THE ORIGINAL CHURCH NEWSPAPER. ESTABLISHED IN 1828 THE CHURCHOF Five ENGLAND Revealed: prayers Who Billy that Newspaper Graham changed wants to the minister at world, his funeral, p10 NOW AVAILABLE ON NEWSSTAND p8 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 No: 6244 New statistics shows slowing rate of decline in church attendance CHURCH STATISTICS continued to dance in the Church of England fell from in electoral rolls and in weekly and usual od the Episcopal Church of Scotland saw show decline between 2008 and 2013 1,094,500 in 2008 to 1,046,600 in 2012, a Sunday attendance between 2008 and a fall from 38,330 to 32,013 and the according to the latest UK Church Statis- decline of four per cent. In the same peri- 2012. In the same period Bristol and Church of Ireland in N Ireland saw a fall tics edited by Peter Brierley but the rate od total attendance at cathedrals Durham show an increase in average from 149,500 to 144,316. of decline had slowed and some church- increased from 32,300 to 35,900. weekly and in usual Sunday attendance; In the Roman Catholic Church mass es are reporting growth. Since 2000 attendance at cathedrals Coventry, Exeter, and Sheffield show an attendance in England has fallen from Overall membership in England is has increased by 11 per cent. When C of increase in average weekly attendance 886,743 in 2008 to 801,478 in 2013. Given holding its own with increases offsetting E figures are analysed more closely it and Hereford had an increase in usual that the Catholic Church should have decrease but there is a steeper rate of can be seen that a fall of average Sunday Sunday attendance. benefitted from immigration from decline in Scotland, Wales and N Ireland. attendance of 19 per cent since 2000 is The number of people attending Fresh Poland and elsewhere in this period, this For the UK as a whole the rate of matched by an increase of 18 per cent in Expressions (including Messy Church) represents a steep decline. There has decline was five per cent, which is less weekday attendance over the same peri- stood at 19,300 in 2008 but had grown to been heavy decline in the number of peo- than the previous rate, partly because of od. Average Sunday attendance stood at 71,900 in 2013.It is predicted to rise to ple registered as Catholic in such tradi- the impact of immigration and Fresh 859,100 in 2012 and average weekday 108,200 by 2020. The number of Angli- tional centres of Catholic strength in the Expressions. attendance at 187,500. can Messy Church congregations grew North of England as Liverpool, Hallam Huge growth in London, especially In 2012 Easter attendance stood at from 256 in 2010 to 475 in 2012. This is and Hexham and Newcastle although among Pentecostals and Catholics, is 1,395,300, down by 14 per cent on 2000 predicted to stand at 902 by next year. the steepest decline appears to have reflected in the statistics for England. and Christmas attendance stood at Research by George Lings of the been in Portsmouth. Westminster, East The Methodists are the fastest declining 2,530,800, a decline of 12 per cent on Church Army has indicated that fewer Anglia, Nottingham, and Brentwood all denomination in England showing a 2000. Figures for baptisms (down 14 per un-churched joined Fresh Expressions register growth. decline of 15 per cent but this was small- cent), confirmations (down 38 per cent), than was predicted (about 41 per cent Although the number of permanent er than the 29 per cent decline experi- marriages (down eight per cent), funer- un-churched as opposed to the 52 per deacons has grown, the decline in the enced by the Church of Scotland, 20 per als (down 18 per cent in church and cent expected). number of Catholic priests has declined, cent decline in the Catholic Church in down 41 per cent in crematoria) have all Outside England there has been a despite new recruits from the Ordinari- Northern Ireland and 18 per cent decline declined since 2000. steeper decline in Anglican numbers. In ate. Between 2000 and 2010 the number in the Catholic Church in Scotland. As far as the dioceses are concerned, Wales membership fell from 65,644 in of secular priests in England and Wales Average Sunday and weekly atten- London and Leicester show an increase 2008 to 54,236 in 2013. In the same peri- declined by 12 per cent to 3,073 in 2010. Britain sends help to Iraq THE RAF helped deliver much-needed military equipment to Iraq to assist those in the north of the country combating ISIL extremists, as British faith leaders held a vigil of unity outside Westminster Abbey. Earlier this week the RAF delivered 11 tonnes of equipment, including ammunition provided by other nations and body armour, helmets and sleeping bags provided by the UK. RAF C-17 aircraft have also transported a range of non-lethal support, to be gifted by the UK to Iraq, to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which will be transported on to the Kurdish forces. