Diary of Lent Pilgrimage

In Leicester's Lent Pilgrimage we noted that the Bishop of Leicester was planning on walking through all the deaneries and many of the parishes of the Diocese of Leicester on a Lent Pilgrimage. Called Crossing the Diocese, this involved walking 215 miles and visiting 114 churches. An online diary of the pilgrimage is now available.

The “Bambi Factor”

Disney films have rarely been seen as contributing much more to environmental awareness than the creation of a clutch of cuddly talking animals to the cause. However, a new book by a researcher at Cambridge University is suggesting that, far from just cute, Disney icons like Bambi, Nemo and Baloo are the all-singing, unsung heroes of the green lobby.

According to academic David Whitley, Disney’s screen fables have been helping successive generations of children to develop “a critical awareness of contested environmental issues” ever since Snow White in 1937. Far from simply offering sheer escapism, he says the films carry important messages about our relationship with the natural world. Conservation is so central to Bambi, for example, that the film is credited with having inspired many 1960s environmental activists at an early age. Read the full story.

Househunting

There are some brilliant resources online for househunting:

A Rightmove account or similar allows you to set up regular updates to help find a property. Some estate agents update on Rightmove before their own site at times, but it's best to check both. To find out which estate agents are active in a given area, and collate their web addresses for your 'favourites', Estate Angels is a good place to start, unless you've got a local paper - not everything is quicker online!

Once you've found a house you like, its council tax band can be checked - the site is also useful for finding out the post code, which is key to getting house price information.

Find out what the house or others in the street sold for recently with Your Move, or examine local house price trends using the first half of the post code - use the property finder in The Times Online and then look up the market summary report for a property in the list that results. BBC news also has useful more general regional information.

To see what a neighbourhood looks like, or to find the way to the shops, Flashearth has the aerial photos from several sites - pick the one with the best definition, and superimpose the streets if you get 'lost'! A new function that has appeared on some map sites is a 'bird's eye view' where you can get closer still, at an angle, as if you are swooping down over the buildings. You can then look around you by rotating the image. It doesn't seem like Loughborough has been done yet, but here's an example from elsewhere.

The only problem with all this information being online, is that you probably consider more places in more detail - leaving less time to go and view the actual places...

Purpose Driven

I just finished reading The Purpose Driven Church. The Author, Rick Warren is pastor of the enormous Saddleback Church - you may have heard of him as author of the more famous Purpose Driven Life, which has been something of a movement in the States.

The claim is that the model presented in the Purpose Driven Church offers church leaders a "unique, biblically-based approach to help them establish, transform, or maintain a balanced, growing congregation." The approach centres around the core activities of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and missions, and much of the book is geared towards communicating more effectively with those within and outside of the congregation, according to their level of commitment, to encourage growth. Although the language of the book tends towards management-speak at times, and is in some ways something of a church marketing manual, it is easy to read and thought-provoking. Don't let the size of the book put you off - it is large, but the font-size is also generous, so it's quicker to read than it appears!

Occasionally there are comments which perhaps would not apply outside the USA, but the model could be applied anywhere in the West, and probably beyond. It's also worth noting that as the model is largely a communication planning framework, courses such as Alpha fit well within it. Being involved in a church-plant, I found myself continually asking 'how do we put that into practice in our setting?' I particularly appreciated the chapter on music in church, which recognises how much the worship style drives who will attend a particular service, and advises how to work with that to the best effect.

I'd recommend Purpose Driven Church to anyone into strategic thinking and planning, church planting and growth (both in numbers and spiritually). Further Purpose Driven resources relating to the Church are also available at purposedriven.com

20s & 30s event and website

Jacky has publicised the Care for the Family event: Better than Alright? An evening for everyone in their 20s and 30s. This will be held on 7th May in Nottingham at Notts County FC (a very accessible venue with ample parking). Tickets need to be booked in advance.

Care for the Family have also launched a new website for those in their 20s and 30s: www.lookingatlife.org.uk

Infusion walking weekend 2008

An Infusion walking weekend is planned for early August. We will be based at Ingleton Youth Hostel. The plan is to walk Ingleborough Hill and Whernside (10 miles approx) on the Saturday and then have a more leisurely stroll on the Sunday. Naturally there will be a tea shop stop at some point! Contact Simon & Tricia to book your place by Sunday 6th April at the latest.

