Church’s net zero crackdown forces parish to rip out new boilers
“The Church of England has ordered a parish to rip out new gas boilers because they are not ‘sustainable’.
Christ Church Chineham, in Basingstoke, Hants, spent £18,200 last year replacing two failing gas boilers, with the new ones expected to last for at least two decades.
But the parish will now be forced to remove the system and pay for an eco-friendly replacement after a church court ruled it had not ‘adequately explored more sustainable options’ before installing them. …”
– Report from The Telegraph, via Anglican Mainstream.
MPs tell incoming archbishop to halt £100 Million reparations plan
“A cross-party group of 27 Members of Parliament and peers have called on the Archbishop-designate of Canterbury, the Rt. Rev. & Rt. Hon. Sarah Mullally, to intervene and halt the Church of England’s proposed £100 million slavery reparations fund.
In a letter first reported by The Sunday Times of London (28 Dec. 2025), the parliamentarians warn that the plan—known as ‘Project Spire’—risks setting a ‘worrying precedent’ by encouraging other institutions to divert charitable resources to political or symbolic causes. …”
– George Conger reports at Anglican Ink.
What are the (Church of England) bishops up to now?
“On Tuesday, 16th December, the House of Bishops of the Church of England announced that ‘more time’ was needed to finalise its ‘proposals on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process’.
While they said that the decisions they took in October had not been ‘contested’, they ‘identified some areas where further clarification is needed and agreed to continue work on a letter to the Church summarising LLF and setting out an agreed position.‘ Later in the press release it was explained that the text of the letter would ‘take the form of a statement from the House,‘ which would have a degree of authority in any future dispute.
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell also reassured the Church that the bishops ‘remain on course to bring proposals to Synod for consideration in February.’
This has led many observers to scratch their head and ask ‘What are the bishops up to now?’
Of course, unless there is a leak from the House of Bishops, the Church will need to wait until January to find out for sure. Meanwhile, this blog explores the possibilities that arise from a careful reading of the both the statements and the theological and legal advice the bishops received.…”
– Curious. Read it all at Anglican Futures.
But see this post at Church Society from 7th November 2025: Why we can’t have the Prayers of Love and Faith after all.
Image: Archbishop Stephen Cottrell speaking at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2025.
Four CofE vicars highlight why their churches are turning to the Ephesian Fund
From The Church of England Evangelical Council:
“The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has released four short films promoting the Ephesian Fund, featuring vicars from churches across the country, which have chosen to channel their financial giving through the initiative.
Launched in November 2023, the Ephesian Fund was created in response to the House of Bishops’ decision to depart from the Church’s historic and biblical teaching on marriage and sexual ethics, and to commend the Prayers of Love and Faith. The fund enables churches and individuals to direct their giving, including parish share, towards ministries that affirm an orthodox evangelical understanding of Christian doctrine. …”
– For examples of Church of England parishes taking steps to direct resources for gospel ministry.
Centre of gravity shifts from Canterbury to Abuja – with Paul Donison
From The Pastor’s Heart, a special edition featuring an interview with Gafcon General Secretary Bishop Paul Donison –
“Paul Donison responds to global reaction to Gafcon’s reset of the Anglican Communion and its declaration that Canterbury’s time is over.
The Lord is removing his Spirit from the Canterbury–Lambeth lampstand, and the centre of global Anglicanism is shifting from London to Africa.
The average Anglican today is not English, not Western, not male — she’s a young African woman in her twenties, probably Nigerian. The Anglican Communion is now catching up with that reality.
Since the Gafcon Primates’ announcement on 16 October 2025 — declaring that Canterbury is out and that the Bible will be the foundation document for a reordered Global Anglican Communion — reaction has been electric: claims of schism, conflict in Ireland, tensions in ACNA, questions about women’s orders, realignments in England, silence from some primates, and fresh courage from others.
And what does this mean for a blended province like Australia?
Gafcon General Secretary Paul Donison joins us with an update on plans for the Global Bishops Gathering in Abuja, Nigeria, 3–6 March 2026.”
Bishop Donison is speaking at Moore College on Wednesday night at 7:30pm:
Anglo-Catholicism — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“Lee Gatiss and Ros Clarke discuss the ongoing influence of Anglo-Catholicism, co-belligerence and doctrinal differences.”
Lee Gatiss observes, “Ironically, since they started as an anti-liberal movement, the Oxford Movement / Anglo-Catholicism helped to pave the way for liberalism in the Church of England by making it possible to ignore and sideline other doctrines and practices and get away with it.”
An introduction to what Anglo-Catholicism is and how it affects the Church of England today – well worth your time.
See also their previous podcast – on Roman Catholicism.
Why we can’t have the Prayers of Love and Faith after all
“The Church of England has finally published the theological papers and legal advice that the House of Bishops saw before its October meeting.
At that meeting, the bishops gave in to the inevitable and concluded that they weren’t going to be able to go any further without going through the proper legal processes. Just what was in the papers that led to this about-face?
The papers consist of three theological papers produced by the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC) and one legal paper produced by the Church of England’s Legal Office. …”
– At the Church Society website, Michael Hayden shares what has been learned from the information released by the House of Bishops.
