Same-sex couples receive blessings for first time in Church of England

“Same-sex couples began receiving blessings in the Church of England on Dec. 17 …

Among the first couples to receive the blessings were the Rev. Catherine Bond and the Rev. Jane Pearce, both associate priests, during Holy Eucharist on Dec. 17 at St. John the Baptist Church in Suffolk. …

A day later, on Dec. 18, Pope Francis broke similar ground in the Roman Catholic Church by allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, the Vatican announced…”

– Story from The Episcopal News Service.

As might be expected, the media were on hand at St John the Baptist, Felixstowe.

Update on the Vatican component of the story – from NotThe Bee, explaining that what was said was a little more nuanced:

“The Vatican is saying that this is not a blessing of the sin they are living in, but a blessing for those who ‘recognize themselves to be destitute and in need of his help’ that will pray before the throne of God for ‘all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and in their relationships’ to be healed and guided by the Spirit.”

Image from the February 2023 Church of England’s General Synod.

Vicar Faces Official Rebuke From Church of England For Saying Trans Archdeacon is “Biologically a Bloke”

“The Revd Brett Murphy faces an official rebuke from the CofE over ‘intentionally derogatory and disrespectful’ remarks he made about the Revd Canon Dr. Rachel Mann shortly after his appointment in June.

LGBT+ campaigners had hailed his appointment as a ‘beacon of light and hope’.

The Revd Murphy, in a 32-minute-long YouTube video, criticised the CofE for putting ‘a radical rainbow activist’ in a ‘position of high authority in a diocese’. …”

– Anglican Mainstream has this excerpt from and link to a report in The Telegraph.

Since the Rev Brett Murphy has left the Church of England, he might not care very much what is said about him.

Bishop of Ebbsfleet’s Guidance on Prayers of Love and Faith

As the Church of England’s House of Bishops say that Prayers of Love and Faith are available for use from today (Sunday 17 December 2023), the Bishop of Ebbsfleet has issued his pastoral guidance. It can be summarised:

  1. Do not use the prayers.
  2. If you can, pass a PCC resolution not to use the prayers.
  3. Consider what implications ‘impaired fellowship’ may have on your ministry.
  4. Do not leave the Church of England now.
  5. Support the CEEC and others in seeking suitable provision.

– Read his Statement and Ad Clerum here (PDF file).

Link via Anglican Mainstream.

Hard Decisions will have to be made — Bishop Wallace Benn

“I was privileged to be part of the group at the Lambeth Conference of world-wide Anglican bishops in 1998 which produced the statement overwhelmingly supported by the Conference …

I was also part of the group that wrote the excellent Jerusalem Declaration in 2008 (which became the basis for GAFCON — the global movement of orthodox Anglicans)…”

– Both statements assert the authority of Scripture.

So, in the light of the latest moved by the House of Bishops of the Church of England, Bishop Wallace Benn asks, “What are Bible-believing Christians to do?”

– Anglican Mainstream has republished his comments from Evangelicals Now.

Photo: Bishop Benn at GAFCON 1 in 2008 by Peter Frank for GAFCON.

CEEC responds to House of Bishops’ commendation of Prayers of Love and Faith

“Revd Canon John Dunnett, National Director, CEEC, said: “CEEC deeply regrets the announcement from the House of Bishops which indicates that a selection of readings and prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and asking for God’s blessing for same sex couples can be used in Church of England services from Sunday 17 December.

As reported in our statement on 17 November, this confirms our belief that a line has been crossed, which we hoped and prayed would not happen.…”

– The latest from the Church of England Evangelical Council.

Deaf and arrogant — The Anglican Network in Europe on the Church of England House of Bishops

Press Release:

A response to the Church of England House of Bishops’ commendation of Prayers of Love and Faith on 12 December 2023

It is hugely disappointing, but unsurprising, that the Church of England House of Bishops has ignored the pleas of the majority of the Anglican Communion, nearly half of the clergy and laity in General Synod and nearly a third of their own members to push ahead along a highly divisive path which arrogantly rejects the authority of scripture and cravenly follows the latest trends in Western secular culture.

