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Saturday 5 July 2014

Leading by example!


This morning two of the items to arrive in my in tray referred to His Grace the Archbishop of Wales. The first was an alert about the NATO summit to be held in Newport, South Wales in September (see second half of the article):
"THE Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan, has come out in support of anti-Nato protestors. A Church in Wales spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that the archbishop had signed the No Nato Newport 'statement of opposition.'

However she said the archbishop wouldn’t be taking part in protests themselves, due to take place in the days leading to the September event...'We are a broad church, literally,' she said, saying she didn’t know the Archbishop’s motivation for joining in. 'It’s all about helping magnify the voices of the little people that are being bombed and droned,' she added.

Dr Morgan's concern for "the little people" is touching but selective. The little people in his "broad church" dare not speak openly for fear of retribution if they criticise Barry's agenda. It is noticeable that in general only commentators wishing to secure favour with the Archbishop such as the Diocesan Secretary and his staff have used their own names when making unsubstantiated accusations against commentators.

The second item was a comment in response to the previous entry, Discretionary funds @ 9:45AM on July 5, 2014: " I am happy to facilitate the tabling of a proposal at the PCC that such collections are only contributed to audited funds".

To avoid retribution others need to step forward so I would urge all readers who are PCC members in the Church in Wales to propose similar action along the lines:
'That this Council resolves, for the furthering of the mission of the Church in Wales in the Diocese of Llandaff, within a framework of full accountability, that collections at confirmations and institutions in this parish will, after expenses have been defrayed, be donated only to those accounts which are the subject of annual audit and publication.'

11 comments:

  1. "The little people in his "broad church" dare not speak openly for fear of retribution if they criticise Barry's agenda."

    Militant Anglican lop-sided Liberalism in a nutshell: do as I say, not as I do. It is what makes the discourse of the hard-line Liberals so hollow. They enjoy - and even relish - the trappings of power which ecclesial high office bestows, but reject the root of their own authority. As such, it is not surprising that they frequently cite 'Rights' without ever referring to responsabilities for all and not just some people.

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  2. I am not all surprised that His Darkness has taken this anti-NATO stance. True to form, along comes a bandwagon and on it he jumps. Recall how in November 2011 he tried to curry favour with the anti-capitalist demonstrators by inviting them to camp in Llandaff Cathedral? That little stunt was a total flop because whilst he was wrapped up warm in his episcopal residence on the Green not one demonstrator appeared at Llandaff.
    True to form, with the latest episode of archiepiscopal self-promotion and hyperbole, His Darkness signs a petition, grabs a headline but hasn’t got the guts to actually join the demo with Greenham Common veterans singing, ‘We shall overcome!’

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    1. With great sadness we learn that the ruler of the ecclesiastical Banana Republic of Wales, 'Barry Bagdhadi', will not be meeting with President Obama and his 1,500 advisors at the Celtic Manor in September.

      It is rumoured that he is incandescent with rage that the 'John F Kennedy' will not, after all, be moored in the channel to greet him.

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    2. From the 19th Hole6 July 2014 at 23:10

      Apparently His Darkness’ anti-NATO comments have upset and irritated Sir Terry Matthews and his buddies at the Celtic Manor. The NATO conference will be a show case event for Wales. A real chance to put the place on the map, and show that the country can organise a major international event. The Welsh Government, the local Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Business, the local universities and the hospitality industry have all signed up to this major conference and the spin off events. And so what does His Darkness do? Whinge about NATO. So angry are the bosses at Celtic Manor about the crass and opportunistic comments of His Darkness that he has been banned from playing golf on their prestigious course. Furthermore, associates of Sir T are having a ‘quiet word’ with the membership secretaries of golf clubs nearer to Cardiff to see if ways can be found of expelling His Darkness for disloyalty to the Wales. Oh dear, annoying Sir T may well also throw a spanner in the works when it comes to a reference to the House of Lords Appointments Commission for a few yards of ermine coveted by the prospective Baron Morgan of Darknesshire!

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  3. The real reason for the anti-NATO story is ++Bazza & Morrell attempting to divert everyone's attention away from the highly embarrassing and inconvenient headlines concerning the profligate 'discretionary' spending. I'd bet +Gregory is squirming over this issue too!

