Yesterday's man

It doesn't say much for the new Archbishop of Wales when the old is invited to share his destructive views with Bangor clergy school.

Barry Morgan of all people! Wrecker in chief of the Church in Wales with his radical policies spouting a load of old cobblers.

He persists in perpetuating the myth that the clergy have to do everything - apart from working together.

There are some clergy who pull above their weight but there are others who are bone idle. I could give him a few names.

In reality hard working, conscientious clergy have simply had enough of politics. Many of the more able have jumped ship leaving Ministry Areas in Wales in a sorry state. Who better to blame than long suffering laity for supposedly leaving it all to the clergy.

Morgan should realise that many of the problems have been caused by forcing out hard working laity leaving the Church of Wales on the verge of collapse.

He doesn't give a damn for them, nor do the increasing numbers of senior staff left in charge while area cooperatives struggle to survive with inadequate pastoral support.

When he retired he pledged that he would not interfere. Another broken promise.

Sad, deluded and failure are three words that spring to mind.

The faithless face of feminism in the Anglican Church

Bishop Rachel Treweek has said the Church of England should not call God 'he'
Source: Express/GettyImages

Christianity is about Christ. For feminists Christianity is about using Christ to promote their own agenda which distorts the nature of love and equality to accommodate their self promoting views on faith and religion.

The Express reports: 'God is NOT a man: First female bishop says calling God “He” is a growing problem'.

It may be a growing problem for bishop Treweek and her trendy feminist supporters but not for the majority of Christians or for Christ Himself who taught His disciples to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...

Hallowed means nothing to these Entryists who lacked the integrity to form their own church. Instead they have politicised Western Anglicanism. They have mercilessly used the Anglican Church as a playing field on which only they can win.

So deep has the rot become that they have the support of limp bishops who have sacrificed spirituality on the altar of secularism.

In 2015 the BBC News Magazine published an article Why is God not female? The question keeps coming back. As with the ordination of woman and same sex marriage in church, the arguments are constantly regurgitated, pressing people outside the church who have no understanding of the theological implications of their actions to force change  inside the church.

Is it any surprise that people get fed up, leaving the Church in crisis as only 2% of young adults identify as C of E.

The Church in Wales too has become a leaking bucket, rusted by feminists. Their duplicity in getting the Governing Body to agree a Code of Practice which furthered the feminist cause while shutting out many faithful, cradle Anglicans can be judged by its fruits. The two women bishops appointed have proved to be a complete waste of spiritual space as they constantly drive forward their feminist agenda.

The ugly face of feminism in the church owes much of its success to Women and the Church (WATCH).

From my entry Women in the Church:

"Women bishops would humanise the priesthood" said the then Archbishop of Canterbury in 2011. Dr Rowan Williams warned the Church hierarchy to prepare for the “culture change” that would come with the “full inclusion” of women. Not the full inclusion the Archbishop would have expected. Instead it is inclusion to the exclusion of anyone with views not in accord with Women and the Church (WATCH) and their fellow travellers as highlighted by the "Sheffield controversy".

A culture change indeed. and not for the better so far as mother Church is concerned.

Caption corner

Jay Z talking with Reverend June Osborne and some of the local Salisbury Cathedral choristers
 before the Russian visitors    Source: tumblr

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

Queen wins

Three bishops from the same class in St Michael's College, Llandaff          Source: Church in Wales

In a previous entry From hat trick to three card trick I wrote the bishops' consultation on same sex marriage ... is akin to the classic three card trick, otherwise known as 'find the queen', designed to win regardless.

Hey presto, the queen wins. Like loyal subjects, members of the Governing Body queued to speak of love and equality, apparently understanding neither. They swallowed what they had been fed and regurgitated the poisonous rubbish fed by the bench of bishops, unworthy of the office they hold for leading astray those in their care. The souls of the righteous being sacrificed by false prophets.

Archbishop John Davies told Premier Christian Radio: "There was a very significant majority in favour of us making a formal move ahead and discussing provision further".

The Church in Wales even published this deceptive tweet

Church members did not have a vote. A majority of bishop affirming members of the Governing Body perhaps but of the wider church?

So far as the membership of the Church in Wales is concerned its Governing Body has become an irrelevant tool of the bench.

