Bishops are not powerless against the present spiritual disorder
“With scandals over Zen Buddhist meditations promoted by promoted by the Canon Chancellor of York Minster, the Church of Nigeria severing links with Liverpool Diocese over the appointment of an uber-liberal American bishop, and an Oxford cleric appearing to bless the same-sex ‘marriage’ of Desmond Tutu’s daughter in South Africa, this has been a lousy summer so far for the Church of England.
But dare one respectfully suggest that Bishops disturbed by these developments should not despair? They are not powerless in the face of such gross spiritual disorder…”
– Julian Mann, Vicar of the Parish Church of the Ascension at Oughtibridge inSouth Yorkshire, reminds bishops of their consecration vows and their responsibilities – and the authority they have to use them.
(Photo: Archbishop Justin Welby.)
Does the C of E have enough vicars?
“Today the Ministry Statistics for 2015 are released (soon to be posted on the C of E stats web page) and they tell us the stark reality of decline in clergy numbers.
On Radio 4 this morning, Rose Hudson-Wilkins suggested that this wasn’t too worrying, since we can dispense with the model of the ‘white, male, clericalised’ pattern of ministry. What she failed to highlight is that there are no sustainable models of church growth which don’t involve stipendiary (set aside, financially provided for) leadership, and the NT itself sees leadership as a gift to the church which enables the ‘building up’ of the people of God.…”
– At Psephizo, Ian Paul looks at some of the implications of the latest ministry statistics from the Church of England.
Church of England uses ‘trendy’ Post-it notes in new service celebrating the role of godparents
“The Church of England has been accused of ‘dumbing down’ after drawing up a new service in which worshippers use Post-it notes, clap like football fans and move their fingers like ‘twinkling stars’.
The new liturgy will be used in hundreds of churches for the first time today to celebrate the role of godparents.
But in an outspoken attack, the former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, said it reflected the Church’s ‘now familiar desire for being trendy’…”
– Story from Mail Online.
Here’s The Church of England’s Godparents’ Sunday site, with the liturgy mentioned in the article (PDF file).
Archbishop Justin Welby on DNA revelations
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recounts how he learned the identity of his biological father, and the impact it has had on his family.
From the Anglican Communion News Service.
Bishop of Salisbury ‘leads backlash against fixed date for Easter’
“A prominent Church of England bishop has spoken out against plans by the world’s main Christian denominations to fix the date of Easter to the same Sunday every year. … the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam, warned that the move would detach Christianity from its Jewish roots by breaking the link between the timing of Easter and Passover.”
– Story from The Telegraph. (Photo: Diocese of Salisbury.)
Archbishops’ response to LGBTI activist is a ‘missed opportunity’
“The Church of England has published a reply, dated 12 February, to a letter from Jayne Ozanne, Director of LGBTI campaign group Accepting Evangelicals, and co-signatories.
The letter, which was written by the Archbishop of York on behalf of himself and the Archbishop of Canterbury, responds to Ms Ozanne’s claim that the Church of England has failed its ‘duty of care’ to LGBTI members of the Anglican Church.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern and a member of the General Synod, has issued the following response …
‘This letter was another opportunity for the Archbishops to demonstrate appropriate leadership by reaffirming and promoting God’s clear vision for marriage. Instead the letter suggests that the fundamental issue is an ‘ongoing conversation’ as yet unresolved, implicitly suggesting that God has been unclear.
The role of the Archbishops is not to facilitate conversation but to teach the truth, refute error and discipline those who depart from God’s pattern in either teaching or lifestyle.’…”
– Read the full statement here. Read the Letter from the Archbishop of York here (450kb OCR PDF, originally from the Archbishop of York’s website).
Related: (Canadian) Primate listens to concerns of LGBTQ Anglicans
“‘All of us belong to God,’ said Canon Douglas Graydon to Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, at a gathering held to discuss same-sex marriage in the Canadian church. ‘The question is whether we belong to the church.’
It was a question many LGBTQ Anglicans brought forward in a question and answer session that took place after a talk Hiltz gave following the ‘queer Eucharist’ service hosted monthly at the Anglican Church of St. John’s West Toronto”
Archbishop of Canterbury gives his take on the Primates’ meeting
From the Anglican Communion News Service:
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has used his presidential address to the Church of England’s General Synod to update members on last month’s Primates Meeting and Gathering in Canterbury. He also gave his impression about the current state of the Anglican Communion.”
