C of E General Synod: The argument of the Bishop of London

Martin Davie looks at the approach taken by the Bishop of London (an approach which is very popular among members of the House of Bishops, it seems) –

“If you read carefully the transcript of the Bishop of London’s presentation to the General Synod yesterday on the House of Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith you will find that that the heart of her argument for what the House of Bishops is proposing lies in the following passage in her speech:

‘Our call is and always will be to seek the face of Christ – yes, in each other, but above all in searching the Scriptures, examining the Church’s tradition, and exercising our reason as we strive to make sense of how truth is to be lived out with grace in our 21st century context.‘…”

– Read his analysis here.

And compare the bishop’s approach with that of the Letter of Jude. (See also St. Helen’s Bishopsgate’s sermon series on that letter.)

You can see the Bishop of London’s complete address to the General Synod on Monday 06 February 2023 here. (The link should take you to the 2 hour 16 minute point.)

(Image from the Church of England livestream.)

The Church of England faces a huge week

“One thing worse than Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys is the revisionist Bishops in the Church of England who are this week gaslighting both the sheep under their care and deceiving the general public.

Presumably, Sam Smith thinks that dressing up in a satan costume and performing a song called ‘unholy’ is making some kind of loud and shocking creative statement. Perhaps someone could tell him, he’s doing nothing more than copying a longish line of musicians. It is all rather boorish, except that mimicking the very personification of evil isn’t a particularly bright idea.

Over in old England land, ecclesiastical leaders have taken up that ancient inquisition of the Devil, by suggesting, ‘Did God really say?”…”

– Murray Campbell in Melbourne summarises what’s happening in the Church of England and argues it has lessons for Australian churches.

All Souls Langham Place Letter to the Bishop of London

Anglican Ink has published a letter from the PCC of All Souls’ Langham Place to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly.

Here is the text.

“Friday 3rd February 2023

Dear Bishop Sarah,

We are writing to you as the PCC of All Souls, Langham Place to express our concern and sadness at the response that has been presented by the House of Bishops as the outcome of Living in Love and Faith.

Both the response and the draft prayers abandon confidence in the goodness and authority of God’s Word and in doing so they move the Church of England away from her historic formularies, which are foundational to our life together in London, England and as part of the global Anglican Communion. While the response states that there is to be no change in the Biblical doctrine of marriage, in practice they are that.

At a very practical level these materials undermine the Biblical call to discipleship: a call to put aside one’s self in a desire to live in response to all that our Lord Jesus has done for us. This is particularly true for many in our church family who have chosen to abstain from sex outside marriage, regardless of their sexuality. We are deeply saddened that these prayers devalue the difficult road they have travelled by communicating that sex outside of marriage is not sinful but actually something they can receive a blessing for. This is wrong.

We particularly grieve for those members of our congregation and the wider Church who are same sex attracted and whose Biblical convictions mean they are single and abstinent against a culture that encourages them to be otherwise. Their daily battle of faithfulness is intense yet their voice is absent from the Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith. This is incredibly sad.

We share in the Bishops’ apology expressed in the pastoral letter for homophobia in the Church and acknowledge that we have not loved LGBTQI+ individuals always in the ways that we should have.

Church has too often been a place where people feel unable even to say they are same sex attracted or struggling with their gender identity and we need to work harder so that is no longer the case. But church has also been a place where people find freedom through finding their identity in Christ, joy in knowing unconditional love and peace in the forgiveness of Jesus. All of us are fallen and sinful and we all are called to repent before the Lord Jesus. As drafted, the prayers of Love and Faith now teach every sexually active unmarried couple that repentance is not needed. If believed, this denies people the joy of stepping away from those things God has called sinful into new life in him. We cannot participate in such a departure from Biblical Christianity.

These proposals leave us in a very difficult position with regard to episcopal oversight. This is a further point of particular sadness – we have greatly valued your ministry to us, your support and your commitment to mutual flourishing. We would like to be clear that we will continue to maintain the strong partnership we have with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

In considering our position, we are also mindful of our partnership with the global Anglican church and also with smaller orthodox churches within the London diocese and across England and our desire to stand with them in upholding historic Anglican theology.

