Polanski and the priests

No, not a new revelation. Instead Mouse is making a comparison. In recent days the issue of paedophile priests has been in the news again. Ruth Gledhill discusses some of the recent developments, including the CofE's call for whistle blowers to come forward, and the comments from the Vatican that other religions had similar issues.

Elsewhere, Roman Polanski has finally been arrested after 30 years on the run from the US authorities. He admitted drugging a 13 year old girl before having sex with her, but fled the country whilst on bail. Quite astonishingly, however, he is being defended by some.

FaithWorld quite rightly make a comparison between these two things. Polanski may be a brilliant film director, but his offence is one which can have no excuse.

The atheist guide to Christmas

Mouse might just have to put this one on his Christmas list this year. Mouse's general policy is not to spend too much time reading up on those who oppose his views, but to be well read enough to respond to the overall arguments.

The Atheist Guide to Christmas, however, looks genuinely entertaining, and since all money raised will go to the HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, he doesn't feel like he's lining someone's pocket by purchasing it.

The Atheist Guide to Christmas is the brainchild of Guardian Author Ariane Sherine. Ariane was also the brainchild of the Atheist bus campaign that caused rather a lot of attention followed by a rather dreary line of copy-cat Christian versions. This time she's managed to line up 42 celebrity atheists to give their tips on how to survive the festive season. Mouse strongly advises against another dreary line of copy-cat Christian versions. Lets just say that we have the original Christmas story, and its been the number one global bestseller for centuries.

The great bookshop saga

Mouse was very gently taken to task by a couple of his fellow bloggers recently for not commenting on the ongoing SPCK bookshop saga. Unfortunately this blog began some time into this story, and it has been well covered elsewhere, so Mouse did not feel the need to way in.

However, he does feel strongly on the issue, so for the benefit of those who don't read Rev David Keen's excellent blog, or follow Dave Walker's wonderful Church Times blog, or read Phil Groom's great Christian Bookshop blog and are not one of the 467 members of the 'We support Dave Walker' Facebook Group, Mouse is happy to provide an update (cribbed entirely from David Keen's latest post on the topic).

By way of background, the history is that some time ago the SPCK Christian Bookshop chain was sold to the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust, an American group. What followed was a disaster for Christian book selling, eventually ending with the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust losing a court case in the US for a false bankruptcy claim and having their assets taken from them by the Charity Commission in the UK. Unfortunately the damage done to the book stores, mainly in prime retail locations, had been done. 30 staff had lost their jobs and many of the stores closed.

The sorry saga is nearing completion now, however, there are still a number of loose ends to be tied up. There is a pension deficit to deal with, almost £300,000 in a restricted fund for Newcastle Bible House, and an outstanding legal decision about the ownership of some of the bookshops. David Keen points out that they were given over with a restrictive covenant, however, at least one was sold on for another use.

The other loose end is to find the moral of the story. Mouse is pretty stumped.

For a much fuller, and probably more accurate, description of the whole story Mouse suggest the SPCK/SSG blog.

Speaking with one voice on climate change

Mouse has previously commented that he is surprised at the lack of a single coherent campaign to push our elected politicians to do the right thing at the Copenhagen summit on climate change. At this summit we hope that world leaders will agree a successor to the Kyoto protocol, this time including the US. Many believe that this is the last chance to avert global catastrophe, by binding governments to averting the crucial 2 degree rise in global temperatures.

Well, Mouse encourages everyone lobbying on this to get behind the UN's 'Seal The Deal' campaign. This seems to be the only one with true global reach, and the potential to unite everyone campaigning on the issue behind a consistent message. It stands with the weight of the UN's research on climate change behind it, and has a concise message at its heart:

The agreement in Copenhagen needs to focus on:

• What industrialized countries will do, through individual targets, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• What developing countries will do to limit the growth of their emissions
• What finance will be made available since developing countries cannot be expected to act without support
• An efficient institutional mechanism for disbursing funds and an equitable, accountable, governance structure
• A framework must be established that will bolster the climate resilience of vulnerable countries and protect lives and livelihoods

So there we have it. If everyone could just get behind this message, our politicians will know exactly where we all stand.

Update on the Rain Tax - victory at last?

Charities are jubilant. Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, has announced at the Labour Party conference that he will legislate to stop the 'rain tax' that has threatened churches with frightening increases in their water bills of up to 1,300%.

If you've missed this story, it has been a long running saga involving a technicality about the way water charges are levied on large buildings. A recent change meant that they would be charged a fee based on the area which was putting rain water into the drainage system. This meant that large buildings - such as churches, scout huts and sports centres - would be facing exorbitant increases in their water bills. The government has been talking about intervening for a while, so it is great news that they are now committed to act.

