Saturday, 28 April 2018

Wind of change


Interview with a Witch                                                                                     Source: Church in Wales

The diocese of Swansea and Brecon, the current Archiepiscopal see of the Church in Wales, has a web page devoted to Interfaith. On it can be found information about Witchcraft, Atheism, Peace Mala, Hare Krishna, Sufi, Islam, Yungdrung Bön, Judaism and Druids.

Adherents of those faiths are happy to push their own particular message, unlike the  Bishop’s Officer for Interfaith Dialogue who writes, "Interfaith dialogue is not about telling everyone how great our angle on faith is and trying to convert them to it. It is about respect and openness."

Does the Church in Wales believe that there is only one way to the Father or not?

Respect and openness includes the usual message of how the 'religion of peace' gets a bad press as if all the Islamic attacks on the innocent over the last 1400 years were fake news.

There is an interview with Brother Titus, a Cistercian Trappist monk living with another nine monks. They have taken themselves out of the world to live a reclusive life on Caldy Island. What of those of us who are in the world and not of other faiths? There is no dialogue with traditional, orthodox Anglicans. Anyone who conscientiously follows scripture and tradition is excluded.

The central message has been lost. Each diocese does its own thing. St Asaph has been busy promoting the gospel according to LGBT while Bangor is mired in tales of impropriety according to commentators.

In the South of the Province the long-running battle continues to rage in Llandaff between those who think everything is hunky-dory in their cathedral while others insist that the cathedral is mired in discontent as illustrated by the many comments under previous entries about alleged irregularities.

Those who expected the appointment to Llandaff of the second woman bishop in the Church in Wales to cause a whirlwind will be disappointed. The wind has blown one way, in the same direction emitting from the bishop of St Davids.

In St Davids the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales has lost no time in appointing as many women as she can. The first woman Dean arrives in May, months after her appointment. In the meantime the deanery has been gutted and completely refurbished. At what cost when parishes ministry areas are struggling to make ends meet?

That leaves Monmouth. Many clergy have. The CEO's solution there is to appoint a third archdeacon to prop up a failing re-organisation into ministry areas.

There has been a flurry of senior appointments and bishops' advisers. There is no shortage of money for those at the top while the begging bowl is out lower down the chain.

When the new archbishop took office he promised there would be 'more of the same - but faster'. It is a pity he didn't see which way the wind was blowing - or perhaps he did!

Postscript [03.05.2018]

As if to emphasis that there is no shortage of money at the top in the Church in Wales, the bishop of St Davids has announced an addition to her senior management team, a new 'Archdeaconry for New Christian Communities'.

There were Christian communities throughout the diocese and throughout the Province before Barry supported by his bench sitters hatched his innovative plan to copy the disastrous policies of the US Episcopal Church (TEC).

They were called Parishes.

More from St Davids [03.05.2018]

One wonders how any 'new Christian communities' will be properly cared for given: "the strain imposed on stipendiary, NSM and NSM(L) clergy and Readers when service rotas within LMAs include services that, even when all the licensed clergy and Readers were working, need retired clergy to take them.

"Retired clergy could of course be asked to take any service within the designated number but not be used to extend the rota to something that the licensed ministry team couldn’t cover healthily alone.

"The willingness of retired clergy to give their time, effort and energy, should not be used to prolong a way of being church that is no longer sustainable."

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14 comments:

  1. Whamab28 April 2018 at 19:03

    Wouldn't it be great if on a prominent place on the Church in Wales homepage was a video clip of one of our clerics giving a passionate yet reasoned presentation of the Gospel?

    Doesn't the fact that such a presentation is not there tell you something about the malaise CiW finds itself in?