The Bigger Picture

If you've driven through Loughborough recently you can't fail to have noticed the huge structure that appeared on the grounds of Emmanuel Church in Holy Week: The Bigger Picture. It is a Hope 2008 initiative where the churches in Loughborough worked together to create a world record breaking community picture and reach out to the town on Easter Monday.

Several thousand people were involved in colouring in around 500 panels with emulsion paint, including schools and community groups. Throughout the week the panels were slowly joined together like a jigsaw with the last piece completing the picture on Easter Monday. The project broke the world record for the largest ever painting by numbers picture!

Wildlife round-up

The Big Garden Birdwatch results are now in. Overall, the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a fifth since 2004, and house sparrows have decreased by almost two thirds since 1979, and starlings by three quarters over the same period. Despite this, however, four species of finch, which spend the winter in the UK, were seen in increased numbers. Click here to find out who is perched at the top of the Big Garden Birdwatch table in 2008.

Cameras held by elephants' trunks have been used to provide an intimate view of tigers in the jungle, to be seen in a new BBC documentary (30 March at 8p on BBC1). Because the big cats are used to the presence of elephants, the tusked giants were able to get far closer to them than a human film crew ever could. Thanks to the "trunk-cams", the team was able to follow four newborn tiger cubs all the way through to adulthood. See video of the trunk-cam here.

Hot cross muffin buns

Inspired by seeing the recipe in the Radio Times, I made hot cross muffin buns yesterday. I saved some time by using the bread-maker but they were still a bit fiddly - definitely a recipe for Bank Holidays and days when you have more leisure time. I'll probably make them again next year but will make twelve smaller buns rather than nine rather large ones, and increase the quantity of mixed spice. However my substitution of dried cranberries for cherries worked well.

Cathedral emptied by Easter fire

Norwich's Anglican cathedral had to be evacuated midway through an Easter service as candles set off fire alarms. The congregation of 400 lit candles at the Saturday evening service to symbolise Jesus's resurrection but fire alarms started as the flames from the candles increased. The cathedral was not damaged and the service was able to continue. Full story here.

Easter Sunday: Hallelujah!

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

Thine be the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won

Christ in the Centre 2008

Meditation for Good Friday

Scripture Union have released a meditation for Good Friday on YouTube.

God’s riches at Christ’s expense

I've had a couple of lengthy car journeys earlier this week, listening to the album The Best of Stuart Townend Live as I drove. I kept hitting replay on this track: Lord I'm grateful (Grace). The full lyrics are here and, while it is a fairly boisterous song to have running through your head in Holy Week, the words offer a concise summary of the Good News of Easter:

Freely given, but bought with priceless blood,
My life was ransomed at Calvary.
There my Jesus gave everything He could
That I might live for eternity.

‘Cause it’s grace!
There’s nothing I can do
To make You love me more,
To make You love me less than You do.
And by faith
I’m standing on this Stone
Of Christ and Christ alone,
Your righteousness is all that I need,
‘Cause it’s grace!

Survey on techno-addiction

Two academics from the University of Northampton's Business School are studying the extent of "techno-addiction" in the UK. The research is being led by Nada Kakabadse, a professor in management and business research. The new work builds on her previous research on addiction to the BlackBerry hand-held wireless device. The School is seeking participants for a survey that asks questions such as "Do you feel uninhibited in a virtual world?" and "Do you feel free to explore new worlds and be a free spirit?" To participate in the survey, click here.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

On Easter Sunday BBC are showing The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's book (you can check out the trailer here). If you've read the book or heard the radio adaptations then you'll know that the main character, Precious Ramotswe, drinks lots of tea - her preferred tea is bush tea or rooibos.

To celebrate the film being shown, The Redbush Tea Company are running a competition to win an African Adventure (purchase required). However, there's also a competition on the website to win a Redbush teapot and a box of 80 Redbush teabags sending the company your questions, recipes or feedback. Check out the rooibos recipes for inspiration.

Cafédirect coffee rated higher than non-Fairtrade

Cafédirect has outshone the competition in an independent coffee taste test conducted by Which? magazine (March 2008). Cafédirect's Medium Roast fresh ground coffee was rated higher than the non-Fairtrade coffee, for both taste and value for money. More info in the press release.

Christian Book Awards

The UK Christian Book Awards search for nominations has now begun for its 2008 high-profile event which promotes the best in Christian publishing in the UK. Now in its seventh year, the 2008 Awards will be held on 14th May at the National Christian Resources Exhibition in Esher, Surrey.

