Mon Jan 8th

Contacted the mailing firm which we use to mail out the brochure of the annual Schools Bible Project to schools acros Britain.....the 2007 mailing goes out shortly, which means that every secondary school in Britain will recieve a brochure inviting pupils to take part. It's very simple: pupils have to imagine they were present at an event in the life of Christ (we give them a list from which to chose, with Bible references) and then write about it in the first person. We get massive numbers of essays, and some are really excellent: we have a large team of judges which meets in the summer and ensures that every single essay is read and evaluated. A large number of certificates of Merit and Special Merit are awarded and the final four best essays get prizes, and the young winners come to London for tea at the House of Lords to recieve these. Organising all this is a big task but well worth while. The whole thing is organised by an ecumenical Christian educational charity of which I am chairman. The object is not to preach to the children, but simply to offer the opportunity to discover the New Testament and study it - schools really value the Project and our winners over the years have come from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. If you are a teacher or parent and would like your child to know about this project - individual entries are accepted of course, for example from children being educated at home - send a stamped addressed envelope to: Christian Projects, PO Box 44741 London SW1P 2XA. (Sorry - this project is only open to children in the United Kingdom).

Rushing about organising all sorts of other work and activities - today is the first real day back at work for most people, and London has lost its Christmasy feel.

Long and useful telephone chat with Josephine Robinson of the Association of Catholic Women http://www.associationofcatholicwomen.co.uk/ - we have a number of projects on the go and this year promises to be a busy one. Among other things, Josephine hopes to revive our pilgrimages - ACW groups have gone to Cambridge, to Littlemore at Oxford to honour John Henry Newman, to Aylesford ( ancient shrine of Our Lady and St Simon Stock) and various other places over the years. We raised nearly £400 at a recent coffee morning in aid of a clinic for children with Downs Syndrome. We run a religious education project for children at Catholic primary and infant schools, and we hold meetings, days of recollection, day-conferences and other events, run a popular quarterly Review, are co-sponsors of the "Towards Advent" Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall each year, and more.....the Association's theme is that we are women who "give our glad assent to the teachings of the Catholic Church". If you are interested, look up our website, or send SAE to ACW, 22 Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton KT5.

The Christian Institute http://www.christian.org.uk/home.htm is doing an excellent job opposing the Govt's daft and appalling new "Sexual Orientation Regulations". These new rules could force people - including you and me - to adopt the politically-corrrect but morally wrong line on homosexual activity and refrain from teaching and promoting the Church's unchanging and unchangeable position on this subject. For example, a Christian group which insisted on offering instruction which affirmed the traditional and authentic Christian message on this could be banned from fulfiling all its work(eg a group which insists that children be adopted only by a married man and wife)......and at the personal level a Christian running a bed-and-breakfast accomodation in his own home could be forced out of business of he refused to offer a double-room to a homosexual couple who requested it.......it is worth visiting the Christian Institute's website to learn more about this.