Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Moving to Purchase Land for Camp and Retreat Center https://t.co/DldUEvojnd #faith #parishministry #anglican #religion #retreatcenters #realestate [Diocesan picture] pic.twitter.com/9KTEUErDPO
— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) September 15, 2023
As the UK sweltered under a ferocious autumn sun this week, Christians took part in 13 climate pilgrimages around the UK, from Glasgow to Brighton, to highlight public concern regarding the climate crisis, and to call on the Government to end new oil and gas expansion.
The Met Office announced that the heatwave in England and Wales this week was the first time since records began that temperatures have been higher than 30ºC for six days in a row in September.
The Revd Vanessa Elston, a pioneer priest in Southwark diocese, took part in a pilgrimage in Battersea. She said: “The public are really concerned about the climate issue. We don’t want to be paying sky-high energy bills to fossil-fuel companies in a cost-of-living crisis. Renewables are cheaper; so it’s high time our leaders made them a viable option on a large scale.”
As temperatures rose, leaders of the G20 group of nations met in Delhi, where they called for peace in Ukraine, agreed that the world needed $4 trillion to fund the energy transition away from fossil fuels, and called for accelerating efforts towards a “phasedown of unabated coal power”; they said that poorer nations needed financial support to ensure a “just transition”.
Before the summit, church leaders representing more than 600 million Christians, had called on the G20 leaders to implement progressive carbon taxes and to end subsidies for fossil fuels, which could raise $3.2 trillion for the needed energy transition.
Read it all (registration or subscription).
Christians held a prayer vigil outside World Vision this week, calling on them to stop banking with @Barclays – the largest funder of fossil fuels in Europe.
My latest piece for the @ChurchTimes on growing pressure for charities to clean up their banking.https://t.co/EtrzeomRfm
— Joe Ware (@wareisjoe) September 14, 2023
The ability of the Church in Wales to bring people together in good conversation and partnership should never be underestimated, the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, told the Church’s Governing Body on Tuesday.
In a presidential address that drew parallels with the story of Nehemiah, and focused on challenge and opportunity, he announced the Church’s hosting of a two-day all-Wales climate summit in the second part of next year. It will draw together academics, activists, pressure groups, and stakeholders to discuss the health of the country’s waterways, and the impact of industry, agriculture, and residential domestic use on its landscape.
Wales had the opportunity to redesign its approach to energy, water, land use, and the sustainability of food supply at every level, Archbishop John said. “We are not the experts, save we know what good signposting looks like, and what human flourishing involves. We have a role as people of neutrality that invites confidence.
“Our capacity and commitment to show what human society could look like is well understood and appreciated. We have seen that church must mean much more than gathering and breaking bread on Sunday; that our commitment to justice, to the creation, to the poor might take us into uncomfortable places. That is what the Kingdom of God invites and involves.”
Read it all (registration or subscription).
The ability of the Church in Wales to bring people together in good conversation and partnership should never be underestimated, the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, told the Church’s Governing Body on Tuesday https://t.co/bJUxYcLzBw
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 6, 2023
The consultation asked diocesan stakeholders for views and suggestions on how dioceses might cooperate to use resources better and on how The Church can best enable the important ministry of suffragan and area bishops, including whether any structural changes should be considered.
In the letter, Dame Caroline Spelman and Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich say that there will not be any centrally-led structural changes to dioceses, or combinations of dioceses as a result of the consultation.
No ‘big bang’ restructuring of Church of England dioceses, says Commission https://t.co/aNgLuS18Bz
— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) August 3, 2023
Awards of nearly £13 million have been made for dioceses to help churches reach more children, young people and families, from toddler groups to apprentice youth ministers, in the latest round of grants for mission from the Church of England.
The grants from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board of the Archbishops’ Council will revitalise parishes and start new congregations. The investments build on already successful projects to create new congregations and reach children and young people in areas including Bolton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Southampton and Wakefield.
In the Diocese of Guildford, £3.27 million has been awarded for the first phase of a nine-year project to reach young people of secondary school age with the good news of Jesus Christ in partnerships with schools.
Our latest grants for dioceses will help churches reach more children, young people and families.
Read more about the projects that will be funded at https://t.co/59728umQib.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) July 28, 2023
I am pleased to update you that we have crossed another important milestone in the progress we are making towards our church sanctuary construction. Since the beginning of the initiation of our contract with Habersham Land Company, the transfer of the property has been contingent upon the financing.