For both clergy and laity now standing at the crossroads and prayerfully considering their future path, we want to reassure them there is a road available which avoids an unknown and unsafe future as part of an apostate denomination, and draw their attention to the recent Gafcon Primates’ statement (9 Nov 2023) which speaks of a way of being authentically Anglican apart from Canterbury-aligned structures: “We… commend the ministry and witness of the Anglican Network in Europe as the appropriate and necessary provision of Gafcon for those who cannot in good conscience remain in a Church which flagrantly abandons the teaching of Scripture.”

Rt. Rev’d Andy Lines
Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe.

Received via e-mail.

Note: The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is the provision of the Primates’ Council of Gafcon to provide a faithful ecclesial structure for orthodox Anglicans within Europe. It currently comprises two dioceses: The Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE) and The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE).

Image: GAFCON.

C of E: Prayers of Love and Faith to be made available for use from Sunday

“A selection of readings and prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples can be used in Church of England services for the first time from Sunday, December 17, following approval by the House of Bishops.

The final texts of Prayers of Love and Faith, commended for use in regular public worship or private prayer, are published today, together with pastoral guidance which sets out how they could be used.

At a meeting held online this morning, the House of Bishops confirmed its earlier decision to commend the Prayers of Love and Faithresources for use in regular public worship and agreed that this should take effect from Sunday December 17.

The Prayers can be used in regular scheduled services, such as a Sunday Eucharist or Evensong.

The House also continued to discuss separate proposals for special standalone services for same-sex couples to be formally authorised under canon law. …”

– from a Church of England press release.

Ian Paul – Church of England is “trying to square a circle”

“Rev Dr Ian Paul offers crucial insights following November’s Synod, reaffirming the Church of England’s doctrine that marriage remains defined as a union between one man and one woman. For a nuanced understanding of what took place, the half-hour interview is accessible on our YouTube channel here.

Ian asks, ‘Do we have confidence in the teaching of Jesus?’ and firmly states the impossibility of detaching doctrinal adherence from pastoral care. He critiques efforts to align the Church’s timeless doctrine with contemporary views as ‘trying to square a circle’. …”

– From The Coalition for Marriage in the UK. Watch here.

A personal ‘Barmen Declaration’ in the light the Church of England’s current direction

“The following is a personal statement by the Revd Tom Parsons who is a member of the Rochester Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship. I am posting it on this site because I think it is an important theological response to the vote by General Synod a fortnight ago to give a green light to the blessing of same-sex couples in Church of England churches.

On Wednesday 15th November this year, the Church of England’s General Synod voted to give the House of Bishops a green light to develop liturgy of blessing for sexually active same-sex couples. …”

– Martin Davie has posted this personal statement from the Rev Tom Parsons, Vicar of Christ Church, Sidcup, in Kent. In it, he outlines a Biblical and theological response to the General Synod’s vote.

On Sexuality, Justification, and Sanctification

“There were many speeches made in favour of the Prayers of Love and Faith at the November session of the General Synod which raised my eyebrows. The prize for the most ludicrous, however, goes to …”

– Michael Hayden clears up some nonsense which was evident at the Church of England’s General Synod earlier this month.

In doing so, he points us to the beauty of the gospel.

Image: John Calvin by Hans Holbein the Younger

Church Society’s St Antholin Lecture 2023: Same-Sex Love in the Puritan World

From Church Society:

“This year’s St Antholin Lecture on Puritan Divinity will be delivered live on the Church Society Facebook page by Dr Christy Wang, a church historian from Singapore Bible College.

Dr Wang is also a Post-Award Visitor affiliated with the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, where she was a tutor and earned her DPhil on ‘Puritan Conformity, Church Polity, and Anglican Identity, 1628–88’, having previously also studied at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and National Taiwan University.

The title of the lecture will be ‘By Love to Them I Cease Loving of Thee’: Journaling Same-Sex Love in the Puritan World.’…”

– Details here.

The lecture is on Wednesday 6th December at 6pm (UK time), 5:00am the next morning Sydney time.

Should I go or should I stay in the Church of England?

“It is with a high degree of anxiety, and increasing doubts about my sanity, that I am wading unwisely into the debate on whether to remain in or leave the Church of England.

I readily confess that I am, by every measure, several levels below the spiritual and theological authority of those who have already spoken or written on the matter. Nonetheless even the minion on the congregational ‘shopfloor’ deserves a hearing. …”

– Dr. Chik Kaw Tan, former member of General Synod and a trustee of Anglican Mainstream, shares his thoughts, and acknowledges that “remaining or leaving can both be difficult options”. Very helpful.

