You are here . on the pale blue dot


Blog notes

'Anonymous' comments for publication must include a pseudonym.

They should be on topic and not involve third parties.
If pseudonyms are linked to commercial sites comments will be removed as spam.


Sunday 11 February 2018

Reflections after Synod


The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek (left), and the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, after their consecrations
at Canterbury Cathedral, in July 2015      Credit: PA/Church Times


Good news is hard to come by for Anglicans left stranded by a church which now gives more weight to politics than to faith, often the faith of cradle Anglicans who were to discover that their Church had left them after the women's movement occupied the driving seat.

It was good to read, then, that the House of Bishops expressed regret that “not nearly enough” was done to create an understanding of the practical outworking of the settlement that accompanied the Women Bishops Measure (see previous entry).


Mission and Ministry in Covenant (GS 2086) responded to a resolution of the General Synod in 2014
by outlining 'proposals for bringing the Church of England and the Methodist Church into communion with one another and enabling interchangeability of their presbyteral ministries'. From Christian Today:

"The particular difference between the two churches lies around their understanding of how churches should be led. Anglican churches operate under an episcopal model with bishops seen as following on from the apostles, as the Church's leaders. As bishops consecrate more bishops and ordain new clergy, the 'apostolic succession' continues.

"However Methodists do not accept the idea of 'apostolic succession' in the Anglican sense. But now under the proposals an Anglican bishop would take part in ordaining new Methodist ministers, meaning they would enter this 'apostolic succession'.

"However the nub of the controversy and opposition lay around existing Methodist presbyters who would not have to be re-ordained – a point the CofE's bishops consider a 'bearable anomaly'. "

A 'bearable anomaly' for some is 'an intolerable departure from order' for others which widens the divide between the Anglican Church and Roman Catholic/Orthodox Churches. For supporters of the ordination of women that is unlikely to be an issue. For others, for whom a woman priest has the same standing as a Methodist minister, it is yet another nail in the coffin.

Original source: Morton Morland/Twitter

Having won the votes to allow women priests then bishops, the women's movement appears to assume that we must all change to their way of thinking but conscience is not something that can be altered by synodical vote.


One of the more telling moments was when Justin Welby called for greater Anglican Communion say in the selection of a successor: He told the Synod: “The work of the Archbishop in the Anglican Communion is quite demanding and quite extensive. The representative of the . . . other members of the Anglican Communion – about 90 per cent from the Global South – when I was interviewed was the Archbishop of Wales [Barry Morgan] who is a wonderful man who did a wonderful job as Archbishop of Wales, but may not have entirely represented the Global South.”

Exactly! Barry Morgan always represented himself regardless of the consequences, particularly for those who have found themselves unchurched. He imitated Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori with the same disastrous consequences which have crippled the United States Episcopal Church (TEC). That Justin Welby applauded the award of Oxford doctorate to Katharine Jefferts Schori helps to explain his archiepiscopacy and his baffling performance over the treatment of Bishop George Bell as explained by Bishop Gavin Ashenden on his blog.


Finally a tweet from the Rev Sally Hitchiner‏ @SallyHitchiner:
"And my first full synod as a member is complete. Highlight was passing motion to support and welcome people with Downs and their families, even after a heated debate.... unanimously."  Hobbit's Wife tweeted in reply: "I really don’t get why this even needed debate. Meant to be Christians so everyone should be welcome. Please help me understand!"

As I understand it the debate was a ruse to discuss screening/abortion. The problem with this is that various groups are welcomed leaving others feeling excluded, and with good reason.

Women priests and bishops have been welcomed, gay, lesbian and transgender people have been welcomed. Since 'love' is the passphrase, how soon before polyamorous people are welcomed, responding to the claim, "I'm polyamorous, why should I limit my love?"

