Faith in the Public Space and the role of the Church

Making sense of the census was a useful workshop organised by the Greater London Presence and Engagement Network (PEN) on the new Census data and how it can help churches respond to their local context. We heard about the parish statistics that the Research & Statistics Department at Church House will be publishing based on Census 2011 and used a draft resource for stimulating discussion in parishes about the local implications arising from this data.

Following on from this workshop, The Very Revd Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, gave this year’s PEN lecture Guardian or Gatekeeper? Faith in the Public Space and the role of the Church at St George the Martyr Parish Church, SE1. In this lecture, David reflected on his recent sabbatical research on Christian-Muslim relations together with his experiences as Dean of Bradford. 

His thinking essentially mirrored that expressed by the Queen in her address to faith leaders at Lambeth Palace in 2012 where she suggested that the Church of England, while providing an identity and spiritual dimension for its own many adherents, also "has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country" and "has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely." An example of this in practice is the Common Good Network funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation within their Bradford programme. 

For more on David Ison's lecture, click here.

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The Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me).

Contemporary Social Evils

This comes from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation:

Out now, a new book - Contemporary Social Evils - demonstrates the public hunger for a new way of living and general unease about how greed, consumerism and individualism have pervaded our way of life. The book was formally launched yesterday in central London and a podcast of the event is now available to download.

The book brings together the findings from a major consultation with leading thinkers, commentators, activists and members of the public, led by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It summarises the findings so far, including new research with disadvantaged groups, and looks forward to a post-recession future. Contributors range across the political spectrum, from AC Grayling and Ferdinand Mount to Julia Neuberger, Matthew Taylor and Anthony Browne.

"This is a brave exploration of some of the fundamental assumptions around values and attitudes that we hold, written at an important moment. I commend this timely, intelligent and challenging book". (Clare Tickell, Chief Executive, Action for Children)

"A splendid series of thought-provoking studies on the social evils of our time, blessedly free of nostalgia, an essential contribution to a much-needed national debate on the society we seek to make for the sake of those who will come after us." (Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks)

For more information on the JRFs Social Evils project go to www.jrf.org.uk/socialevils.

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Broken Records - Until The Earth Begins To Part.

What are today's social evils?

What are today's social evils?

People feel a deep sense of unease about some of the changes shaping British society, according to the consultation on modern-day social evils carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Individualism, greed, a decline of community and a decline of values were among the social evils that worried participants most. In addition, people also identified:

• drugs and alcohol;
• poverty and inequality;
• decline of the family;
• immigration and responses to immigration;
• crime and violence;
• young people as victims or perpetrators.

More information, and the opportunity to share views, is available at www.socialevils.org.uk.

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Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain.