Mission and Fresh Expressions 2009: A Survey of Diocesan Resources

Rev David Keen did a great piece of research on this on his excellent blog a while ago, pulling together the resrouces available from Diocesan websites on Fresh Expressions. Matt Wardman, from the political site The Wardman Wire, has now published it in a neat downloadable .pdf format.

If you're into Fresh Expressions, Mouse suggests you give it a read.

Blogging off to Greenbelt

Blogging will be paused for the weekend while Mouse is at Greenbelt with Mrs Mouse and Baby Mouse. Mouse will post his thoughts on Greenbelt when he gets back.

New church will be rubbish (literally)

The idea of the church made from rubbish came about last year. The congregation from Colston Milton parish church decided that they would combine their requirement for a new building with an attempt to make a statement about global warming and an attempt to bring the community together in the project.

It was a rather ambitious scheme, which all but the most optimistic felt had only a small chance of being seen through to completion.

Nevertheless, the people of Milton were undeterred. After a grant of £43,000 from the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge fund for the feasibility study, they now have a clear plan of action. The concept is to build a church from drinks cans, tyres, straw bails, shipping containers and other assorted rubbish.

The Reverend Christopher Rowe said, "This time last year we were just dreaming and people thought our ideas were a bit mad but we have now shown that it can be done.

"Our new building may be 'pure rubbish' but it is also beautiful, we will be taking unwanted things and using them to create something new and exciting."

Mouse says well done Rev Rowe, on coming up with such an innovative scheme. Do check out the images on the Church of Scotland's website - it really does look pretty smart.

Friday round up

Here's my round up from the blogosphere. Ten of the best from the blogs this week.

1. Heresy Corner on Sebastian Fauks's comments on the Koran and the Bible

2. Ruth Gledhill on the latest hot air from Tony Blair

3. Dave Walker provides a useful Greenbelt map on the Church Times blog

4. Bishop Nick Baines on the release of el-Megrahi

5. Jonny Baker tempts us with freebies

6. David Keen on the good Facebook

7. About.com on 'Boobstock' and Raelians

8. Maggi Dawn provides a festival prayer for the weekend

9. Christianity Today on Ted Kennedy's Catholic faith

10. Christianity Today Liveblog on how money makes you happy (sort of)

Microsoft racism row - where did the black face go?

Lets play a little game of spot the difference.

The picture at the top has writing in English, and three people in a meeting. The picture at the bottom has writing in Polish and three people in a meeting.

Hold on, the chap in the middle seems to have changed from being black, to being white.

Microsoft seem rather embarrassed by this gaffe, and have already removed the image and have promised to investigate how this happened and who is responsible.

The story is that the first picture is on Microsoft's US website, and the second on their Polish website. However, someone has rather crudely changed on of the faces from black to white. If you look really closely you'll notice that they didn't bother to change his hand.

One blogger has sarcastically commented that perhaps the white face and black hand are there to symbolise interracial harmony, showing that someone can be black and white at the same time.

Mouse does agree that this is simply wrong - cack-handed at best, pandering to racism at worst.

Why should Christians vote Labour / Conservative / Lib Dem?

That question has been answered by an MP from each of the three main political parties in a new book, VotewiseNow!. The book is the product of the Jubilee Centre, and is designed to help Christians engage with 'issues', such as the economy, criminal justice, race relations, and employment.

The book outlines the key debates, then gives an MP from each party the space to pitch for the Christian vote.

The Jubilee Centre has also released a group discussion guide and an accompanying short video, which poses questions such as ‘Which party has the best answers to the global economic crisis?’

Mouse is pleased with the approach, but since he hasn't seen the book yet, can't comment on the quality of the content. He will be ordering a copy shortly, and will report back (if there's anything worth commenting on in there).

Sebastian Faulks: Koran a 'depressing rant', Old Testament 'crazy'

Sebastian Faulks has got himself into a spot of bother over comments on the Koran and the Bible in an interview with the Sunday Times.

His angle seems to be around the literary merits of the books.

Now, Mouse has to admit that he can't find the choicest quotes being bandied about in the write up in the Times, but Faulks is being widely quoted as having said this:

“It’s a depressing book. It really is. It’s just the rantings of a schizophrenic. It’s very one-dimensional, and people talk about the beauty of the Arabic and so on, but the English translation I read was, from a literary point of view, very disappointing.

“There is also the barrenness of the message. I mean, there are some bits about diet, you know, the equivalent of the Old Testament, which is also crazy. If you look again at those books of the law, Leviticus or Deuteronomy, there’s a lot about who you are allowed to sleep with, and if a man had lost his testicles he wouldn’t enter into the presence of God, that is just terrible. But the great thing about the Old Testament is that it does have these incredible stories. Of the 100 greatest stories ever told, 99 are probably in the Old Testament and the other is in Homer. With the Koran there are no stories.

Some have called this brave. Riazat Butt from the Guarding thinks Faulks doesn't understand the Koran. Andrew Brown of the Guardian points out that Faulks has been rapidly backtracking, but points out that the biggest thing missing in this story is a wave of outrage from Muslims. Brown makes the inevitable comparison with the Rushdie affair but is of the view that British Muslims have 'grown more tolerant'.

Mouse is not so sure. Part of any 'Muslims outraged at ...' story is always an effort by the media to track down some outraged Muslims to feature. This story doesn't seem to have hit the headlines in quite the same way, so the usual suspects have not yet been rounded up. If the media want to find outraged Muslims, however, Mouse is pretty sure they can find some.

From the Christian perspective, it is clear that Faulks is no supporter. However, he does say that of the 100 greatest stories ever told, 99 are in the Bible. Sometimes we forget that the Bible is such a rich source of stories, and fail to appreciate them for that, becoming too obsessed with the meaning behind the words to simply appreciate the words themselves.

Whatever the fall out from Faulks comments are, they certainly provide food for thought.

Top 10 twittering CofE bishops and clergy - August update

Like the last update Mouse has used Twitter Grader for an independent third party view. This takes all your twitter statistics into account to give an overall grade of your strength.

No change in the top two, but Bishop Pete overtakes Rev Wookey for the last place on the podium for August.