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    1. Anonymous29 April 2018 at 06:56

      Whamab, do you honestly believe that the current Benchsitters would allow such a thing on the CiW website? The bench see it as their solemn duty to stand between the world and Christianity. If you asked any of the Bench a searching question on Christianity, you would discover all too quickly that they haven't got a clue what they believe, and they look down their noses at those who do. Woolly liberalism is the order of the day. Each does what is right in their own eyes. God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't enter into the equation. The Bench want to be all things to all people; but sadly, they have become nothing to everyone. Hence, the fall in church attendance. Instead of leading this nation to Christ as true shepherds, they have abandoned the flock of God to the wolves, whilst they continue to devise further air-brained schemes. What is worse is that the Bench cannot see that it is their policies that are destroying the CiW. Instead, they blame the clergy who are resistant to change; the pew-sitters who will not do what they are told; their advisers for giving bad advice; in fact, anybody and everybody but themselves.
      Why should we have a passionate and reasoned presentation of the Gospel when we can have an interview with a witch? You need to get on board with the programme. 2020 is looming! His Grace wants to be the last Archbishop of Wales, and the CiW can out with a bang.
      Seymour

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    2. Whamab29 April 2018 at 10:08

      Seymour, I naively hoped that they may realise by supporting this-that-and-the-other on the website without prioritising for the Gospel message something is dramatically wrong.

      If evangelism and mission are our focus then make it the focus of the website not promoting all sorts of peripheral issues and even doctrinal opinions at variance with the status quo.

      Delete
    3. Evangelical Ed30 April 2018 at 08:52

      I hear on the Bangor grapevine that "Bangor Unitarian Church" is going to be given use of a redundant CIW building

      Delete
    4. Whamab30 April 2018 at 17:17

      So much for the doctrine of the Trinity then.... Outrageous!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous28 April 2018 at 19:20

    AB, I suspect His Grace is planning to re-order the Church in Wales, by taking the best bits out of each religion; after all, Jesus is a bit old hat, and could do with a bit of a revamp! We have got to keep up with the times. I'm off to buy myself a drum for the Hare Krishna bit of the service!
    Seymour

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  3. Anonymous28 April 2018 at 22:05

    We have already had African drums and dancing in West instead Abbey. Back to the jungle! Away with Western civilisation! Follow Tutu, the grinning bishop.
    Bob

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  4. 166229 April 2018 at 02:46

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. Anonymous29 April 2018 at 09:55

    PP. O dear how low can we sink. Learning about other faiths, having dialogue, but to give a platform to there beliefs, is tantamount to heresy.
    Was not deliverance seriously flagged up recently, with extensive upskilling of clergy? Dont such esteemed practitioners, deal with witchcraft black or white, therefore, why are we giving the devil a foothold in the Church. It makes a complete mockery of all we stand for. Tolerance is one thing but this is a step to the dark side.

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  6. Lux Et Veritas29 April 2018 at 10:24

    Instead of cream teas in a Devon farmhouse perhaps Caiaphas should be doing team building exercises here from now on.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43697573

    As many as 250 priests from 50 countries have arrived in Rome to learn how to identify demonic possession, to hear personal accounts from other priests and to find out more about the rituals behind expelling demons.

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  7. Anonymous29 April 2018 at 12:15

    PP Deliverance is becoming much more focused these days, as society gets embroiled in witchcraft, paranormal events, psychic fayres and other less savoury pseudo religious Surely the Church needs to sit firm on its beliefs, or we risk all.

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  8. Look on the bright side29 April 2018 at 18:27

    Perhaps the Wigley, Gould & Pilate coven could have a free transfer and take Caiaphas and the wench of St. Davids along with them.

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  9. Danny Jones30 April 2018 at 17:26

    The interfaith person claims that it is about "respect and openness"...how very odd....other faiths get respect and openness while within the CiW Anglo Catholics and evangelicals get ignored and mocked.....as does anyone not adhering to the left wing politic ideals of the "senior staff"......

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  10. Anonymous6 May 2018 at 23:06

    Joanna has had from the beginning a bee in her bonnet about retired clergy, who feel callously disregarded and altogether sidelined. A holy woman would not behave as she is doing. Curiosity must drive her to read this blog sometimes. She should know what hurt she is causing.
    Rob

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