Men and women who found faith at a homeless centre are to star in a series of short dramatic films for Lent and Easter launched by the Church of England. The five film stars have all recently come to faith through the Saturday Gathering, a fresh expres-sion of church in Halifax - and most have experienced crime, alcohol, drug addiction, homelessness or violence in their lives.

The “Psalm 22 project” follows on from the Church of England’s “Lord’s Prayer” campaign which was banned by cinemas before Christmas and pro-motes the justpray.uk website.

The new justpray.uk campaign will feature short teaser films over the next five weeks concluding with the launch of a two minute film on Easter Sunday which casts the five main characters

in their own interpretation of a scene from the Passion of Christ. The film is based on Psalm 22 which includes the words “my God, my God why have you forsaken me ?” said by Jesus Christ on the cross.

The first teaser, features Emma, 24, who came to faith a year ago and still struggles with questions and doubt. In a podcast interview accompanying the film Emma says:

“Having faith is really hard. It’s not easy to pray when you think no one is listening, it’s not easy to wake up knowing you’re going to go through the same stuff every single day.

“Without God, I’d still be drinking, taking drugs. I don’t even know if I’d be here, because I was a self harmer, I would have probably taken my own life at some point.”

Teaser films to be released over the coming weeks also include Howard, 40, who after eight months clean of drugs, alcohol and crime, got baptized and immediately used drugs again. His story is a battle between walking in faith and having doubts but he says that his faith has kept him alive: “Where would I be with-out faith? I’d be dead a long time ago I believe. Yeah, I’d be dead. Not just spiritually but prob-ably physically dead in a box somewhere. Faith’s eve-rything to me. It keeps me going, it gives me hope.”

continued on page 2

INREVIEWwww.churchofengland.org

Just Pray launches for Lent with Psalm 22 at the centre

March 2016

The National Church Institutions working for you

WELCOME to the latest edition of InReview, featuring news from the National Church Institutions.

Our aim is to keep people in touch with the activities of the Archbishops’ Council, Church Commissioners,

the Pensions Board and other bodies who serve the Church at national level.

Do check out In Focus, our sister publication designed to be a centrespread for A5 parish magazines.

General Synod opens with Archbishop Justin reflecting on Primates’ Meeting - page 2

General Synod meets at Church House, Westminster

between 15 - 17 February 2016

Page two | The National Church Institutions working for you

Archbishop Justin Welby speaks about the beauty of the Anglican Communion

The first ever Sunday to celebrate the unique role of Godparents will take place on May 1st 2016. An initiative of the Archbishops’ Council Projects and Development Team, the dedicated day is a response to research looking at parent’s real experiences and expectations around the baptism of their child. Churches throughout the Church of England are invited to use this date to celebrate all that godparents contribute to the amazing journey of faith. This is a great opportunity to invite recent baptism families to come along with godparents to a special service, but is also a chance to get all those in the congregation who are godparents or godchildren to pray for one another.

Special invitations will be available online from Monday March 7. And there’s a whole host of

other materials to help make the day stand out. There will be downloadable prayers and liturgies specifically written for the day all available shortly from www.churchsupporthub.org as well.

Dr Sandra Millar Head of the Projects and Development Team said: “Setting apart a Sunday to celebrate and pray for this special relationship is a great opportunity to share with families and ask for God’s blessing on godparents and god-children everywhere. Churches can invite recent baptism families to come along with godparents to a special service, but is also a chance to get all those in the congregation who are godparents or godchildren to pray for one another. We are offering dedicated resources for all parishes to use from Monday March 7.

Save the date - Godparents’ Sunday May 1st 2016

Addressing Synod, Arch-bishop Justin spoke about the Primates’ Gathering and Meet-ing held in Canterbury in January which he said had ‘occasioned much comment and even more misrepresentation’.

“We were conscious as we met in that week that literally millions, possibly tens of mil-lions, of people were praying for us, and I have never known a week in which I have been so aware of prayer, or of pressure.”