As you know, we have raised the pledge commitments over a number of years, therefore a bridge loan from a lending institution was needed. More specifically, we needed to provide a loan commitment letter from a Bank to prove we could, in fact, build the building.
We have believed for a few months now, that we had enough money in pledges and cash on hand to prove that a bank would want to enter into a loan relationship with us. However, this past Wednesday, the first bank did extend a commitment letter to us. Therefore, what we hoped for and saw good reason to believe would happen, has happened. We have satisfied the conditions to close on the property.
The Parish Church at Habersham in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina nears groundbreaking for new Common Worship building https://t.co/CszGrBO217 #southcarolina #parishministry #anglican #acna #religion #lowcountrylife #stewardship #realestate #beginnings #worship pic.twitter.com/4KgndQ4GKl
— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 27, 2023
The Church of England has taken note. This week, a proposal suggested by members of the Blackburn diocese to trial waiving the statutory fees for couples planning a church wedding (up to £641), was voted through by the General Synod. “While everyone likes the principle of free weddings, there is understandable anxiety about the unknown effect on church finances of doing so: the amendment to authorise a regional trial means we can allay those concerns,” pointed out the Rev Tom Woolford, who originally raised the issue.
The Blackburn diocese cited a 50 per cent fall in Church of England weddings over two decades. Whether saving £641 if you marry in a church away from where you both live, or £539 if you marry in your home parish, on a day that, on average, costs £18,400, will encourage tens of thousands of couples to flock to churches remains to be seen.
“I’m hoping and praying the trial goes really well and we can bring a motion for the full abolition of wedding fees in due course,” the Rev Woolford said. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, described it as “a chance for us to do something which I believe could be really good for us, good for our soul”.
🔴 The General Synod has waived statutory fees – but will the new tactic work?https://t.co/GoAB1QjEdn
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 13, 2023
Christians care about justice. The Bible sets before us a vision of a Kingdom in which the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, and all live in harmony with one another and the created world. We know that it is our duty and joy to build that future Kingdom now, which is why we are so quick to condemn inequality and speak out against poverty.
But, if we are to condemn injustice and inequality when we see it elsewhere, we must also be willing to address it in our own structures. And one area where we stubbornly refuse to do this is finance.
The new Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath, wrote to colleagues recently to outline the severity of his diocese’s financial situation — one that has resulted in urgent engagement with the national Church and a partnership with an independent reviewer to help them identify financial solutions.
This is not because of mistakes on the part of Liverpool diocese; indeed, that diocese has for years benefited from some of the finest financial managers in the Church, and has shown courage and agility in naming and addressing underlying issues. The problem is that it has no inherited assets, whereas the average level of endowment in dioceses nationally is £40 million.
Read it all (registration or subscription).
.@bpblackburn: “If we are one Church, why should not every diocese benefit from that average endowment figure of £40 million? [It] would both wipe out our structural deficit and give us a surplus to invest in mission, without touching the capital sum.”https://t.co/fb7pMrzXPC
— Adrian Hilton💎 (@Adrian_Hilton) July 7, 2023
“It’s amazing what trash is left in our parks, both on our beach and in the interior of the park,” Wilson said, adding that park rangers cannot issue littering citations. “So much work goes in from volunteers to staff, both in parks and on the beach, just picking things up.”
In the U.S., the upcoming Fourth of July holiday typically brings millions of visitors to coastal beach areas for holiday festivities. The significant amount of litter and trash left behind has led the California-based Surfrider Foundation to dub July 5 as the dirtiest day on the beach.
Wilson, who has worked at the park since 1994, said she is bracing herself for what she will find that day. She urges the public to pick up their trash in order to protect the environment.
“A lot of times, we just throw up our hands and think, ‘What can I possibly do? I’m just one person.’ But everybody can make a difference,” Wilson said. “If you pick it up, that means an animal won’t.”
In the U.S., the 4th of July holiday typically brings millions of visitors to coastal beach areas for festivities. The amount of litter and trash left behind has led the California-based Surfrider Foundation to dub July 5 as the dirtiest day on the beach. https://t.co/hujzVUzKB8
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) July 5, 2023
The Church of England could rent out parish churches instead of selling them under proposals to deal with dwindling congregations.
