The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, Rt Revd George Cassidy, has joined representatives from the faith, community and voluntary sectors in lobbying Parliament for a fairer deal on water charges. Read the full story here

Martin Dales (L) and David Boddy (R) deliver a box to No 10 Downing Street containing a CD-ROM with the names of the 45,000 signatories to the online petition earlier this year

The Church of England website has published a new easy-to-read section called ‘Protecting Life - Opposing Assisted Suicide’. It summarises quickly and simply the Church’s position in the sometimes confusing assisted suicide debate, listing key principles behind its position, offering a short guide to terms used in the debate, and providing a downloadable Powerpoint file of key points for use in churches.

The Good Childhood Inquiry, urban life and faith, and ministry with people with learning disabilities all featured in July’s sitting of General Synod along with financial issues, legislation and other governance issues.
• A preview can be found here with voting details on main website
• What is General Synod? For a helpful background report click here
• A full summary with audio links and a shorter summary with no links (suitable for parish magazines) will be sent out shortly
 

Dr Sentamu’s sermon at York Minster during General Synod on the consequences of suffering that arise from deaths caused by violence both at home and abroad and a warning to Synod. In a wide ranging sermon that highlighted the dangers of pursuing wealth and power, the Archbishop also warned the Church's governing body that it risked losing sight of its first priority to Christian renewal in the busy-ness of its meetings and committees.

The Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, the Director of the Archbishops’ Council’s Mission and Public Affairs Division, is a genuine admirer of what Charles Darwin achieved with his writings. Hear what he had to say in a podcast celebrating 150 years of On the Origin of Species. Other recent Church of England podcasts include Father Edward Lewis, Chief Executive of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council, on his passion for hospital chaplaincy. Listen to Edward and other recent podcasts.

Text of Dr Williams sermon preached during a Eucharist at The Episcopal Church (US) General Convention this month held in the Convention Centre, Anaheim, California. The sermon was based on two Bible readings (Peter 2.9-10 and John 15.15-17) and began: "One thing you learn very quickly indeed as Archbishop of Canterbury is that everything you say is scrutinised and interpreted and picked over for hidden meanings and agendas. Something tells me that today will be no exception..."
 

The online Advent calendar  (from November 29 but take a look now and sign up) will have daily videos, podcasts, thoughts and challenges on environmental issues linking with the vital UN Climate Change talks in Copenhagen this December. Meet the Advent team at the Greenbelt Festival August 28 – 31. More details next month.

Anne Sloman has been appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to chair the Church Buildings Council, the new statutory body created last year to succeed the Council for the Care of Churches and the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches. The CBC supports dioceses and parishes in their stewardship of more than 16,000 church buildings. More here