The top 10 (actually 13 due to a 6 way split for 8th position) are as follows:

1. Bishop Alan Wilson (@alantlwilson) - 99

2. Archbishop John Sentamu (@johnsentamu) - 98.5

3. Bishop Pete Broadbent (@pete173) - 95.2

4.= Rev Frances Wookey (@countryvicar) - 95

4.= Bishop Nick Baines (@nickbaines) - 95

6.= Rev David Meldrum (@vicardave) - 94

6.= Rev Peter Ould (@pould) - 94

8.= Rev Alastair McCullom (@revdal) - 93

8.= Rev Arun Arora (@revarun) - 93

8.= Rev David Keen (@davidmkeen) - 93

8.= Rev James Ogley (@riggwelter) - 93

8.= Rev Michele Barzey (@Afrobehn) - 93

8.= Rev Simon Rundell (@frsimon) - 93

Here's the full list of Bishops and Clergy currently in the Twurch of England twitter stream on this blog. Mouse hasn't had any updates for a little while, so please do let me know if you are a twittering bishop or vicar in the good old CofE.

Rt Rev Alan Wilson	alantlwilson
Rev Alastair Cutting	alcutting
Rev Alastair McCullom	revdal
Rev Ali Mepham	AliMepham
Rev Andrew Dunlop	tallandrew
Rev Andrew McMullon	drew_mac
Rev Andrew Sillis	andrewsillis
Rev Annette Reed	Nettievic
Rev Arun Arora	revarun
Rev Ashlee Collishaw	revshlee
Rev Charlie Kosla	CharlieKosla
Rev Christian Selvaratnam	selvaratnam
Rev David Hamid	eurobishop
Rev David Hodgson	dhodgson
Rev David Keen	davidmkeen
Rev David Meldrum	vicardave
Rt Rev David Rossdale	Fishbish
Rt Rev David Thomson	bpdt
Rev David Walsh	davidwalsh1959
Rev David Waters	ely_dyo
Rev Ellen Loudon	ellenloudon
Rev Frances Wookey	countryvicar
Rev Gavin Ashenden	gavinashenden
Rev Harry Steele	edwinharry
Rev Howard Jameson	howardjameson
Rev Ian Spencer	ianjspencer
Rev James Ogley	riggwelter
Rev Jeremy Fagan	faganj
Rev Jim Benton-Evans	revpafc
Rev Johanna Clare	johannaclare
Rev John Carter	johncomm
Mst Rev John Sentamu	johnsentamu
Rev John Walker	majiigi
Rev Judith Hubbard	Arlingham
Rev Kate Bottley	katebottley
Rev Kathryn Flemming	goodinparts
Rev Katy Francis	kathroom
Rev Leah Vasey-Saunders	knittingvicar
Rev Lorraine Dixon	Ayodele05
Rev Maggi Dawn	maggidawn
Rev Mark Beach	RugbyRector
Rev Mark Fletcher	markkfletcher
Rev Mark Godson	liminalspace
Rev Mark Meynell	Quaerentia
Rev Matthew Woodward	FrMatthew
Rev Michele Barzey	Afrobehn
Rev Mike Bursell	mikecamel
Rev Mike Resch	RevResch
Rt Rev Nick Baines	nickbaines
Not disclosed	submergedgate
Rev Pam Smith	revpamsmith
Rev Paul Walker	pgw71
Rt Rev Pete Broadbent	pete173
Rev Peter Ould	pould
Rev Phil Simpson	MullaNasruddin
Rev Phillip Ritchie	philritchie
Rev Rachel Rosborough	revrachros
Rev Richard Cornfield	RectorRich
Rev Richard Frank	richardfrank
Rev Rob	changingworship
Rev Robin Usher	RobinUsher
Rev Sam Norton	elizaphanian
Rev Scott Watts	revscottwatts
Rev Simon Harvey	simonjharvey
Rev Simon Rundell	frsimon
Rev Steven Croft	Steven_Croft
Rev Stuart Tanswell	RevStuart
Rev Tim Norwood	timmk
Rev Will Adam	gitte

By the way if anyone is interested, The Church Mouse's Twitter grade is 98. Please do follow on Twitter if you don't already.

Twitter to God: site offers to insert tweets into the Western Wall

It now seems that God is on Twitter. I don't mean the many people using names like "Almighty God", which seem rather blasphemous to Mouse. I mean that it is now possible to have your tweets printed and inserted into Jerusalem's Western Wall. Jews believe that this wall is holy and offers a direct line to God.

Twitter messages (tweets) containing prayers are sent by direct message to twitter.com/thekotel, meaning that your prayers won't be visible to the public, unlike most messages on Twitter, which are open for anyone to read. They are then printed out by Alon Nir, a resident of Tel Aviv, and delivered on a regular basis to the Western Wall.

This service is already available by text message, email and fax, however, around 1,000 people have already taken advantage of the new Twitter service. Reuters have an interview with Nir.

Government debt - an issue of social justice?

Gordon Brown said, "I tell you we have learnt from past mistakes. Just as you cannot spend your way out of recession, you cannot, in a global economy, simply spend your way through a recovery either. Losing control of public spending doesn't help the poor".

Of course, he hasn't said that recently. It was in 1996 when, as shadow chancellor, he was blasting the Tories for increasing public debt.

The irony is rather delicious now, and has been seized upon with relish by the current shadow chancellor, George Osborne, in an article in the Times. His point is this. Gordon Brown then made the point that spending more on servicing debt than educating children is immoral. Losing control of public finances ends up driving the fiscal policies of the government, ultimately resulting in less to spend on social programmes. George Osborne was claiming the same ground, taking on the government's charge that a Tory government would cut its way out of recession, by claiming that it would 'reform' its way to lower cost public services.

Whilst Osborne is clearly looking for a line which gives some political advantage, he does have a point, just as Brown did in 1996. Government debt is an issue of social justice. Last month the government borrowed £8bn in the month of July alone. The last budget forecast annual borrowing of an eye watering £175bn, although economists now believe that to be optimistic, and a figure of around £200bn may be more realistic.

