Faith and the Human Genome Workshop: Sat 23 Jan at Leicester Cathedral

I was fascinated to hear that Leicester University in partnership with Leicester Cathedral, is offering this event.

With many people in our church congregation who work at the University or in the field of medicine, I know that this will be of interest to quite a few at St Paul's.

Most of day will be based in the laboratory where all comers will have the chance to extract DNA, try to solve a crime using DNA technology, and to engage in real ethical scenarios raised by the emerging science – some of which, including DNA fingerprinting, were discovered in Leicester.

Scientists and ethicists will speak about their work and Bishop Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester will conclude the day by chairing a panel of thinkers including Professor Annette Cashmore (Director of GENIE Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Genetics and Sub-Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Leicester University) , Revd Mark Bratton (Senior Chaplain University of Warwick and Editor of God, ethics and the human genome, CHP, 2009)and Revd Dr Malcolm Brown (Director of Mission and public Affairs for the Church of England).

As the promotional material says, "Leicester Cathedral is seeking to build good partnerships with other places of learning, including the universities which are deemed to be some of the best in the country. Medicine and biomedical sciences are very significant areas of study in the east midlands with significant numbers of Christians working in these fields. Yet the dialogue between faith and science often does not take place or it is stifled as a result of the crude backdrop created by Richard Dawkins and others. This is an opportunity for any Christian with an enquiring mind to experience the world of science and then to actively try to connect that world with their faith and therefore it is not restricted to ‘professional Christians’ or those within accredited ministries."

For information: Faith and the human genome flyer

Or Contact Canon David Monteith, Canon Chancellor at Leicester Cathedral 0116 248 7463 david.monteith@leccofe.org or at the University Jenny Pickard jha4@le.ac.uk 0116 252 3319

Cost: £10 including lunch
Venue: Maurice Shock Building, University of Leicester

Love Christmas!

A long time ago in Bethlehem, Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. It's been so long. It happened so far away... and yet Christmas is more popular than ever.

We love the fact that all across the world, people will take a break from their usual routines. Many will share a special get-together with family and friends. Thousands will decorate their homes, prepare food and give presents. And our church will be full of people of all ages and backgrounds because a real Christmas starts with Christ.

We'd love you to join in. Because the love at the heart of Christmas is God's love - the generous, gracious gift of a Saviour - and that's worth celebrating!

Special Christmas Services at St Paul's:

• Sunday 20 December - Carols by Candlelight 4.00 to 5.30pm and 7.00pm to 8.30pm (service repeated)
• Christmas Eve - Christingle service 4.00 to 5.00pm, especially for younger children
• Christmas Eve - Midnight communion service - 11.30pm to 12.30am
• Christmas Day - Family communion service - 10.00 to 11.00am

Christmas Toy and Gift Service 2009

We collected over seventy specially chosen presents from members of our congregation last Sunday for the annual Christmas Gift Service.

These will go to children and young people at a number of projects and hostels for supporting those in special need. Some are homeless, some are fleeing domestic violence.

We hope that these gifts will bring a little cheer on Christmas Day. Thank you to all who contributed so generously.

Register now for Alpha 2010

We're looking forward to another great Alpha Course, beginning at St Paul's on 26 January. I'm just about to send out postal invitations to people who might be interested.

The Alpha Course is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith.

It's relaxed, low key, friendly and fun.

There is a meal together at the beginning of each session, which gives our guests an opportunity to get to know each other.

Listen, learn, discuss and discover. And ask anything.

If you, or someone you know is interested and you'd like to recieve an invitation, please email me with your details and I'll get one straight to you.

Titus Wordled

We're in the middle of a short sermon series on the Letter of Paul to Titus. This is how Wordle renders the complete text (the more frequently a word appears, the larger it appears). Click on the image for a large picture.

District Church Council Meeting - November 2009

Last night's DCC was very positive with lots of animated conversation, commitment and prayer. Among other topics, we:

• Heard a presentation from John Fryer, Children's Work Adviser for the Diocese of Leicester. John spoke in relation to our exploration Where are the Children? He commended the DCC's honesty and commitment to responding to a challenging and changing situation. He confirmed that the issues are widespread and many churches are in a similar position to ourselves. We had an open conversation about finding new ways to engage with children, both in church and in the wider community.
• Decided to continue inviting an offering, rather than taking a collection.
• Set a balanced budget for 2010.
• Confirmed rates for letting our buildings for 2010.
• Decided to offer the books from the old church library, which have been in storage for several years, to the congregation.
  