– This is Archbishop Welby’s fullest account of his understanding of what took place in Canterbury last month. Worth reading in full. Photo: ACNS.
Roman Catholic Vespers at Henry VIII’s Chapel Royal
“The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, last night led a service of Solemn Vespers in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace in what was the first Roman Catholic act of worship for 450 years in Henry VIII’s chapel, which was the backdrop to much of the English Reformation.
The service, sung mainly in Latin, was a unique event held to mark the 500th anniversary of Hampton Court and was in recognition of the growing relationship between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church…”
– This report from The Anglican Communion News Service.
Photo: Cardinal Vincent, Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.
True Anglicanism: Gospel proclamation, compassionate care, cultural leadership
“Here is the main argument put forward by revisionists for the Church of England to change the historic doctrine of sexuality and marriage: ‘the majority of people believe this, so the church leadership should follow’. Leaving aside the interpretation of statistics, and the question of whether this societal change has happened by chance or as a result of sustained cultural re-education by a secular elite, we need to ask: should the Church accommodate itself to the culture as the revisionists demand, or should it be providing a lead in developing a counter-culture which influences and transforms the values of society?
Or perhaps the church should ignore the surrounding culture and be concerned only with the beliefs and actions of its own members and the small fringe of contacts which it hopes to draw in? This approach may have the strength of an authentically biblical foundation, but is it Anglican?…”
– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes looks at the way forward for the Church of England.
The YouGov poll on same-sex marriage
There’s been widespread reporting of a UK poll, with stories beginning like this one –
“Anglican churchgoers in the UK who support gay marriage outnumber those opposed to it for the first time, according to a new poll…” (Sky News Australia).
So what’s the real story?
“Last night the internet was abuzz with a YouGov poll, commissioned by the revisionist campaigner Jayne Ozanne, that was purported to show that a majority of Anglicans now supported same-sex marriage. It did no such thing…
The headlines become even more suspect when you look at the poll questions in detail.”
– Ian Paul and Peter Ould have some analysis.
Reform Media Statement, Jan 16th, 2016
Reform in the UK has published this media statement in the light of last week’s Primates’s gathering:
REFORM Media Statement – 16th January 2016
Read more
‘Church ‘should repent’ over treatment of gay Anglicans’
“More than 100 senior Anglicans have signed an open letter calling on the Church of England to repent on its treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians.”
– More pressure on Archbishop Welby ahead of the Primates’ Meeting. And even more reason to pray for all at that gathering. Report from BBC News. (Image: BBC.)
The Queen’s Christmas message 2015
Queen Elizabeth II has released her 2015 Christmas Message.
And you can also read the Christmas 2015 sermon from Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, preached at Canterbury Cathedral. In part, he says, –
“Today, across the Middle East, close to the area in which the angels announced God’s apocalypse, ISIS and others claim that this is the time of an apocalypse, an unveiling created of their own terrible ideas, one which is igniting a trail of fear, violence, hatred and determined oppression. Confident that these are the last days, using force and indescribable cruelty, they seem to welcome all opposition, certain that the warfare unleashed confirms that these are indeed the end times. They hate difference, whether it is Muslims who think differently, Yazidis or Christians, and because of them the Christians face elimination in the very region in which Christian faith began. This apocalypse is defined by themselves and heralded only by the angel of death.”
Undermining the Reformation
“Is the Reformation over? Was it a mistake? These are questions we may ask ourselves a number of times over the next two years, as the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses approaches in October 2017.
I found myself wondering about them after the recent fiasco surrounding the Lord’s Prayer ‘advert’, and after General Synod…”
– At Church Society’s blog, Director Lee Gatiss quite rightly wonders what on earth is going on (to paraphrase him a little) in the Church of England.
Need Ministers be Theologians?
At Church Society’s blog, Kirsty Birkett (who now teaches Pastoral Counselling and Youth and Children’s Ministry at Oak Hill College) reminds readers of a 1994 Churchman article by the much-missed John Richardson.
In his article, John draws some important conclusions for evangelicals in the Church of England, reflecting on his year of study at Moore College.
(Readers can also rightly give thanks to Almighty God for the growth of Oak Hill College in London in the years since John wrote that article.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…