England?

Christopher Ohlson writes in the Guardian yesterday about the Church of England:

Favourite old hymns seem to have disappeared from the repertoire. Traditional Anglicans go to church for the King James Bible, the old hymns and the architecture. The Bible and the hymns have disappeared, which leaves only the great cathedrals.

Our church has the Bible very prominently featured. Indeed, I would be staggered to hear of any Anglican church that does not have at least one reading from the Bible during its services. It might not be the King James version though. But aren't "thous", "thees" and "wherearts" a little unlikely to bring children and teenagers flocking to the church?

Our church has an old style hymnal and a new style hymnal. We sing from both. I enjoy both.

I have often heard a Telegraph commentator, whose name excapes me, complaining that the Church of England has burnt the Book of Common Prayer. I fact, there are scores of copies kept at the back of our church and they are used regularly.

A little while ago Terry Waite announced he was joining the Quakers 'having tired of what he describes as "chirpy" vicars acting like television presenters in an attempt to engage their congregation.'

I am fortunate enough to go to a church which offers all sorts of services for all types and ages. What is important is that the congregation is not dwindling and it seems that there are new people coming in all the time. Purely using the old hymns and the King James Bible, without offering alternatives in different services, seems to me a recipe for the slow death of the Church of England.

Giving up the bottle for Lent

What is Lent? This is a question which has been on my mind for the last few days. I am glad of that, and I think it is healthy to ask this question as a prelude to the actual Lent period. I had to prepare a reading and commentary for a group of which I am part. As this took place on Shrove Tuesday, "doing" Lent seemed a no-brainer. The discussion went on to the subject of fasting. We (Christians in the West) don't seem to do it much, although we do give up chocolate or alcohol of something. Yet, other faiths, notably the Islamic faith, do fast.

This line of thought led me to this is a commentary from the Bishop of London:

Giving up chocolate, only to resume the habit in a great binge on Easter Day, does little good and even can fill us with an unhelpful sense of spiritual achievement. Fasting with prayer, however, is the fresh and ancient discipline of the Church, which is being rediscovered in our own day. Fasting with prayer can make us more profoundly aware of good as a gift from divine love rather than fuel for insatiable craving. Joy and a greater sense of freedom should be amongst the fruits that follow.

...Lent is the time for fasting and prayer, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays in solidarity with the whole Christian community living and departed. This communal effort saves us from thinking of our own ascetic heroism.

In the past, my lenten activities have been confined to the Christian Aid's Count your blessings. It is a wonderful sheet which gives you a little theme to pray on each day, and a way of totting up some money to give to good causes. For example, today's item is:

Every year 1.6 million of the world's poorest people die from respiratory infections, aggravated by smoke from open fires. Give 5p for every radiator in your home and 10p for every fireplace

This year I will am thinking about expanding my lenten activities. As a start, I have made a momentous decision to do something I have never tried before. I have decided to follow my father's example and abstain from alcohol for lent. So far this has lasted all day today!

By the way, Wikipedia defines Lent as:

In Western Christianity, Lent is the period (or season) from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. In Eastern Christianity, the period before Easter is known as Great Lent to distinguish it from the Winter Lent, or Advent (known in Greek as the "Great Fast" and "Nativity Fast", respectively).

Observer: Anglican schism avoided

As the Anglican church leaders meet in Dar-Es-Salaam, The Observer reports that "A (Anglican church) schism has been avoided after the American wing of the church gave in to African demands that it installs no more gay bishops." However, I can find no confirmation of this report.

It appears that the discussions centre on the Episcopal Church of the USA's response to a 2004 Anglican commission report, which called for a moratorium by the Americans on consecrating gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions.

The panel found that the Episcopal Church was taking the commission's recommendations "extremely seriously" and had complied with its requests for a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops. It also said the U.S. church had responded adequately to a request that it express regret over the strained relations with other Anglicans after Robinson's elevation. But the panel said it was not clear whether the U.S. church had complied with a request that priests refrain from blessing same-sex unions, saying the widely varying practices within the church mean the question "needs to be addressed urgently" by Episcopal leaders.

The Dar-Es-Salaam meeting started with seven archbishops refusing to share communion with the other primates due to the presence of the head of the US Episcopal church.

I find myself feeling great sympathy with the view expressed by Mary Warnock in the Observer today, answering the (perhaps premature) question: "Would an Anglican split have mattered?"

Some people won't mind at all, nor should they: they don't care about the Church of England and they've never heard of a schism. I love the Church of England and I hope it does split, casting off some dogmatists and fanatics. The church doesn't need to apologise for having belatedly upheld the equality of human beings in the eyes of its god. It has taken the great step of ordaining women; next, it must have women bishops, and homosexual bishops as well, without looking over its shoulder to see who is going to be offended. It is the glory of this church to be tolerant; if others don't like it, let them set up on their own.