For 2008 - Building Spiritual Capital

To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

This is advice that organisations should consider in 2008 in building connections and looking selflessly outward and not inward at its structures . Church organisations will then have the confidence of the people and be connected.

Who is going to be at church this Christmas?

The Times on-line declares that Anglican church attendance numbers are stable, meaning that the decline appears to have halted. Read about it here

Roman Catholic attendances are on a par with Anglican attendances now, and slightly ahead for the first time. This is attributed to the influx of immigrants from Catholic countries. The true extent of the decline in indigenous Catholic numbers is thereby masked.

Even so, only five per cent of the total population are now regular church attenders. 

Church reminder to government

The Church in Wales Bench of Bishops offers its social expertise as a resource to the Welsh Assembly government for furthering the development of a just and equal society in the Principality. See their press release here

Is this a gentlemanly way of reminding our elected representatives that to ignore what religious communities contribute to the common good is a way of sabotaging your own good intentions?

Jewish comment on the festive season

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Two valuable contributions to debate between religion and secularism for the feast of Hannukah

Jewish writer Zaki Cooper in the Guardian's Face to Faith column

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,2224352,00.html

And another from Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Friday's 'Thought for the Day'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/documents/t20071207.shtml

Here are two people belonging to a minority faith group, who not only respect the faiths of others but appreciate celebrations of faith other than their own in the public realm. Even the diluted consumer version of religious tradition, they argue, in its way supports binding family and social values.

Christianophobia?

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A member of Parliament attempts to raise debate about the secularising tendencies of the main political parties which in the interests of so-called neutrality towards the contribution of religion to public life and social education are contributing to the marginalisation of Britain's heritage of Christian culture and values. Read about it here on the BBC news website.

Triumph of moderation

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The one noteworthy good thing about the prosecution and imprisonment of Gillian Gibbons in the Mohammed Teddy affair has been the widespread criticism of the unreasonableness of this move by the Sudanese judiciary by British Muslims.

Sending two Muslim peers as diplomatic envoys was a confident master stroke by Her Majesty's government. Her early release, despite attempts by Sudanese extremists to escalate the matter further, is a triumph for reason, good will, moderation and moral argument, delivered by two representatives of a faith community who happen also to be recognised for their public service, as peers of the realm.

It sends a serious message to those in the world abusing Islam as a cover for their political power games. See the BBC's Khartoum correspondent's report here

It also sends an equally strong message to the Islamophobes of British society, about trust and respect for people whose faith practice upholds the values which most people want to uphold and defend.

Protest noted

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The 'night time economy' of Cardiff attracts media attention from time to time, although far less since Cardiff police got the measure of the public order problems, in a way that made their operations exemplary for other forces tackling similar issues. Binge drinking culture everywhere in Britain is now starting to attract media reports from medical specialists and others concerned about alcohol related illnesses caused by excess consumption. It's less frequent that ministers of religion critical of current morés get reported. Clerical objection to a new licensing application to sell alcohol in a convenience store on Cardiff's main thoroughfare, just outside the zone recently declared by City licensing policy as meriting a moratorium on further liquor licenses did however find modest cover in the 'South Wales Echo' this week.

What the article does not mention is the lack of consultation by the licensing policy drafting group with any faith groups or groups with alcohol related health concerns in shaping proposals. Anything up to one in ten of Cardiff citizens who might have something critical to say about the current state of affairs, impacting so seriously on the quality of life in the city were thereby excluded. Can this state of affairs continue when the new Equalities Act is implemented?