Back of Church Sunday

Some churches are preparing for Back to Church Sunday on Sunday September 30th 2007. But, especially for Anglicans, here's an alternative concept: Back of Church Sunday - a special Sunday when people would be especially invited to the back of church.

[Cartoon by Dave Walker, reproduced with permission]

Prayers for a Monday morning

The Church of England has today published a selection of prayers to help weary workers kick the post-holiday blues. The five prayers - by authors ranging from Charles Wesley to Sheridan James, a curate in Catford - have been selected to give busy people a chance to reflect and recharge with God's help. The prayers are taken from Pocket Prayers for Work (Church House Publishing, 2004) and are available online, alongside a range of other prayers on contemporary concerns.

Too busy......?

Christian Research reports on the findings of a five-year study, Distracted from God, which concludes that busyness is an obstacle to growth for Christians worldwide. Charleston Southern University School of Business looked at responses from over 20,000 Christians aged 15 upwards and across 139 countries. Fifty-four per cent of pastors said that they ‘rush from task to task’ - the highest score by occupation, maybe unsurprisingly. For 64% of teachers busyness interfered with the development of their relationship with God. The report showed that rushing about was not just a western symptom, but was ‘often’ or ‘always’ a way of life for Africans (33%), Australians (41%) and South Americans (42%).

Looks like the Archbishop of York was right in recomending we all start slowing down.. Maybe its worth trying the Obstacles to Growth Survey to assess yourself!

Wildlife in danger

Some of the most familiar animals in Britain, including the hedgehog and the house sparrow, have been added to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the government's early warning system for species in serious decline. The action plan, reviewed every 10 years, has doubled the number of species on the priority protection list, to 1,149 from 577 in 1997.

Concern about the hedgehog stems from an estimated fall in population which, if continued, would lead to extinction by 2025. Familiar mostly as a squashed victim on the roads, the spiny mammal is up against traffic, pollution, pesticides, and garden chemicals. We installed a hedgehog house almost two years ago (they can be ordered through the BHPS Hogalogue) and have seen up to three hedgehogs at a time in our garden. You can report hedgehog sightings on Hogwatch.

Hot drink, anyone?

I like my tea to be really hot and have sometimes been told that I must have an asbestos mouth. So I was interested to read that researchers at the University of California, Davis, produced a study called Drinking Hot Coffee: Why Doesn't It Burn the Mouth? To drink really hot coffee (or hot tea) is to swallow a paradox of pleasure and pain.

The researchers used sensors inside people's mouths to measure the temperatures at four locations inside the mouths of 18 coffee-drinkers while they drank hot coffee. After all the measuring and analysing, they concluded that, probably, during drinking the hot coffee is not held in the mouth long enough to heat the surfaces sufficiently to cause pain or tissue damage. So while drinking too much coffee can be bad for you, you're probably not doing too much harm if you drink it as hot as you can bear.

Where did you surf today?

There have been a number of news stories over the past couple of days looking at Web demographics in the light of an Ofcom report on The Communications Market 2007:

• Britain enjoying 'digital boom'

• Pathfinder kids

• The feminisation of the net

• In praise of...Silver surfers

They say if you can't beat them, join them - so perhaps now is the time to sign up for the Infusion Group on Facebook. Alternatively, maybe we should all get out more and get some ecotherapy by going for a walk!

Amazing Grace: the song

The hymn Amazing Grace first appeared in The Olney Hymns, published in 1779. The collection draws its name from the Buckinghamshire village of Olney, in England where John Newton was curate. The film’s UK website provides links to information about the hymn, including the story behind the hymn and the Biblical references contained in it.


The John Newton Project website provides a range of resources for the bicentenary of the death of John Newton (also 2007), and the Library of Congress offers an Amazing Grace timeline. .

Amazing Grace: local Wilberforce connections

In the 18th and 19th century, Rothley Temple (a manor house on the edge of Rothley village) was home to the Babington family. Thomas Babington, the MP for Leicester from 1800-1818, lived there until his death in 1837. He met leading abolitionist William Wilberforce at Cambridge University and they spent much time at Rothley Temple working together on the Bill to Abolish the Slave Trade.

The BBC Leicester website has a series of links on Abolition. This includes a brief article on Thomas Babington and the Wilberforce connection and a series of discussions on The Temple and the Trade. Greater detail is provided in the book Rothley and the Abolition of the Slave Trade by Terry Sheppard and Ian Whyte, which describes the mutual endeavours of Babington, Gisborne, Wilberforce and Macaulay.

Workers call for the return of the tea trolley

The Guardian reports on a survey by employment agency Office Angels. Office workers who were surveyed indicated that a full one-hour lunch break each day would boose morale considerably. Another key request was a return to the days of the tea trolley; this prompts a Guardian leader: In praise of the office tea trolley.

Info on the survey can be found in the Office Angels Press Releases Archive. The top traditions office workers wanted to see brought back were:

• Taking a full hour for your lunch break (39%)
• Annual ‘work outing’ (33%)
• Subsidised canteen (29%)
• The tea lady with her trolley full of sticky buns and afternoon delights (26%)
• Pub lunches - that last all afternoon! (23%)
• The sandwich man coming into the office with his selection of lunchtime treats (19%)

Holiday reading (5)

An earlier blog highlighted the books MPs are reading on holiday and I've now spotted that the Archbishop of York is sending every MP in the country some summer reading. Dr John Sentamu is sending MPs the 100-Minute Bible and the book Do Nothing to Change Your Life. The latter is "a guide to slowing down" written by the Bishop of Reading, Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, and was published earlier this year. The book urges its readers to create pauses in daily life to benefit their own, and society's, health and well-being - it argues this fresh perspective of relishing every moment with a greater attentiveness will improve our relationship with God.

