Listed below are the most viewed Ancient Briton posts in 2017.
Top of the list is Not another victim! The sad tale of David Wilbourne (left), the Ass bishop of Llandaff who resigned after speaking of a "sustained campaign forcing him to quit".
One of the Yes persons imported by archbishop Barry Morgan to substitute liberal feminism for faith, Wilbourne quickly became surplus to requirements after the Governing Body of the Church in Wales concluded that they knew better than the wider Church and voted in favour of women bishops, persuaded by the likes of Wilbourne and another import, Peggy (the pilot) Jackson who was responsible for reducing the code of practice to meaningless double speak as evidenced following the appointment of women bishops to St Davids and Llandaff.
Well known for reminding captive listeners that he knew the former Archbishop of York John Habgood, the Ass bishop featured prominently in 'Spot the Dog' in the popular blog, The Llandaffchester Chronicles, sadly closed down after ruffling too many feathers.
With hindsight Wilbourne may regret his ridiculous claim that the ordination of women would rid the world of homophobia, misogyny, brutalisation of women in all situations including those in war zones but I doubt it. One thing that characterises progressives is their ability to say anything that aids their secular cause regardless of the facts.
'Llandaff' entries attract most attention for commentators. Even when writing on other subjects commentators have become adept at teasing out any nuance that might be used to take another swipe at what they regard as the unsatisfactory situation that has afflicted Llandaff Cathedral for many years, beginning under the stewardship of Dr Barry Morgan.
The Jeffrey John affair raised divisions in Llandaff to desperate levels, dragging the church through the mud with accusation after accusation in what was probably his last hope of preferment. Contrary to scripture, John had already threatened to sue the Church of England if he was blocked from becoming a bishop.
Some claimed that the bench of bishops opposed his appointment because they did not want to be overshadowed. Not a difficult task then or now but in reality the fear was that as an active campaigner, John who is "one of the most contentious figures in the Church", would attract too much unwelcome attention from the media.
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| Church in Wales bishops Source: BBB/Church in Wales |
Possibly as a penance for the truculent stance taken by the gay lobby and sympathisers in Llandaff in demanding the appointment of Jeffrey John the bench imposed on them instead a female LGBT sympathiser with the self-satisfied smirk of someone who has achieved her goal.
All has blown over. The bench sitters have settled back into complacent mode as the church collapses around them. The new archbishop promises more of the same but quicker, apparently blind to the damage already done by the bench under archbishop Morgan.
The blabbing bishop remains anonymous. The complicit Canon carries on. The pew sitters continue to grin and bear it as they dig deeper to support a system which prefers the chosen few who continue to complain that they are not welcome while the faithful leave in despair.
The 10 most viewed entries in 2017:
All has blown over. The bench sitters have settled back into complacent mode as the church collapses around them. The new archbishop promises more of the same but quicker, apparently blind to the damage already done by the bench under archbishop Morgan.
The blabbing bishop remains anonymous. The complicit Canon carries on. The pew sitters continue to grin and bear it as they dig deeper to support a system which prefers the chosen few who continue to complain that they are not welcome while the faithful leave in despair.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The 10 most viewed entries in 2017:
1. Not another victim!
2. Llandaff stalemate
3. Consecration of the Bishop of Llandaff
4. All change at the Cathedral
5. Time for change
6. The Victim
7. New Bishop of Llandaff to be elected
8. Decision time
9. The Llandaff problem
10. Bishop of Llandaff: Stage 3
No doubt the rumblings will continue through 2018.
'God rest ye merry gentlefolk?' School updates carol to be more 'inclusive'
ReplyDeletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/29/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlefolk-school-updates-carol-inclusive/
Olivia Rudgard, religious affairs correspondent
29 DECEMBER 2017
Highgate School has changed the lyrics of the carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" to "Gentlefolk" because the traditional words did not reflect "modern progress in gender equality".
The north London private school, which this year has been hit with controversies over proposals for gender neutral uniform and toilets, sang the alternative lyrics at its carol services.
A song sheet seen by the Daily Telegraph, understood to have been given to the choir at the event, shows the end of the word "Gentlemen" crossed out and replaced with "folk".
The Church in Wales is just so far ahead of the game in the race to the bottom!
Bonaparte tried pulling this stunt in Llandaff but Anna Morrell dobbed him in to her then colleagues at WalesOnline.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/god-rest-ye-merry-people-2413242
By Martin Shipton
23 DEC 2004
A ROW has broken out after members of a parish choir were instructed to sing a "politically correct" version of a well-known carol in a cathedral service on Christmas morning.
The Very Rev John Lewis, the Dean of Llandaff Cathedral, confirmed that the cathedral's parish choir would not be singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and would instead be singing God Rest Ye Merry People.
Once more, Ancient Briton, a mellifluous cornucopia of sincerest congratulations to you and your chums.
ReplyDelete1.5 million views is no mean feat.
A significant landmark reached and surpassed with apparent ease.
The quality of your Llandaff insights with accompanying leaks, revelations, reports and emails from enlightened contributors are worthy of a Purlitzer.
May you long continue to confound and frustrate
His --Darkness,
his coven,
the Chapter that can't run a bath,
his glove puppet dud in the Deanery,
the oily amphibian Mr Toad,
the pink Gin & Prosecco lace and Lavender cabal,
her glowing smugness Caiaphas.
Here's a toast to you, sir.
Follow the money, drain the swamp and a happy blogging 2018.
Yet another full time job for the expensive office space in Cardiff.........when Parish's have no clergy or just NSM's being run off their feet.......................but hey, so long as the punter keep paying, let's spend spend spend.......