In fact it was back in July when the Environment Minister pledged to act 'very soon'. Mouse hopes that any change in the law will have a retrospective element, as there has been a phased introduction to the rain tax which has meant some have already been clobbered.

The only slight niggle of doubt in the Mouse's mind is that Hilary Benn's actual words were that water companies would "be able" to offer discounted rates to organisations such as churches. He certainly did not say that they must. The problem before was that the water regulator, OFWAT, had decreed that they must charge on a drainage basis and that it would be unfair to give any particular groups preferential treatment. A number of water companies complained that this was unfair on some customers, so there is reason to believe they will reduce the charges. However, there is absolutely no guarantee that they will go back to pre-drainage charge levels.

Mouse is afraid there is still a bit of waiting and seeing to do on this one.

New look Church Mouse blog

Mouse is chuffed to bits with his fab new blog design.

He has enormous amounts of respect and gratitude for @crimperman who designed it for him. Crimperman, aka Ryan Cartwright, has a blog of his own which really is very good. The blog has a fantastic range of Ryan's Christian cartoons and other artwork, as well as Ryan's thoughts and reflections on life.

The Mouse is planning another technological innovation, but is afraid he can't quite reveal that secret just yet.

Is a new deal on climate change closer or further away?

Everyone seems to be agreed that a new global climate change deal at Copenhagen is essential and that the chances of success are balanced on a knife edge. And yet there are some mixed signals coming through.

On the one hand we hear that China is signing up to new carbon 'reduction' pledges at the G20. Whilst the pledge is not ideal (it is to reduce the carbon output per unit of GDP, rather than actual reductions) it is nevertheless a huge step forward for the worlds biggest carbon emitter. President Obama has given us hope that the US will move its position, now that the Bush factor has been taken out of international negotiations. Japan has announced a carbon reduction pledge, marking a change in policy there. So surely everything is going swimmingly?

Apparently not. Gordon Brown is telling us that the deal looks like it won't happen at Copenhagen, despite the intense international negotiations going on not only at the UN Climate Change conference, but also at the pre-Copenhagen conference. He's telling us that he is willing to go to Copenhagen personally to do everything he can to clinch a deal.

Now, lets just put on our cynic's hat for a moment, and ask ourselves what is in Gordon Brown's interest. The ideal situation for him to cement his position as the man who 'saved the world' is to be the one who held the negotiations together, without whom no deal would have been done, and to return from Copenhagen a hero. The world would own Gordon Brown a debt of gratitude for pretty much single handedly averting climate change. So should we be surprised that GB has become the first major world leader to have offered to go to Copenhagen? Or that he is telling us that a deal is looking unlikely?

Now Mouse is not suggesting for a moment that we should be complacent. Quite the contrary - he has repeatedly asked his readers to engage with efforts to exert influence over our leaders, including Gordon Brown, to insist that he go to Copenhagen and get a deal. Mouse is well aware of the importance of mass opinion on the politicians. Nor does Mouse believe that the negotiations will be easy - too many participants have talked about how complex and hard they have been so far.

One reason to pause for thought, is the fact that one of the leading figures at Copenhagen will be John Prescott, as the 'Council of Europe's rapporteur on climate change' (whatever that means). It was John Prescott who lead the UK's negotiations at Kyoto. He predicts, "As at Kyoto, a Copenhagen deal will probably be settled at the 11th hour. The trick then is to implement it." He also observes that this deal is all about 'the G2 - China and the US', and that he has seen real commitment on both of those two fronts, having dealt directly with both sides.

Everyone involved in the run up to Copenhagen has an axe to grind, Gordon Brown no less than anyone else. So Mouse suggests we don't take their public pronouncements without asking a few questions.

Gordon Brown and THAT question from Andrew Marr

Andrew Marr has finally asked the question that has been swirling round Westminster for weeks. There has been speculation across mainstream media and the internet that the Prime Minister has been using prescription drugs to try to control depression. Blogger Guido Fawkes has been one of many asking, who will be brave enough to ask the question directly of the Prime Minister.

Brown gave a simple "No" in response to the question, whilst looking visibly angered, but then blundered on for some time about his eye condition - which he knows perfectly well is not the issue.

Much of the debate in the immediate aftermath is around whether Marr should even have asked the question. He has risked putting a strain on his own relationship with Downing Street, which is an essential source of information for any political journalist. His status at the BBC probably means that Downing Street can't cut him off entirely, however, Mouse wouldn't be surprised if he never interviewed the PM again. The question being asked is whether it is legitimate to ask the Prime Minister about an unsubstantiated rumour like this. Mouse thinks it is - it is pretty easy for him to deny if it is not true, and it is rather surprising that the rumour hasn't already been quashed by the Downing Street press machine to avoid that kind of question being asked in a live BBC interview.