As the 2012 Church in Wales Review observed, "We do not believe that the present system of elections to the Governing Body always results in a true reflection of church opinion.  At the moment there is very little knowledge for people to go on when making up their minds for whom to vote." (page 5)

Not that it would make a jot of difference when members decide on their own volition to vote on the basis of personal preference instead of on the expressed wishes of church members. 

The bench has now positioned itself so that it will be at odds with the rest of the Anglican Communion as the Scottish Episcopal Church discovered following their unilateral decision to allow same sex marriage in church.

Governing Body agreed that “It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.”

On what evidence? A bald statement that is in direct contradiction to the archbishop's keynote speech. "Play your part, great or small, in spreading the Gospel message,  urges Archbishop".

The gospel of the bench is not the gospel of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The pretence of it being so has become widespread leading to the notion of an inclusive church in the living catholic tradition which may be translated as homosexual practices are affirmed here with the expectation of imminent blessings by the church. 

Affirming catholicism affirms that which should not be affirmed. It has little to do with the catholic faith as received. It claims catholicity while behaving contrary to the catholic faith with consenting clergy joining the Society of Catholic Priests, an 'Anglican society for men and women serving as Priests throughout the Anglican Communion'.

It is window dressing claiming allegiance to the catholic faith while acting contrary to it. 

The wider church is appalled at these deviations from the faith by churches which use self-governing arguments to adopt practices that are contrary to the gospel. 

Declining numbers demonstrate that they cannot deceive all of the people all of the time.

From Church in Wales Report on Membership and Finances 2017

"The rate of decline in average adult Sunday attendance between 2016 and 2017 is in line with the general annual trend since 2010":

Average Attendance - over 18 Sundays: 27,359 (2017)   28,185(2016)   - 826 (2017-2016)   - 3%

In 2006 the average weekly attendance aged over 18 was recorded at 39,490 showing a fall in adult attendance of 31%, almost one third in just over a decade.

At that rate of decline there will soon be no Anglican church to care pastorally or otherwise for anyone. 

What the archbishop was really saying in his keynote address is that the Church in Wales is in crisis. Parishes which had ample clergy now find that there are more churches than there are clergy to run them so the laity must pull their weight when the bishops do not as they play politics jeopardising the souls of their flock.

A clue to the way the bishops think is in the Conclusion to GB's Agendum 14

A Framework for Healthy and Joyful Mission in the Church in Wales
A Report to the Governing Body September 2018

+Andy Bangor:

"We believe that every person in our province has the right to hear the message of Jesus Christ in a way they understand. Our responsibility as a church is to play our part with God and other Christians so everyone can hear, engage with and respond to this message."

That will be the favoured group of the bench sorted but not everyone is in it, just a minority, so to hell with the rest.

The majority in the wider church will, of course, be aware that the bench of bishops have that the wrong way round.

Postscript [18.09.2018]

There are some relevant comments under an Anglican Ink article including this personal testimony:

"I cannot tell you how devastated I am at this lurch away from the Gospel. When it was discussed at a Parish level a few years ago, St David's was one of the more conservative dioceses and I was much encouraged by the 'traditional' views expressed by representatives from the Cathedral, but since then there has been a complete change of staff, reflecting a more liberal agenda."

In thy name!

Voting                                                                                                             Source: Church in Wales

Another sorry spectacle as the queering of the Church in Wales takes a significant step forward, moving towards same sex marriage in church after the vote at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in the name of its members.

It was difficult to tell from #govbody tweeted comments whether there was a bias among the speakers or among the tweeters but the result was conclusive as revealed in this tweet after 4 hrs or so:

@Joelybarder
#govbody while realising the breadth of views, it's a deeply painful moment for conservatives as governing body votes 76-21 in favour of moving forward to structured pastoral provision for same-sex relationships, whatever the bishops decide that is.

The bishops had already decided from the wording of their loaded statement “It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.”

No doubt the complaints about persecution will continue despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary as illustrated by the vote.

Provision for faithful Anglicans not moved by the zeitgeist is still a no-go area.

There is no suggestion from the bishops that the effective excommunication of faithful Anglicans is 'pastorally unsustainable'.

Update
Church in Wales Provincial press release graphic change already signals intent:

Source: Church in Wales

See also 'Archbishop John responds to the Governing Body's discussion today on formal provision for same sex relationships' on Facebook.

