Love is the way!

 

In retrospect, when watching the above video clip one can only speculate on what the actress may have said to the presiding bishop for him to be so gushing about love while the actress looks on, looking as demure as she possibly can.

In reality the presiding bishop's concept of love has proved to be just an act.

An article by David Virtue on his VirtueOnline blog, reveals how revisionist Episcopalians led by bishop Curry trash churches they leave behind after losing court cases while orthodox Anglicans clean and leave the keys under the door.

One commentator wrote in response to the blog entry: "Yep. TEC has become the epitome of vindictiveness and hypocrisy. No real love for God or for their neighbors."

On this side of the pond there are no similar arguments about property. In the Church of England orthodox Anglicans have The Society to look to with WATCH left to harry in the background. 

Orthodox Anglicans in the Church in Wales have been left with nothing. Archbishop Barry Morgan saw to that vowing that there would be alternative Episcopal oversight 'over his dead body'. A policy continued by his successor, the recently retired Archbishop of Wales, John Davies.

In a widely circulated retirement statement archbishop Davies said the pandemic had highlighted the "goodness, kindness and love" in communities. People's compassion towards others "must not vanish" after the coronavirus pandemic.

Archbishop Davies and his bench of bishops have shown no goodness, kindness or love towards orthodox Anglicans. Only to revisionists who, like themselves, have been prepared to 'go along to get on'.

We should not be surprised as the Church in Wales uses TEC as its model. They sent the first two Church in Wales women bishops to former TEC presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, archbishop Morgan's heretical mentor as part of their training!

Love (charity) is the way. Sadly some do not know the meaning of love.

Money to burn in Bangor Diocese?

 

The Very Revd Kathy Jones to be ex-Dean of Bangor                                    Source: The Bangor Aye

The Bangor Aye reports that the Very Revd Kathy Jones is to leave her role as Dean of Bangor to take up a new role of Family Support Leader to Katharine House Hospice in Stafford.

Readers may recall that the dean was unhappy with the accommodation the deanery house provided her with, despite the former dean spending £89,000 on refurbishments. More to her taste was the £465,000 four-bedroom detached house purchased for her. 

Likewise, the Canon Precentor of Bangor Cathedral, the Rev Canon David Fisher, was provided with new accommodation because the town centre was 'too noisy'. 

In July 2018 it was announced that Canon Fisher was leaving the Church in Wales following his appointment as Priest-in-Charge (Rector Designate) of All Saints, Carshalton, by the Bishop of Southwark.

 The total bill for the two new homes which, it is claimed, could be up to £1m, is well above the average house price in the area, which is around £160,000.

This may seem like small beer to the Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Rev Andy John, who is the 'lead bishop of evangelism' in the Church in Wales and now the most senior bishop in the Church in Wales following the retirement of Archbishop John Davies.

The Evangelism Committee of which bishop John is a member oversees the spending of a £10m fund set up to 'breathe new life' into its churches.

Last gasps are more in evidence.

It's not cricket (2)

Oxford graduate Imran Khan was an international cricketer before he entered politics. Now as Pakistan's prime minister he has a plan which is definitely not cricket.

According to a report in MailOnline Imran Khan has a plan for Muslim-majority countries to force Western governments to criminalise insulting the Prophet Mohammed which he claims will work .

He said "lobbying Western nations, the EU and UN to adopt blasphemy laws with a warning of a trade boycott if they do not do so will be 'effective' in achieving their goal.

"He said leaders of Muslim-majority countries should call on the West to 'stop hurting the feelings' of Muslims across the world with their current freedom of speech laws, reports Pakistani newspaper Dawn." 

Britain's former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told MailOnline that trying to force Western countries to bring in such a ban would be 'a pretty foolish decision. It is not countries that insult the Prophet Mohammed, it's individual citizens'.

Meanwhile, International Christian Concern highlights the case of "a Christian accused of blasphemy in Pakistan [who] was tortured into making a false confession while spending more than two months in police custody." 

Such reports are not uncommon.

In As Good as Dead, the impact of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Amnesty International concluded:

    "Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are routinely used to target vulnerable people on the basis of false accusations. There is broad scope for their abuse which means that anyone can level an accusation of blasphemy, which can lead to criminal charges. Inadequate safeguards then mean the accused have few means to defend themselves. In a perversion of the justice system, the accused are often presumed to be guilty, on the basis of little or no evidence.