So Mouse asks what should our reaction to this rumour be? On the one hand, Mouse cannot help joining the growing chorus that says that the public have a right to know whether their elected leader needs drugs to control his moods or not. There are legitimate questions to be asked in this situation about his capacity for decision making and handling the extreme demands placed on someone in his position.

However, experience shows that the media show little mercy for someone in that position. Charles Kennedy was dealt with pretty ruthlessly when he admitted an alcohol problem, by his own party as much as anyone else. A serving Prime Minister would surely be hounded from office immediately if he admitted that he is unable to get through the day without the aid of medication.

Is it simply naive to say that the question should be asked, but that we want the media to behave responsibly in the way they ask it and in the way the story is pursued? The latest news is that the Labour party is considering a formal complaint against the BBC for asking the question. If they do so, the story will run for a while, regardless of whether it has any foundation or not. We can only hope that it is treated carefully.

Anglo-Saxon Christian goodies

It is not just archaeologists who have become excited by the unprecedented find of Anglo-Saxon treasure that was announced last week. A hoard of around 1,500 individual items dating from the 7th century was found by an amateur metal detectorist in a field in Staffordshire. It is the largest ever find of Anglo-Saxon treasure, and is sure to take our understanding of that culture forward significantly.

What really intrigued Mouse, however, was the fact that they were Christian goodies. Of course, it is not new information that the Anglo-Saxons of that time were Christians, nor that they would have had access to the Bible. But it is nevertheless fascinating to see evidence that people living 1,400 years ago read pretty much the same Bible as us and incorporated it into their every day lives.

Not much of the haul has been made public, and it will take many years of study to interpret what has been found, but one piece that has been displayed is a 'tag' with a Bible verse engraved on it. Mouse is reliably informed that it is taken from Numbers 10:35 and says “may they who hate Thee flee from Thy face” (although Bishop David Thomson reports that there is actually a typo in the text).

We'll never know who owned this piece, or why he quoted that particular text, and in many ways it is better to enjoy the mystery. However, Mouse finds that his own faith is put into a little perspective when he heard this news.

Where you come from

Mouse has been blogging for a little over nine months now, and after winning the 'Best Newcomer' award at the Christian Web & New Media Awards, he wanted to show is gratitude to those who have been directing traffic this way.

So here are the Mouse's top 25 referrers since the start of the blog (according to Google Analytics). Many thanks to all who have put a link to the Mouse on their blog or website, and to all who have been reading this blog.

1.	twitter.com
2.	blogger.com
3.	google.com
4.	bishopalan.blogspot.com
5.	davidkeen.blogspot.com
6.	timescolumns.typepad.com
7.	iaindale.blogspot.com
8.	facebook.com
9.	surefish.co.uk
10.	google.co.uk
11.	churchtimes.co.uk
12.	bpdt.wordpress.com
13.	fibrefairy.wordpress.com
14.	twittergadget.com
15.	images.google.com
16.	thinkinganglicans.org.uk
17.	iconfactory.com/twitteriffic
18.	peter-ould.net
19.	philipstreehouse.blogspot.com
20.	thehalfwelshman.blogspot.com
21.	standfirminfaith.com
22.	anamchara.com
23.	raspberry_rabbit.blogspot.com
24.	netvibes.com
25.	criccieth.blogspot.com

M&S, Aldi and the good old CofE

The Bishop of Reading, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, has caused quite some debate over his comment that the good old CofE had become more like M&S than Aldi, and that Jesus was probably more of an Aldi kind of a guy. "How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks & Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi?".

These comments were all part of the unusually high level of fanfare that has greeted Back to Church Sunday, but they have kicked off a completely different debate about whether the good old CofE has become too middle class.

Over at Heresy Corner, the Heresiach comments, "The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, bless his guilt-ridden heart, worries that the image of the Church of England is a bit too middle class. ... The trouble is, Bishop, it hasn't "come to this". It has always been like this. The C of E may no longer be the Tory Party at prayer - its upper echelons have long been more of a Hampstead dinner party at prayer - but it remains, as it was at the beginning, is now and ever shall be, a church for the middle classes. To misquote one of the Rt Rev Steve's drink-sodden fellow bishops, that is what it does."

