The grant to the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in Suffolk will help promote Christian communities in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Felixstowe, and in up to 12 market towns and five rural areas.The new funding will support churches to develop their work with children, young people and their families – particularly in deprived areas – and offer training to people in parish churches across the diocese.It is hoped that the project will provide a blueprint for mission in rural areas across the country.More than 30 ‘Lightwave’ groups of small, informal church gatherings, working alongside parishes, have already been formed, meeting as youth cafes, toddler groups and even walking groups in rural areas. So far the Lightwave groups have attracted more than 300 people to the Christian faith since their launch in 2019. In Ipswich, three new churches have been created since 2019 as well as social action projects providing surplus food from supermarkets, based in nine churches.The Bishop of Dunwich, Dr Mike Harrison, said: “This funding is a huge boost to the Church of England in Suffolk as we continue to build our Christian presence in our communities. We have learned a lot during the pandemic, as we focused on serving our communities and we want to continue to grow in whatever ways we can”.
The Routemap to Net Zero Carbo by 2030 published last month, encourages cathedrals, churches, schools and theological education institutions to make changes to their day-to-day activities to reduce carbon emissions. In February 2020, General Synod voted to adopt the ambitious target of 2030, and following a widespread consultation with parishes, dioceses, cathedrals, and the wider Church, the Routemap was drawn up by members of the Environment Working Group.Included are explanations of simple changes which can be made, such as fixing basic insulation gaps or switching lightbulbs.Members of the Synod are currently meeting in York for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.Introducing the motion, the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher (see photo), the Church of England’s lead Bishop for the Environment, said: “The 2030 target is hugely ambitious, but the process is as important as the target.“This work is central to our story with God and creation; central to our story about God and creation. “And I see it as a key part of our obedience to God’s call to be stewards of creation. “The Routemap before you has been refined in consultation. It’s a pragmatic, it’s a step-by-step approach. “It charts the territory into an unknown landscape, with the best knowledge that we currently have. “But no doubt it will need to flex and adapt as the wider picture changes in the coming years.“It focuses first on simple steps that every church community can take. Changing to LED lighting on a renewable energy tariff, reducing draughts, good maintenance - each has a part of how we live this out especially for our rural churches.“As does heating people, rather than the angels carved on our church roof bosses.“If we think of reaching net zero as a list of 10 things, eight of them are fairly straight forward and let’s work together on the other two.”Synod was shown a short film highlighting successful examples of net zero carbon churches and schools. It came from a series of short films which show projects from across the country, ranging from heat pumps in rural Cumbria to solar panels in central London. They also include net zero carbon schools like St Andrew’s School, Chedworth, Gloucestershire, which has installed solar panels and an air-source heat pump, and Newcastle Cathedral which has installed a new, sustainable, heating system. Approved by Synod, the Routemap is not legislative and does not obligate any part of the Church but is the basis of the road to net zero carbon by 2030.
THE Primate of Ukraine’s independent Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Epiphany (Dumenko), visited Lambeth Palace on Thursday to discuss the Russian invasion.The Ukrainian Primate, accompanied by the Archbishop of Chernihiv & Nizhyn, His Eminence Yevstratiy Zoria, held a round-table discussion with the Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Chartres, a former Bishop of London; the Revd Professor James Walters, director of the LSE Faith Centre; and the Revd Dr Jamie Hawkey, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey.Metropolitan Epiphany described the daily deaths in the country: “The Ukrainian people are suffering to a very great extent from this atrocious war. Everyday a lot of people die, literally every day, and this includes children, elderly people, peaceful residents, peaceful citizens. We are very grateful for your prayer support.”The church leaders participated in the midday eucharist in the Lambeth Palace crypt chapel, during which Archbishop Welby received a blessing from Metropolitan Epiphany. In his homily, Archbishop Welby said: “We know that we are in the presence of those who bear a heavy burden of leadership in war. Let us pray that our love for them and their people, and our peace with which we bless them, may strengthen them in the difficult and stony path that they travel at this time.”Archbishop Welby spoke of his great sadness that their visit was taking place against a backdrop of the terrible suffering of the people of Ukraine. “The cruelty of the occupation has been extraordinary,” he said.