Voting is open to the public, with the opportunity to vote for your favourite Christian Books from the selected shortlist. You might win one of 5 book sets worth £100 for a library of your choice by voting for your favourite Christian book. There is a free complimentary ticket for Christian Resources Exhibition with every online vote. Voting closes on 31st March 2008.

Quizaid

Christian Aid Week 2008 will run from 11 - 17 May. As always, the website provides a range of downloadable resources. A new fundraising idea this year is Quizaid. The blurb says "Quizaid is the best quiz night in town – and it’s organised by you. Challenge your friends, colleagues and neighbours to dust off their brain cells and join in the fun. You can put on a quiz anywhere you like – in your home, at your local church hall, over at your mate’s or in your local pub. Wherever you hold it, you'll be helping to raise money for the world’s poorest people this Christian Aid Week"

Google Sky

Google have just launched Google Sky - they have teamed up with astronomers to create a tool to browse and explore the universe. You can find the positions of the planets and constellations on the sky and even watching the birth of distant galaxies as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope - more info on the application is here. They also recommend checking out the podcasts from Earth and Sky.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Lenten Lights

As Holy Week approaches, here's a final Lent resource: Lenten Lights: eight Biblical devotions to prepare for Easter. This is a collection of readings from Noel Piper that can to be used weekly during Lent OR daily during Holy Week. Each reading begins with a few sentences that summarise the thought for the day. All the rest is Scripture - letting God speak to us directly from His Word. The devotions finish on Good Friday with the comment:

"This worst day in history is also good because of the reconciliation that comes through the cross".

Special chocolate for Lent

Have you given up chocolate for Lent? One church has linked up with a chocolate company to encourage its parishioners to buy chocolate during Lent! The St Paul's Knightsbridge Lent Appeal brings together local businesses, including Rococo's recently opened Belgravia shop, to offer The Absolution Bar. For the 40 days of Lent you can buy the Absolution Bar (500g of 65% dark chocolate) for £15 with 50% going straight to the local Lent Appeal. The partnership between the local church and local businesses enables one of the world's wealthiest corners to raise money for some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

Balance your budget

The Church of England launched a tool to help balance your household budget in time for yesterday's Budget. The Matter of Life and Debt website pages now feature an easy-to-use, interactive, downloadable Excel spreadsheet - which totals up income and spending, and allows householders to make adjustments until they are balancing their budget. The resources include prayers for guidance, emphasising that the Bible teaches us to be content with what we have, rather than find satisfaction from over-spending.

One prayer requests:

Lord God, your will is to bring hope and a future to all your people. Trusting in your steadfast love, we ask your guidance as we work out a household budget. Help us to learn to let no debt remain outstanding, except the debt to love one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Three more years for current Gift Aid level

Today's Budget contains good news for churches and charities: the current level of Gift Aid will be maintained for another three years. The Chancellor promised, charities will still be able to reclaim 28 pence for every pound donated until 2011, rather than the level dropping to 25 pence in line with the falling income tax rate, announced in last year’s Budget. He estimated this would reduce the losses that charities would incur by £300m.

More health benefits of tea

We talk about tea a lot in this blog (maybe the logo is a giveaway?) so hearing of new research that finds health benefits for drinking tea is always a good thing. The latest findings from Singapore are that black tea may cut risk of Parkinson’s Disease.

Holy Week TV: The Passion

During Holy Week 2008 BBC1 will broadcast The Passion, a dramatic re-telling of the last days of Jesus. The series will be shown in peak time and will be seen by many millions of people. It will start on Palm Sunday 16th March on BBC 1 at prime time until Easter Sunday. The programme website offers a range of resources.

The Churches' Media Council website provides notes intended to help churches and others to prepare for the series - offering principles they would like to commend to the Christian community in approaching the series.

More locally, Christ in the Centre, Leicester offers a unique opportunity on Good Friday 2008 to witness a dramatic reconstruction of the events which changed the world at the start of the first millennium.

Feed the hungry by surfing the web?

It hardly seems a fair exchange, does it? We can surf the Web, sitting warm and well-fed in the West, and as a result people will get fed in the developing world.

Well, apparently 21 billion grains of rice have been generated by a popular UN backed Internet game. Launched six months ago, freerice.com is an interactive vocabulary game in which players donate 20 grains of rice to the UN's World Food Programme every time they answer a question correctly, allowing individuals to simultaneous bolster their vocabularies and help feed the world’s hungry. The money raised from advertising is used to underwrite FreeRice’s donation to WFP, and so far, enough rice has been generated to feed 1.1 million hungry people for one day.