Mouse thinks this is a little harsh, but it is certainly true that the selection criteria for clergy, and the process for selecting Bishops and other officers of the church leans it heavily to the middle-class. But really, is it really a fair criticism of the Church of England that its leadership are middle class? Take a look at any large organisation, and you'll see the same. The question really is whether the congregations are biased towards the middle classes. And on that front, we simply don't have any data on which to based our views. Mouse's instinct is that the CofE probably is more middle class than the population as a whole. He also think this doesn't matter in the slightest, and can't quite see why the Bishop is so concerned with it.

Assisted suicide - its still illegal, just in case you weren't sure

Much has been said on the issue of assisted suicide recently, particularly in light of the 'clarification' that has been issued on the current law. Thinking Anglicans helpfully published links to some of the comment from the Anglican and Catholic churches, all of whom oppose any change to the law.

Mouse's own view is that the clarification of the law changes nothing, and is well written. Some had hoped that the clarification would make clear that people who help others to travel to Zurich to kill themselves will not be punished. It does not. It sets out clearly and simply the criteria that have already been used to assess whether prosecutions should be brought. It does not change the law one iota, as far as the Mouse can tell, and in this he is greatly relieved. The law is very clear - helping someone to kill themselves is an offence.

Archbishop's quiet diplomacy

Rowan Williams may have his critics, and he has been accused of weakness by some for the way he has handled the ongoing crisis in the Anglican Communion, but Mouse challenges anyone to read about his meeting with the President of Pakistan and not be seriously impressed.

Michael Nazir-Ali won the respect of many for his choice to stand down as Bishop of Rochester to work with persecuted Christians and on his first high profile meeting since he stepped down, he was accompanied by Rowan Williams. The pair met Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan. A surprisingly full account of the meeting is posted on the Archbishop's website, and it is clear that the Archbishop and Bishop were diplomatic but made their concerns clear.

This is a good example of going straight to the heart of the problem for persecuted Christians, as there has been a spate of violence in Pakistan recently towards Christians. Mouse is impressed, and pleased that the cause has been taken up so seriously by Rowan Williams, and hopes he will continue his quiet diplomacy.

For a fuller background on the issues in Pakistan see the Church Times blog.

Friday round up

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

1. Ruth Gledhill reckons there are good odds to be had on the Pope's visit to Britain

2. Stephen Tompkins on whether the good old CofE really is more M&S than Aldi

3. Bishop Alan Wilson writes a simply wonderful post about how we label ourselves (follow links for shameless plug for the Mouse

4. Jonny Baker has a year's Typepad subscription up for grabs and an awesome street art Jesus

5. Tall Skinny Kiwi launches his fundraising appeal

6. Faith World takes us through the muddle that is the assisted suicide law 'clarification'

7. The Benedictine Nuns on the proper use of speech and silence

8. Dave Bish points to advice for those going to university

9. David Keen wonders if a clergy pay freeze is on the cards

10. The Urban Pastor on Naked Church

Good old CofE podcasts

Readers of this blog may remember some time ago the Mouse was lamenting the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury still uses a YouTube channel rather than just putting a video podcast into iTunes. The problem is that YouTube is really only used now as a repository for online videos which can then be embedded elsewhere. Channels really haven't taken off, which is why Rowan Williams' channel has just 422 subscribers as Mouse writes this.

Well it looks like someone else at Church House (and Mouse has a feeling he knows who) is better tuned into the technology, and has set up a Church of England podcast with accompanying Facebook Group. The podcasts are pretty limited in scope at the moment, but are very good quality. Hopefully someone will give Rowan Williams a nudge and he'll get the idea.

Cyber Nuns

Mouse is delighted that the Nuns of Holy Trinity Monastery, East Hendred, have put the video of their acceptance speech from the Christian Web and New Media Awards onto YouTube.

The Nuns won the People's Choice award at the awards, but as a closed order they were unable to accept the award in person. They thoroughly charmed everyone with this video acceptance, so Mouse wanted to share it with his readers.

You can follow the adventures of the Cyber Nuns on their blog.

Papal visit to the UK

After much speculation, it has now been confirmed that the Pope will be visiting Britain in September 2010.

Mouse can almost hear the sound of another Nokia hitting the wall in Downing Street as Gordon Brown realises that the visit will not come before the next general election. This is very sensible from Pope Benedict. To come in advance of an election risks putting himself in a difficult position with regards to his meeting schedule with the local politicians.

Damian Thompson thinks this is an opportunity for the Catholic Church to 'get its house in order' by sorting out some appointments and some liturgical issues. Mouse thinks that's rather a low ambition for a Papal visit.

Cranmer seems to think the visit will be in January and will help Gordon Brown out - one of us has the date wrong!