He also explained how the Primates decided on the consequence of the American Episcopal Church (TEC) altering its definition of marriage to be gender neutral. The Presiding Bishop of TEC, Michael Curry, described the Primates’ decision as a fair outcome, Archbishop Justin added.

Summing up he said: “If we bring to our Church, and to the world around, the certainty that Jesus came to set us free, and to open the way for true human flourishing in service to each other and to Him; if our expec-tation in that only in foot wash-ing, even of our enemies, is the Truth demonstrated adequately, then in beauty of relationship

the grace of God will prevail, as that grace did during the Pri-mates’ Meeting

“Life will not be perfect, or even anything remotely approaching it. That kind of over-realised eschatology is a nonsense. There are no quick fixes, magic wands or perfect spells. There is no church order that ensures perfection, nor one in which human sin does not add to the problems of the whole.

“Yet there is a way forward that reveals the unity that we are given, and that celebrates the strength that we can bring each other; that enables us to love those who oppose us, and that focuses on human flour-ishing and on the setting free those who are bound by rules which Jesus could never have imagined, nor Paul...and which have emerged out of a desire for power rather than the expec-tation of the kingdom of God. There is, in short, a way forward in which we look like the people of Christ.”

Read Archbishop Justin’s full speech and watch online at bit.ly/ABCSynod2016

Catch-up with General Synod online

To find out what has been taking place at the February ses-sion of General Synod, you can listen and watch online to the various debates that took place.

Visit our SoundCloud page to hear the debates and our YouTube channel to watch a selection of debates and speeches. You can also follow the @Synod Twitter account to view a summarised stream of

what took place.

Listen and watch again online using the links below:

SoundCloud - bit.ly/CofEListen

YouTube - bit.ly/CofEYouTube

General Synod Twitter - twitter.com/synod

continued from front page

And Rob, 46, who spent years living rough, but now feels resurrected away from a life of drugs, crime and trouble: "'When my brother died I got naughty, I got into drugs, I got into fighting, vio-lence, prison. And when I was in prison I wanted to like, just die. I thought God was forsaking me then. Because I was asking for his help and it didn't happen. About 10 years later, I've turned into a Christian and I've changed my life around, and God hasn't forsaken me."

The Revd Arun Arora, Communications Direc-tor for the Church of England said: "Each of the inspirational stories of those who star in the film

is a reminder of how Jesus Christ can turn life around. They are also a reminder that for many of us faith and doubt co-exist as neighbours and not opposites. The Psalms accompany us through life with their raw honesty, joy and despair at life, love and God. Lent is a time of self-examination and struggle. It's part of the Christian journey that comes as a time of testing and honesty about who we are before God. And it ends with the triumph of Easter day, the sure and certain promise of God triumphant even after the darkest night."

Visit the Just Pray website www.justpray.uk to see the latest trailers, listen to peoples; stories and log your prayers

Former homeless & ex drug addicts become faces of latest campaign for CofE’s justpray.uk

@CofECalling took to Twitter in February to call for ‘prayers for the renewal and increase of vocation to a variety of lay and ordained minis-tries.’ Also using the hashtag #CofECalling the new account from Ministry Division focused on different aspects of calling or vocation each day – all in 140 characters.

The Bishop of Guilford, the Rt Rev’d Andrew Watson, addressing General Synod as part of the Renewal & Reform presentation said:

“We’re talking here about a common ende-vour from Truro to Newcastle, from Canterbury

to Carlisle and all points in between.”.On the topic of praying for vocations, Bishop

Andrew commented:“The crops are ripe. That is both our convic-

tion and our experience, and yet the labourers are few. So that without a deep, urgent renewal of our prayer life, the disparity between the work that needs to be done and the workers willing to do it will simply grow too wide.”

The entire presentation is available to listen online at: bit.ly/RandRListen

InReview | Page three

Keep up-to-date with Renewal & Reform online

To keep up-to-date with the latest developments, follow us on Twitter @RenewalReform or on Facebook facebook.com/renewalandreform.

@RenewalReform facebook.com/ renewalandreform

Renewal & Reform Blogs

You can read up on the latest blogs focussed on the Renewal and Reform initiative on the Church of England Communications blog.