We ask that you encourage the London bishops to clarify their personal position shortly by stating whether they intend to endorse or otherwise use the Prayers of Love and Faith. We presume that your proposing of the motion at General Synod is an endorsement of the prayers and signals your intention to authorise them for use within the diocese – please correct us if that assumption is wrong. Clarity on this will help our PCC discussions over the coming months as we seek to work out what this means for our relationship with the London diocese.

Given the current proposals, the PCC voted this week to pause all Common Fund payments until we know the outcome of General Synod and have taken the time necessary to work through the implications of any decisions coming from it. Please know that this decision was not taken lightly or with any joy but is a reflection of the degree of concern we have with the response and draft text that have been presented by the House of Bishops.

We will of course continue to pray for you and for the Church of England as a whole.

Your sincerely,

The All Souls Langham Place PCC.”

See it here.

Image: All Souls Langham Place.

Church Society Podcast: This week at General Synod

The latest Church Society podcast:

“General Synod is meeting from 6th – 9th February 2023 to discuss, amongst other things, the bishops’ proposals for blessing same-sex relationships and covenanted friendships in church.

In this episode of the podcast, Ros Clarke explains to Lee Gatiss what will be happening on each day of the Synod and how you can pray for those who will be participating.”

– A bit of background to this week’s Church of England General Synod.

British Muslims express ‘Deep Concern’ over Church of England ‘Gay Blessing’ proposals – and ‘Identity Politics’ in Church Schools

“Muslim leaders have expressed their “deep concern” that their convictions that marriage can only be between one man and one woman, and over ‘identity politics’ in CofE schools were not sought by Church of England bishops ahead of next week’s General Synod crunch debate on ‘gay blessings’ in the ‘Established church’.

The leader of the oldest representative group of British Muslims has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury expressing frustration that the proposals have not been discussed with leaders of the other main faiths in Britain – despite many joint meetings of faith leaders on other topics at Lambeth Palace these past six years – when the church has been considering changes to marriage and sexual ethics via the Living in Love & Faith (LLF) project. …”

– News via Anglican Mainstream.

MPs plan to put pressure on the C of E after Welby’s disestablishment remarks

“Lambeth Palace has expressed dismay at reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury told MPs that he would rather see the Church of England disestablished than split the Anglican Communion over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Welby made the remarks in a private meeting with parliamentarians on Monday. …”

– Full story at The Church Times.

A Call to Pray for the Church of England General Synod

Please pray for the crucial Church of England’s General Synod meeting Monday to Thursday (6th – 9th February) this week.

A key issue facing the Synod will be the blessing of same-sex unions.

A pre-synod statement issued by the Church of England House of Bishops, while claiming to leave the Church’s doctrine of marriage intact, has recommended a decisive move towards the blessing of same-sex unions.

This is of serious concern for all those seeking to follow the teaching of Scripture.

Please pray:

Related news on the Church of England is available here on our website.

See also:

General Synod web page.

Sessions will be streamed live here.

 

For your own further edification, or if you are discussing these issues with friends or fellow believers, you may be helped by several chapters in our book The Line in the Sand – available for free download.

This book was produced last year by the Anglican Church League in partnership with the Australian Church Record.

Our aims were:

Of particular relevance are the following chapters:

To download the book and to hear or read the author interviews, please visit this link.

Top image: Church of England General Synod.

Faithful [C of E general] synod member reported by bishop for ‘hate crime’

“A faithful member of the Church of England’s General Synod was reported by his bishop to the police for allegedly causing ‘offence’ over promoting a Biblical view of sex and gender.

The Bishop of Coventry capitulated to pressure from LGBT campaigners by reporting lay member of Synod, Sam Margrave, to the police for an alleged ‘hate crime’ after Mr Margrave campaigned online against Queer Theory and the sexualisation and grooming of children.

It is believed to be the first time that such action has been taken against a general synod member for activity on their Twitter account. …”

– Story from Christian Concern in the UK.

Photo: Christian Concern.

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Letter to the Bishop of London

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has sent this letter to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly –

“In light of St Helen’s prior letters and discussions, it will not surprise you that we regard both the House of Bishops’ Report and the Draft Worship Resources as unbiblical, contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England, and therefore entirely inappropriate.”