Ruth Gledhill, who has long predicted the visit, thinks the politics of the visit is interesting and is really looking forward to the visit.

Rowan Williams is delighted, and surely he could say nothing else.

Riazat Butt, however, questions the reception that the Pope will receive, from a diminished flock and from Muslims who he has angered in the past. Mouse Riazat is being rather pessimistic.

Mouse's view is that it will be a good thing for the Catholic Church in Britain, and the visit will almost certainly get all Britons thinking about their own faith. Readers of Guido Fawkes will be familiar with the Curse of Jonah Brown, however. This is the unfortunate fact that everything Gordon Brown blesses is doomed to fail. Mouse is therefore afraid for the health of the aged Pontiff. On the bright side, whilst Gordon Brown may have been very high profile in his invitation to the Pope, Benedict may well have been more interested in the invitation extended by the Catholic Church of England and Wales, so he may escape the curse.

+++ Times reporting that Papal visit to Britain confirmed +++

Mouse will reflect on the story when he's had a chance to read it properly. It seems that a Papal visit has been confirmed for September 2010.

Guest Post: Maria Toth on the Christian Web & New Media Awards

Maria is a Premier Radio presenter, blogger, and host for the Christian Web & New Media Awards. The awards were also her brainchild. Writing exclusively for The Church Mouse, Maria reflects on this year's awards. The Mouse's own account of the evening has already been documented.


It's amazing how an idea i had nearly 3 years ago (on a cold dark morning during a long train journey) has now developed into the annual Christian Web & New Media Awards. I had been blogging for a few months and entered a world where Christians supported, encouraged and challenged one another, so came up with a plan to salute the commitment that was evident, as well as to let others know about the wealth of insight i had discovered on the world wide web!

On Friday 21st September 2009 at 2.30pm you would think that with the awards being in their 3rd year the ceremony taking place that evening would be all sewn up, after all it can't be that difficult to ensure that 100 people are in the same building at the same time, can it? The Bishop of London had confirmed his attendance, the graphics for the evening had been completed, shoes had been bought, and a van was loaded with equipment; however a key contributor was still in Egypt awaiting his flight back, and guests travelling from as far away as Scotland and Newcastle needed navigational assistance.

In past years here at HQ we have received 'phone calls with a myriad of queries ranging from people wanting fashion advice, to asking for top tips on how to write a good acceptance speech, but this year the predominant query was whether it was possible to purchase tickets to attend the awards ceremony even if you haven't entered the awards, such is the demand to be there. Over the weeks before the big night it was exciting having Mac laptops arrive at the office, along with Wiis, iPod Touches and a home cinema system, but sadly we couldn't keep any of them for ourselves. Whilst thinking about all the winning websites & blogs (yes, i knew in advance before opening the gold envelopes who had won) i considered popping to the shop to get a block of cheese as a prize for the Church Mouse, but thought better of it.

The night itself was probably the best ceremony yet with the most dramatic occurrence only being that i dropped a cue card on stage so had to read it whilst it was on the floor - thank God for A1 eyesight! Some of my colleagues had set me the challenge of trying to use the word 'porcupine' whilst hosting but i got so caught up in ensuring that the evening was running smoothly that thankfully i forgot! On a serious note, it was an ecumenical success: I don't think many events see a Coptic Orthodox Bishop, an Anglican Bishop, a Baptist Minister, a Pentecostal Pastor and a Catholic Priest all in the same place at once, so apart from the techno-whizz nuns from Oxfordshire's amazing video acceptance speech, the ecumenical nature of the event was a highlight for me. Now the event is over people who attended are already partnering with one another and many notes have been sent in thanking us for a great time. Roll on 2010!

New BBC series on the history of Christianity

A 'major' new series will be running on BBC Four on the history of Christianity.

You can see a preview on the BBC website. It seems to be a televised version of Diarmaid MacCulloch's book 'A History of Christianity: The first three thousand years'.

If you think that's not quite enough and want to see where things will go from here, Craig Borlais has already written the history of the next 150 years.

Mouse has not read either of these books, and hasn't had a sneak preview of the TV series, although Rowan Williams' review of the book gives it a pretty hefty endorsement. However, without wishing any bad feeling towards Mr MacCulloch, all he can say is that he has been rather disappointed by previous Christian TV series, so he's trying to keep his expectations in check for this one.

Premier Christian Radio goes national

As of yesterday Premier Christian Radio has become a national digital radio channel, available on DAB. Mouse has never been a big Premier listener, mainly because he could only get it through his TV, and who wants to watch a radio show?