If we accept that, then it means that everyone who cares about social justice should care about government debt. Unfortunately churchmen tend to make dodgy economists, so Mouse is reluctant to advise church leaders to start lecturing politicians on the subject. However, they should get involved in these issues, and invoke their influence wherever possible, supporting the work of Christian economists and policy groups.

Government debt is too important an issue to be left to the government.

Compassion under fire

The decision by Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds has ignited a fierce debate. Some are horrified that compassion could be shown to someone convicted by due legal process of mass murder who has shown no indication of regret or repentance. In fact, he still protests his innocence. Others are proud that a Scottish government have established compassion as a key part of their judicial system, and taken such a tough decision in the face of opposition.

There has been surprisingly little comment in the religious media, despite the fact that the principle of compassion is surely square central to the Christian faith.

Bishop Nick Baines comments on his blog about what a tough decision it has been, and on the desire to reclaim the concept of compassion as "something strong and costly, deserving of respect and honor - not to be spat out as a term of derision, implying weakness or cowardice". Quite right too.

Most interesting, however, has been the reaction of the Church of Scotland, which welcomed the release. Even before Mr MacAskill's decision, Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Kirk's church and society council, had appealed to the government for Megrahi's release. Rev Galloway said:

“We have to continue to feel hugely for the families of those who died in the Lockerbie bombing. Nonetheless it would seem that the compassionate response would be to release Mr Megrahi to his family for the remaining days of his life.

The Christian faith places forgiveness and compassion close to its centre and while the justice system rightly always includes an element of punishment, in the current circumstances we have to be able to lay some of that aside.

In other words, to err on the side of compassion and forgiveness is where on balance we believe society should seek to lean."

The issue at the core of this seems to Mouse to be whether it is right to grant compassionate release to a man who has shown no remorse. In the Christian faith, Jesus did just that. He wept over Jerusalem then accepted death on a cross that everyone may be saved, no strings attached. However, that is not the end of the story. To receive that forgiveness, one has to accept the sacrifice offered on one's behalf. That involves accepting the sin that required that sacrifice in the first place, and committing oneself to a new life in Christ, leaving the old sinful life behind.

First things first. It seems clear that the decision to release Megrahi is the right one given Scotland's laws on this issue. MacAskill has been through due process, and has given the right technical decision. In that sense, Mouse is proud that MacAskill has not been influenced by other factors, but has done his duty and is prepared to face the inevitable flack for it.

Mouse's view, however, is that since Megrahi has not shown remorse, compassionate release should not have been granted. That is, of course, not how the law sees it. Compassion is not related to remorse, but merely on medical evidence.

There are a number of other side issues. Some believe Megrahi is innocent. However, he has been convicted in a court of law 'beyond reasonable doubt', so conspiracy theories should be ignored until the original conviction is overturned. Since Megrahi has dropped his appeal, this will never happen. Attention has also focused on the disgusting reaction of Libya in welcoming Megrahi back like a returning national hero. Whilst that does turn the stomach, it should not be a factor in the decision about whether or not to grant the compassionate release.

Others still point to issues around devolution, which put the decision in the hands of a Scottish minister, rather than the UK Government's, or potential impacts on trade links with Libya. These are all the impacts of this decision, rather than factors in the decision making process, although we may never know what happened behind the scenes with the UK Government, Scottish Government and Libyan authorities.

Much media attention has gone on the reaction of the US authorities, who have broadly condemned the decision. This is important, not just because it is the most powerful country on the planet making these statements, but because most of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing were Americans. However, it is right that the decision over compassionate release be made by the relevant authorities on the basis of the law of that land, and is not influenced by politicians and public opinion from overseas.

An interesting comparison could be made with the case of Ronnie Biggs, released on compassionate grounds by Jack Straw. Biggs had spent 30 years on the run for the 'great train robbery' and had shown little remorse for his crime. However, Biggs never disputed his guilt. His crime also involved no violence (One train guard was coshed and died from his injuries, it was not Biggs who inflicted the blow. Biggs refused to reveal the identity of the culprit for this crime.).

The interesting part of this comparison is that originally Straw ruled that he should not be released on parole on the basis that he had shown no remorse. He was granted compassionate release on the basis that Biggs was essentially bedridden and would spend the remainder of his days in hospital. This is surely quite different from Megrahi.

Blogging off for now

Mouse is off on his summer holidays tonight.

Blogging will be erratic or non-existent for the next week depending on (i) the availability of wi-fi; (2) how angry Mrs Mouse gets when Mouse tries to get the laptop out; and (iii) whether Mouse bothers to read all the news while he is relaxing with the family.

How do you know God exists?

Mouse is looking forward to the Channel 4 programme 'How do you know God exists' this Sunday at 7pm.

In the programme a number of prominent faith leaders explain the basis for their own faith. Extracts from Archbishop Rowan Williams' contributions have already made headlines. Rowan says that “My concept of hell, I suppose, is being stuck with myself for ever and with no way out. Whether anybody ever gets to that point I have no idea. But that it’s possible to be stuck with my selfish little ego for all eternity, that’s what I would regard as hell.”

Interesting. Mouse will wait for the full interview before commenting.

Friday round up

Here's my round up from the blogosphere. Ten of the best from the blogs this week.

1. Cranmer on Gordon Brown doing God ... again

2. Andrew Brown on the religious voice in Obama's health care reforms

3. Bishop Nick Baines on living on rations

4. Bishop Alan Wilson on the Willow Creek Leadership Summit

5. Maggie Dawn on whether social media makes us more human

6. Tall Skinny Kiwi on Christianity's next challenge

7. George Pitcher on the Pope's elderberries

8. Unfinished Christian on Sundays and the BBC footie correspondent who won't work on them

9. A better hope on the origins of slavery

10. David Keen is looking for a new name for his blog - any suggestions?

Waxwork Rowan Williams made from Lambeth Palace bees

In Mouse's last post, he was accused of missing the big story, that some of the wax from the Lambeth Palace bees had been used to make "a small model of the Archbishop of Canterbury".

Far from it. Here is the waxwork in question.

It is described in the press release as "Wax model of Archbishop based on a brass candlestick of St Ambrose".

Mouse will leave it to his readers to comment on this. Words simply fail sometimes.

Could the Church's media machine bee a little more focused?

