BBC Radio 4 programme on women bishops

Adrian Reynolds at The Proclamation Trust writes:

Interesting programme on Radio 4 yesterday including a very high quality section with Andrea Trevenna from St Nicholas’ Sevenoaks. Listen here. Go to 16:38 if you want to skip context and go straight to her part. She’s very strong on the authority of Scripture. She pretty much was the only person interviewed who mentioned the Bible.

(Includes comments from Kay Goldsworthy.)

Reform statement on Women Bishops measure in the C of E General Synod

“Reform says ‘furore’ over women bishops shows need for better provision.

Reform Chairman Rev’d Rod Thomas said today that “Reform deeply regrets that we have reached such an impasse on women bishops” with the current House of Bishops’ amendments not satisfying the conservative evangelical network’s concerns over their future in the Church of England. …”

– See the full Reform statement.

Church Society response to the Church of England Submission on Same-Sex Marriage

The Church Society media release below refers to this submission (PDF) from the Church of England.

“Church Society Response to the Church of England Submission on Same-Sex Marriage

Church Society welcomes the Church of England’s official submission to the government’s ‘consultation’ on sex-same marriage, which argues strongly in favour of retaining the current definition of marriage as “the voluntary union for life of one man with one woman to the exclusion of all others”.  Read more

‘Is David Cameron about to force the Queen to break her Coronation Oath?’

Well-known UK blogger ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ looks at some implications of the British government’s proposals –

“The newspapers today are full of reports of the likely consequences to the Church of England of the Government’s plans to redefine the institution of marriage to include same-sex unions, contra the official teaching of Church, as established by Act of Parliament. The Report has been hyped, selectively quoted, misquoted and misrepresented by much of the media, so His Grace urges you to READ IT for yourself…”

– Read it all here. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

2,200 Anglican women say ‘No Thanks!’ to having a woman bishop

“A petition signed by more than 2,200 Anglican women who oppose women bishops will be presented today to the House of Bishops at the start of their meeting in York…”

– Media statement from Reform.

UK Advertising Standards Authority investigates blogger

This from well-known UK blogger “Archbishop Cranmer” –

“Apparently there have been a number of complaints about one of the advertisements His Grace carried on behalf of the Coalition for Marriage. He has been sent all manner of official papers, formal documentation and threatening notices which demand answers to sundry questions by a certain deadline. He is instructed by the ‘Investigations Executive’ of this inquisition to keep all this confidential…”

– Read about it here.

Women Bishops in the Church of England

“We all know there are within the Church of England those who conscientiously object to the principle of consecrating women bishops. Those people, both lay and ordained, have been reassured on many occasions that they are loyal, faithful Anglicans. They have been reassured there is a place for them – on some occasions it has even been called an honoured place – within the church. They have been told that that place will remain. So far, so good, you may think…”

– Church Society Council member George Curry points out some of the implications of the Church of England’s current trajectory – in the latest issue of CrossWay (PDF file).

New Director for Church Society

It’s been announced that Lee Gatiss will be the new Director of Church Society from the start of 2013.

Announcement here.

When bishops disagree

“What should bishops do when a bishop breaks ranks and violates the collegiality of the House of Bishops?

That would seem to be the question confronting the Church of England since the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam apparently stated, in an interview with The Times, that he did not see any need to ‘sublimate’ his support for same-sex marriage to the views of the Church.

Given the inevitable shortcomings of newspaper reporting, that may not be exactly what he said or exactly what he meant, but given also that there has been no refutation from him, for the moment we must assume this is the case…”

– John Richardson at the Ugley Vicar looks at events in the UK.
Related: ACL Statement on developments in the Diocese of Gippsland.

Reform urges C of E General Synod to avoid ‘brinkmanship’ on women bishops

Here’s a Media Statement from Reform:

“Do Synod members wish to see the ministry of those who are opposed to women bishops on theological grounds progressively removed from the Church of England, or can we, even at this late stage, encourage a more generous and inclusive approach?”

