The increase in the number of people coming forward for ordination in the Church of England has caused the Church of England to need more funds for its training budget. The overspend has come because the Church believes that all who have a genuine vocation which is accepted by the Church are accepted for training.
14 November 1997
November 11th marked the fifth anniversary of the vote by the Church of England General Synod to ordain women priests. The occasion was marked by a number of services of thanksgiving throughout the country. The Church of England now has 1765 women serving as priests or deacons. Of these, 1182 are stipendiary clergy, and 583 non-stipendiary. About a further 130 are retired, bringing the total number of those ordained to around 1900.
14 November 1997
The Church is to give every household in Britain a millennium candle at the end of 1999, the Second Church Estates Commissioner said last week. The candles can be lit for a moment of silent national reflection at midnight on 31st December, as the new millennium dawns.
14 November 1997
On the 20th November HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their wedding. There will be a service of Thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey on that day.
10 November 1997
The West Front of Westminster Abbey in London has had niches standing empty since it was built in the late Middle Ages. On the completion of the restoration of the West Front in 1992, it was decided that these niches should be filled with appropriate statutes. In addition to six statutes of traditional saints and four of allegorical figures representing the values for which martyrs have died are 10 remaining niches.
31 October 1997
Consumer power is forcing British supermarkets to insist on better conditions for Third World workers, the international charity Christian Aid reported this month.
31 October 1997
The Archbishop of Canterbury this week urged the Church of England to continue to adapt and innovate in order to connect more effectively with the spiritual needs of millions of people who feel estranged from organised religion. The Archbishop used his Ashe Lecture in St Helen's Church, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, to set out an agenda for continuing change around the themes of confidence, mission and unity.
21 October 1997
Christian Aid, the relief and development agency of the British Churches, has launched an innovative Internet access scheme to raise money for charity on the Internet. The scheme called SurfAid enables Internet users to contribute towards Third World projects while surfing the Internet.
21 October 1997
A new academy for inter religious and intercultural studies which has been launched in Bethlehem is expected to promote relationships between Christians and Muslims. To be known as Dar Al-Kalima (House of the Word), the academy will serve Christians and Churches in the mainly Muslim countries of Asia and Africa, and will research the theology and church practices of these Christian communities. The academy will also provide information about the Palestinian people in an attempt to break their relative isolation.
21 October 1997
The Church of Ireland is launching its new Website on the Internet on Thursday 2nd October 1997 at 9am.
21 October 1997