January 2015
in review
The National Church Institutions working for you
www.churchofengland.org
£15 million fund for Church roofs announced in Autumn Statement WELCOME to the latest edition of InReview, a monthly newsletter from the National Institutions of the Church of England. Our aim is to keep people in touch with the activities of the Archbishops’ Council,
Church Commissioners, the Pensions Board and other bodies who serve the Church at national level. Do check out In Focus, our sister publication designed to be a centrespread for A5 parish magazines.
The Church of England has welcomed a dedicated £15 million fund announced by the Government for the repair of roofs and rainwater goods on listed church buildings. The Chancellor announced the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund in his Autumn Statement. Grants between £10,000 and £100,000 will be available to listed places of worship of all faiths and denominations across the UK, where roof and rainwater goods repairs are deemed to be urgent and necessary. The deadline for applications is 30 January 2015, with awards to be allocated by the end of March 2015. The scheme will be administered by the
National Heritage Memorial Fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and ChurchCare will be providing support for dioceses and parishes. The Bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd Dr John Inge, lead bishop for cathedrals and church buildings also welcomed the news: “We are delighted that this generous fund has been announced so soon after the addition of 805 parish churches to English Heritage’s Heritage at Risk Register. This will make a real and lasting difference to parishes that are awarded grants. A secure roof can last 100 years and will prevent gradual, and ultimately
costly, decay of fabric. It will keep these important buildings warm and secure, allowing them to remain open and welcoming for both worship and wider community use. This fund will particularly provide relief for those parishes that are resourcepoor, allowing them to focus their attention on growing their ministry and engaging with local people.” More information on the Listed Places of Worship: Roof Repair Fund can be found at: bit.ly/roofrepairfundnotes A dedicated application website is available at: bit.ly/roofrepairfund
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Synod embraces Covenant to tackle “urgent missionary work” The Bishop of Coventry has called on the CofE to “face head on” the task of closer Anglican–Methodist unity as Synod endorsed recommendations made in a report on the covenant between the two Churches. The report, presented to November’s group of General Synod sessions jointly by the Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth and Peter Howdle, Methodist Co-Chair of the Joint Implementation Commission, made three specific recommendations supporting the ongoing work between the two Churches.
Bishop Christopher, in a presentation of the report and motion said: “The urgency of the missionary task in our nation, the strong affirmations of ecclesial recognition made in the Covenant, the experience of working together over decades, the complexities of what has become known as ‘shared ministry’ have all made the question of interchangeability of ministry between our Churches a matter that we must now face head on.” The Archbishop of York welcomed the call to unity
for mission in the subsequent debate, saying: “We need to be more committed to joyous evangelism where the gospel is being preached… Could we resolve it [unity between the Churches] so we can get on with the most important job: the re-evangelisation of England?” Synod voted overwhelmingly to support the motion and the recommendations of the report, which is available at: bit.ly/covenantreport
Nuclear weapons issue among newly archived Social Responsibility catalogue Materials from the Church’s social responsibility board has been catalogued for the first time, covering a wide range of issues from the political and social unrest in South Africa to the accumulation of nuclear weapons and the ‘Arms Race’. The materials come from the Board of Social Responsibility (BSR) which sought to ‘promote and co-ordinate the thought and action of Church in matters affecting family, social and industrial life’. The materials which cover the period between 1958 and the mid 90s has been catalogued in a 16 month project, funded by the National Catalogue Grants Programme, and will be available to the public. Simon Sheppard, an Archivist who has worked on the project said: “The vast array of subjects included is testament to the
Church’s determination to carry out what it perceived as its duty and be informed on all matters affecting a modern, changing society. The detailed investigations undertaken by the Board into many of these issues have left a record in the BSR collection which clearly underline this. “We are confident that this archive will prove to be a really useful resource to historians
from a range of disciplines across the globe.” The Records Centre project has now begun further work cataloguing material from the Church of England Board of Mission and Unity which is expected to be completed this Summer. The full catalogue is available at bit.ly/bsrcatalogue
ChurchCare photo competition winners announced Winners of the first ChurchCare photography competition have been announced. The competition run by the Church of England Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division in partnership with the Church Times, announced the winning entries in three categories: • Worship and Prayer • Community activities • Chelfie - described as a category for “you. your church and its people” To read more from ChurchCare about the competition: bit.ly/churchlifeinpictures The winner of the Worship and Prayer category, taken by Ian Wyllie
New Low Carbon Investments make Church Commissioners Largest Private Commercial Forestry Investor in UK The Church Commissioners for England have announced the purchase of a forestry portfolio from UPM Tilhill for £49 million. The purchase means the Commissioners are the largest private commercial forestry investor in the UK. The new purchase comprises 15 separate forests, 13 of which are in Scotland and 2 in Wales, and includes two operating wind farms and a mountain biking visitor centre in Wales. The new portfolio extends to 6922 hectares (ha) of productive forestry and increases the Commissioners’ overall UK forestry holding to 13,000ha, with a total value of around £100 million. All of the forests are certified to FSC standards and managed to both the UK Woodland Assurance Standard and the UK Forestry Standard ensuring the highest social, economic and environmental criteria are met and underpinning the Church Commissioners’ reputation for sustainable forest management. The Scottish portfolio also includes 434 ha near Kinross, Perthshire, 300 ha of which was
a new planting scheme earlier this year on low grade farmland significantly contributing to the Scottish Government’s annual target of creating 6000 hectares of new productive forestry. Chris West, Investment Manager at the Commissioners commented, “We are delighted to complete this acquisition which brings our total forestry portfolio to 4% of the Commissioners’ total assets. Over the past five years the Commissioners have built a high quality diverse portfolio of forestry assets in the UK, US and Australia, which will be managed for the long term.” Edward Mason, Head of Responsible Investment at the Commissioners added, “The Commissioners are delighted to be adding to their low carbon investments with this further significant investment in sustainable forestry.” The Commissioners were advised by Aitchesse Ltd on the acquisition. Aitchesse are based in Perth and are the appointed UK forestry managers for the Church Commissioners for England.
New book on getting your church noticed launched A new book offering help for churches to reach their congregations and communities - using everything from social media and mobile-friendly websites to more traditional publicity methods has been launched. ‘100 Ways To Get Your Church Noticed’ has been written by Neil Pugmire, Communications adviser for Portsmouth’s Church of England diocese, and offers advice to churches on everything from creating a dynamic Facebook page to designing effective posters, and from putting together a must-read parish magazine to getting stories covered in the media. The book was originally published in 2006, but has been rewritten and expanded to include details of how churches can use social media, create mobile apps and put
together websites that look good on mobiles and tablets. It also includes advice on making good use of church buildings and noticeboards, using text messages and email newsletters, taking good photographs and spreading a word-of-mouth reputation by helping out in the local community. The book is available now at: bit.ly/getyourchurchnoticed