After ignoring the good old CofE's news feed for a little while, Mouse took a look this morning to find this story:

Lambeth Palace bees buzz for miles
5 August 2009

Get a buzz out of caring for creation, said David Shreeve, the Church of England’s National Environment Adviser, after visiting Lambeth Palace’s 12 hives, whose bees help London grow greener. The bees pollinate plants and flowers across a seven mile radius in the capital with each hive providing around 60lbs of honey a year. Wax from one hive has even been used to make a small model of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

David Shreeve made the visit after today’s call from Conservation watchdog Natural England for more city dwellers to keep bees – he said this must be taken seriously as bees are a declining species but essential to the survival of plants and crops.

“Christians, and people of all faiths, have a duty to care for our creation, so we support Natural England's call to look out for our bees. Traditionally, bees are associated with rural life but the hives at Lambeth Palace show how bees can also thrive in inner cities – in this case only a stone’s throw from Parliament. At Lambeth, with its great tradition of beekeeping and honey making, the Church is fortunate to own grounds providing a home for bees that keep London greener by pollinating plants as far as seven miles away.”

Now Mouse is sure that David Shreeve is doing a great job, and he doesn't want to play down the importance of bees in Britain's natural habitats, but is this really an issue of national church importance? Is this really the most significant thing that the Church's National Environmental Advisor has done in the past few weeks? Surely not.

The Church's news feed is not exactly overflowing with information. You're better off reading the Church Times (or The Church Mouse) to find out what's going on in the CofE, rather than waiting for an official press release. So far in August there have been just three items on the CofE news page. The first announced the appointment of a new Chief Investment Officer in charge of the Church Commissioners £4.4bn fund. The second announced an initiative to get people holidaying in the UK to check out the local churches during their holiday. The third is the bees. At the very least you'd think they'd synchronise the Church's news feed with the news feeds from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, who each post news of their activities on their own websites.

Mouse's view is that the CofE media machine could do with some quality control over its news feed.

Tutu: International community must not accept Suu Kyi verdict

Desmond Tutu has put his substantial moral weight behind the campaign for Aung Sang Suu Kyi's release, in the wake of the verdict sentencing her to an additional 18 months house arrest.

Tutu has called Suu Kyi the 'Nelson Mandela of Burma'. He has made a similar argument to many other world leaders that her trial was a sham designed to keep her out of next year's Burmese elections.

We've heard similar sentiments from Gordon Brown and other European leaders. What the Mouse is waiting for, however, is for someone to propose a tangible course of action. So far the only concrete proposal seems to be Nicolas Sarkosy's plan for more sanctions on Burma.

As has been the case for years, the key to influencing Burma's regime comes not from western democracies, but from countries like China and India who maintain strong trade links with the Burmese junta.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said the sentence was “outrageous”. He called on the UN Security Council to impose a universal arms embargo on the regime and establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity.

“The charges were fabricated, the trial was a sham and the outcome was almost certainly pre-determined,” he said.

BBC football host won't work on a Sunday

Dan Walker is the newest member of the BBC football coverage team. This Saturday he will be hosting the flagship Football Focus program. However, you won't see him on the box on a Sunday, as he is a Christian who refuses to compromise in his belief that the Sabbath is the Lord's day.

Dan has given an interview to The Sun (not Mouse's normal morning read). He said

"When I first told the producers on a major radio station I wouldn't work on a Sunday they told me I'd never get anywhere in broadcasting. They thought the fact that I said on my CV that I wouldn't work on a Sunday was some kind of joke.

When I explained I was a Christian, and why I felt the way I did, one of them just sat with his mouth open for about ten seconds."

The interview is great, and there are so many quotable comments, but the key thing is that a Christian has been able to be a role model in the world of football and TV in a way that doesn't compromise in his beliefs. Here's Dan's view on why he keeps the Sabbath:

"Because of my stance I have been shouted at, insulted, stabbed in the back, laughed at and ignored. But I have also worked with and met some great characters and been given plenty of opportunities to talk to people about the Lord Jesus Christ

Many people - even Christians - have asked me why I feel so strongly about the Lord's Day

For me it seems quite obvious. God, our creator, has given it to us for our own good. Some will argue that Jesus Christ's coming means we are no longer obligated to keep it special but I fundamentally disagree

There are still ten commandments and it is more important than ever to guard the fourth one - remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."

Mouse is full of admiration.

Countdown to Copenhagen

Eagle eyed readers of this blog will spot a new widget in the sidebar. Mouse has added a 'Countdown to Copenhagen' timer.

If you're wondering why Mouse is interested in Copenhagen, of what he is counting down to, it is a reference to a major UN conference on climate change to be hosted in the city in December. It should be something that Christians talk about a lot.

Mouse searched his RSS reader (where Mouse follows dozens of blogs and news feeds) for references to Copenhagen and initially it returned no results. It turned out that was because he had spelt Copenhagen wrong, but a repeat search revealed just a few mentions.
Everyone who is anyone is campaigning to get a deal done at Copenhagen. You can read some of the background at the Church Times.

For the Mouse's part, he has signed up to support Christian Aid's campaign, written to Barak Obama and Gordon Brown to tell them to go to Copenhagen, and will continue to do his bit in the hope that real progress can be made.

If you're a blogger / webmaster and want to add the clock, you can download it from the UN.

Paranoia and conspiracy theory -TEC and the CofE

For any who have doubted that the current situation with the debate over issues of sexuality within the church is doing serious damage need to follow this closely.

A recent piece by Jonathan Wynne-Jones in the Telegraph called 'Americans planning to start a civil war in the Church of England' has caused quite a stir. The piece picks up on comments by Rev Geoffrey Hoare, rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta which includes the idea of the TEC planting churches in England. Queue panic.

However over at the Preludium blog, the history of this story is pulled apart, and we can see that it really is nothing of the sort. The piece by Rev Hoare was a 'thought piece' from November 2008 (which he reposted on his blog last week), where the Rev Hoare 'thinks out loud' about the implications of the continued divide. Over at Episcopal Cafe, the comment on Jonathan Wynne-Jones' article is that,

"what Wynne-Jones doesn't say is that at the end of the blog, Fr Hoare says that, based on responses he has seen to his own thinking-out-loud, there is no energy for such a strategy.