To see the latest blogs, visit:bit.ly/RandRBlog

Synod signals support for new ministry funding framework

Proposed changes to the way that the Church of England funds training for clergy were given backing by the General Synod.

The debate on Resourcing Ministerial Education, forming part of Renewal and Reform, affirmed plans to create a new framework in which dioceses would receive funding for those entering ministerial education to be used more flexibly.

The plans, which were given initial approval in Feb-ruary 2015's Synod meeting, seek to support an increase in those training for ministry by 50% from 2020 for a decade by making funding clearer and fit for purpose.

The Bishop of Sheffield and chair of the Church of England's Ministry Council, Steven Croft, introduced the debate saying:

“The vision of Resourcing Ministerial Education is a grow-ing Church with a flourish-ing ministry. In order to grow and flourish, the body of Christ needs its ligaments and sinews, ordained and lay ministers. We have listened carefully to what dioceses have told us about the

qualities required in those minis-ters. We need ordained and lay ministers who are collaborative, missional and adaptable."

“The block grant system is about more than the distribu-tion of funds for training. It has the capacity to build strong rela-tionships between dioceses on the one hand and TEI's on the other, to bring them into con-versation about the formation which is needed and offered and to increase trust across the Church."

Following Synod's approval, the Ministry Council will carry out further consultation on the proposed funding framework with theological colleges and dioceses - and report back to Synod on the progress as a result of the changes.

The full report on the progress of the Resourcing Ministerial Education proposals since February 2015 General Synod is available at: bit.ly/CofEEducation

The Bishop of Sheffield addresses General Synod

Prayer for vocations - #CofECalling

Resourcing Growth15

Ordained Vocation: What’s our approach?

Praying for vocationsIncreasing confidenceNurturing a sense of vocation

Evangelism is ‘our duty, privilege and joy’, Archbishop tells Synod

Introducing a presentation on a report by the Archbishops' Evangelism Task Group, the Arch-bishop said: "Evangelism is the proclamation, the setting forth, the holding out of the Good news of Jesus Christ, in ways that do justice to the beauty, integrity, joy and power of the one who was dead but is now alive. . . It is from God, about God, with God and because of God. Above all, He calls and enables us to be his heralds.

“All Christians are witnesses of the love of Jesus Christ. The Spirit comes to us for precisely this task. And as witnesses of Jesus we then become witnesses to Jesus, relaying what we have expe-rienced to others."

Read the full speech online at bit.ly/ABCEvangelism

Resourcing Growth14

Growing VocationsGrowing Vocations

Developing a stronger culture of vocation for all Christians

Resourcing the Future called for increase in a range of vocations, lay and ordained

In particular a clear need expressed by dioceses in for an increase in ordinands as a first step

Page four | The National Church Institutions working for you | InReview

Blogs

The Church of England Communications blog is a great way to keep up to date with news stories, comments and reflections from the CofE.

To see the latest from the blog, visit:cofecomms.tumblr.com

#PrayForDawkins

The Rev’d Arun Arora explains why he sent a tweet asking people to pray for Richard Dawkins after the well-known atheist suffered a stroke

Brother Luke: Getting into the Habit

Brother Luke, member of the religious community at Mucknell Abbey, talks about his vocation for #CofECalling’s month of prayer for vocations.

The Weekly Podcast is a round up of the week’s news in the Church of England and is available to listen for free on the Church of England’s Soundcloud account.

Subscribe by visiting this link bit.ly/CofEPodcast

Church of England Weekly Podcast

Winner announced of Church school design competition for Queen's birthday celebrations

The winner of a Church school competition to design a logo for the Church of England's celebra-tions in honour of Her Majesty The Queen's 90th birthday has been announced. The logo, designed by Lucas Salinger, aged 10, from Potten End C of E Primary School in Hertfordshire, was picked from over 1000 entries.

Lucas, whose village school is near Berkham-sted said: 'I feel amazed that my design was chosen. I feel lost for words!'