    "As the accused struggle to establish their innocence, they often face serious threats to their lives. Many people have been threatened and killed in revenge attacks after accusations of blasphemy were made against them. As Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acknowledged, the majority of blasphemy accusations are false. However, this does not prevent angry crowds, aroused by clerics and their supporters, from taking the law into their own hands while the authorities routinely fail to prevent these abuses and, by doing so, enable a culture of impunity.

    "This report documents cases which illustrate the broad scope for human rights violations and abuses, in order to highlight the need for urgent repeal of the laws and – until their repeal – the need for effective procedural safeguards to be put in place."

Need one say more!

Apology of an Archbishop

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby                                                                 Source: Huff Post

Justin Welby, the forever apologising Archbishop of Canterbury, is ashamed. Ashamed that the Church of England is ‘deeply institutionally racist’.

A somewhat sweeping statement not fully supported by the BBC's recent Panorama programme which highlighted a few, probably the worst, cases of racism found in the C of E. 

The Archbishop of York  told the interviewer that BAME people were under represented in the structures of the Church but he did not believe that the Church was full of racists.

Some does not mean all but this has become a familiar pitch used by feminists and the gay lobby to gain more influence in the Anglican Church leading to secularisation.

Two recent entries on Twitter highlight differing perceptions. 

The Rev Jodie Stowell (Vicar @StMikesHarrow. Chair House of Clergy London. Feminist. Occasional Broadcaster. Unplaceable accent. Badly behaved. Challenging status quo since 1975) tweeted "Ask any woman, gay person, disabled person, any people who intersect across these personhoods will have no trouble recognising and believing what is being reported here about racism in the CofE @BBCPanorama  #IstheChurchRacist.

By contrast, Political adviser and Commentator Calvin Robinson tweeted "The Church is not institutionally racist. Many in its leadership are woke and out of touch, but it’s not a racist institution. 
Theology is the study of God. There is no 'Black Theology'. We don’t have a different God for each identity. Not in Christianity, anyway."

Precisely.

Clive Myrie, Panorama's presenter, complained that only 10% of those in training for the priesthood were from ethnic backgrounds ignoring the fact that 10% is broadly in line with their representation in the population.

But never mind the facts. Responding to the report From Lament to Action from the anti-racism taskforce set up by the archbishops of Canterbury and York following the death of George Floyd it has been decided that the Church of England must include at least one candidate from a minority ethnic background on shortlists for bishops and other senior roles in a drive to rid the church of “racial sin” and all governing bodies within the church, including parish councils, should have at least 15% of minority ethnic representation by 2030.

Myrie rounded off his criticism by quoting 'the Church':
"The Bible teaches that we're all made in God's image and all one in Christ so all God's people are welcome and can flourish in the Church."

The Rev Shirley Murphy who was born in Chennai and "the first priest of Indian origin to be chaplain to the bishop of St Davids" said that "she was pleasantly surprised at not facing any racism in Wales, considering she had in London."

With feminists firmly embedded, same sex couples about to be rewarded with same sex relationship blessings to compensate for their alleged persecution, and fast track privileges for clergy of colour regardless of merit, the only Anglicans not welcome in the Church appear to be those who strive to keep the faith as received, particularly in Wales. 

Minorities

Credit: PoliticalCharge/DailyKos

In a move influenced by Black Lives Matter, Minorities should have a say on future Church of England bishops to improve diversity, reports Mail Online:

"All future Church of England bishops should be approved by a representative from black or minority groups, leaders have recommended. The reforms will give a black or ethnic minority churchgoer an effective veto over who lands the most senior posts. The move, which was influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, follows a year of Anglican agonising over race...The authors said the BLM movement ‘provides a particular context to the conclusion of our work and brings into sharp focus the issues of diversity highlighted throughout our report’." 

According to the New York Post, Marxist BLM leader and co-founder reportedly "raked in big bucks from jail reform initiative". 

NYP also tweeted that the BLM founder has 'built up a million-dollar property empire with at least four homes'. Something else for the Church of England's Marxist bishops to ponder.