From hat trick to three card trick

Students at St Michael's College, Llandaff. Spot the three future 'bishops' of the Church in Wales?

In a provincial press release 'Bishops’ hat-trick' the Church in Wales announced: "Three clerics who were ordained on the same day in the same cathedral three decades ago are now all serving as bishops on the same Bench." 

One might be forgiven for thinking that was nothing to shout about given their record and ever shrinking attendance figures.

Reports of same sex attraction among some of the students at St Michael's College, Llandaff three decades ago make one wonder if such activities were observed by the three current occupants of the bench, thus influencing their thoughts on same sex marriage. 

A former Archbishop of Wales is on record as saying that his experience of the hurt felt by women at university led him to accept the ordination of women. 

The bishops' consultation on same sex marriage suggests a similar case of misplaced sympathy but their consultation rouse is akin to the classic three card trick, otherwise known as 'find the queen', designed to win regardless.

That is no way for bishops to behave.

The bishops of Swansea and Brecon, Monmouth and St Asaph

Building bridges

               Source: Church in Wales/ClipArtMag  

Following the Pride Cymru extravaganza which attracted a number of clerics from the Church in Wales, there has been more pride from 'The team' on Twitter:

St Augustine's @AugustineRumney 3 Sep 2018
We’re proud to be hosting @StTeilos for their inset day. Former pupil @rjmaidment presided @frjrconnell preached @David_T_Morris concelebrated at Mass with great singing from staff. @SchoolsLlandaff #teamteilo

Pride is an odd association for the church given that pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Perhaps 'The team' is so busy secularizing the church that sin is no longer a problem for them.

St Teilo's Church in Wales High School is in a Cardiff suburb at the heart of the Cyncoed Mission Area in the diocese of Monmouth. Described by the head teacher as an 'inclusive' school, their link with St Augustine's in Rumney, another Cardiff suburb, implies a degree of inclusivity beyond their normal school disability equality duty.

Its links with the 'inclusive' church of St Augustine's, Rumney give the appearance more of spreading the word as discerned by the gospel according to LGBT.

In a postscript to my entry The big lie, I reported that Bob Woods who was listed No. 36 of 46 on the The Pinc List 2018: The 40 most influential LGBT+ people in Wales had been promoting respect for difference:

"Bob has been a lifelong LGBT+ activist in both his personal and professional life....He has played a key voluntary role at St Teilo’s Church in Wales School in Llanedeyrn, promoting respect for difference. He has been an inspirational role model for young people which has given them the confidence to be frank about their sexuality and the confidence to say so in public and amongst their friends and family."

There is nothing new in children having same sex feeling and childhood crushes. Teachers should be able to deal with that without bringing in adults of a particular persuasion to give children "the confidence to be frank about their sexuality and the confidence to say so in public and amongst their friends and family". Where does such 'expertise' end?

Churches and schools may have had the best of intentions but the results have become dire.

So successful has the LGBT campaign been that LGB has become mainstream as witnessed by the rainbow flag flying over public buildings and even Anglican cathedrals. The 'T' part has become the latest 'oppressed minority' to claim persecution as transgender takes centre stage.

The LGBT promoting bishop of Llandaff has already done her bit by appointing the first transgender priest in the Church of England to be the priest in charge of St John's, Cardiff's civic church,

A recent BMJ article posed the question 'Why has there been a 240% increase in referrals to gender dysphoria clinics over the past five years?'

"Gender dysphoria, a condition described as 'strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one's own assigned sex,' is quite common in young people today.

"The causes of gender dysphoria are 'complex' and 'not fully clear.' While many medical sites say gender dysphoria is caused by hormonal imbalances, some scholars believe the rise in gender fluidity is primarily a cultural phenomenon.

"'I think it’s become a fashion', Camille Paglia said during a recent public interview. 'The transgender definition has become a convenient label for young people who may simply feel alienated culturally for other reasons'.

"Paglia, a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and one of the world’s foremost intellectuals, went on to suggest that gender fluidity is simply the new face of the counter-culture.

"'In the 1950s they might have become a beatnik', she said. 'In the 1960s they might have become a hippie and taken mind-expanding drugs'."

Paglia claims that "anyone who collaborates in an intrusion into a developing child's body and mind is guilty of child abuse, a crime against humanity because that child is not prepared to make such a decision."