Head teacher Andrew Morris said: 'I am extremely proud that a member of my school has won the competition, out of so many entries. Lucas is a thoughtful and talented young man who thoroughly deserves recognition for his hard work on the logo. I so am pleased that Lucas has incorporated the cross design that hangs in our church in Potten End.'

The school, which has 199 pupils aged 4 to 11, as well as a nursery will be celebrating the Queen's 90th by studying her life and having a 'street style party' to celebrate.

Official celebrations will take place in London between the 10th and 12th June and it is envisaged that church events will be integrated into local community celebrations that take place that week-end. Churches will have the opportunity to share local stories from the last 90 years through exhibi-tions and oral histories, securing these memories for future generations. Special prayers have been written and approved by The Queen for services marking her birthday.

Church of England schools will be sent an infor-mation pack by the Church of England Education Office with ideas for school celebrations.

Resources and opportunities to publicise local events can be found on www.churchcare.co.uk

News of planned events can be sent to ChurchCare by email to queensbirthday@churchofengland.org and shared on Twitter: @CofE_ChurchCare using #HMQ90

Lucas with his winning design

The General Synod has backed a call for all 16,000 CofE churches to encourage their con-gregations to consider becoming blood donors or registering as organ donors.

Members voted to approve a motion from Leeds Diocesan Synod put by Father Paul Cart-wright, a former police officer and now a priest in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, aimed at increasing the number of blood and organ donors in the UK.

Father Paul told the General Synod of how he had seen lives transformed by organ donation while working as a police family liaison officer supporting families of those seriously injured or killed in road traffic collisions.

He added that after receiving a certificate and gift from the National Blood Service for the number of blood, platelets and plasma donations he made, his life was saved by donated blood

products when he was diagnosed with an acute leukaemia in 2008.

“For my wife and two children, as well as my extended family, the kindness of people donat-ing blood and blood products has meant that I have so far been able to spend seven extra years with them, after I was diagnosed with an acute fast acting leukaemia in 2008," he told the Gen-eral Synod.

“The blood products that I received saved my life, and to be honest I'm unable to find the words to thank those who kindly donated the blood and platelets that saved me, and so I thank God every day for them."

The motion comes after the Church of England has contributed to four major policy debates in recent years and taken part in six national initia-tives including being a founder associate of the Flesh and Blood churches campaign to increase the number of blood and organ donors in the UK.

The campaign has seen thousands of leaflets and posters distributed to churches throughout the country.

The Rt Rev James Newcome, Bishop of Carl-isle, and lead bishop for the Church of England on health care and medical ethics, warmly welcomed the Diocesan Synod motion. He told the General Synod that the need for more blood and organ donations was 'enormous.'

For more information about the Flesh and Blood campaign see www.fleshandblood.org

General Synod backs call to encourage blood and organ donation

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An East Riding housing devel-opment known for its strong commitment to the health and well-being of older people has become the latest destination to be visited by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

The visit was part of the Arch-bishop’s Pilgrimage of Prayer Witness and Blessing around the Diocese of York. The six-month walking pilgrimage sees him meeting and praying with people along the route which is to finish at York Minster on 22 May 2016.

Archbishop Sentamu said, “My prayers have led me to this pilgrimage. St Paulinus, St Aidan, St Cuthbert and St Hilda of Whitby in their time shared the good news of Jesus Christ with the people of the North. Praying for those who come to know Christ is a great privilege and a joy.“

Oldest resident 93 year–old Dora Taylor said: “Meeting Arch-bishop Sentamu is one of the proudest moments of my life. For many years I have enjoyed reading about his many exploits. I was particularly impressed by the way he has spoken out against oppression when he has faced great personal risk.”

Hanover Court benefits from a wide range of facilities includ-ing a comfortable lounge, guest room, hair salon and a laundry, plus a private car park. An estate manager is on hand to oversee any buildings or garden main-tenance and property repairs as required. The estate is pet friendly and residents can join in with organised social activities if they wish. Conveniently located just a short walk from the vil-lage centre amenities, there’s a bus stop nearby for services to Beverley, Goole and Hull.

North Cave residents welcome the Archbishop of York