The draft routemap, published among today's General Synod papers, suggests how all parts of the Church of England can make changes together to achieve the ambitious target set by General Synod in 2020 to be net zero carbon 20 years ahead of the Government’s targets. It includes recommendations for building maintenance, heating and the availability of specialist advice for each setting alongside how the central Church and dioceses can offer support.The newly elected Synod will be formally inaugurated on Tuesday November 16 at the start of a two-day meeting. Items on the agenda include a debate on the wealth gap in the UK and discussions about Church matters including the recent review of governance and the development of a new vision and strategy for the Church of England in the 2020s and beyond.That includes an ambitious goal to double the number of children and young people in churches.The recent elections attracted a record number of candidates (with 956 standing for the Houses of Clergy and Laity combined) and returned a majority of new members - 60 per cent of those elected.The meeting at Church House Westminster will be the first full group pf sessions held in person since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Making possible Synod's 'ambitious target' of net-zero by 2030.The draft net zero carbon routemap has been written by a sub-committee of the Church of England’s Environmental Working Group, chaired by the Bishop of Selby, Dr John Thomson, with advice from across the Church and charities. He said: “God’s creation is in crisis, and there is an urgent call to address this at every level of our global community, to protect creation, including the world’s poorest communities who are being affected the most and soonest by climate change.“Synod has set an ambitious target, and this represents the next step in building consensus around a workable plan for the whole Church to meet that aim and to make the target possible.“We recognise this will be challenging and there will be a financial cost, however many adaptations can also be made simply and quickly, such as switching to a green energy provider, filling gaps in windows, and changing lightbulbs, all of which can help to reduce energy costs.“I encourage individuals and communities to engage with these consultation proposals and to think at every level what can be done to be part of the change we need to live out in response to our Christian calling to safeguard and care for all of God’s creation.” Global leaders will be meeting in Glasgow to discuss how the world can tackle the climate emergency following increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the IPCC’s “code red for humanity” report, and depleting biodiversity. The Government has committed to a target of net zero carbon by 2050, with an interim target of a 78 per cent reduction, set in April 2021.Becky Clark, Director of Churches and Cathedrals for the Archbishops' Council, said: "This consultation seeks to gather a wide range of views to build consensus on how the Church of England can both reduce its carbon footprint and also model care for creation."Buildings are at the heart of this and all involved are aware of the significant challenges, not least to parishes and cathedrals struggling to recover from the pandemic."However there are already amazing examples of churches that are at the vanguard of low carbon adaptations, demonstrating that even the highest listed buildings can make vital changes and be part of tackling the climate emergency.”Anyone can respond to the consultation online before the closing date of 28 February 2022, with responses particularly requested from Dioceses and Cathedrals.There will be a series of information sessions, open to all, in the autumn of 2021 to discuss the suggestions, and answer questions arising during the consultation period.
The Commission on Reimagining Care has been charged by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to develop a radical and inspiring long-term vision for care and support in England, underpinned by a renewed set of values and principles, drawing on Christian theology and ethics.The focus of the Commission is on adults with disabilities and those with care and support needs in later life.The Commission began work in June 2021 and is due to publish a final report in September 2022.Today, the Commission is publishing a draft set of values which draw on Christian theology and ethics. The Commission believes these should underpin any future vision for care and support in England.The Commission is inviting feedback on these values as part of a wider Listening and Engagement exercise.The values include concepts that are not usually heard in policy discussions about care such as flourishing, loving kindness, empathy, trust and justice.A full list of proposed values can be accessed on the Commission website. Today marks the start of a formal period of Listening and Engagement which will run until Friday 10 December. The Commission wants to hear from a wide range of individuals and organisations and ensure that its work is shaped by the views and voices of people and organisations who have experience of care and care giving.They are calling for contributions from:Those who draw on formal services. Unpaid carers, and the relatives and friends of those who draw on care and support. Those who work in the care sector and the voluntary and community sector. Churches of all denominations and other faith communities. Those who commission, provide and regulate formal services. Community groups and people who provide informal supportThe consultation launched today aims to gather views about the challenges experienced by those currently drawing on care and support and those who work in the sector.They are also interested in identifying examples of good practice.The Commission is particularly interested in the role that communities play in supporting people with disability and in