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    1. Good point Urban! Little archbishop and his little church are little fish when compared to NATO, so we will indeed forget that story, and let’s all return to the unaudited, opaque and most odorous episcopal “discretionary funds”. Does anyone know if +Gregory or +John have said anything to justify their apparently unaudited funds?

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  4. Llandaff Pelican7 July 2014 at 10:03

    Just to get back to the main point of this posting, and in answer to my previous question on the previous post, is ANYONE prepared to put my suggested proposal to their PCC? So far it seems as if the answer is a resounding NO. If that is the case, it seems a bit pointless our continuing to complain about the situation if we're not prepared to act on it. Another victory for Byzantine Barry it seems.

    By the way, is it me being thick, or has the press release relating to NATO been mysteriously removed from the C in W website? Perhaps the principled (sic) Archbishop is more worried about upsetting his golfing chums than speaking up for the oppressed?

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    1. Llandaff Pewster7 July 2014 at 18:43

      Llandaff Pelican, take heart and despair not.
      Remember that there are only a few things that worry His ++Profligacy (like losing money, bad PR, unexplained resignations & lawsuits) but a PCC, or even a group of PCCs, will be of little concern to the despot.
      After Bonaparte's retirment one of the first things he did after imposing himself as acting Dean of Llandaff was to sack the entire Llandaff Cathedral PCC, then arrange an election of a smaller more "manageable" group.
      I assume that the only PCC over which you exert any influence is the one in your own Parish, so why not start there? There has to be a first, so where better to begin?
      Then call Martin Shipton and tell him the story. I think he'd be very interested in the story of you and "Vicar in the Vale" ending the "discretionary" funds in your own parishes and setting the right example as per the C of E guidelines.
      You posted on this blog, the worst ++Bazza could do is give you an 8:50 phone call and make life a bit difficult. Isn't life working for ++Bazza already difficult anyway?
      But if "Malcolm"'s report is correct, His ++Darkness might have a problem doing that from the middle of an Ocean somewhere!
      I'd bet my mortgage that his press officer is already trying to get hold of him for a statement just in case the story of his £35k a year "discretionary" spending should hit the news stands this week.

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    2. Deliver us from evil7 July 2014 at 21:18

      I believe you're right LP, the article seems to have disappeared from the C in W website, but it is still available on the Argus website (link above courtesy of Ancient Briton).

      However, the Argus article contains a slightly different version of the quotation.

      'Prominent anti-Nato activist, Welsh Green party leader Pippa Bartolotti, says the archbishop signed up “very early” to the statement which reads “No to NATO, No to War, No to Austerity.”'

      As the Llandaff DBF accounts have informed and readers of AB's blog have known for some time, His ++Profligacy's attitude is certainly "No to Austerity" when it comes to him spending other people's money.

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    3. The local impact of a visit by large numbers of NATO dignitaries will be considerable.
      See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-28206150

      The true impact of His ++Insignificance signing up "very early" to some obscure green anti-NATO protest statement will be zero.
      The Welsh Green Party probably has more members than ++Bazza's shrinking Church in Wales.

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  5. Bill Barlow for Bishop9 July 2014 at 12:36

    Alan's comment above is spot on.
    An old chum of mine has provided me with a copy of this year's annual report of the Friends of Llandaff Cathedral and what a difference a year makes!

    Under the heading "Music meaning and the Anglican Cathedral" the Editorial states
    "Professor Herbert's article writes of the potency of the Anglican musical heritage. The loss of so many parish choirs has surely contributed to the weakening of the Anglican witness. At the same time this has contributed to the revival of Cathedral worship where the musical tradition is alive. Music is not an optional extra or a luxury in a Cathedral set in a Capital City where so many State, Civic, Military and other services that have a direct impact on society's life take place. The Cathedral sets a standard for the Diocese & reminds society of its spiritual roots."

    Well done Bill Barlow, you've hit the bullseye once more.
    His ++Darkness might not respond in the manner of Matthew 25 verse 21 but be assured that your candour is greatly appreciated elsewhere.

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