Whynne-Jones' column appears to say that Americans are willing to stir up 'civil war' in the Church of England. This creates a conspiracy where none exists. And to say so is unhelpful to say the least".

Now, this is a little unfair, as Jonathan's article does only present Rev Hoare's suggestion as 'an intriguing possibility', however, he must surely have known that his article would cause some reaction.

Mouse would add that Rev Hoare's blog concludes 'I will be writing to some friends seeking response, thoughts and ideas to this bare bones, but quite serious, proposal, and would appreciate, welcome and encourage vigorous debate and response here. (I will even break a rule of this blog and join in the responses if a real conversation gets underway.)" The comments to this blog post, however, contain only one entry - from Rev Hoare himself saying that he has had two comments. Hardly a 'vigorous debate', with no contributions in nine months.

At best, then, this is old news. At worst, Jonathan Wynne-Jones could be accused of stirring the pot somewhat.

Found something to agree with Peter Mandleson on

The Prince of Darkness has said, "All this ridiculous song and dance about who is in charge is just a load of nonsense but he is on holiday and if there are small things I can pick up to give him the best holiday that he deserves, I'll certainly do that." He added that the PM (Prime Minister, not Peter Mandleson) "is in charge of the country and has been throughout".

Quite.

This farce of working out who is running the country while the PM is away is the bottom of the silly season barrel. It started to be trotted out every summer when some hack found it an amusing concept that John Prescott could be 'in charge' while Tony Blair was away. However, it really is tosh.

Do these journalists think that major corporations sit around debating who is in charge while the CEO is away for a week's summer holiday? Does Manchester United have to agree a protocol for who is running the club while Alex Ferguson takes a holiday in the off season? Of course not. No more than the good old CofE debates who is 'in charge' while Rowan Williams is taking a break.

Perhaps its too easy a story to avoid repeating every summer when there is little else to report on, but this year it seems to have been dragged out far longer than necessary. Its not often Mouse finds himself saying, 'well said Lord Mandleson' but on this occasion he is dead right.

Christian on poverty - Micah Challenge & PovertyOver

Mouse has felt rather negative in the past few days. For this, he apologises to his readers. To change the tone, he has gone in search of some good news. And he has found it from the Micah Challenge.

If you've not come across this yet, it is a coalition of Christian Charities campaigning along the simple and achievable goal of making sure that governments abide by their promises in the Millenium Development Goals to half extreme poverty by 2015.

The news from them this week is that 1,700 young people wrote to the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth appealing to him on behalf of Europe's youth to abide by the Millenium Development Goals. The Commissioner responded and met with representatives from Micah Challenge International.

Mouse did, however, get thinking when he started to look harder at Christian Aid's excellent 'Poverty Over' campaign. They have gone further than Micah Challenge, and are capturing our imaginations on the idea that poverty can be eradicated completely in the foreseeable future.

Both campaigns are great, and leave the Mouse inspired that Christians can lead effective campaigns on issues of global importance. What these campaigns need to really build the momentum is for every church in the country (if not across the world) to teach on the issues involved and mobilise their congregations to get involved, lobby their elected representatives and make change happen. Hopefully those considering spending this week focused on the debate over issues of sexuality in the Church will take a look at one of these campaigns and get inspired.

Fourth plinth communion blocked by Methodist church officials

And Mouse thought this kind of thing only happened in the Anglican church.

Readers may remember the project from Methodist Minister Rev Ken Chalmers to offer communion in Trafalgar Square as part of the One and Other project on top of the empty fourth plinth. Well concerns were raised that Rev Chalmers is a probationary minister, and as such was only authorised to administer communion in his home circuit. The Methodist Church authorities got involved, and stopped Rev Chalmers from administering communion on the plinth. Instead, another Minister administered communion from the base of the plinth, whilst Rev Chalmers preached and prayed from the plinth itself.

Mouse suspects this didn't make much difference to those who witnessed or experienced the communion, however, some seem to have been irritated by the intrusion of bureaucracy into the innovative project.

You can watch the whole thing at the project website.

CMS may run Greenbelt seminar on sexuality

The CMS vision

CMS is committed to evangelistic mission, working to see our world transformed by the love of Jesus.

We dream of the day when the whole of creation is restored to a living, loving relationship with God.

We believe that by living a mission lifestyle, equipping people for mission work and sharing resources for mission we make our unique contribution to God’s mission.

We do this as a community that shares a longing to see all peoples being drawn into fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, can anyone tell me how running a seminar on sexuality at Greenbelt will help this? The madness on this issue has clearly set pretty deeply into the church.

For those who have missed the background, this is in response to a ridiculous piece of criticism of CMS, the Christian mission agency, from Anglican Mainstream. The accusation was that Greenbelt is promoting a 'pro-gay' agenda by inviting a number of gay Christians this year, including Bishop Gene Robinson. CMS, as a Greenbelt supporter, was therefore implicated. This is ridiculous for many reasons, not least because there are only a handful of gay participants on the list of hundreds who are leading events at Greenbelt. Also, there was absolutely no reason to single CMS out for criticism in this accusation, as there are hundreds of Greenbelt supporters.

You may also have missed the news that CMS is an organisation in trouble. The official press release talked of 'staff reductions', 'minor programme cuts' and 'plans to slim overheads'. Whilst CMS won't tell the Mouse anything (press officer John Martin won't even include Mouse on his press releases on the basis that Mouse is anonymous, despite Mouse's most earnest attempts to help publicise CMS's plight), Mouse understands that this is, in fact, the latest in a series of 're-organisations' which have involved redundancies in the past few years. A commenter on CMS's website hints that the press release is putting a positive spin on things, to which John Martin responds with an offer to the commenter to talk it through, rather than a denial.

So at a difficult time, the right response is to pray and focus on God's mission. For CMS to get back on track, it must focus on what it can do better than anyone else - Christian Mission. To get sucked into the debate on sexuality will merely divert vital time and resources. Mouse's message to CMS - don't do it, focus on mission.

This is the latest in a series of signs that the sexuality issue is stopping the church fulfill its mission. Dave Walker in the Church Times blog highlights the case of the threatened closure of Operation Noah, the climate change campaign set up by Churches Together in Britain. Surely this is the kind of thing that we should be putting our efforts into. The debate on sexuality is a potentially devastating distraction from these issues.