Reform chairman Rev’d Rod Thomas today called on fellow General Synod members to take a “generous approach” to those opposed to women bishops or risk seeing the legislation being voted down.

“When we come to vote on the Manchester Diocese Motion on Wednesday 8th, we will each have to choose. Do Synod members wish to see the ministry of those who are opposed to women bishops on theological grounds progressively removed from the Church of England, or can we, even at this late stage, encourage a more generous and inclusive approach?” he said.

“If the draft legislation comes back to General Synod for final approval next July unchanged, then we will have the unsavoury dilemma of either having to vote for a Measure which will lead to disunity and division, or of voting against it and thus prolonging the debate for another five years. Yet there is still an opportunity, through the amendments previously put forward by the Archbishops, to reach an agreed way forward.”

The Manchester Diocese Motion, which will be debated next Wednesday, recognises that the only body which now has legal authority to amend the draft legislation is the House of Bishops. The motion asks the House of Bishops to use their power to amend the draft legislation in line with the amendment put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2010. That amendment provided that where arrangements are made for another bishop to exercise oversight over parishes which cannot accept the ministry of women bishops, such bishops could do so by exercising ‘co-ordinate’ rather than ‘delegated’ jurisdiction.

— Ends. (Also posted here.)

Related: “Anglicans to march in support of women bishops” – BBC News.

‘More new women priests than men for first time’ in C of E

“Official figures show that 290 women were ordained in 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available. By contrast, just 273 men entered the priesthood.

The watershed moment comes less than 20 years since the Church first allowed women to be priests…” – from The Telegraph.

An open letter on the Anglican Covenant

Canon Chris Sugden responds to an article in the Church of England Newspaper by Andrew Goddard –

“You write that the Covenant has been “consistently supported by the Global South Leadership.”.  Yet on November 24 2010, seven primates [Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda,Tanzania, West Africa, and the Southern Cone of Latin America] representing 40 million Anglicans released a statement that in their view “the covenant was fatally flawed and so support for this initiative is no longer appropriate”…”

– read his full letter at Anglican Mainstream.

The unhappy fate of Optional Evangelicalism – how Fulcrum strengthens the case for the AMIE

“In 1997, Roman Catholic theologian Richard Neuhaus wrote a celebrated essay entitled ‘The Unhappy Fate of Optional Orthodoxy’ in which he set out ‘Neuhaus’ law’, namely ‘Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed’.

His logic is arresting and really quite simple. In a denomination where orthodoxy is tolerated as an option rather than being normative, the orthodox are accepted only as long as they behave as if their convictions were matters of personal preference and interpretation. If they do not keep this rule, they will be ejected.…”

– Charles Raven takes a careful look at the direction of the ‘open evangelical’ group Fulcrum in his latest post at SPREAD.

We rejoice in the emergence of the AMIE — Richard Coekin

“England is increasingly secularised and hostile to Christian faith and ethics and is consequently suffering immense social damage. It needs to be re-evangelised with the spectacular saving grace and transforming hope of the gospel of Christ crucified, risen and returning in glory. This is the cause to which the Anglican Mission in England (A.M.I.E.) is clearly committed…”

– Richard Coekin, Director of Co-Mission, explains why the emergence of the Anglican Mission in England is a cause for rejoicing.
(h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

New website for AMIE

The Anglican Mission in England now has its own website. The ‘About AMIE’ page will answer some questions.

“For four and a half years representations have been made to the senior leadership of the Church of England and discussions have been held with bishops appointed for the purpose by the Evangelical Bishops Meeting and by the Archbishop of Canterbury to find a way of providing alternative oversight for those who are in ‘temporarily impaired communion’ with their diocesan bishop. Most recently a strong representation was made by a range of concerned people for there to be a conservative evangelical ‘PEV’. No proposal or response has been received.

Taking the serious step of setting up AMIE is needed now in order to provide some way for people with such a calling for ministry to remain with the Anglican Communion and Church of England.”

– Read it all here.

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