His conclusion: “Those of us opposed to the whole project have been saying for years now that they can’t do what they’re attempting to do, and they certainly can’t do it in the way they’ve been attempting to do it. These papers only confirm what we’ve been saying all along.”
“No repentance, but the Lawyers told us we can’t do it – yet”
“The Church of England has halted its plans to introduce ‘wedding’ services for same-sex couples after the bishops finally accepted long-resisted legal advice that it is not possible to do so without the approval of two-thirds of General Synod.
Plans to allow clergy to enter a same-sex civil marriage have also been scrapped owing to the legal complications, ongoing divisions on the issue and the confusion that bringing in the reform by itself would sow. …
The upshot is that the Church of England will continue, for the time being at least, officially to hold to traditional biblical teaching on marriage – while liberals will continue quietly to flout it and make use of the ‘blessings’ fudge they got in under Welby.”
– This Daily Sceptic article has news and commentary.
(Our headline is a very rough summary. Image: The Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023)
The Anglican Communion – has the ship sailed?
“It was telling that Madeleine Davies, Senior Writer at the Church Times, gave short shrift to the idea that the unity of the Anglican Communion was high on the priority list for those selecting the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Her response on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, was simple – ‘That ship has already sailed.’
It seems almost everyone involved would agree.
The Anglican Consultative Council certainly thought so – their decision to chose representatives of tiny, liberal provinces to be the voice of the ‘Anglican Communion’ on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) gave no indication that they were looking for unity. …”
– From Anglican Futures.
Image: The Mary Celeste – a ship with no crew or passengers.
“Archbishop” — Church Society podcast
From Church Society:
“In this extra-long episode of the Church Society podcast, Lee and Ros talk about the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the newly announced appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the 106th person to hold that office.”
– Listen here.
“Keep the pattern”
“Friends in Christ, last Friday, the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, Dame Sarah Mullally, the first female in the role. Previously she had been chief nursing officer in the UK’s National Health Service (the youngest person ever appointed to that role). Her experience and training appears to be much more in management (both secular and ecclesiastical) than in parish ministry work. …”
– In his Minister’s Letter to the Cathedral congregations, published on Thursday, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares some reflections on what is most important in a bishop.
Why are Christians hung up about Sarah Mullally? An explanation for those outside the church
“Sarah Mullally is to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, which has upset a number of Christians, especially in the Anglican community here and abroad, and particularly in Africa. Though if you aren’t a Christian, you may be confused as to why many are unhappy with the appointment. Most of the negative commentary is either written for a church audience, and hence does not explain precisely why this statement or that stance is such a problem …”
– At The Critic, Peter Leach, Minister of Grace Church, Coventry (part of the International Presbyterian Church) helpfully explains some of the reasons behind the unhappiness over the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
Get up to speed on responses to the Canterbury announcement
Here’s a handy list of links we’ve posted to responses to the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury –
Archbishop Dr Laurent Mbanda – GAFCON.
Archbishop Dr Justin Badi Arama – Global Fellowship of Anglican Churches.
Bishop Peter Hayward, Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney.
Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College.
The Church of England Evangelical Council.
The Pastor’s Heart – with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Dr Lee Gatiss, and Vaughan Roberts.
Image: Bishop of London Sarah Mullaley speaks at the Church of England’s General Synod, 6th February 2023.
Appointment of New Archbishop Continues Tragic Slide into Irrelevance
“This week, the Church of England’s leadership continued its tragic slide into irrelevance as it announced the appointment of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anglicans around the world had hoped for the appointment of an orthodox and faithful guardian of the faith who would address the serious decline in England’s established church and its dire standing in the global Anglican Communion. Sadly, those making the appointment have chosen to continue on a decades-long course of theological revisionism, cultural capitulation, empty churches, and unprecedented division.
In fact, the Church’s recent trajectory has attracted the condemnation of Anglicans worldwide. …”
– Principal of Moore Theological College, Dr. Mark Thompson, writes at The Gospel Coalition.
Image courtesy Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living.
Laurent Mbanda, Lee Gatiss and Vaughan Roberts: A lanyard wearing Archbishop and fractured communion
From The Pastor’s Heart, a special and important edition:
“The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, will take on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury — but instead of celebration, the global response has been marked by shock, disappointment, and unprecedented criticism.
Once, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognised as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion — the “first among equals” for Anglicans everywhere. But that authority has been dramatically eroded in recent years, especially after the GAFCON and Global South movements declared in 2023 that they no longer recognised Canterbury’s leadership, citing the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex relationships as a betrayal of biblical truth.
As the GAFCON Kigali Commitment put it:
“Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.”
With GAFCON and the Global South together representing as much as 85% of global Anglicans, Sarah Mullally will now lead a communion that is, in practical terms, far smaller and more fractured than it was at the start of Justin Welby’s tenure.
So what does this appointment mean for the future of Anglicanism?
Joining us today are three leading voices (statements from their organisations are linked):
See also George Owers article in The Critic: The Lanyard Class Archbishop.
– Watch at YouTube – or watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart website.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…