At present, churches struggling to fill pews are often merged with other parishes and their buildings sold off.
However, under plans being considered by the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, buildings would be allowed to lie “fallow” with the option to reopen them in the future.
This could mean renting them out at times and also offering them to other institutions, such as local authorities or even other Christian denominations, under a shared ownership deal.
The Church of England could rent out parish churches instead of selling them under proposals to deal with the crisis of dwindling congregation numbers. Plans emerged in papers ahead of #synod later this week.https://t.co/MG3xaIK0Pk
— Gabriella Swerling (@GabriellaSwerl) July 1, 2023
Last year I identified four areas where greater funding is need now, and these have become no less urgent in the last 12 months.
First, with the cutting of stipendiary ministry we are facing the real possibility of the C of E withdrawing from large parts of the country. Perhaps that needs to happen, in order for new and effective ministry to be re-established at a later date—but we cannot just ignore this reality.
Secondly, clergy stipends have been in long-term decline, and there is a real sense of hardship amongst those clergy with children and without a second income. Given the overall financial situation, including the Commissioners’ assets, I think this is a scandal.
Thirdly, in 2015 the clergy pension was unilaterally reduced by a third, by what I regard as a sleight of hand. Questions in Synod have confirmed that this would cost a mere £25m per annum to rectify. (I say ‘mere’ in the light of the numbers above). This must surely be put right, and better provision made for housing for clergy in retirement who were not able to buy their own property during ministry. If you are a member of General Synod, please sign my Private Members’ Motion proposing that we address this.
Fourthly, our residential theological colleges are under threat and financial pressure, for a range of reasons, but principally because of the disaster of the RME changes, and because of the unmanaged growth of other forms of training. Historically, these have been vital sources of theological learning; we have already lost what was the largest college, and it would be a tragedy to lose another. These are assets which can never be regained once they are lost.
The Church Commissioners have posted another excellent set of results for last year. The assets have doubled in ten years—and increase 17-fold in 30. Why, then, are dioceses and parishes still under such financial pressure? @WalkerMarcus @AngelaTilbyhttps://t.co/yIHfw5Nlt6
— Dr Ian Paul (@Psephizo) May 26, 2023
We thank you, creator God,
for the goodly heritage you offer us,
from green downland
to the deep salt seas,
and for the abundant world
we share with your creation.
Keep us so mindful of its needs
and those of all with whom we share,
that open to your Spirit
we may discern and practice
all that makes for its wellbeing,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–The Rev. Peter Lippiett courtesy of Xavier Univeristy
The SC Chamber is celebrating #EarthDay
Do YOUR part in taking care of the world we live in! 🌎 pic.twitter.com/i4KIUMOZOJ
— SC Chamber of Commerce (@scchamber) April 22, 2023
The City of York Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England have given the go-ahead to install photovoltaic panels on the roof of York Minster.
The cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, is considered one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.
The installation of 199 solar panels on the South Quire Aisle, dating back to 1361, will generate 75,000kWh of power annually and surplus power will be stored in underground batteries to power evening services and events.
Additionally, a panel inside the Minster will display power production and carbon savings, promoting the importance of decarbonisation to visitors.
Authorities say that the decarbonisation project can play a significant role in helping Minster achieve its commitments to sustainability.
Will this be the UK’s first net zero cathedral?
Nearly 200 solar panels will be installed on the roof of York Minster while excess power will be stored in underground batteries@CityofYork@churchofengland
#energycrisis #climatechange #ClimateCrisis https://t.co/ygjaM1rEW7
— Energy Live News (@EnergyLiveNews) March 14, 2023
Parishes across England and Wales can now register to participate in Churches Count on Nature, an annual scheme where people visit churchyards and record the plant and animal species they encounter.
An adult and child taking part in the Churches Count on Nature, using a magnifying glass to look at wildlifeCaring for God’s Acre
The biodiversity survey, supported by environmental charities A Rocha UK and Caring for God’s Acre, as well as the Church of England and the Church in Wales, will take place from June 3 to 11, 2023.
In the last two years, 900 counting events took place across churches in England and Wales, and over 27,000 wildlife records were submitted to Caring for God’s Acre. Churches across all denominations take part in the count each year.
