If you printed the internet.....

If you printed the internet.... is a set of visualizations of what it would take to print the entire Internet. It is astonishing that, in only fifteen years, hundreds of millions of us have created this repository of knowledge from scratch, without centralized management, and mostly without remuneration.

Recycling clothes

Oxfam and M&S joined forces earlier this year to launch the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, the biggest programme in the UK to encourage consumers to recycle their clothes. The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange was set up in January 2008 and has already raised a staggering £2m for Oxfam's charity work. Anyone donating an item of M&S clothing to Oxfam will receive a £5 voucher to use on their next purchase of £35 or more on a range of goods.

The Story of Creation (via Twitter)

If God tweeted the story of Creation…

Note the entry for Day Seven: [no tweets]

Reasons to be cheerful; sharing faith in everyday life

Spend a day with the Bishop of Leicester reflecting on how it is that we can both enjoy and share our faith more fully in everyday life. This year the guest speaker at the Bishop's Lay Congress is the Rt. Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading. Bishop Stephen has worked in parishes in London and Chichester, as Pastor of Peterborough Cathedral, as Missioner in the Wakefield Diocese and as part of Springboard, the Archbishop's evangelism team. He has written widely about evangelism, spirituality and discipleship, including Hit the ground kneeling: seeing leadership differently and Do nothing to change your life.

Reasons to be cheerful; sharing faith in everyday life will take place at Samworth Academy, Leicester on 14th November. There is no cost to attend; tea and coffee will be provided - simply bring your own lunch. To book your place, use the Booking Form (Print, complete & return to Church House).

Claim the coast!

From The Ramblers' website:

Did you know that there is no general right to walk along the coast and on beaches in England? The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, which will create a coastal path around England, is currently being debated by MPs in the House of Commons. It is essential that MPs support this Bill so it becomes law.

The Ramblers are therefore encouraging walkers in Britain to show Parliament how much we all love the coast! To take action: upload your seaside snaps onto Flickr! The best photo will win a personalised OS map; and 12 runner-up photos will be used in a calendar for the Ramblers 75th anniversary.

Shame we are so far from the coast here in Leicestershire!

Launde Abbey restoration gets the go ahead

The Synod of the Diocese of Leicester has approved the project to save Launde Abbey, following fundraising and much prayer. Visit savelaundeabbey.co.uk for full details.

The Launde Prayer

Father,
Here may the faithful find salvation
and the careless be awakened;
Here may the doubting find faith
and the anxious be encouraged;
Here may the tempted find help
and the sorrowful comfort;
Here may the weary find rest
and the strong be renewed;
Here may the aged find consolation
and the young be inspired;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus more likely to shop at Asda or Aldi

Yesterday the Bishop of Reading bemoaned the Church of England's middle-class "Marks and Spencer" image. The Right Rev Stephen Cottrell, described his frustration that the established Church is regarded as the option for the highly educated or “suited and booted” only. Jesus, he said, would probably have shopped at Aldi and Asda. He said that church was “not about how you look, what you do, how you sound, how well you sing”. It should be a place “where people can be just as they are,” he said.

Bishop Cottrell was speaking as churches of all denominations prepare to mark “Back to Church Sunday” next weekend, with thousands of people expected to receive personal invitations from friends to give church another go.

The Dan Brown Sequel Generator

Slate offers a nifty tool to create a plot for the next Dan Brown conspiracy-thriller-novel. Just plug in a city and a sect, and their computer will do the rest!

Hymns - ancient or modern?

In this week's edition of Sunday, Roger Bolton discussed the good and the bad of church music with Stewart Townend and Nick Page (author of Now let's move into a time of nonsense). You can listen again here (between 28 and 34 minutes into the programme).

Pray the Bible

An online edition of Matthew Henry’s Method of Prayer is available on the Internet. Matthew Henry's method, quite simply, is to “pray the Bible” and so the website is full of prayers composed almost entirely of Scripture. In addition to prayers of adoration, of confession of thanksgiving and intercession, in addition to prayers for many occasions. These include: morning and evening, and for Sundays and more specifically: “For Those Weighed Down and Burdened” or “For Those Who are Sick and Weak.” If you want to grow in your practice of prayer - and who doesn’t? - do check out this site today.

Creation

All across the UK the posters are going up announcing the UK opening of Creation on 25th September. The film Creation explores the different sides to Charles Darwin - the man who some believe had ‘the biggest single idea in the history of thought’. Even today, Darwin’s legacy is at the centre of contemporary debate about our understanding of who we are and what it means to be human. This film explores the implications of Darwin’s theories, and the way that tragic events in his family life influenced his doubts about God. Creation is based on the book Annie’s Box by Randall Keynes (Darwin’s great-great-grandson). It is an emotional journey into the grief that shaped one of the great scientific minds of the last 200 years.

This film is guaranteed to spark many conversations about God, Darwin, evolution, Christian faith, suffering and the nature of humanity. Damaris are delighted to provide a host of relevant outreach resources, including downloadable clips from the film, specially created videos, guides for outreach events, home groups and church services. They are all completely free thanks to the support of the film's distributors, Icon.

Leicestershire Walking Week 2009

Leicestershire Walking Week, from 19 - 27 September, offers a fantastic opportunity to get healthy, have some fun and meet new people. The Walking Week launches this Saturday at 10am in Watermead Country Park, just off the A46 near Syston, with a choice of walks around the country park and ones radiating off into the surrounding countryside or into Leicester city. There's a 5 mile walk along the river to Belgrave Hall where the Good Food Fair is taking place, or an 8.5 mile walk exploring the Soar valley downstream.