Gordon Brown: Britain still a Christian country

Gordon Brown has been interviewed by Premier Christian Radio. Whilst the piece has not yet been aired, The Telegraph seem to have the inside word on what he will be saying to the nation about Britain's Christian values.

The headline news seems to be that Brown has claimed Britain is still a Christian nation, because its values are Christian ones. However, what Mouse has taken away from the available quotes is that Brown seems increasingly unable to string a coherent sentence together. Look at the following evidence.

When asked whether he thought it would be better if faith was 'privatised', here is GB's response:

"I think it's impossible because when we talk about faith, we are talking about what people believe in, we are talking about the values that underpin what they do, we are talking about the convictions that they have about how you can make for a better society.

So I don't accept this idea of privatisation – I think what people want to do is to make their views current.

There is a moral sense that people have, perhaps 50 years ago the rules were more detailed and intrusive, perhaps now what we're talking about is boundaries, beyond which people should not go.

And I think that's where it's important that we have the views of all religions and all faiths, and it's important particularly that we're clear about what kind of society we want to be.

So I think the idea that you can say: 'What I do in my own life is privatised and I'm not going to try to suggest that these are values that can bind your society together', would be wrong."

I beg your pardon Prime Minister? Have you been taking public speaking lessons from John Prescott?

In another example, the PM is asked whether the government gave preferential treatment to Muslims, rather than a simple, 'No, of course not. We treat everyone equally, but we do have to work hard to integrate some minority groups', the Prime Minister came up with this:

"When you've got a society that is diverse, what happens is for a time, the issue is integrating your minorities into that society. And so people want to make sure that people who may feel discriminated against have the chance to get jobs, or get education, or get chances that otherwise they might not have. Then people – rightly, I think – say: 'But what about the integration of your society as a whole – how can people work together, how can you have a more cohesive society'?"

If this is the kind of discussion that goes on in government, Mouse is not surprised that Brown has lost authority in the Cabinet.

In terms of evaluating the strength of Brown's argument that Britain is still a Christian nation, contrasting with Bishop Paul Richardson's view, we'll have to wait for the full interview. Based on what we've seen so far, Mouse fears that we won't have much of a coherent argument from the Prime Minister, however.

Friday round up

Here's my round up from the blogosphere this week. Ten of the best from the blogs this week:

1. Dave Walker in the Church Times Blog sums up the liberal response to The Archbishop of Canterbury's 'Reflections'

2. Cranmer commend's Bruce Anderson's article on 'The great ethical questions that society chooses to ignore'

3. Ruth Gledhill on Archbishop Nichols' comments on Facebook and MySpace

4. Peter Ould reckons open evangelicals are 'onboard'

5. Bishop David Thomson on Lord Myners

6. Chris Tilling on Theological nutters

7. Tall Skinny Kiwi and David Ould both have a go at the Gospel in Ten Words

8. FaithWorld on the attack on Pakistani Christians

9. The Urban Pastor on the skateboarding ramp camp

10. Bishop David Chillingworth on Facemash

Taxpayer funded play about Jesus the transsexual woman

The right to offend Christians without the slightest murmur being raised seems to be alive and well. At the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, for the bargain price of £8.50 you can see the play 'Jesus, Queen of Heaven'. The blurb describes it as follows:

Jesus is a transsexual woman. And it is now she walks the earth. This is a play with music that presents her sayings, her miracles, and her testimony. And she does not condemn the gays or the queers or the trans women or the trans men, and no, not the straight women nor the straight men neither. Because she is the Daughter of God, most certainly, and almost as certainly the son also. And God’s child condemns nobody. She can only love...

It seems to be well intentioned in a strange sort of way, but is rather a long way from what we know of Jesus from the Bible, and many Christians will think that making up untruths about the Son of God and Saviour of the world is a tad insensitive.

The eagle eyed amongst you will spot that one of the organisations funding the play is Culture and Sport Glasgow, a taxpayer funded quango set up by Glasgow City Council, the same organisation which funded the art exhibition which involved an invitation to write your own messages on the Bible. This exhibition was widely condemned when the invitation was taken up by many who took the opportunity to desecrate the Bible with obscenities and profanities.

The Christian Institute is already outraged (nothing new there), but it is unlikely even to get a mention outside the Christian media. Mouse is not one to take offence at everyone who insults his faith. He believes that his God is greater than that, and has already borne the worst that the world can throw at him. Nevertheless, it seems odd that the current environment which seems to define causing offence as an offence in itself, Christians are excluded from this.

Friday round up to follow

Due to busyness, today's Friday round up will follow later today.

Please check back later.

The Church Mouse

BBC force Alagiah to step down as patron of Fairtrade charity

BBC Newsreader has been told by the BBC that he must step down from his role as patron of the Fairtrade Foundation on the grounds that it could undermine the BBC's impartiality.

I'll just wait a moment while you pick your jaw up off the floor.

OK, so lets just think this through. The BBC is happy to employ Lord Sugar (Surralan to those in the know) as the main attraction of one of its flagship programs, despite him being a member of the government. This apparently does not impact on the BBC's neutrality, despite the fact that the next series of The Apprentice, starring Lord Sugar, is likely to be on our screens during a general election. This role was the focus of a series of complaints from the political world and beyond.

George Alagiah's unpaid role, however, has not attracted a single complaint. He has been doing it for many years.

So how could the BBC's impartiality be undermined through a newsreader's involvement in a fair trade charity? Is the fear that Alagiah will read stories about non-fair trade companies with a sarcastic leer. Or perhaps he will roll his eyes at key moments to imply his disbelief.

This is pretty transparent grade A nonsense. The BBC should re-think, and tell George Alagiah and the disappointed Fairtrade Foundation that he is free to continue his role.

H/T to Rev Phil Ritchie for suggesting this topic for me to blog via Twitter last night. Read Phil's views on the subject on his blog.