ReplyDeleteDirector of Welsh Language and Bilingual Mission
CLOSING DATE: 29 JANUARY 2018
Grade F – £36,225 to £40,986 per annum
As part of our commitment to serving all the people of Wales, as a bilingual national institution, a new post has been created to provide advice to the Bishops and their dioceses on the use of the Welsh Language and Mission in the medium of Welsh.
Applications are invited from those with a living Christian faith (part 1of schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 applies to this appointment) coupled with sensitivity to the linguistic and cultural needs of the people of Wales, the range of theological views within the Church and who have:
A proven track record of working to a high standard in a bilingual (Welsh/English) context, in oral, written and digital contexts
Experience of working with translators
Proven commitment to the promotion and development of the Welsh Language.
An understanding of the Church in Wales, the different cultures of Wales and Welsh Christian spiritualities and liturgy.
The working location for this post will be the Provincial Office in Cardiff City Centre or elsewhere as agreed.
Danny Jones
The profligacy continues Danny.
Deletehttp://llandaff.churchinwales.org.uk/news/2017/12/new-diocesan-director-of-education-appointed-for-llandaff-diocese/
New Diocesan Director of Education appointed for Llandaff Diocese
An experienced education consultant has been appointed as the new Diocesan Director of Education (DDE) for the Diocese of Llandaff.
Andrew Rickett, who is currently Lead Diocesan Board of Education Consultant for the Diocese of Salisbury, will take up his appointment at the beginning of January.
Announcing his appointment, the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, said, “Andrew has extensive experience at a senior level in educational management and administration. I very much look forward to welcoming him to the diocese and working alongside him to develop our vision for Education in Llandaff.”
Andrew, who is looking forward to taking up his new post, said he believed that a school’s Christian character should have relevance for young people in supporting their mental health, well being and overall personal spiritual development as well as enabling each young person to do well academically.
“There is a need to look again and explore beyond our current emphasis on Christian values. We need to challenge schools to think for themselves and develop an approach to improvement as church schools and encourage and support them to be innovative and aspirational with children firmly at the centre.”
“It is also crucial that schools themselves regard close liaison with the diocese as a critical part of their improvement journey.”
In addition to his role for the Diocese of Salisbury, Andrew is also an experienced inspector for Ofsted and for SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools). He is the lead inspector for the School Inspection Service (SIS), which provides inspections for schools with a designated religious character.
He currently supports a number of dioceses as a consultant, training and working with diocesan and school leaders in church school distinctiveness, RE, collective worship, spirituality and effecting school improvement. As a member of the Religious Education Council for England and Wales he has contributed to the consultation being undertaken by the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE).
Andrew has recently moved to the Welsh borders with his wife, Sarah. Apart from renovating their new home, they are able to take full advantage of the opportunities for walking and to follow their passion for gardening. Andrew and Sarah are keen musicians and are looking forward to contributing to the musical life of their new home.
Please, can someone/anyone translate this newspeak into plain English for us?
"There is a need to look again and explore beyond our current emphasis on Christian values. We need to challenge schools to think for themselves and develop an approach to improvement as church schools and encourage and support them to be innovative and aspirational with children firmly at the centre."
I'm sorry no matter how experienced the gentleman is to say such a statement should mean a very frank meeting with the Bishop to explain exactly what he means by 'explore beyond our current emphasis on Christian values'.
DeleteWhat exactly does he think is inadequate with Christian values being promoted in our Christian schools would be the question I'd like to ask. We need to re-emphasise these values not look beyond them - if schools are free to 'think for themselves' then presumably they would be able to decline this 'exploration'.
Really worrying - and why did communications print this unless it was signed off at the highest level.
Come on, lets stop the own goals CiW!
Well Danny - That job specification rules out the entire bench of Zitters.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePondering Pastor: I think from experience this gentleman maybe a breath of fresh air. His CV is quite impressive and you don't become a "lead" inspector" unless you have a wise head.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am seeing here, is he is simply thinking outside the box, not diluting Christian values, but in modern speak bringing "added value". But what could that be?
Liberalism, wishy washy theology, crass leadership? I don't think so. If one looks closely at the website of CoRE, SIAMS, SIS or even Ofsted, you will find that the Religion emphasis is clearly about ensuring good practice in educational leadership and teaching. There is also a widening of the moral compass but most importantly, a greater challenge under safeguarding protocols to endure no child is subjected to indoctrination given recent events in some faith schools.
In Wales we have Estyn and the Skills Council for Wales which are both extremely conservative, and equally the Faiths minister in Gov in Wales. Therefore, what I can conclude is we finally have an appointment that shows a strategy for change,better governance and much more listening to all engaged in education to inform policy. Look at the CoRE outcomes and you can see the pattern.
I can also see this role being just a start, as the Bishop has the education brief for the Province, greater change is on its way. I suspect that even formation will have a radical overhaul. The green is only part of the picture, many pieces in the CiW Llandaff jigsaw are coming together in timely fashion, there is a strategy and it's certainly not for the faint hearted, but equally it's not as Liberal as one thought it maybe. A new broom does indeed sweep clean, but this one starts in lit spaces before dark corners giving the dirt full exposure before cleansing. Interesting though it maybe to raise concerns, the strategy is not hidden, it's in the detail for all to see.
That's good if it is a genuine freshening up of entrenched positions but why put out a statement that can be misconstrued in the first place. I know there are those who will want to find fault in anything written but it could have been clearer and that is what annoys me. It's completely avoidable.
DeleteIn my experience PP, one becomes a "lead" inspector by kissing the right backsides!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have the first idea what "our vision for Education in Llandaff" is?
Why hasn't it already been developed?
This is not a new post so what did the previous post-holder achieve?
Much likelier to be yet another over-paid non-job for another non-person coming up with even more crap like "seven sacred spaces", gift-wrapping empty boxes and "sneak-a-peek" days in the non-Cathedral.