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “The RAF continues to deliver badly need- ed equipment and supplies to the region. This equipment will assist the Peshmerga forces battling the insurgents in Northern Iraq and we will continue to support the Iraqis in their fight against the barbaric ISIL terrorists.” On Wednesday, UK religious leaders held a vigil of unity outside Westminster Abbey. Joining Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby were Imam Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner of the Movement for Reform Judaism and Ayatollah Dr Sayyid Fadhil H Al-Milani. Meanwhile, the Vicar of Baghdad, the Rev Andrew White, revealed that he was can- celling immediate appointments after he had been diagnosed with active Hepatitis. © UK Crown copyright 2014 He has already been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. In a statement he wrote: “I am sorry if I have let anyone down.” [email protected] facebook.com/churchnewspaper @churchnewspaper THE 2 www.churchnewspaper.com Friday September 5, 2014 News Diocese of London Diocese of Derby CHURCHIN Frances Whitehead may not be well-known, but she was the A young graduate’s rock upon whom John Stott depended. Serving at his side photography is to throughout his long ministry, her story is now being told in feature in a new a new book. And although she is now 89, All Souls Church in exhibition in Derby Langham Place is hoping that she will be able to attend the Cathedral. Jean ENGLAND launch on 21 September at the morning service. Chapman, who Her own story is remarkable in its own right. The chapter on Frances’s graduated in 2013 as a history opens with her ancestor foiling an attempt to assassinate George lll. mature student from It’s full of colour, with entrances from London litterati. Whiteheads Grove, Derby University, says Chelsea, is named after the family. Stott hoped that Frances’s story would her evocative images are one day be told, and now it has. The book is being published by Piquant not intended so much to Editions. record a scene as to stimulate meditation. Influenced by painters Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham such as James McNeil Whistler and Atkinson Hilary Wheat is hoping her remarkable restoration Grimshaw she seeks to work on a Nottinghamshire church will be recognized achieve painterly at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s heritage awards. qualities within the She is one of a group of volunteers at St Martin of photographs. Her Tours in Bilborough who are playing a vital role in exhibition opened on preserving the almost 700-year-old building. As a child Monday and runs until in the 1970s, she used to attend every Sunday with 30 September (9am- her family to worship but when she returned after a 5pm, Mondays to long absence in 2008 for her mother’s funeral, she was Saturdays). horrified by the condition of the church. She said: “The nave was curtained off because it was too expensive to heat. The plaster was peeling and the drains were blocked. There was a tree Diocese of Gloucester growing in the parapet wall of the tower and the roof leaked. Over 100 sculptures “St Martin’s had once been in a village, but was have been placed surrounded by post-war housing estates that had throughout the endured a lot of vandalism and crime in the late 1990s cathedral and its and early 2000s. So the church had grilles up, grounds, as part of the covering the windows. It was like a fortress.” Photo: Hilary Crucible 2 exhibition. Hilary had other plans apart from restoring the (above left) with Hundreds of church to a lively place of worship and centre of the the Rev Amanda thousands of people community. “What I really wanted to happen was for it Cartwright and visited the first Crucible to become, once more, a vehicle where the community Pauline Lucas, in 2010 and this event is could work together to tackle its own problems, such as the author of set to be even bigger poor education and health, and high levels of Evelyn Gibb’s and better. That event is unemployment.” biography; thought to have So far £800,000 has been raised in a remarkable Hilary inspects benefitted the local community effort to restore the fabric of St Martin’s part of the lost economy by £4 million. (including lost wall paintings by the highly rated mid- mural.