later life to live well, in particular the role of church and other faith communities.The Commission hopes to generate information, insights and ideas through the Listening and Engagement Exercise that can inform the work of the Commission and contribute to the findings of a report to be published in September 2022.Commenting on the Listening and Engagement exercise, the Commission Chair, Dr Anna Dixon MBE (see photo) said: “The early focus of the Commission has been on understanding the principles that have informed past reports and policies on social care and reflecting on what Christian theology and ethics have to say about the values that should underpin care and support."Our draft values are not the language of policymakers or indeed professionals, but we hope that these resonate with those who draw on care, their family and friends, and those who provide care."As we continue our work to develop an inspiring vision of care we want to get some new and different perspectives, people from all walks of life, people from different faith backgrounds and those with no faith."The Listening and Engagement exercise we are launching is an essential stage of our work. "We want to hear about where care and support is working well, but also the honest stories of where things need to change."We want to gather ideas to help shape a reimagined future of care and support, not just a reformed statutory care system, but wider changes that will enable people with disability and in later life to live a full life.”The Rt Revd. James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle, and Co-Chair of the Commission added: “The insights, thoughts and examples that we receive in response to this listening and engagement exercise will be vital for our work over the coming months. "We look forward to taking the insights, ideas and experiences gathered, and going out into communities to listen and learn in greater depth from the people and groups who respond to us.”About the Listening and Engagement Exercise and ConsultationThe evidence gathering starts today and finishes on Friday 10 December 2021. There is an online form on the website, or a printed form which can be downloaded and sent to:Call for Evidence – SecretariatReimagining Care CommissionLambeth PalaceLondon SE1 7JU
“What would you be, you wide East Anglian sky / Without church towers to recognise you by?” Even when Sir John Betjeman spoke these lines during his 1974 BBC documentary A Passion for Churches, they struck an elegiac note. Traditional religious practice in the Church of England was already in significant decline. Half a century on, Anglicans find themselves at a historic crossroads – obliged by dire financial circumstance and sparse congregations to rethink what the church is for, and where it should be.There are growing fears that at next month’s General Synod, measures will be taken to make it easier to close hundreds of parish churches, drastically reduce numbers of “vicars on the beat” and sell off assets to raise funds. Moving away from the traditional vision of providing for “the cure of souls” in every parish – with a Sunday service at the local church its focal point – the Anglican hierarchy envisions a future mixed ecology in which a variety of venues host groups of believers, some of which will be lay-led.According to plans drawn up in Manchester diocese, for example, a gradually reduced number of stipendiary clergy would provide support and oversight over new “mission communities”, which would absorb existing parishes.This prospect is being fought tooth and nail by furious congregations and clergy, in a struggle which is becoming as bitter as previous battles over the ordination of women and same-sex marriage. During the summer, a Save the Parish movement was founded to oppose the mooted changes. The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who is seen as one of the chief architects of the new strategy, has admitted to sleepless nights as the backlash has gained momentum. The Anglican hierarchy stands accused of overseeing a soulless managerial approach to a budgetary crisis which the pandemic has made far worse.The pain felt at a local level is real and understandable. But in the context of a 40% decline in church attendance over the past 30 years, radical action seems unavoidable. Before the pandemic struck, around 5,000 parishes needed financial help from their diocese to meet the costs of ministry. Lincoln diocese has an annual £3m operating deficit and has said that after 2025 it will no longer be able to rely on historic assets to get by. On the current model, the old ideal of a priest for every parish no longer seems affordable. And given the huge decline in traditional forms of religious observance, it seems reasonable that the Church of England should look to experiment with new forms of mission in the community, in new settings. An enhanced leadership role for lay people may turn out to be a means of renewal and reinvigoration as well as a financial imperative.For atheists, agnostics and those of other denominations and faiths, the Church of England’s deeply uncertain future might seem very much someone else’s problem. But there is a wider pathos to the current crisis and the bitter divisions it is causing. As studies have shown, the widespread rejection of traditional churchgoing in Britain does not mean that we have become a nation of atheists. A more individualised and diffuse sense of the spiritual is still commonplace. Most people don’t go to church. But many people like the idea that these sites of hospitality and reflection are still around, especially in moments of crisis or for crucial rites of passage.That backdrop is not one which can permit the Church of England to carry on indefinitely as it has been doing. But as well as being a reason for it to exercise great caution in navigating a fraught future, it can also be a source of what is, after all, a theological virtue – hope.
