Hey Christian – Be Vexed by the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Be very Vexed.

“I just assume now that any public performance across the Western world that is staged by super smart, progressive creative designers will contain some element of blasphemy. And it should vex us. …”

– Stephen McAlpine has some thoughts about the Olympics opening ceremony.

Significant Commissioning Service at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate

On Wednesday 24th July 2024, a Commissioning Service took place at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London.

It was made necessary by the actions of the Church of England’s House of Bishops and the General Synod in pushing ahead to bless same-sex unions.

The next day, William Taylor, Rector of St. Helen’s, recorded this explanation of the event. In part, he said,

“This act of commissioning has been made necessary due to the tragic failure of the majority of bishops in the House of Bishops of the Church of England.

Our archbishops and most bishops have failed doctrinally.

They have failed to uphold faithful biblical doctrine, to guard the gospel of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus and to show loyalty and love for Jesus and his people by teaching the scriptures faithfully.”

The full video includes supporting statements from many evangelical Church of England leaders.

The Ephesian Fund.

Alternative Spiritual Oversight – CEEC.

Drag Queens Parody the Last Supper During Olympics Opening Ceremonies

“Drag queens parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s rendition of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday evening, creating international outrage. …”

– Story from National Review.

What is the ecclesiological problem with a third province?

“In a letter of 2 July this year to the signatories of a letter from the Alliance group within the Church of England to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York the Bishop of Oxford wrote as follows:

‘The mind of the majority House of Bishops now seems to me to be settling on questions of pastoral reassurance after many months of uncertainty. There is a now a reluctant acceptance of the need for some regional provision of episcopal ministry to recognise divergent views on marriage and same sex relationships, supported by a House of Bishops statement, Code of Practice and Reviewer. However, the House is also clear that going beyond these arrangements to diverse jurisdictions, a third province and a church within a church undercuts the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology and represents a red line we cannot cross.’

The references in the final sentence of this quotation to ‘diverse jurisdictions,’ ‘a third province’ and ‘a church within a church’ are all different ways of referring to the same idea, the idea put forward by the Alliance and the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) that in the event that the House of Bishops and the General Synod continue down the path of permitting the blessing of same-sex sexual relationships and allowing those in same-sex sexual relationships to serve as ordained Church of England ministers, a third province of the Church of England should be created to provide a secure and permanent home for those who cannot in good conscience accept these developments.

The Bishop of Oxford rejects this idea on the grounds that it ‘undercuts the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology’ and therefore ‘represents a red line we cannot cross.’ What he does not explain in his letter, and what he has not explained elsewhere, is why the proposal for a third province goes against ‘the very essence of Anglican ecclesiology.’

It is very difficult to see why he thinks is the case. …”

– Martin Davie rules out possible arguments against ‘a third province’ in the Church of England.

Photo: Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft.

FREEDOM24 conference August 5

From Assoc Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:

“Freedom for Faith is hosting the FREEDOM24 Conference 9am-4pm on Monday August 5th at Village Church Annandale in Sydney. I highly recommend this conference!

Livestream tickets are free, to maximise access for those who cannot attend in person.

FREEDOM24 conference will develop your understanding of threats to religious freedom in Australia from historical, theological and policy perspectives.

Historian Sarah Irving-Stonebraker will examine the history of religious freedom, while John McClean of Christ College will share a theological perspective on how the church is to respond to legal threats to ministry. We will also have a number of experts unpack the major religious freedom concerns in Australia, as well as implications and paths forward for advocacy.

Issues examined will include: …”

– Details and link for tickets.

New UK Government sparks fear among marriage supporters

“Sir Keir Starmer has been in office less than two weeks and the evident shift in support for LGBT ideology amongst senior Government figures is already sparking concern from real marriage supporters and more widely.

The last Government’s crackdown on rainbow lanyards in the civil service has already been dropped, according to inews.co.uk. Whitehall diversity and objectivity guidance is also being reviewed.

Now, a group of church leaders representing more than 1,300 churches has written to the Prime Minister warning that Labour’s proposed conversion therapy laws could criminalise them as they put into practice their teaching on marriage. …”

– Anglican Mainstream has re-posted this message from the Coalition for Marriage.