Latest on the Save St Mark's Campaign

Mouse is a supporter of the Save St Mark's campaign. Regular readers will remember that St Mark's is a historic Grade 1 listed building in Mayfair which is under threat of being sold to a private company to become a health spa. On the other hand, nearby Holy Trinity Brompton has offered to buy the church and continue to use it for worship.

This would normally be considered a no brainer, but London Diocese seems to be having trouble making the decision.

The latest development, according to the London Evening Standard, is that the council have rejected Hamer Holdings's plans for a health spa, and a public inquiry will take place into his appeal in October. Campaigners have been given a boost from the Church Commissioners, who have written to the Planning Inspectorate saying that they believe the Diocese is legally required to prefer a bid from a church to one from a business.

Kirk Mitchell from the Save St Mark's Action Group said, "We're thrilled to see the Church does have some backbone after all."

Visit the campaign website to see how you can show your support. At a time when the church seems intent on having a fight with itself, it is important to draw a line in the sand and say that a church should be used as a church. If one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the good old CofE has made an offer, it is absolute madness to see such a historic church turned into a health spa.

Gordon Brown to do voluntary work during his summer holiday

Must .... resist .... the scepticism ....

It seems that the PM will be doing a week or so voluntary community work in his constituency during his month long summer holiday. Apparently No. 10 didn't confirm the story for 24 hours, as Gordon 'didn't want it to be seen as a publicity stunt'. For 'obvious' (?) reasons no details will be released of what he will be doing.

According to the Guardian report, Brown has not been known to have done any voluntary work before. So you can decide for yourself whether this is one of the most cynical and desperate attempts to buy a couple of favourable headlines for one of the most unpopular governments of all time, or whether this is simply a good man doing something he believes is right. Or perhaps there is a third way ...

Who cares if the Anglican Communion splits?

The Guardian's 'Comment is Free' column is asking this very question at the moment. And it could not be more timely. For those who have had their head in a bucket for the past few months, the tensions in the Anglican Communion have never been greater. Mouse won't recount the depressing story now, but you may not yet have seen the latest declaration by '13 groups working together in the Church of England' who have stated their dissatisfaction with the Archbishop's Reflections, and reiterate their determination to work for full inclusion of gay Christians in the CofE.

In many senses there is nothing new in any of this. The move by the US Episcopal Church which provoked Rowan's response was, in fact, merely the decision to return to the ordination of gay Bishops, which they have already done. The 13 groups who issued yesterday's statement had already set out their views on the matter.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world looks in at this agog. The recent round of open letters, statements, declarations and reflections has been pretty baffling even to the most ardent observer of the Anglican Communion. The Guardian's question is one which Church leaders should take very seriously. The reality is that the Church will be immeasurably worse off if it tears itself apart.

Facebook may make your arms fall off

That's about as fair a representation of Archbishop Nichols' comments on the shortcomings of social networking as many others that have been generated.

In his interview with the Telegraph the Archbishop said that 'among young people often a key factor in them committing suicide is the trauma of transient relationships. They throw themselves into a friendship or network of friendships, then it collapses and they are desolate. Its an all or nothing syndrome that you have to have in an attempt to shore up an identity; a collection of friends about whom you can talk or even boast. But friendship is not a commodity, friendship is something that is hard work and enduring when its right.'

Hands up if you disagree? These wise words have been translated into 'Facebook and MySpace can lead children to commit suicide'.

The reason for the bad headlines is that he had earlier said, 'If we mean by community a genuine growing together and a mutual sharing in an interest that is of some significance then it needs more than Facebook.'

He told the newspaper that he was worried about 'excessive use or an almost exclusive use of text and emails' and that 'Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities, but I'm wary about it. It's not rounded communication so it won't build a rounded community.'

It is clear that he has been rather mis-interpreted. However, Nichols' status does mean that he must get used to his comments being reported in summary form. He must also get used to people making judgements based on cursory reading of them. Just to help out, here is what teenagers will have heard of the interview:

Telegraph: what do you think about social networking sites?

Archbishop: yes, I've heard about MyFace and I don't like the sound of it. What's wrong with writing to you friends with a proper quill pen and parchment?

Telegraph: are you aware that about 250 million people use Facebook?

Archbishop: well they all sinners, and they're not welcome in my church.

Nichols' comments do show that he is rather out of touch. Social networking sites provide a huge opportunity for the church to engage with young and old in new ways and in a way that is natural. Many have realised this, including the Pope who has launched his own Facebook application for the iPhone.

Come on Vincent, get with the program. If you're not sure about Facebook, why not give it a try and see for yourself.

Madonna's 'journey into the world of Kabbalah'

If you like your religion celebrity endorsed, you may have thought that Kabbalah was the one for you. A couple of years ago the tell tale red string bracelets started appearing on the wrists of a number of A-listers. The Beckhams, Britney Spears, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were all seen sporting them and talking about their interest in it. However, it is Madonna who was first on the Kabbalah scene, and has been its strongest supporter.

On Friday, Madonna revealed her 'journey into the world of Kabbalah' in Israel's largest newspaper. Overall, Mouse is impressed with the number of cliches that she has managed to pack into such a short article.

The basic gist is that she mastered all the other religions but none of them answered her questions, until she learned about Kabbalah.

I was practicing Yoga for years and studying Sanskrit. I had read many books by the great Yogi Masters and Indian Avatars. I studied Buddhism and the teachings of the Dali Lama. I studied Taoism and the Art of War.

I read about the Gnostics and the early Christians. I learned a lot and I was very inspired but I still could not connect the dots and find a way to take this knowledge and apply it to my daily life.

I was looking for an answer.

The article is so vacuous that it will surely put more people off Kabbalah than it will convert. She offers absolutely no explanation of why she thinks any of it is true. And for the Mouse, that is the fatal flaw. It reads like she has picked out a religion from the shop window based on the one which meets her needs needs. Unfortunately that's not how it works. She even calls her Kabbalah 'a "belief system" or philosophy'.

Mouse was delighted today to read Tom Wright's defence of Jesus and the resurrection as a historical event. It is important that Christians assert that our faith is based on truth, and marks it apart from the likes of Madonna's 'belief system'.

New man in charge of CofE's investments

The good old CofE has announced that Tom Joy has been appointed Director of Investments for the Church Commissioners, the body which manages the Church's £4.4bn investment fund.