Mouse not only hopes that the new found status will make their service available to more people, but that they will prove a business case for a commercial radio station with a Christian ethos. Also, the commercial pressures brought about by the increased operating costs should provide a further stimulus to Premier to continue improving programming.

Its not an easy time to grow a media offering at the moment, with most broadcasters looking to reduce costs in the face of reduced advertising revenue. Premier hope that some of their costs will be covered by voluntary donations, which does give them a bit of an advantage over other broadcasters. However, it will still be tough.

Who is Tony Blair's Eid message aimed at?

Tony Blair keeps his impeccable PC credentials with 'A Message for Eid-Ul-Fitr', addressed 'To all those celebrating Eid-Ul-Fitr'. However, on reading the message you can't help thinking that if it really is aimed at those celebrating the festival, its rather patronising. The message reads:

The month of Ramadan is one of the most important dates in the Islamic calendar. The Qu'ran was first revealed during this month and the wisdom of the special verses are given specific attention during prayers and recital worldwide. Fasting, one of the Five Pillars of Islam takes place during this month and is a powerful act of worship observed by the Muslim community worldwide, providing a spiritual dimension to the daily lives of Muslims.

Is it just the Mouse who thinks that those who are celebrating Eid-Ul-Fitr would know this rather better than TB? Mouse is looking forward to his Christmas message this year where he will be reciting the nativity story, and his New Year message when he explains why its fun to see the year roll over to another number.

Bishops make the case for a deal on climate change at Copenhagen

After Mouse's last post celebrating Gordon Brown's commitment (I think it is that now) to go to Copenhagen, someone pointed out via Twitter that Mouse had not actually said what was going on in Copenhagen or what the deal was about.

This is quite right (although it does mean that you haven't been reading this blog, and have not been following any news at all on climate change). So Mouse was about to sit down and update that post with some of the background, when up popped a statement from the Bishops Council. Other than the fact that the statement is dated 16 September, but it took a full five days before it made it onto the good old CofE's website, it is a great statement, and sums up the background to the Copenhagen Summit, where we are hoping for a new deal to cut carbon emissions and halt climate change before it becomes irreversible.

Here's the statement for those who can't be bothered to follow the link.

If a fire breaks out and spreads into thorn bushes so that it burns stocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

(Exodus 22:6)

As Christians we are called to love God, follow the path of Christ and love our neighbour as ourselves. From these aspects of Christian vocation and witness we derive an ethic and practice of care for God’s creation and action for justice and peace in safeguarding the environment on which all depend, which belongs to God, and which is in our care as faithful stewards and servants of God.

As a Church we recognise the gravity of the ecological problems facing our world and the need to deal with them in ways that offer justice, hope and sustainable livelihood to the poor of the earth. We are committed in the spirit of the Christian faith to work with others, especially those of other faiths, for sustainable development – development that brings justice and decent living standards to the poor and marginalised, that uses wisely the resources of the earth, that safeguards the richness of God’s good Earth for future generations.

With less than four months to go before the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, in December 2009, this year’s Time for Creation provides an obvious occasion for the Church to join with others across Europe in prayerful reflection on those political decisions that need to be taken by governments to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation.

Securing an agreement capable of limiting global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will require an extraordinary effort that is without precedent in global environmental politics. It will also require a radical change in mentality and awareness in society as a whole. Now more than ever the Church is called to demonstrate its visible commitment to care for the integrity of creation, by living simply and sustainably itself and by pressing governments to provide effective leadership internationally.

Energy saving toolkits launched on 11th June 2009 as part of the Church of England’s Shrinking the Footprint initiative provides a valuable new resource to assist the whole body of the Church to meet its stated ambition of reducing its environment footprint by 80 per cent by 2050. The launch this week of the Climate Justice Fund – a web-based tool that enables individuals, parishes and dioceses here in the UK to calculate their own carbon footprint and pay compensation for anything over their share – reminds us that important though mitigation is, our actions can’t begin and end there.

We have a responsibility to protect and assist those vulnerable communities that are already experiencing, through no fault of their own, the devastating impacts of a changing climate. Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim with their own meagre resources in the face of the threat posed by climate change is clearly morally unacceptable. That is why at its heart climate change is an issue of global justice.

These initiatives, together with the significant Church of England and Anglican Communion statements, and commitments already made by the General Synod, have been assembled by Theos, a Christian think tank, for presentation at the Copenhagen Conference and publication on the Shrinking the Footprint website.

Taken together, these efforts illustrate the Church’s understanding that responding to the challenge of climate change requires both changes in lifestyle and also financial compensation to those most affected. Whilst it will be for governments meeting in Copenhagen in December to agree an ambitious and deliverable successor to the Kyoto regime for global reductions in carbon emissions, we have a part to play by joining with others across the world in providing political leaders with an ambitious and compelling mandate to act justly and responsibly.