Synod: what happened and why does it matter? — Benjamin John

Christian Concern’s Communications Officer Benjamin John breaks down what happened at Synod this week in the debate about clergy entering into same-sex civil marriages…

“On Monday 8 July, the General Synod of the Church of England voted to proceed with blessings for same-sex couples and to explore allowing clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages and engage in homosexual sexual activity.

Significantly, the motion passed will allow standalone services of blessing for same sex ‘marriages’. These will look and feel exactly like weddings even though they will not be weddings in law.

The motion passed also in practice asks the Faith and Order Commission – which advises on theology and doctrine – if there is a way for clergy to be allowed to enter into same sex civil ‘marriages’ and be allowed to have homosexual intercourse. Currently, clergy are allowed to enter into same-sex civil partnerships, on the basis that they abstain from homosexual ‘sex’. This ‘discipline’ now looks set to be relaxed in 2025.

This motion in support of all these changes only narrowly passed in the final vote:

	For	Against	Abstain
Bishops	22	12	5
Clergy	99	88	2
Laity	95	91	2

– Read his full report at Christian Concern.

Image: Ben John at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023.

CEEC commissions first set of overseers

On Thursday night, the Church of England Evangelical Council commissioned its first set of overseers, in a service at All Souls Langham Place in London:

“The introduction of the Ephesian Fund and Alternative Spiritual Oversight (ASO), followed the General Synod decision in November 2023 to approve the bishops’ proposals to change the position and practice of the Church of England with regards to sexual ethics and marriage, by blessing same sex couples as part of normal services.

At a subsequent Synod meeting earlier this week, standalone services of blessing for same sex couples received General Synod support and a timetable to work towards clergy same sex marriages was endorsed. As a result of these decisions, many clergy and PCCs have lost confidence in those bishops supporting change.

At the service, the first 20 overseers were commissioned (with more to be commissioned in due course).

The overseers comprise a group of Honorary Assistant Bishops, alongside other clergy from across the evangelical constituency (spanning charismatics and conservatives, egalitarians and complementarians). They will provide informal oversight to clergy and PCCs who feel a loss of confidence in the spiritual leadership of their bishop(s).

This informal and temporary oversight, facilitated by CEEC, does not in any way undermine or replace the legal and safeguarding responsibilities of clergy and PCCs to their bishops and/or diocese. …”

– Read the full report, with names of those commissioned, from CEEC.

To note:

“The CEEC stressed that the liturgy is neither a service of ordination nor consecration. …

Together, they were commissioned by the congregation, on behalf of CEEC, to provide spiritual care and counsel to those who are now bereft of the oversight that should properly be offered by their bishop.”

Church Society Podcast — Post-Synod discussion

From Church Society:

“Lee Gatiss talks to Chris Moore and Ros Clarke about their experiences of the recent meeting of General Synod, what was agreed and some of the further implications of that.”

– Listen here.

Statement from the Alliance after July 2024 General Synod

From The Alliance:

“10th July 2024

We were saddened that, on 8th July, General Synod approved the latest LLF motion. Despite assurances that this is just one more step in an unfolding process, we believe this was in fact a decisive moment. Stand-alone services were approved and are at the very least indicative of a change in the doctrine of marriage. A pathway to clergy entering same-sex marriage was initiated, and clergy SSM is a definitive change in doctrine. Indeed, it is clear that some members of the House of Bishops are openly advocating such a change.

Voting was again very close, the motion being passed by just 56% of bishops, 52% of clergy and 51% of laity – a very weak mandate for change. Significantly, more bishops than ever before felt unable to support the motion: while 22 voted in favour, 17 either voted against (12) or abstained (5). As we wrote to the Archbishops in a letter on 26th June, we therefore “have no choice but rapidly to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel Province’ within the Church of England and to seek pastoral oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality”.