Another minority, the Church in Wales, reports that "the Church is on track to be more inclusive, better organised and equipped and more focused on outreach", according to their Archbishop who was making his final Presidential Address to GB members before he retires in May.

The Archbishop's hope was that the Church "might grow in an ever-deepening, radically inclusive love for each other and for those not yet a part of us".

 'Inclusive' has come to mean openly gay while many have been set apart by the policies of the Bench of Bishops. 

Charity begins at home but there is no love in the Church in Wales for anyone who fails to comply with their woke agenda. 

Source: Church in Wales

One of the ironies of the GB meeting held online earlier this week was the enthusiastic support for a private members motion calling for 2022 to be a year of Biblical literacy.

Voting was: For 92, Against 1 with 3 abstentions.

Archbishop Davies supported the motion 'with all his heart' but the problem for the Bench is not literacy (the ability to read and write) but interpretation.

The Rev Dr Kevin Ellis who seconded the motion posed the question: How can we tell the story if we don't know it? Quite! The more so if the story is re-interpreted for reasons of political expediency.

The Standing Committee reported that:  "A  Bill to authorise experimental use of proposed revisions to the Book of Common Prayer (a service of blessing following a civil partnership or marriage between two people of the same sex) has been submitted to the Standing Committee by the Bench of Bishops", undeterred by earlier criticism that it is not legitimate to set aside the Church’s traditional understanding of what the Bible has to say about same-sex relationships to satisfy a handful of homosexuals and lesbians who may or may not choose to avail themselves of the opportunity of having their union blessed. Explanatory memorandum here.

The divorced and re-married Bishop of Bangor who will be the senior bishop in the Church in Wales following the archbishop's retirement and first inline for election to Archbishop if Buggins' turn applies again. He has also been told that his plea for gay marriage was not convincing.

Another well received Report, Faithful Stewards in a Changing Church (Understanding Ordained Ministry in the Light of the 2020 vision) concludes as follows:

Our Pilgrimage

            If the metaphor of an expedition has any merit, then ours is not simply a long trek in

a wilderness (however much it may seem that way at times). It is a pilgrimage from an upper

room in Jerusalem to the multicultural Wales of today, in which we follow in the footsteps of

Jesus Christ, in whose life we minister. Like any long pilgrimage, our own has experienced

many highs and lows, times when we have marched on with energy and determination and

times when we have become lost among the temptations and concerns of our world. But in

every stage, those called to ordained ministry have rediscovered their priestly vocation to

offer themselves in holy service to all within their care. As we embark on the next phase of

our pilgrimage within the fast-changing social landscape of 21st-century Wales, it is our prayer

that we may come to embrace a renewed vision of our shared ministry to God’s people and

find our deepest joy in Christ Jesus “in whose service lies perfect freedom”.

'Multicultural Wales of today' has come a long way from the upper room in Jerusalem. 

The Bench of Bishops is hell-bent on interpreting the Bible to reflect secular changes but as the bishop of Monmouth aptly reminded GB, only a tiny minority of the population of Wales, less than 1%, regularly attends Church in Wales services. 

Another minority (mis)leading a minority.

Loadsamoney!

Llandaff Cathedral                                                                                           Original source: Twitter

From Twitter: 

Llandaff Cathedral @LlandaffCath

The Cathedral Chapter are delighted to be creating two new posts at the Cathedral. We are looking for a Chief Executive & Chapter Clerk, as well as an Assistant Director of Music.

For details about these exciting opportunities & how to apply, click here - https://bit.ly/2POWjkB

Previously: "The Dean and Chapter are seeking to appoint a Cathedral Steward and a Development Director in two newly created posts as key members of the Cathedral’s senior staff as it celebrates its 900th anniversary.

The Church of England is on the same track. The Archbishop of York has come under fire for 'sending the wrong message' by advertising for £90,000-a-year chief of staff.

Meanwhile at HQ the Archbishop of Canterbury seeks an agreement to disagree over gay marriage within the Anglican world.

As the Anglican Church declines in membership and influence spending increases on secular style appointments to support senior management leaving one to wonder how senior clergy managed when churches were full.

On the plus side they should have more time to read their Bibles and remind themselves that they are not not be conformed to this world, but be transformed. 

Easter 2021

“Christ the Consolator”                  Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890)  

With Very Best wishes for a Joyful and Blessed Easter