16 September 2009, Oxford

Notes

2009 is a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change, culminating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen, 7th-18th December. In 2007, Parties agreed to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed at Copenhagen.

In 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch suggested that 1st September, the first day of the Orthodox Church's year, should be observed as a day "of protection of the natural environment". Ten years later the European Christian Environmental Network widened this proposal, urging churches to adopt a Time for Creation stretching from 1 September to the feast of St Francis on 4th October. This was endorsed by the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu, Romania in 2007, which recommended that the period "be dedicated to prayer for the protection of Creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change".

Shrinking the Footprint is the Church of England’s national strategic campaign to enable its members and institutions to address - in faith, practice, and mission - the pressing issue of climate change. It aims to challenge, encourage and support the whole body of the Church to shrink its environmental footprint to create the "The 20 per cent Church" by 2050. Shrinking the Footprint was set up in 2006 on Environment Day.

The Climate Justice Fund is being set up under the umbrella of Shrinking the Footprint. Any money accrued to the Fund will go initially to support three Anglican Church Projects in Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These projects will help poor communities respond quickly and effectively to the challenges of climate change. All financial matters regarding the Climate Justice Fund will be managed by Tearfund, one of the UK’s leading relief and development agencies. The decision to set up the Climate Justice Fund was taken by the Church of England’s General Synod in July 2008.

Climate change exacerbates existing development problems and is therefore an additional burden on developing countries seeking to achieve sustainable development. These challenges will need to be addressed through both short term and long term approaches to adaptation. According to a selection of current estimates on the overall needs, the additional investment required for adaption to the inevitable impacts of climate change in developing countries is in the order of US$50-80 billion per year by 2020, in addition to existing Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments.

The College of Bishops includes all diocesan and suffragan bishops in the Church of England - 113 when there are no vacant Sees.

Read The Church Mouse in the Guardian's Comment is Free

The Church Mouse has landed in the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' pages. The piece is headed as follows:

Finding the right pigeonholes

Anglicans come under a variety of names, more so in recent years. Do we really need this many labels?

Ready, Steady, Slow - good old CofE gets ready for a green advent

The good old CofE has set up a website where you can sign up to get 'teaser' emails about this year's advent campaign.

This is part of the 'Ready, Steady, Slow' initiative, which is an environment themed awareness campaign. The website currently just has a video from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the facility to sign up for emails. Mouse understands that in due course there will be an online advent calendar on the site, with an environmental theme.

Mouse is impressed that the good old CofE has not only thought that far ahead already, but has managed to get something that looks relatively modern in place. Lets hope the final delivery is good.

+++ Breaking: Gordon Brown 'prepared' to go to Copenhagan +++

Ed Miliband has put the following on his website:

Good news. Gordon Brown has announced that he is prepared to go to Copenhagen to clinch a deal.

He's the first major world leader to say he'll do so.

As you know, the deal is really hanging in the balance now so I hope that Gordon's announcement will start to create some momentum ahead of the UN General Assembly and the G20 meetings. Gordon and I will be talking to world leaders this week about the deal and I'll report back on where we get to.

At the moment, countries are to be too far apart but I hope that leaders signalling they are ready to come to Copenhagen will help improve the prospects of a deal.

Mouse is delighted, and has been part of the campaign for Gordon to go to Copenhagen and get a deal. The statement is carefully worded, saying that Brown is 'prepared' to go to Copenhagen, although the comment "He's the first major world leader to say he'll do so" is more concrete. Paul Waugh reckons it will be pretty hard for him to back out now.

Incidentally he points out that Ed M got the news out via Twitter before any major news outlet.

Good old CofE launches Climate Justice Fund

The good old CofE has launched the Climate Justice Fund. The idea of the fund is to raise some awareness of the impact of climate change on real people in developing countries, whilst also raising money for those people. The fund will support Anglican dioceses in Africa respond to natural disasters caused, in part, by climate change. It will also support the development of sustainable agriculture in those areas, where climate change is affecting crops.

The website, hosted by Tearfund, carries this message from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

The Climate Justice Fund is a creative and practical response to the concerns raised at the Lambeth Conference by bishops speaking first hand about the devastating impact of climate change on their communities; in some instances threatening their Provinces' very survival.

We need to reduce our carbon footprint. We also need to address the major challenges being faced by our brothers and sisters especially in the south. Climate change is not just about science; it's about justice. By contributing to the fund we can make good some of the damage that our excessive consumption is having on the poorest. I hope that individuals and parish communities will seize this opportunity to give generously.