Here is the full text:

Monday 30 January 2023
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullaly DBE
The Old Deanery
Dean’s Court
London EC4V 5AA

By email and post

Dear Bishop Sarah,

Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith

As the members of the PCC’s standing committee, we are writing on behalf of the St Helen Bishopsgate PCC, and our various congregations, to express our grave disappointment and concern at the House of Bishops’ response to Living in Love and Faith.

In light of St Helen’s prior letters and discussions, it will not surprise you that we regard both the House of Bishops’ Report and the Draft Worship Resources as unbiblical, contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England, and therefore entirely inappropriate.

Three aspects cause us particular concern.

First, as you know, for many years the St Helen’s Church family has been a safe place for a significant number who live with same sex attraction, but who seek to live a celibate life in accordance with God’s commands. They are greatly encouraged by knowing that they are loved and included within the body of Christ at St Helen’s. The pastoral damage from the House of Bishops decisions for these members of Christ’s flock is very significant. We have been hearing since the announcement about how they are being affected personally by it.

Secondly, we find the House of Bishops’ Report to be disingenuous. It pays lip service to the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage, while commending a means by which, in practical terms, the doctrine of marriage may be circumvented and undermined. It is a pretence to suggest that these prayers neither equate with the blessing of same sex marriage, nor contravene the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage. Even within the press conference last Friday, the bishops on the panel, including yourself, contradicted many of the claims made in the Report.

Thirdly, the autocratic nature of the process appears to have bypassed the elected clergy and laity of the General Synod.

We find it deeply disturbing that, as the diocesan bishop, you made clear in your answers to questions that you expect that same sex, sexual, relationships will be blessed by clergy in the Church of England.

We wrote to you prior to the completion of this process to indicate that steps such as you have taken will inevitably further affect our already broken partnership with the House of Bishops. We shall await the conclusion of the General Synod in February before seeking a conversation about the provision which will be necessary for those forced by your decision into having no acceptable episcopal oversight.

Whilst we await developments and give prayerful consideration to our response, the PCC has asked us to pause our current contributions to Common Fund.

Yours sincerely,

Revd William Taylor, pp Jeremy Anderson CBE, pp Andrew Ross, pp Paul Simpkin, pp Andrew Wales.

Source: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.

Photo of Bishop Sarah Mullaly: Bishop of London’s website.

“We Cannot Bless what is contrary to God’s revealed will”: Former Bishop of Maidstone

“January 27, 2023

Dear brothers and sisters,

I thought I should follow up last week’s letter about the post-LLF proposals from the House of Bishops because of all that has been written since, and in the light of a recent residential meeting of the CEEC Council. First, I am conscious of the question put by my good friend Lee Gatiss in a recent blog about the position of evangelical bishops. I want to start therefore by reassuring you that in the College of Bishops I voted against the draft material on which the views of General Synod are now being sought, and I remain opposed to it.

After the College meeting ended, I felt both grief and shame. My firm desire is that all who treasure the Church’s existing position on marriage, including bishops, will vote against the motion which the House of Bishops is putting to Synod.

The reasons for this are threefold …”

– Bishop Rod Thomas, recently-retired Bishop of Maidstone, shares his stance on the proposals from the Church of England’s House of Bishops.

See also:

Church Society podcast recorded at last week’s CEEC residential gathering.

Glen Scrivener on the ‘Secular Sermon to Archbishop Justin Welby‘

Glen Scrivener at Speak Life responds to ‘a secular sermon’ open letter directed to the Archbishop of Canterbury by high profile UK TV presenter Sandi Toksvig.

Can we love people and disagree? Very helpful in thinking about how to respond to those with whom we disagree.

Watch here.

CEEC formally responds to House of Bishops’ proposals and subsequent public communications

The Church of England Evangelical Council has issued a formal response to the Church of England’s House of Bishops.