The data will be used to determine where rare and endangered species are located in the country and to aid churches of all denominations to increase biodiversity on their land for the enrichment of the environment and local communities. This year, species on some of the 17,500 acres of churchyards in England alone will be mapped, with a further 1,282 acres of churchyards in Wales.
As graveyards and church land are usually undisturbed and not used for farming, they can be host to a great variety of wildlife not seen in other green spaces, particularly in urban areas. Old churchyards often have fantastic flowery and species-rich grasslands as they have been so little disturbed over the centuries.
Parishes across England and Wales can now register to participate in Churches Count on Nature. 🌳
Read more at https://t.co/wrywVybO6C.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 8, 2023
A better way to think about the moral import of gambling, and by extension the ubiquity of online sports betting, is to consider what it reveals about the gambler. The Hebrew and Christian scriptures warn many times against the excessive desire for wealth. It is remarkable, for example, that the last of the 10 commandments forbids the inward, private act of coveting: that is, the desire for what rightfully belongs to someone else. Jesus asserted—similarly referring to an unseeable sin—that a man cannot serve both God and mammon. The apostle Paul called the love of money “the root of all kinds of evil.”
Most forms of gambling, it’s fair to say, manifest a desire for money so inordinate that one is willing to take stupid risks to get more of it. Heavily investing in a stock you haven’t researched, putting your savings in a Ponzi scheme, betting on the Chiefs or the Eagles with money you can’t afford to lose—these are follies of the human heart. Or, to use a plainer word, sins.
Of course, the Bible doesn’t forbid risky investments. Jesus himself encourages a certain kind of them. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
Sports betting is no longer taboo. Even the Manning boys say it’s OK. But is it wrong? asks Barton Swaim https://t.co/QHnmzXzURL
— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) February 10, 2023
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For members of our church who were out of town or unable to attend our worship service yesterday, I want to share with you the great good news about what God, through many channels and means, has brought about.
I and the Vestry are overjoyed to announce that we have completed the purchase of land for the purpose of one day building a new church for Christ Church Anglican. The purchase of this land, located in the heart of north Mt. Pleasant within the Carolina Park developmental footprint across from Costco on Faison Road, was made possible by what I am confident is the largest single gift in Christ Church’s history – $3.2 million – by a family in the congregation, who wish to remain anonymous. Wonderfully, the donors did not ask for any say in the site selection, but desired that the Vestry seek and select the land, under its own timetable and criteria, knowing that this gift was available to them whenever, in the short or long term, suitable land was eventually found (the decision to purchase this land was unanimous by the Vestry). In addition to the incredible generosity of this gift, I and the Vestry are humbled and inspired by the spiritual maturity and practical wisdom inherent in the manner in which this gift was given. We praise God!
I said “…through many channels and means,” and certainly that is so. Much credit goes to our Senior Warden Jeff Gum, who has effectively spearheaded the search over a several month period, always in close consultation with me and the Vestry. We partnered with an outstanding realtor whose hard work and professional knowledge has guided us at every step. During our due diligence we first gathered input from the clergy, the staff and the Vestry about our ministry needs and wants, and then engaged both a local engineering firm and an architecture firm (a local architect who specializes regionally in church design) to help us determine if this site could accommodate our needs. Our work has involved individuals in the congregation with specialized knowledge or expertise, as well as other professionals in the community and town administration who could help answer our questions about a myriad of issues from wetlands to soil analysis to parking codes and much more. Among the many hours dedicated to this project, perhaps the most important has been the time spent by the Vestry prayer team, lifting to God our need, our search, and our discernment. I am grateful for and give God praise for everyone who has worked to bring us to this moment.
Amazing news!! We are rejoicing Christ Church Anglican, Mt. Pleasant! In God's grace & with the gift from a generous parish family they have purchased land for a new church! Praise be to God! Go to our Facebook page to watch the video to learn more! https://t.co/74o2LU9diZ #ADOSC pic.twitter.com/q3MRQiTfMm
— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) December 20, 2022
The Anglican Church of Canada’s national office is forecast to have a balanced budget this year—but substantial deficits and program cuts are likely in the years to follow, documents prepared for the November meeting of Council of Synod (CoGS) state.
The budget for 2023 is expected to have a modest surplus of $43,000, according to a budget document prepared for CoGS and dated Oct. 27. This includes the projected cost of $791,900 for the meeting of General Synod planned for the summer, as well as a gathering of Sacred Circle planned in the spring. To balance its budget, the church will use just over $1 million in funds that were set aside in previous years to cover these expenses, General Synod treasurer Amal Attia told CoGS. The national church was expected to have a similarly modest surplus in 2022, she said.