Do Nothing to Change Your Life is a passionate plea for the nation to ditch endless 'to do' lists, constant streams of emails, and an increasingly 24/7 culture. The book was published following news that an international study had shown that the pace of life in our cities has increased by 10 per cent in the last decade. Dr Sentamu says that he wants "to encourage our nation's elected representatives to slow down during their holiday and in that place of quiet and stillness to enter into the presence of God".

How much is too much coffee?

The BBC website reports on a teenager who had to be admitted to hospital after overdosing on espresso. This has prompted discussion on how much is too much coffee? The recommendation from the Department of Health (DoH) is not to drink more than five single espressos or seven instant coffees a day. The highest natural caffeine content is found in filter coffee, a mug of which contains about 120mgs of caffeine. Instant coffee contains roughly 75mgs and espresso 107mgs. The British Coffee Association provides more advice on How much caffeine is in your cup?

However, as individuals vary in their sensitivity to caffeine, it is apprently difficult to generalise. So perhaps it is best to stick to Earl Grey tea...

Transport Direct: online journey planner

I'm doing a lot more travelling by train again and have recently discovered the Transport Direct website. It offers information for door-to-door travel for both public transport and car journeys around Britain and aims "to provide you with comprehensive, easy-to-use travel information to help you plan your journeys effectively and efficiently". I particularly like the Check journey CO2 emissions gizmo in the Tips and Tools section.

Amazing Grace: Wilberforce in museums and on the web

After looking at Wilberforce on film and in books, we now turn to museums:

• The Long Road to Freedom is a travelling exhibition from Leicestershire museums to mark the bicentenary of the Act to Abolish the Slave Trade. This will be based at Donington le Heath Manor House from 12 July - 23 September 2007. The exhibition reveals local connections with the slave trade, and with those who battled to abolish slavery itself.
• Wilberforce Central is a private, non-profit alliance established to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British and the U.S. slave trade (1807-2007) with a celebration of the William Wilberforce and the Clapham Group and an examination of their legacy as it affects today’s issues.
• Wilberforce House Museum in Hull was the birthplace and residence of Wilberforce, who was a Member of Parliament for Hull in the 19th century. The city is hosting a large number of events during 2007 to commemorate and celebrate the life and legacy of Hull’s most famous son.
• The British Library offers a list of sources on for the slave trade and abolition held in its collections.

• Wilberforce, Lincoln, and the Abolition of Slavery is an online exhibition from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. It presents a variety of original documents and images highlighting the story of the abolition of slavery between 1787 and 1865 in England and America.

Tea-lover's 92-county challenge

There's a great story on the BBC website about Malcolm Watt, who has set himself a mission to drink a cup of tea in each of the UK's historic counties. He has a MySpace profile and plans to blog on his travels. I'm conscious that we have one member of Infusion who has probably drunk a cup of tea in almost every Youth Hostel in England and Wales....

Amazing Grace: Wilberforce in words

If watching Amazing Grace inspires you to read more about William Wilberforce, the film’s UK website has an extensive reading list (you should be able to order some of these from your local library).

If you can't wait, there’s an e-book by John Piper called Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce which is free to download, and the rejesus website provides an online resource to read. The latter includes a selection of quotations by and about Wilberforce.

Holiday reading (4)

Following earlier posts on summer reading, we can now see which books MPs will be reading during their summer recess. The article summarises this by saying that "that the Tories are swotting up on Gordon Brown - while Labour politicians are questioning the existence of God".

Amazing Grace: Wilberforce on film

The DVD of the film Amazing Grace comes out today. There is a commentary on the film from Damaris’ CultureWatch which concludes that ‘the relevance of this film for our own age can hardly be overstated’. The film is also reviewed by the Internet Movie Database and Damaris (the latter includes questions for discussion).

The film’s US website has a lot of additional material about the film. There’s also a UK Faith Resource for church groups to learn about the impact of William Wilberforce's faith, courage and compassion, using clips from the fim as discussion starters.

Midge forecast

I was warning a colleague going on holiday to Skye about the Scottish midge. To help out, I searched around and found a link to the The Midge Forecast site. Just like weather and pollution forecasts, the Midge Forecast can help you prepare for this summer environmental hazard!

Walk magazine online

If you want to put your feet up tomorrow after participating in the Leicestershire Walking Festival, check out the Ramblers' Association's Walk magazine which has gone online . It includes walking features, environmental articles, news, health advice and reviews of gear and books. There's some extra multi-media features such as podcasts and a section for walkers to post their own films.

CultureWatch on Doctor Who

Phil blogged on the theology of Doctor Who concerning an early episode in the 2007 series of Doctor Who. Belatedly catching up with email newsletters that arrived when I was on holiday, I've found an article from Damaris CultureWatch by Tony Watkins, entitled Mastery or madness?, discussing the series finale. There are lots of resonances with the Christian faith - including the Master rejecting forgivesness and grace because he does not want to face up to its implications. Tony Watkins concludes his article by stating "this isn’t the first time that the Doctor has echoed Jesus Christ in some way, but he has never done so more clearly or more powerfully".

You may be interested in signing up to CultureWatch Update, a free weekly email newsletter which introduces the latest additions to the CultureWatch site.