“CEEC calls for action and offers the Church of England a better way forward

CEEC is grieved and dismayed by the House of Bishops’ response to Living in Love & Faith, and subsequent public communications, believing them to be contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England. If pursued, we believe these proposals will create further division and broken fellowship within the Church of England and a greater tearing of the fabric of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

We wish to alert the House of Bishops to the depth, breadth and strength of opposition to their proposals among members of CEEC, which represents lay and ordained, charismatic and conservative and open, egalitarian and complementarian evangelicals. The Council is drawn from numerous networks including Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships, EGGS, The Junia Network, ReNew, New Wine, Living Out, Latimer Trust, JAEC, Fulcrum, Fellowship of Word and Spirit, Crosslinks, CPAS, Count Everyone In, CMS, Christianity Explored, Church Society and evangelical College Principals.” (emphasis added)

– Read it all here.

‘Total betrayal of the doctrine of marriage’

Speaking with the Christian Institute in the UK, Global South spokesman the Rev Paul Eddy highlights the failure of the Archbishop of Canterbury and calls on evangelical bishops to speak out against the House of Bishops proposals.

Failing the Green Test II: A critical examination of the advice from the Church of England’s Legal Office

“In my previous paper on the bishops’ proposals I applied what I called the ‘Green test.’

This test, named after the late Canon Michael Green who taught it to me, holds that that there are two key questions that a student should ask of any item on a theological reading list.

These two questions are

(a) ‘What is this writer trying to sell me?’ and

(b) ‘Is this something I should buy?’

In my previous paper I argued that the bishops’ proposals failed this test. In this new paper I want to argue that the advice from the Legal Office likewise fails this test with the consequence that it does not show that what the bishops are proposing is legal. …”

– Martin Davie continues his analysis of the House of Bishops’ proposals for the blessing of same-sex marriages.

Part 1 here.

Photo: The late Canon Michael Green.

Global South Releases Response to Same-Sex Blessings in Church of England

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA)

Press Release

For Immediate release 24 January 2023

CHURCH OF ENGLAND ‘BLESSING’ GAY UNIONS WOULD VIOLATE BIBLICAL TEACHING & JEOPARDISE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY’S CONTINUING ROLE IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

IF the General Synod of the Church of England affirms the House of Bishops’ recommendations to ‘Bless’ Same Sex Marriage, or Civil Partnerships, the Church of England will be in violation of the “clear and canonical teaching of the Bible”, and it will lead to “impaired communion with many provinces of the Anglican Communion”.

The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as a “moral leader, and a figure of unity within the Communion” will also be “severely jeopardised”. So says the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) which covers around 75% of Anglicans across the globe, ahead of the Synod’s London meetings, February 6-9.

The House of Bishops’ Response to the six-year Living in Love and Faith ‘listening’ process says lawyers have advised them that the official Doctrine of Marriage would remain, despite the Church, from now on “joyfully welcoming and recognising permanent, stable same sex relationships” through services and prayers of blessing.

The Most Reverend Justin Badi, Primate of South Sudan, and Chairman of the GSFA responded, saying: “What the English bishops are recommending constitutes unfaithfulness to the God who has spoken through His written word. Their Response belies the loss of confidence by the bishops in the authority and clarity of the Bible as we have received it. They are re-writing God’s law for His creation; laws that are re-affirmed by Christ in the Gospel accounts.”

Last summer, at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, the GSFA sounded a global call to re-affirm ‘Lambeth 1.10’ (the Anglican Communion’s official teaching that the only place for sexual intimacy is marriage between one man and one woman for life, and specifically rules out blessing of same sex relationships). Archbishop Badi says the bishops’ proposals are “in clear contravention of Lambeth 1.10” , and “will lead to consequences for the Communion if the General Synod affirms. We therefore call on Synod to reject the bishops’ proposals on blessing same sex unions.”

Archbishop Badi said the GSFA “laments the bishops’ collective failure to keep their ordination/consecration vows to defend biblical truth by their life and doctrine, and are dangerously accommodating the culture of the day”. He said their 53-page Response: “turns out to be a farcical compromise, with many contradictions, and no theological case made for blessing same sex unions.” The GSFA says that the proposed pastoral resource of Prayers of Love and Faith for blessing and affirming gay couples, contradicts Holy Scripture taken as a whole, and in particular, the bible’s teaching on marriage and sexual ethics.

Theology apart, the GSFA also says the attitude towards the Anglican Communion shown by the House of Bishops in their Response once again demonstrates a problematic relationship between the Mother Province and the world-wide Anglican church.