Prospects for coming years, however, as revenues are expected to fall, are not as rosy. The Oct. 27 document forecasts a deficit of $495,000 in 2024, $1.45 million in 2025, $460,000 in 2026 and $524,000 in 2027, and a budget narrative predicts cuts at Church House.
“Years 2023 to 2027 in the trend indicate that in the absence of increased revenue, program cuts will likely be necessary,” it states.
.@generalsynod sees deficits, program cuts post-2023 "Years 2023 to 2027 in the trend indicate that in the absence of increased revenue, program cuts will likely be necessary." https://t.co/l1lUf8HRRP
— anglicanjournal (@anglicanjournal) December 12, 2022
The annual State of Giving report from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) found giving to ministries increased more in 2021 than it had any year out of the last 10. Inflation and the pandemic both raised real concerns for ministry leaders trying to make ends meet, but evangelicals responded to the crises with generosity.
The ECFA survey of about 1,800 members found they received more than $19 billion in donations in 2021. Adjusting for inflation, giving went up by about 3 percent. In the last 10 years, the increase has been closer to 2 percent.
“Contrary to what many expected, giving during the pandemic to ECFA members was strong,” Michael Martin, ECFA president and CEO, wrote in the report. “The findings we unveil emphasize the good work that ECFA members are doing to serve and expand their services in the face of inflation and other challenges.”
If Christians are excited and optimistic about the work of parachurch organizations, though, the numbers reveal a different story when it comes to megachurches. The ECFA surveyed 87 churches that belong to the financial accountability organization. Giving to those congregations dropped by 6.6 percent in 2021, following a decline of 1.1 percent the year before.
Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
But the survey also finds that highly religious Americans (those who say they pray each day, regularly attend religious services and consider religion very important in their lives) are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.
The survey reveals several reasons why religious Americans tend to be less concerned about climate change. First and foremost is politics: The main driver of U.S. public opinion about the climate is political party, not religion. Highly religious Americans are more inclined than others to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and Republicans tend to be much less likely than Democrats to believe that human activity (such as burning fossil fuels) is warming the Earth or to consider climate change a serious problem.
Religious Americans who express little or no concern about climate change also give a variety of other explanations for their views, including that there are much bigger problems in the world today, that God is in control of the climate, and that they do not believe the climate actually is changing. In addition, many religious Americans voice concerns about the potential consequences of environmental regulations, such as a loss of individual freedoms, fewer jobs or higher energy prices.
Most adults (including Christians) consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But our new survey also finds that highly religious Americans are less likely to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe. 🧵https://t.co/3zazVaEwYl
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) November 17, 2022
Solar panels could be installed on the roof of York Minster for the first time in a bid to tackle rising energy bills.
The cathedral’s gas and electricity costs are expected to triple next year, a Minster spokesperson said.
Plans to install 199 solar panels on the roof of the South Quire Aisle have been submitted to York Council.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said the Minster was “committed to taking a lead on addressing the climate emergency.”
York Minster plan for solar panels as energy bills triple https://t.co/aZYphcKpO7
— BBC Science News (@BBCScienceNews) November 18, 2022
The Archbishops’ Council has pledged £2 million of its £25-million Social Impact Investment Programme to a fund that delivers supported accommodation across the UK, it was announced on Tuesday.
The second Social and Sustainable Housing Fund (SASH II), which is managed by Social and Sustainable Capital, allows charities and organisations to acquire and own portfolios of property to provide high-quality housing and targeted support to vulnerable people.
A first SASH fund in 2019 deployed £64.5 million to 20 organisations. SASH II aims to pool £125 million to help more than 30 organisations purchase 1000 properties, which it says would provide homes for 10,000 people over the life of the fund, including people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, fleeing domestic violence, experiencing mental illness or substance addiction, ex-offenders, asylum-seekers, and young people leaving care.
Current estimates suggest that as many as 200,000 people in the UK are living in temporary, transitional housing.
Archbishops’ Council pledges £2 million to house vulnerable people https://t.co/rYp0bBdQmX
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 1, 2022
You may listen directly or download it if you prefer.