The only people who appear to be unwelcome are traditional Anglicans. The House of Bishops of the Church of England recognise the problem but as far has the bench of bishops in the Church in Wales are concerned, traditionalists can whistle, thanks mainly to archbishop Barry Morgan. This is his legacy from Twitter. His heretical mentor mentoring the new women bishops:


Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church(USA) and the Anglican Communion’s first woman primate,visited the diocesan office while in the UK as part of the Bishop’s Training programme.  She is acting as mentor to @BishopJuno and Bishop Joanna

10 comments:

  1. Looks like the Church in Wales has a lot in common with the Labour Party.

    https://www.rt.com/uk/418551-labour-white-heterosexual-equality/
    Labour has defended its decision to ban heterosexual white men from its equality conference. The party is facing a backlash for saying attendees must self-define as disabled, LGBT, a woman, or from an ethnic minority background.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is a really good interview with +June Llandaff, online at wales news. Makes good reading. PP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here is the link
      https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/mum-alcoholics-daughter-online-abuse-14277420

      Delete
    2. Cheering for Janet13 February 2018 at 19:12

      Just PR fluff, precisely the kind of vacuous drivel Mrs Morrell would prefer to see appearing on WalesOnline rather than Martin Shipton getting stuck into the illegal goings-on and the missing £735k at from the Organ appeal at Caiaphas' Cathedral.

      "She hopes that by speaking out about what she has faced it will help people in turn open up to her and the church."

      Really?
      Reading this the "subversive" people of Llandaff will doubtless feel a glow warming their cockles tonight.
      Caiaphas seems to have developed the usual Episcopal short-term memory in record-breaking time. The last occasion anyone tried to open up to her she responded with "I am the accuser!"

      Delete
    3. “I have worked in the church the whole of my working life and for much of that, the clergy has been wondering what to do with women.
      People were delighted in my appointment because it was fairly unexpected that in a single year the Church in Wales went from having six men as its bishops to a third being women.
      Joanna [Penberthy] and I became bishops within six months of each other.
      I can’t tell you the amount of pleasure and delight it causes people."

      A complete lack of insight or care for those for whom their appointment has caused nothing but pain and despair.
      How typical.

      Delete
    4. Nowhere in that interview does the Bishop of Llandaff mention God, Jesus or the Christian faith. Have such fundamentals now been officially expunged from the thoroughly modern CinW? Does the Bishop of Llandaff actually believe in the faith of our fathers? Or is it now all touchy, feely, goodie, wishy-washy social worker stuff?

      Delete
    5. Llandaff and the modern CinW has no more to do with God, Jesus or the Christian faith than OXFAM does with charity Berty.
      It's just business.
      Big business.

      Delete
    6. One might be forgiven for thinking you might be onto something 1662.
      There are several similarities between the Oxfam and Llandaff Organ appeal scandals, not least of which are the failures to report the full circumstances to the Charity Commission and the almost total disinterest in the original reports by the Charity Commissioner.
      One hopes the fallout from the Oxfam debacle will include a review of the Charity Commission itself and it's previously blasé attitude towards reports submitted by whistleblowers and concerned citizens such as Messrs Jones & Lambert.

      As for the Calamity June article on WalesOnline, that was clearly designed for consumption by her 3 stooges who one hears are scheduled to begin their interviews tomorrow.

      Delete
  3. One of the Welsh bishops has given the following headings to the diocesan Lenten talks:
    To live is to change;
    Change involves loss;
    Change and conflict;
    Change and suffering.
    Am I being cynical or is this indeed, what it appears to be, part of a softening up process: get used to a female bishop and local ministry areas?
    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  4. Meanwhile, the collapse of “traditional Anglo-Catholicism” in the City of Cardiff continues apace. Those churches regarded as “bastions” of this spirituality are falling like ninepins.

    Bishop June has already celebrated a Eucharist (on Advent 2) at Roath St German at the specific invitation of the PCC: she is also due to preach at Roath St Martin on Ash Wednesday.

    The numbers of lay people who actively oppose this innovation are now very low indeed. One can feel some sympathy for any remaining Llandaff parish clergy who, whilst no longer in communion with their own Bishop, are under pressure from their own people to allow the Bishop into their parishes to perform confirmations and celebrate the Eucharist (which, after all, is fair enough: like it or not, June is now the canonically elected and consecrated Bishop of Llandaff).

    There was a recent meeting of “traditional” clergy and laity with Bishop June at St Mary the Docks … but there has been no online report of this meeting, if indeed it actually took place. Why the silence?

    The end does indeed appear to be nigh, unless someone else knows otherwise …?

    - Across the Tiber







    ReplyDelete