Two evangelical Anglican bishops have come out with contrasting statements on homosexuality recently, points out Mark Vernon. One recognises that the issue is about love, the other sees only rules, it seems.

Rowan Williams clarified the nub of his thinking and showed contrition for clumsiness, but he declined to apologise and is not off the hook, say commentators and other public figures today, amid calls for disestablishment.

"There is no dispute about our common allegiance to the law of the land" Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams told the General Synod of the Church of England - and a watching world on TV and the internet - this afternoon.

A new report commissioned by the Church of England says that university and college chaplains are making an important contribution to educational life and calls on Higher Education Institutions and the government to back them.

The Methodist Church in Britain and the Church of England are calling on congregations to get involved in Education Sunday 2008 on 20 January - when the vocation of teaching and the contribution of Christians and others is celebrated.

Church members in affected areas are being urged to join consultations on sub-post office closures by the Anglican Archdeacons of Berkshire, Buckingham and Oxford - after protests by local communities hit by threatened closures.

The Bishop of Rochester has been strongly criticised for his claims that Islamic extremism has turned some communities into no-go areas, and that Britain is disintegrating because it is no longer seen as a Christian nation.

In a message that will be shown on BBC2 at 20.30 GMT this evening and again on BBC1 at noon on New Year's Day, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams warms Britain that a throwaway society risks creating throwaway people.

Violence, injustice and greed are the main threats to humanity - and a radical chnage of heart and mind is needed to address them. That was the message from Christmas sermons delivered yesterday by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.