Postcard-Farm-Fresh done in Adobe Illustrator
Proverbs 3:9 NIVHonor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. #EncouragingArt #Fruit #AdobeIllustartor pic.twitter.com/GQrG0KX0na
— Encouraging Art (@CharlesBriley3) September 18, 2020
New mothers and the elderly are among the first to take advantage of a warm spaces scheme to help people struggling to afford to heat their own homes.
Cafes, churches and libraries across Bristol are opening their doors as energy prices rise this winter.
The city council asked businesses and public buildings to join the scheme in the summer.
As well as warmth, many of the spaces are offering services like financial advice and homework support.
A cafe in the Wellspring Settlement community centre in Barton Hill is taking part in the initiative twice a week and is also providing food.
People are only asked to pay what they can afford, with the rest subsidised by the council.
Bristol warm places scheme welcomes first residents – a lot of hard work has gone into establishing warm spaces across the city. For information on cost of living support @BristolCouncil has put in place please go to https://t.co/ZF99TzZ9F6 https://t.co/7C6jRf6nZI
— Cllr Asher Craig (@CllrAsherCraig) October 12, 2022
The Energy Costs Grant will be distributed to dioceses to enable them to help Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) cover the increased cost of heating and lighting church buildings this winter.
Dioceses will also be able to use some of their fund allocation to make additional targeted hardship payments for clergy and other employed ministers to cover household bills, in particular energy costs.
The new funding comes after £3 million was made available earlier this year by the Church of England for dioceses to distribute to clergy and lay ministers facing particular hardship because of the cost of living crisis.
The Energy Costs Grant is accompanied by information aimed at helping churches to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint.
The Church of England is to provide £15 million for dioceses to help churches struggling to pay energy costs.
Learn more about the Energy Costs Grant at https://t.co/xw1ACR3Lbk.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) October 12, 2022
Charitable giving—including only monetary donations and the value of time donated —remained flat, at just under 3% of global GDP in 2021 despite an increase in altruistic attitudes and behaviors across the globe, according to a Citi report released Tuesday.
On average, prosocial behaviors like the acts of donating, volunteering, and helping strangers all increased by nearly 25% last year compared to pre-pandemic levels. Yet, charitable giving did not rise in most countries, and even fell in inflation-adjusted terms in some countries, according to the report, “Philanthropy and the Global Economy.”
“We were sort of hoping that after the pandemic that donations would continue in the trajectory and they really, for the most part, did not,” says Karen Kardos, head of philanthropic advisory at Citi Private Bank and a co-author of the report.
Global inflation and uncertainties in financial markets may create further headwinds for charitable giving. Globally, 55% of donors expect to give the same amount in 2022 as they did in 2021. In the U.S., the country with the most monetary donations, more than 60% of donors planned to be more cautious in 2022 as recession risks weigh on their confidence, survey data show.
Even as Altruism Grows Around the World, Charitable Giving Remains Flat https://t.co/T3JAdY2rPO
— Andy Ho (@andyho) October 5, 2022
Cathedral music faces a serious sustainability crisis and is in danger of losing credibility with the public, unless it faces up to the challenges of widening participation and increasing affordability, a comprehensive report from the Cathedral Music Trust, published on Sunday, has concluded.
The report acknowledges that cathedral music — “one of the glories of English cultural heritage” — has an importance in British national life which goes far beyond its place in daily worship. “The UK’s flagship cathedral choirs are renowned worldwide and consistently perform to the highest standards of excellence. Cathedral music is one of the UK’s greatest and most distinctive cultural assets,” it says.
It also emphasises: “Cathedral music and particularly the service of choral evensong have seen a sustained surge in popularity even at a time of decreasing church attendance overall. Many people love cathedral music for its transcendent beauty and numinous quality, whether or not they are religiously active, and there is strong support and engagement for cathedral music from those interested in heritage, the artistic value of the music and its place in education.”
But, without compromising on excellence, it must evolve to meet the challenges of the context in which it now operates, the report concludes. Cathedral choirs are “expensive to run and difficult to manage”, it acknowledges. “There is a risk that cathedral music becomes polarised between well-endowed choral foundations with linked choir schools which produce music of the highest quality but are perceived as exclusive, and those cathedrals which recruit their choristers from local schools but struggle to find the time and money to reach similar standards of excellence.”
Read it all (registration or subscription).