Archbishop Badi said: “Anglican ecclesiology requires that provinces don’t act independently of each other. Even more so for the CofE in its special historical and ecclesiastical role in the Anglican Communion. Assent by General Synod would show disregard for the wider Communion (the majority of whom hold to orthodox teaching on Marriage & sexuality), and will increase the pressure for the Communion to fragment. Several GSFA provinces are already in ‘impaired communion’ with revisionist provinces like The Episcopal Church (USA), the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church in Wales. If Synod votes to back the bishops’ recommendations, then it is foreseeable that several Global South provinces will also be in impaired Communion with the Church of England.”

However, the primate says this does not mean GSFA provinces will leave the Communion. He added: “It would only double their desire to reset and revitalise the Communion along biblical lines, and in keeping with its formative theology, ecclesiology and ethos. The Anglican Church has always seen itself as an expression of God’s ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.’

“GSFA provinces are committed to our calling to be ‘a holy remnant’ within the Communion, marked by its loyalty to God and the plain teaching of holy scripture – whatever the cultural winds of the day. But a Synod vote in favour of the bishops’ proposals would be a major step in revisionism and sadly, alienate the Mother Church from large swathes of the Communion. It will inevitably lead to a re-configuration, and a re-structuring of the Communion as we currently know it.”

Archbishop Badi says it would also remove the Archbishop of Canterbury’s moral right to be an Instrument of Unity for the Communion. He said: “Archbishop Welby cannot compartmentalise his role as Primate of England from his role as ‘first among equals (head of the world-wide Communion)’. He says he will not personally use the ‘prayers of blessing’, but his “extremely joyfully celebratory” welcome of the blessing prayers, and his leadership of the House of Bishops in proposing this Response, means that he is actually advocating false teaching from a biblical point of view.”

The GSFA says if any Communion province was considering changing its Doctrine of Marriage, and/or its Pastoral Guidelines, then this should first be discussed and decided by the Primates’ Meeting. That is, if a global Anglican Church as a ‘communion of churches’ is to be maintained, rather than “a loose network, or federation of autonomous national or regional Churches,” he explained.

To orthodox clergy and laity in the Church of England, Archbishop Badi was keen to send a clear message of encouragement and support. He said: “The GSFA is committed to care for those who abide by the ‘faith once delivered’, and who want to be true to the Communion, and its foundational roots, while responding to a changing world. In a word, we seek to continue to ‘shepherd’ those who want to be faithful to the covenant-keeping God revealed in Christ and the Scriptures. This includes Orthodox Anglicans in England, bishops, clergy and laity. We will do this as best as possible in a non-schismatic way.

“We will also be especially mindful to care for, and encourage those who are same sex attracted, but whose love of the Lord, and His teaching, mean they abstain from same sex unions. Our mission of ‘truth and grace’ in a broken world will also include welcoming and relating to those in some form of same sex relationship. We will welcome them as persons into our church communities, relate to them as they present themselves, and seek to introduce them to the transforming love of Christ that heals our brokenness, and helps all of us sinners to be continually transformed more and more into His likeness.”

Finally, the GSFA leader says he believes that particularly over the last decade, the debate on marriage and sexuality has distracted, if not diverted, the life in many parts of the Communion, and certainly the Church of England, from the main task of the Church: proclaiming Christ and making disciples of all who live in the nation, including those who increasingly, in a confused and morally ambivalent society, struggle with issues of identity. He concluded: “The mission Christ entrusted to His Church must cause us to take the Gospel out to those who have yet to know and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ, and to live out the kingdom in a holistic way. We will, in the grace of God, both defend and propagate this death-defeating, life-transforming Gospel.”

The GSFA has recently invited orthodox provinces across the Communion to formally sign up as full Covenant Members of the Fellowship. It is also in the process of offering Associate Membership to Anglican Churches and organisations within revisionist provinces who are seeking to be a ‘holy remnant’, and who may require support from the global body of Anglicans, including alternative episcopal oversight at some point.

• For more information about the GSFA, and membership, visit www.thegsfa.org

ENDS

(This copy with thanks to The American Anglican Council.)

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