Bringing our offering, not taking a collection

A new way of giving

At its November meeting yesterday, St Paul's District Church Council decided to continue receiving the gifts of church members on an open plate, rather than by passing collection bags as we used to do. The DCC decided that we should do this at least until Easter 2010, and that we should make the offering plate more obvious and easy to find.

Background
St Paul's has traditionally passed collection bags along the rows of worshippers during the service. With the introduction of swine 'flu precations we left an open plate for donations instead.

Our members give over £1000 each week to support the work of our church and the mission projects we resource. That represents a wonderful generosity and we are very grateful. We ask people to think about the gift they make rather than to find notes and coins as the collection bags approach. The 'stewardship' planned giving scheme is a great way to encourage this. People who give by cash or cheque place their gift in an envelope and place them in the offering. Of course, many people give by standing order, which is an excellent way of giving reliably and realistically. The opportunity to give by standing order will remain. To join the stewardship scheme, please see David Foulds.

What does the Bible say about the way Christians should give?
In the Bible, money was brought to the Temple treasury. Jesus condemned the abuses of the moneychangers, who received the people's gifts in ways that cheated them. In Mark 12.41-44 we read how he watched the wealthy bringing in substantial gifts to the treasury but he commended the giving of the widow who gave all that she had, even two small coins.

In Matthew 6.1-4, Jesus warns against giving as a way of showing off. "Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet... so that you may be praised. ...But give in secret... and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Our hopes
We hope that inviting giving without passing bags along the rows of worshippers will remove some of the awkwardness, especially for visitors. We hope it will counter the idea of taking a collection (which to outsiders, can sometimes looks like a "whip-round for cash"!) Instead, in inviting an offering given generously from "first fruits" rather than spare change, brought before God in prayer and worship, without awkwardness or embarrassment, we hope it will glorify God and serve his church.

Hiring our rooms

I am approached several times a week by people who wish to hire our rooms. We have a policy to use our buildings to serve the local community, both as an expression of our commitment to our neighbourhood and as a way of raising funds to support our Christian ministry in Oadby. We're thrilled that this has been an area of enormous growth in recent years.

The main church and the Barnabas Centre are available for hire for community groups and courses but not for private parties or social functions. We take particular care to work in partnership with groups and welcome members of other faith communities. But we also ensure that activities are not incompatible with the prime reason for our work - worshipping God in the Christian faith.

The charges for 2010 are £17 per hour for the Barnabas Centre and £17 per hour for the church.

To book the church or Barnabas Centre, contact Cynthia on the new bookings line - 07931 726661, or by email.

Nick Griffin does not speak for Christians

This blog is not primarily a place for this vicar to express his personal opinions. As a proud husband and father in a mixed-race family, you might already imagine how I feel about the things the leader of the British National Party said during a recent televised debate. So I intend to say little about what has been widely reported elsewhere.

But as a church leader in a multi-cultural, multi-faith town, I cannot allow one of his specific claims to go unopposed.

During the Question Time broadcast, Nick Griffin suggested that the views of the BNP are consistent with Christianity. They are not.

The era in which the New Testament was written was as culturally complex as our own. The first Christians were Jews, who might have naturally thought that other people had no part in the church. They quickly learned that the Christian faith is open to all people, regardless of their ethnicity or how "indigenous" they might be.

In Colossians 3.11, we read, there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Amen to that!

New Readers (Lay Ministers) in Leicester Diocese

It's been a privilege to accompany another eight people through vocational interviews, selection and training. They joined a former Methodist Lay Preacher in being licensed as new Readers in the Diocese of Leicester at the cathedral last Saturday.

The role of Warden of Readers, which I've held during the last five years, brings quite a workload but it's been immensely fulfilling. I'm grateful to the parish for allowing me the time to carry out these extra duties.