Mouse has been watching the Church Commissioners closely, as they are responsible for losing nearly £1.3bn last year. At the time, Mouse called for some updated governance of this fund, so a senior investments director is a positive development.

There are two major issues with the Church's current investment strategy. The first is that it is extremely aggressive, chasing market leading returns and taking big risks in the process by investing in volatile assets. This has lead to heavier investment losses in the past year than many other funds have experienced. The second is that the ethical investment policies are weak. Only today Ekklesia, who have someone going through the Church Commissioners' annual report with a fine tooth comb, claim to have found a link between a company in which the Church invests, and the manufacture of nuclear weapons in India.

Mr Joy is well qualified to look after the Church's investment strategy, and Mouse wishes him all the best in his new role. Mouse's advice is to be bold and to lead reform.

On an interesting aside, Mouse notes that the press release says that the recruitment process was rigorous and involved over 70 applicants. However, the two paragraphs which describe Mr Joy's previous experience have been copied and pasted directly from the website of his previous employer, RMB Asset Management. Lets hope they asked for a fuller version during the interview process.

Lord Myners - GOAT turned theology student

Lord Myners, brought into Gordon Browns 'Government Of All the Talents' as the City Minister, has announced that he is to quit his post to become a theology student.

Thanks to Bishop David Thomson for reminding him of this story. Mouse had intended to blog on it when the news first appeared, but other things took over.

The story in itself is simple. Myners was raised a Methodist, and still describes himself as one, although he admits that he hasn't been a regular churchgoer. He rose to the highest levels in business, made his fortune (estimated at £30m), and was recruited by the Prime Minister to be the Minister to clean up the City. However, he has become so disenchanted by the greed and purposelessness of the prevailing culture of the city, that he has reconnected with his religious instincts.

Myners said that he is worried that he may have 'neglected' the moral purpose of life. He added that he has been 'increasingly exercised and concerned with the fact that we have compromised our lives. This is very evident in the financial community - that money has become everything. People have lost their sense of purpose. The absence of clear moral purpose is something that is very troubling.'

He is, of course, quite right.

The question that the Mouse asks, however, is why Myners feels that this worldview is incompatible with politics. Mouse considers his decision to leave government as a coded condemnation of Gordon Brown's government. If he thought that Brown's government was on the right track to reform the city and the economy more broadly, why does he feel he has no part to play in this?

Mouse congratulates Myners for speaking out, however, feels that it is a loss to politics that he feels he cannot do pursue his objectives from within government.

The religion question - the 2011 census and religious affiliation

It has now been confirmed that the religion question will be included in the 2011 census along the same lines as the 2001 census.

The voluntary question will ask about religious affiliation and will offer up the option of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Other or None.

This is surprisingly important for Christians.

The last census revealed 42m people claimed to be Christian. There are clearly problems with this number, however, it is still significant. Critics have argued that the question is flawed, as it asks 'what is your religion', which might be taken as a loaded question. Mouse does not buy this line, partly because these questions go through a huge level of analysis before they are included (question development for 2011 began in 2005). It is inconceivable that serious statisticians would make such a schoolboy error. This is further backed up by questioning of Karen Dunnell, National Statistician (whatever that means), who was specifically asked whether this question was loaded, and argued that it should remain as it is.

So whatever 42m people were thinking when they ticked the Christian box, they clearly weren't thinking "I'm an atheist, but since they've asked what my religion is I'd better say I'm a Christian".

Nevertheless, there are many shades of Christian, and clearly many people who do not attend church, pray or read the Bible regularly have described themselves as Christian, meaning there is probably a significant cultural element to the responses.

In other words, the number of people who say they are a Christian in the census is important, but as the start of another question, not the answer.

So with the 2011 census we will, for the first time, see if the number of people ticking the Christian box goes up or down. We will see if the number of people claiming no religious affiliation has gone up or down. This is hugely important. Those who have argued for the question to be changed because the didn't like the answer last time have failed to grasp the most important point of any survey is the trend rather than the absolute number.

As for those Christians who wanted the question to offer up a choice of denominations, Mouse thinks they would be better off trying to make sure the number goes up, rather than worrying about which type of Christian people consider themselves.

Missing the point on Purdy

The news that Debbie Purdy has won an important legal case on the issue of the 'right do die' has had supporters of assisted suicide hailing the case as a triumph. They are somewhat premature to do so, to say the least.

It seems to the Mouse that most of the headline writers have not even made a cursory study of the legal case, but have rushed out the 'landmark ruling in right to die case' articles, even though they are entirely inappropriate in this circumstance.

The case that Purdy has won in the House of Lords is one that has argued that it is a breach of her husband's human rights for him not to know whether he would face prosecution if he accompanied his wife to a Swiss suicide clinic. In other words, the ruling means that greater clarity must be brought to the existing law. It does not follow that the law will change.

In fact, the most recent attempt to change the law earlier this month was comfortably defeated in the House of Lords by 194 votes to 141.

Now, the excitement has been caused by the fact that the law is, in itself, pretty clear that helping someone travel abroad to commit suicide is a criminal offence. However, nobody has prosecuted for this offence, despite increasing number of people being in this position. Hence the demand for greater clarity.

To describe this as a 'turning point in the law on assisted suicide', however, is just a couple of steps away from reality.

Sudden interest in the Quakers as they approve gay marriage

Its pretty rare that Mouse hears about the Quakers in the religious media. In the wider secular media, religious matters get pretty brief coverage in general, and only then when they fit some pretty narrow criteria.

So how nice to hear from the Quakers. They have been meeting in York for their 'Yearly Meeting gathering'. In York the 1,000 Quakers who gathered put together their response to climate change, considered the impact of the recession and, oh yes, agreed to recognise gay marriage.

The resolution was made unanimously 22 years after it was first considered by The Religious Society of Friends, without the need for a vote, and follows similar resolutions from Quakers in Canada and the USA. The move was rejected by Quakers in East Africa.

Its very interesting how this news has been met in the religious media. Not surprisingly, those in favour of gay inclusion in the church have covered it, whilst those opposed seem on the whole not to mention it. If the question is whether this will make any difference to the debate in the Church of England, the answer is almost certainly that it will not.