There is also the longer-established Hunger Site, where you click daily and sponsors donate food. Needless to say, both these sites have Facebook applications. But how do you feel about them? Is it a bit of fun that simultaneously makes you feel philanthropic? Or does it trivialise the desperate situation of those who live on the margins of life?

Fairtrade Fortnight 2008

Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 ended yesterday. I didn't manage to complete the Fairtrade Fortnight Challenge in the sense of only consuming Fairtrade food and drink, but I did try some new Fairtrade products. The Co-Op's marketing strategy of 20% off Fairtrade products during the Fortnight got me hooked on Co-Op truly irresistible Fairtrade dark chocolate with spices and orange oil. Here are some other Fairtrade links:

• Infusion Blog posts on Fairtrade
• Shopping locally: Just Trade (Loughborough) and Just (Leicester)
• Fairtrade Fortnight blog
• The Scottish government has joined forces with Wales to draw up a detailed set of criteria to enable them to become Fair Trade nations

Walking Fair in Loughborough

On Saturday March 15 (10am - 4:30pm) Charnwood Museum is playing host to a Walking Fair as part of ROAM: a Weekend of Walking organised by the Loughborough University Arts Centre. This features a series of innovative and creative walks led by artists. The Fair will offer information and advice from a range of regional walking based groups and organisations.

The programme of walks on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday invites you to come walking with the artists and experience a different side of Loughborough. Whether you walk for health, to discover something new or to escape from the everyday, the University is encouraging people to join up with a Roam artist to encourage and inspire you to undertake your own urban or rural explorations.

Alternatives to the plastic bag

There have been quite a few media discussions recently about stores discouraging plastic bag use - a great step forward for the environmental lobby! The BBC recently asked people what alternatives they use to cart a week's groceries home. Infusion walkers probably use rucksacks!

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Ever wondered what type of punctuation mark you are? Click here to find out! [You might think that I am an exclamation mark as I use them so frequently but actually I'm a semi-colon]

Rising world food prices

There has been a lot of reporting in the media recently on why the era of cheap food may be coming to an end. The price of wheat has doubled in the past year - and it is not the only foodstuff trading at a high price on the international commodity market. While in the UK, pig farmers are protesting at Downing Street over the price of feed, the global situation is that things have got so bad that aid agencies are having to rethink their programmes.

This made me think about trying to locate my 1980s copy of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider or (if I can't find it) to buy a new edition (now called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity). The book was hailed by Christianity Today as one of the one hundred most influential books in religion in the twentieth century and went on to sell 350,000 copies. The basic message - to quote an apt phrase - is to "live more simply so that others may simply live".

Richard Branson more popular role model than Jesus

A new poll from Opinium Research has named Richard Branson as a more popular role model for children than Jesus. Although Branson also beat the likes of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King, survey respondents considered family members to be the most ideal role model for children.

Reviews of ethical / Fairtrade products

Further to my post on ethically-sourced clothing, I see that New Consumer has revamped its website and has an enhanced Reviews section. Categories include home & garden, fashion & beauty, food & drink, technology and travel. There's also the New Consumer Directory - a "definitive directory of green, organic and Fairtrade businesses in the UK".

Fragile Earth

This week the Guardian showcases a photo gallery from the book Fragile Earth. The book contains powerful 'before and after' photographic evidence and computer models showing the speed at which both natural phenomena and humanity are making an impact on the planet.

Free Lent readings from IVP

This year, IVP are making forty extracts from their books available online to help make the most of Lent. You can log on to ivpbooks.com/Lent to get a daily dose of encouragement. IVP say:

Lent is traditionally a time when Christians are encouraged to prepare themselves, through prayer and reflection, to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter. Getting a renewed and deepened awareness of humanity's status before God helps believers to appreciate more fully the amazing work of salvation that Jesus accomplished on the cross.

However you plan to keep Lent this year, IVP would like to offer you the opportunity to be encouraged each day with a brief passage from one of our books. There are no strings and no cost, although if you do find any passage particularly helpful, you'll be able to order the book it comes from in just a few clicks. It is our hope that you will be challenged and inspired by these readings. And please feel free to pass on the news to anyone you think would benefit from a little daily encouragement.