Cathedral music faces a serious sustainability crisis and is in danger of losing credibility with the public, unless it faces up to the challenges of widening participation and increasing affordability, a report from the Cathedral Music Trust has concluded https://t.co/F2OZZxLtK1
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 4, 2022
Walking Together With Those who Are Leaving their Property
Give to the Jerusalem Fund
In the new season that lies before us, working together as the Body of Christ calls for a new task: providing assistance in replanting the eight congregations required to leave their historic properties….
To that end we would like to raise $1,000,000 to be used exclusively for this initial work. To date, $250,000 has already been committed. We plan to raise the balance (and hopefully more) through generous individual donations from parishioners, through grant and foundation applications, through tithing from planned parish capital campaigns and through a planned Diocesan Ingathering scheduled for early in 2023.
Reflecting on the agreement, Bishop Edgar said, “This settlement agreement allows us to invest our diocesan energy, time, focus, and resources in gospel ministry rather than litigation. While the losses we have experienced, including those of St. Christopher and several of our parish buildings are painful, I am grateful that the work we have done has brought an end to litigation between our dioceses. I am grateful, too, for the willingness to work to avoid further litigation that Bishop Woodliff-Stanley showed throughout this process. These hard past few months were made easier by her kind and generous willingness to compromise to reach this settlement.”
Bishop Woodliff-Stanley echoed this sentiment: “From the very beginning of this process, I have been grateful for the gracious spirit of Bishop Edgar in doing just this work with us. I am grateful for his leadership and his generosity. While each diocese has had to leave things on the table to get to this moment, and while we experience pain over losses of some of the historic churches our members hold dear, even still, we have seen the Spirit at work in drawing us toward God’s redemptive way of love at every juncture.”
While we give thanks that the legal disputes at the diocesan level are being brought to a close, we nevertheless recognize that a number of our parishes await a final resolution of their legal concerns. It is our prayer that these issues will soon come to a resolution as well as we move forward together as a diocese into this next season of ministry.
What does this next season look like? For some, it will be full of new challenges – and opportunities – as they as they learn to minister outside the walls of their beloved church buildings. For others we’ll seek to pull together as a diocese and grow in our roles as supportive brothers and sisters. For all of us we’ll continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and pursue the work of the gospel in South Carolina and beyond out from under the shadow of litigation with a renewed focus on our mission and ministry. Therefore, let us move forward prayerfully, in thanksgiving for this Spirit-led settlement, and in hope for the work of the Gospel and continued in-breaking of the Kingdom of God.
The Rt. Revd Chip Edgar, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina
The Revd B. Tyler Prescott, President, ADOSC Standing Committee
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We welcome our new Bishop, the Rt Revd Chip Edgar, who was consecrated March 12, 2022. Let's pray regularly for our new bishop, his wife and family and labor alongside him to produce fruit in the vineyard to which we're called. View the service: https://t.co/4dRKj3inei pic.twitter.com/ShByUuXRIk
— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) March 13, 2022
The Church of England, beset by fears of scarcity and chasing a vision of “something bigger and better”, should look to the experience of the Church in Iran, which has survived being stripped of everything that it possessed, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, told a Church House webinar this week.
Finances and buildings were “both a huge gift to us but also a great curse; they are like nooses around our necks”, she said. “And I think if something were to happen, and they were all to be swept away, we would find at that point new life coming.”
Her comments were made during the first in a series of webinars exploring the Church’s Vision and Strategy for the 2020s: “Has strategy eaten theology for breakfast?” Introducing it, Dr Nick Shepherd, a senior vision and strategy consultant at Church House, acknowledged the existence of concerns about the salience of strategic terminology and planning (Comment, 1 July 2022).
Dr Francis-Dehqani offered episcopal solidarity with such concerns in June (News, 8 July 2022), when, in an address to her diocesan synod, she warned against “putting too much emphasis on our human powers — that if only we try hard enough and pull together well enough and all follow the same programme, then we can solve the problems and challenges and ensure the future survival of the Church, either much as it has been in the past, or preferably producing a shinier, bigger, better version.”
“I don’t see it [growth] as our primary Christian calling, which is actually about valuing what is small and fragile and vulnerable, and I think the language has put a lot of pressure on some of our clergy and lay leaders, who then feel they are failing.” https://t.co/2q5pw7WWRo
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 26, 2022