Mouse's only negative is the somewhat useless carbon calculator tool on the website. Mouse clicked in to calculate his carbon footprint to be met with a tool giving him just four options, based on the size of house he has. The tool tells you to donate £3.80 per person in your house if you live in a small house, and £669 per person for a mansion. It doesn't seem to ask any questions about how often you fly, whether you use public transport or drive a Lamborghini. It doesn't ask whether you have insulated your house or any other measures to actually calculate your carbon footprint. If you want to do that, Mouse suggests you use a real carbon calculator like the one at Carbon Footprint.

However, this isn't really the point, so just use this one and give the fund some money.

London parish records now online

In 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell ordered parish churches to keep records of baptisms, marriages and funerals. For the first time, these records from London churches are available online.

From the records we learn that Charles Dickens married Catherine in St Luke's in Chelsea on 2 April, 1836. 100,000 plague victims were recorded between 1665-6, often marked either 'plague' or simply 'P'. In all around 11 million records are now available to search online.

Dan Jones, international content director at Ancestry.co.uk, said, "Official records were not kept by the government until Civil Registration in 1837, which makes these parish records essential for tracing anyone who was born, married or died in London before the 19th century. These records help bring to life the all-too-often tragic stories of individuals who lived through the numerous iconic periods in London's history".

Christian web and new media awards - the winners

Mouse had a good time at the christian web and new media awards last night. It was great to meet other bloggers and website owners. It was a glam affair at St Stephen's Church, Walbrook, in the City of London. The Bishop of London opened the evening, which was hosted by Premier's Maria Toth. During the course of the evening we heard from pentecostals, baptists, Anglicans, a Coptic Orthodox and had a Catholic gospel choir, who were fantastic.

The highlight of the evening for the Church Mouse was when the People's Choice category was announced. The winner was the Benedictine Nuns of Holy Trinity, East Hendred. They have a great website, but since they are a closed order, they were unable to attend in person. However, they sent in a video message to accept their award. Surely no-one in the audience expected three elderly Benedictine nuns to be internet wizards, but that is what they are. Mouse can only compare the surprise in the room to the moment that Susan Boyle starting singing.

Mouse was put out of his misery fairly early on, and won the best newcomer category. Here are all the other winners and runners up.

Best Christian Blog:

Winner — Dave's District Blog, www.davesdistrictblog.blogspot.com
Runner Up — Bible Search Engine Optimisation, www.bibleseo.com

Most Inspiring Leadership Blog:

Winner — Nick Baines's Blog, www.nickbaines.wordpress.com
Runner Up — The President and Vice President of the Methodist Conference, www.methodist-presandvp.blogspot.com

Best Christian Blog for under 25's:

Winner — The Rmablings of Hughbo, www.hughbourne.co.uk
Runner Up — Saved by Grace, Dan Blythe,www.danblythe.wordpress.com

Best Newcomer Blog:

Winner — The Church Mouse Blog,www.churchmousepublishing.blogspot.com
Runner Up — The Thoughts of a Thinker, Xander Coomber,www.xandercoomber.co.uk

Special Recognition (for the youngest entrant):

Winner — Faithful Catholic Girl, www.faithfulcatholicgirl.blogspot.com

Best Small Church Website:

Winner — Stevenston High Kirk, www.highkirk.com
Runner Up — Reading Family Church, www.readingfamilychurch.org.uk

Best Large Church Website:

Winner — Hope City Church, www.hopecitychurch.tv
Runner Up — Abundant Life Ministries, www.alm.org.uk

Best Christian Organization:

Winner — Divine Match - The UK Christian Singles Community,www.divinematch.co.uk
Runner Up — Christian Today, www.christiantoday.com

Best Christian Music Site:

Winner — Worship Central, www.worshipcentral.org
Runner Up — Musicademy, www.musicademy.com

People's Choice Award:

Winner — Holy Trinity Monastery, East Hendred - A monastery of Roman Catholic Benedictine nuns in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, www.benedictinenuns.org.uk

Best use of New Media for a Christian project:

Winner — Clayton.tv, www.clayton.tv
Runner Up — New Frontiers Church Planting,www.ukchurchplanting.org

Best use of New Media for a Christian campaign:

Winner — Passion Play
Runner Up — Tearfund - Make Life Flow,www.tearfund.org.uk/lobalooroll

Best use of Rich Media for Christians

Winner — 24-7 Shorts, www.24-7shorts.com/

Joint Winner — Island Wall Entertainment, www.islandwall.com
Runner Up — Planet Sport, www.planetsport.tv