It’s also a good reminder to keep praying for all our brothers and sisters who are wrestling with these questions.

No crumb of comfort in a tragic and disastrous Church of England decision — with Vaughan Roberts

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“The Church of England has abandoned the teaching of Jesus with prayers for same sex blessings potentially to start before Christmas.

‘Tragic’ says Gafcon.

‘Disastrous’ says the Global South.

‘Deeply Troubled’ says the Church of England Evangelical Council.

‘First order difference requires first order differentiation’ says Vaughan Roberts.

‘It is hard not to dissolve into a flood of tears’ says Mark Thompson the Principal of Sydney’s Moore College.

‘The Archbishop of Canterbury should resign’ says the Church Society’s Lee Gatiss.

The English General Synod has crossed a line that evangelicals across the world had been praying and hoping would not happen.

The General Synod expressed its support by a tiny majority of just a few votes for the continued implementation of the House of Bishops proposals to change the position and practice of the Church of England with regards to sexual ethics and marriage.

We now expect the English bishops to commend prayers of blessing for same sex couples by mid-December (and provide dedicated services soon after), to prepare guidance which will make it possible for clergy to marry their same sex partners, and that future ordinands will not to be asked to indicate whether their lifestyle and personal relationships are in keeping with the doctrine of the Church of England.

Vaughan Roberts is one of the UK’s leading evangelical ministers within the church of England.  Vaughan is senior pastor of St Ebbes in Oxford.”

– Watch or listen here. (Links added to the text above.)

Image: Vaughan Roberts speaks in the Church of England’s General Synod on Wednesday morning 15th November 2023.

A vicar writes to his congregation about the Synod decision on ‘gay blessings’

“On Wednesday, after nearly nine hours of debate on Living in Love and Faith (LLF), the Church of England’s General Synod voted on a motion, put forward by the House of Bishops (HoB), and amended by a proposal by the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft (see italics below).

In effect, + Steven’s amendment torpedoed a carefully staged proposal by the HoB, including that ‘prayers of blessing’ for gay relationship could not be used as a ‘stand-alone’ service, separate from a main Sunday service, as the perception and experience of those attending would be that the service was a ‘wedding’ in all but name, and therefore, the CofE would have changed its Doctrine on Marriage.

…

For now, I’d simply ask you to reflect on whether it is right, and a Godly way to change the Doctrine of the Church on marriage via one amendment, with no notice given to the wider Synod (until the actual start of the London meetings), and that the amendment occurred via a 57% to 52.18% against vote? As a PCC here, would probably not even choose a vacuum cleaner with that sort of division! After 7 years of LLF meetings, talks, reflections, study and debate across the CofE, it came down to a 5% difference? Remember, a formal change in doctrine needs a two-thirds majority in ALL three houses. That’s will now be by-passed by new praxis.”

– Anglican Mainstream has published this letter to his congregation from the Rev. Paul Eddy. It gives a very helpful insight into the fallout and mess caused by the Church of England’s General Synod vote. And plenty to pray about.

Image: Paul Eddy in an interview with the Christian Institute in January 2023.

Two important initiatives from the Church of England Evangelical Council

An important announcement from the Church of England Evangelical Council concerning temporary Spiritual Oversight and Securing evangelical stewardship:

“Responding to the 15 November 2023 General Synod decision: looking forward

For many in the Church of England a line was crossed this week that we prayed and hoped would not happen.

On Wednesday afternoon, the General Synod expressed its support by a tiny majority of just a few votes for the continued implementation of the House of Bishops proposals to change the position and practice of the Church of England with regards to sexual ethics and marriage.

In practice we now expect the bishops to commend prayers of blessing for same sex couples by mid-December (and provide dedicated services soon after), to prepare guidance which will make it possible for clergy to marry their same sex partners, and that future ordinands will not to be asked to indicate whether their lifestyle and personal relationships are in keeping with the doctrine of the Church of England.

We believe these proposals are being pursued without adequate provision and protection for those holding to the biblical, historic and global majority Anglican view on marriage and sexual intimacy. This underlines the failure of leadership by the archbishops and divided House and College of Bishops.