We are not without hope. The Archbishops and the Bishop of Leicester (Lead LLF Bishop) all stated in the debate that they want the Alliance to know we are a valued part of the Church of England; and we are thankful to them for their warm words. However, we do not believe it is possible for us to flourish within the Church of England’s current structures. We need a structurally secure space for the over 2000 clergy supporting the Alliance, and the churches they represent (some 37% of total C of E church attendance and 57% of attendance of those under the age of 18). We have asked the Archbishops and the Bishop of Leicester to demonstrate their desire for us to feel a valued part of the Church of England through actions and not just words, however warm.

Stand-alone services will not be authorised for use until provision has been more fully developed – at the earliest, this will come back to Synod in February 2025. In the coming months, at the invitation of the Bishop of Leicester, we will be engaging in direct negotiations with the House of Bishops. We have made clear that we are not leaving the Church of England or the Anglican Communion. We are hopeful for what will take place in the coming months, and we look to the God of hope to fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in him (Romans 15:13).”

– Source.

Where does the C of E go on sexuality after July Synod?

“Not everything was bad at the session of General Synod last weekend.

There was an important discussion about ‘rest periods for office holders’ (C of E language for vicars taking their days off), a very important debate about the human dignity of disabled children, during which Justin Welby shared that his wife had felt pressured to abort their child, and debates about food banks and the persecuted church. Surprisingly, two potentially incendiary issues—how the inquiry into Mike Pilavachi at Soul Survivor has been handled, and response to the Jay report into our safeguarding strategy—went off more smoothly than they might have done.

But there were three moments that made this session of Synod the most dispiriting that I have experienced in my nearly 15 years attending. …”

– Ian Paul, who spoke at Monday’s meeting of the General Synod, shares the three dispiriting moments and then shares six thoughts about what Bible-believing Christians in the Church of England can do.

CofE evangelicals “start parallel province” in dispute over same-sex marriage

“One of the loudest evangelical groups in the Church of England says it will start a parallel province over Synod’s decision to move towards approval of prayers for same-sex blessings in ‘stand-alone services’.

John Dunnett [pictured], national director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), said: ‘It is deeply disappointing that despite hearing repeatedly in speeches of the need to build trust by avoiding bad process … synod passed the motion, and the prayers of love and faith bus continues to move forward. General Synod’s decision will sadly trigger the launch of a de facto parallel province … and CEEC will work with our partners in the Alliance to make this a reality’.

The CEEC has already started a fund in which churches opposed to same-sex blessings can deposit their money, rather than with the CofE. It has also already organised a service this Friday, at All Souls Church, Langham Place, to create ‘overseers’, who will take over the bishops’ role of pastoral oversight and spiritual help to clergy opposed to same sex blessings.

But the CEEC says it is not leaving the church: ‘We are committed to remaining within the Church of England and hope that the bishops will come to the table to negotiate an acceptable settlement.’ Full statement here.”

– From Religion Media Centre in the UK. (Formatting added.)

Updates from the Church of England General Synod Monday 8th July 2024

Anglican Futures has updated yesterday’s post on the Living in Love and Faith debate at the Church of England’s General Synod on July 8th, 2024.

It’s a good summary of a tragic move by the Church of England, with excerpts from some of the key speeches.

Image: Ian Paul addresses the General Synod (link to video):

“If you are thinking of voting for this proposal, please do it with your eyes wide open. Knowing it will destroy trust. Knowing it will divide the Church. Knowing it will lead to greater decline. Personally, I don’t feel that any of these things are a demonstration of the love of God. Vote for this only if you think that distrust, disunity and decline are the price worth paying.”

LLF – The Decision Point?

From Anglican Futures:

“Today at 2pm the General Synod of the Church of England will, once again, debate whether to accept the House of Bishops’ proposals for the introduction of standalone services of blessing for same-sex couples.

For those not able to follow the debate in person or on the livestream, this blog will be updated during the debate with information about amendments, votes and quotes from those called to speak.

The Bishop of Leicester has been very clear:

once “prayers are commended it is hard to see a scenario where they will be uncommended”.
delegated (extended) episcopal ministry will be offered to those who cannot accept the theological convictions of their diocesan bishop but “there will have to be some shift from an understanding that says, “We cannot simply agree to disagree.”

The Alliance and CEEC have been very clear that this position is unsustainable for them and are praying for a last minute intervention. …”

– A good page to check as the debate proceeds.