From Outbreak: On Transgender Teens and Psychic Epidemics "a young person's coming out as transgender is often preceded by increased social media use and/or having one or more peers also come out as transgender. These factors suggest that social contagion may be contributing to the significant rise in the number of young people seeking treatment for gender dysphoria."

There is a world of difference in tolerance and what can be interpreted as promoting difference, something that previously was regarded simply as a passing phase.

The fear of being branded homophobic has muted discussion resulting in an explosion of 'inclusion' with devastating results. Read Is the Queer Reckoning upon Us? for an account of how countless people have lost their jobs, families, public reputation, homes, or incomes because they chose to defend God's design for sexuality rather than submit to the LGBT movement's demands.

The latest tweet from the inclusive church of St Augustine, Rumney promotes the diocesan Evangelism Fund Bid #lovewithoutlimit. That is the £10m fund to inspire new Welsh revival, a misnomer if ever there was one. Grants of between £250,000 and £3m will be available for diocesan projects which crucially, will focus on people rather than buildings. To be presented at the forthcoming meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales: 'Inclusive church – promoting an open and welcoming church at Rumney, Cardiff'.

Manna from heaven for the bench of bishops as bridges are built to aid them in their one-sided campaign for same sex marriage in church.

In his background paper on the subject the archbishop writes:

"As part of discharging our responsibility to lead the whole church in ways that are just, compassionate and caring, seeking to ensure that none suffers through our neglect, we have invited Bishop Mark to come and address the Governing Body about the process developed and adopted in Scotland. He will first address the Governing Body and, after lunch (during which informal discussion among members can take place), he will answer questions about that process and the current situation in Scotland. Bishop Mark will not debate the rightness or otherwise of same gender relationships, those relationships being blessed, or same-gender marriages being solemnised, but all comments from members will be noted.

"In the light of what takes place, members of Governing Body will then be asked to indicate whether they would support the Bishops in undertaking further work on the subject of same-gender relationships and how the Church in Wales could or should provide for them.  The Governing Body will participate in a private ballot, in which members will be asked to agree or not with the statement: “It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.”

"This is not a motion.  It will bind neither the Bench of Bishops nor the wider Church in Wales.  It will not change the doctrine and practice of the Church in Wales on marriage.  However, it will provide an important steer for the Bench in determining where to go next in exercising their ministry of leadership and pastoral care."

If the GB supports the statement the bench will have the all-clear to proceed full steam ahead to allow same sex marriage in church putting many clergy in an invidious position. If the statement is not supported the bench will come back until they get their way. That rouse has become a habit which needs to be addressed by GB.

The bishops of the  Church in Wales have no need to promote same sex marriage, particularly in church. As readers have commented under previous entries, homosexual members of the church have been quietly getting on with their lives for years without hindrance. Many still do while others insist on banging the drum demanding to be affirmed.

In 1967 the law was changed to allow two men to be in a relationship together without the fear of being arrested. Civil partnership legislation followed to ensure that un-married couples enjoyed the same protection as married couples. They can now be legally married.

That is the law. Faith is different. It is based on scripture and tradition. Sadly people whose faith does not in conscience permit them to accept secularisation of the church have been forced out leaving activists in control. Consequently we have bishops who show no understanding of the consequences of their actions driving the church to extinction while putting children in danger.

Children with no concept of gender are paraded in rainbow colours at Pride events as if they have made a conscious decision to support the LGBT campaign. Even babies are not exempt implying a predetermined lifestyle.

The bishops of the Church in Wales are participating in propaganda which is putting our children at risk. They must be stopped.

The Governing Body must wake up to what is being done in their name and return from politics to faith.

Postscript [12.09.2018]

From REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE – SEPTEMBER 2018

Governing Body Worship Coordinator

"This meeting will be the last, as Worship Coordinator, for the Venerable Paul Mackness, Archdeacon of St Davids, who has resigned owing to his new responsibilities in the diocese....

"On the advice of the Bench of Bishops, the Committee appointed the Reverend John Connell for an initial three year period. He will operate the guidelines that have been agreed by the Committee, consulting with others as necessary, to develop a proactive way of delivering liturgical arrangements, working to achieve a balance of participants and language from across the dioceses."

Another bridge!