Walking Week is organised by the Leicestershire County Council in partnership with local walking and heritage groups, district and borough councils, Leicester City Council and the NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland. A total of 78 walks are on offer, including walks for people interested in ghosts, history, wildlife or pubs, and walks suitable for dog owners. Leicestershire has a 3,000 kilometre network of footpaths. The council wants to promote walking as: an easy way to get fit, a chance to leave the car behind and help reduce pollution, a good way to explore the countryside and learn about nature and history, and a chance to get sponsorship for good causes. For a full list of walks see: www.leics.gov.uk/walkingweek

Group exercise 'boosts happiness'

The BBC website highlights a new study which suggests that exercising together appears to increase the level of the feel-good endorphin hormones naturally released during physical exertion. Exercising alone seems to result in a lower level of endorphines.

"But more generally we know from experience that exercising in groups is good for people at many levels, it's motivational, it's social. Groups sessions really do work."

The kindness of strangers

The self-styled "water pilgrim", Maxim Laithwaite, has walked more than 600 miles and climbed the equivalent of four Mount Everests over the past two months. Throughout this time he has relied on strangers to provide him with food and shelter. Refusing to beg, he has used a simple phrase to prick the conscience of people he meets: "I'm relying on the kindness of strangers as I make my way". These 12 words have opened doors, literally, to homes of people just five minutes after meeting them. His strategy is not to knock on doors but to engage people he meets about water conservation, the issue for which he is raising money. Read more on Water Aid.

Churches take to the airwaves to extend warm welcome

As half a million people across the UK are set to receive personal invitations ‘back to church’ in the next few days, thousands more will be hearing their invitation over the breakfast table or on their drive home, thanks to a ‘time share’ scheme being used to help churches spread their message on commercial radio. A professionally-produced syndicated radio advert has been created as a way of highlighting the warm welcome awaiting those who return to services on ‘Back to Church Sunday’, 27 September. Read full story.

See also: Half a million to be invited Back to Church

Green cleaning products

In the first of a new series of videos in the Guardian, Lucy Siegle discusses the merits of greener, and even homemade cleaning products. Lucy's new video series is part of a boost for green living content on the website as part of the re-launch of environmentguardian.co.uk.

Bless you!

The FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches) grouping of churches has published a document called Blue Pages Extra - Influenza Pandemic Arrangements, outlining advice in relation to swine flu. Topics covered include Medical matters, Possible curtailment of activities, Hygiene on church premises, Communion services, Staffing the church programme, and Pastoral issues.

See: also Online copy of complete Blue Pages Extra and Church of England advice on swine flu.

Treasures on Earth

An article by John Piper on “Treasures on Earth” from the journal Tabletalk, is now available to download.

See also other posts on credit crunch and faith.

CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia

If you enjoyed The Narnia Code earlier this year, you may also be interested in viewing CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia - an engaging biography" of the creator of the land of Narnia and the magical beings who dwell there. It was filmed in Oxford, where C.S. Lewis lived, worked and imagined the tales that make up the Chronicles of Narnia.

Life's little pleasures

The author, playwright and broadcaster JB Priestley published a book in 1940 entitled Delight. In it he Priestley's enumerated 114 "delights" - including fountains, photographs, charades, smells, walking in a pine wood, bragging, comic characters, dancing and buying books.

Fifty years later, the idea is being revisited in aid of the charity Dyslexia Action and the London Library. In Modern Delight a collection of authors, entertainers and national treasures reveal the little things in life that make them happy. Read more about the project and the other "delights" suggested by Radio 4 listeners: http://is.gd/34kIr

"Let nothing be wasted"

In today's Thought for the Day, Bishop James Jones discussed the vast amount of food we waste in the UK, linking this to the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

"Long before people realised the earth wasn't a limitless larder and centuries before the word 'sustainability' appeared on anyone's lips Jesus was warning against a lifestyle groaning with greed and waste."

Swap a book at work

Get your workplace reading by setting up a bookSWAP shelf. This is a simple way to run a small lending library, broaden everyone's literary horizons, and get some good discussions going in the workplace. The website offers ideas on how to run a Swap a Book scheme in your workplace. It is simple to set up and easy to run, as staff get to find out more about each other and enjoy their time at work, whilst employers benefit from having a more literate workforce. So - if you’ve read a good book lately, pass it on for others to enjoy.

Making Autumn resolutions

"God approves of New Year’s resolutions. And mid-year, and three-quarters year, and monthly, and weekly, and daily resolutions. Any and all resolutions for good have God’s approval—if we resolve by faith in Jesus"

John Piper suggests making some autumn resolutions - as the unplanned life can easily settle into fruitless routine, and the drifting life (the coasting, que-sera-sera, unreflective life) tends to be a wasted life... Read the rest of the article.

Portable espresso machine

If espresso is the ideal beverage for a recession, then a portable espresso machine is possibly one of the best gadgets ever.

You prime it up like a bicycle pump then add hot water to the coffee and....hey presto! No self respecting student or traveller should be without one.

World's Biggest Coffee Morning

Be part of Macmillan Cancer Support's World's Biggest Coffee Morning. Have fun with your family and friends and join thousands of others in changing the lives of people affected by cancer. To take part, simply register to hold a coffee morning and Macmillan will send you everything you need to make your coffee morning a success. Choose a date: the official day is Friday 25 September, but you can hold it whenever you want really.

Last year, more than 45,000 people held coffee mornings and, together with their family, friends and colleagues, raised over £7.5 million. If you need some inspiration and ideas for snacks and drinks at your coffee morning, here are a few to get you started.

How many cups of tea do you drink a day?

The Tea Appreciation Society recently asked its Facebook Fans: "On average, how many cups of tea do you drink a day?". The results revealed that most people drink 2-3 cups a day, with an overall average of 3.658657 cups.