CEEC is saddened that the House of Bishops appears to have acted regardless of legal and theological advice – and in such a way that has dramatically undermined the confidence that worshippers have in the leadership of the majority of our bishops. We thank God for the courage of those bishops who spoke and voted against the motion at General Synod.

CEEC regrets that these changes will cause deep division in PCCs and parishes, deaneries and dioceses the length and breadth of the country, in the same way that the Bishops and General Synod are divided.

CEEC is concerned for the consciences of evangelicals (lay and ordained) across England who now feel their membership of the Church of England in some way to be compromised.

Looking forward

CEEC is not yet able to be confident that the future discussions signposted by the House of Bishops in the Synod papers will produce a permanent settlement that will secure orthodox life and witness going forward.

Therefore, CEEC is compelled to stand with those who now find their consciences deeply troubled – and to make temporary provisions that enable them – at least for now – to remain a part of the Church of England whilst more formal and official provision is pursued.

Today we are announcing two provisions that will be available to evangelicals across dioceses in need of such support – with more to come as the situation develops.

These provisions are not a permanent arrangement – and we remain convinced that a permanent structural settlement is needed to address the tectonic divide that now exists within the Church of England and which will continue to be destructively present until and unless it is addressed. CEEC is committed to working towards this settlement.

Spiritual oversight

First, CEEC will respond to requests for spiritual oversight from those who now feel themselves to be in impaired fellowship with their diocesan bishop(s). Obviously, any clergy person or PCC will still look to their diocesan bishop for legal and formal oversight – though we recognise that any structural rearrangement needed to address the deep division in the Church of England would be likely to impact this.

Clergy and/or parishes, seeking alternative spiritual oversight, must continue to be accountable for safeguarding to their diocesan bishop and safeguarding officers.

We are pleased that a group of Honorary Assistant bishops have agreed to provide this spiritual support for clergy and congregations and some serving bishops may choose to join their number. We are also intending to commission ‘overseers’ to create more capacity to provide this support and accountability around the country. We have appointed a diverse panel of experienced leaders from across the evangelical constituency spanning charismatics and conservatives, egalitarians and complementarians, to discern whom God might be calling to such an overseer role. This panel will be chaired by CEEC President Julian Henderson (the previous Bishop of Blackburn) and includes two other Honorary Assistant bishops.

Clergy and/or PCCs can get in touch with CEEC via our website to ask for this spiritual support.

This provision is both informal and temporary and will serve as a stepping-stone to the formal and permanent provision which we hope and pray will be agreed as part of a new structural arrangement and settlement.

Securing evangelical stewardship

Second, CEEC is launching on Monday 20 November a new national Fund called the Ephesian Fund. The Ephesian Fund will enable people in churches across the dioceses to continue to support orthodox Anglican ministry when in good conscience they might otherwise withdraw or reduce their giving to their parish church as a result of their bishop’s support for the Prayers of Love and Faith initiative.

PCCs will also be able to pay part or all of their voluntary parish share (also known as ‘quota’) via the Fund – thus enabling their share to be used to support only local churches who stand with them in the historic Anglican and biblical position on sexual ethics.

The details of the Ephesian Fund are available on the CEEC website and via social media.

Contending for provision

We will also be introducing initiatives to support orthodox ordinands, parochial clergy and senior leaders, as well as supporting lay ministers, chaplains, patrons, archdeacons and other groupings in the Church of England whose commitment to orthodoxy might be challenged as the Prayers of Love and Faith initiative moves forward.

Our hope and prayer is that these temporary provisions will enable orthodox evangelicals to remain in the Church of England whilst we seek a permanent and structural settlement to secure orthodox life and witness going forward.

CEEC is committed to working with the House of Bishops to seek a settlement that is acceptable to all.

Apostolic faith

We continue to believe that the doctrines of the Church of England as expressed in the 39 Articles, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal are thoroughly biblical, trustworthy and ‘fit for purpose’ in the 21st century.

We stand united with people across the dioceses of the Church or England who wish to pray and work for the securing of orthodoxy through a form of structural provision.

Our hearts remain deeply committed to contending for the faith as have received it and we thank God for the support and prayers of Anglicans around the Communion.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13.”

– Source: CEEC.

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