Llandaff lie exposed

Rev Sarah Jones spreading the word on  gender and sexuality                                                                                                                                   Source: Twitter 

First transgender priest Sarah Jones must be gutted after securing only a brief appearance in the local news slot on BBC TV Breakfast time this morning.

I have been unable to find a recording of her interview but if I understood her correctly she was once again attempting to spread the message she has been hawking around the world, that all religions needed to be more inclusive. "Christian churches are not known for being wildly inclusive of this kind of diversity", she said, even taking her transgender message to school.

Coming after she told the reporter how wonderfully accepting and understanding her new congregation was, the alleged non-acceptance of LGBT people appeared to be exposed as a lie designed to further the cause of a minority group whose influence is out of all proportion to their numbers and something the bishop of Llandaff and her sister bishop of St Davids have been busy promoting.

The consequences of this madness is becoming increasingly apparent as published in the Washington Times: Transgender wrestler wins second straight Texas girls' high school title

Source: Twitter

How to kill a Church

"Bringing gender equality and justice to our church"!                            Source: Bridget Mary's Blog

Taking the innovation in the Anglican Communion as an example, women priests have been a disaster for the Church.

If ever proof were needed that the way to hell is paved with good intentions, one has only to look at the demise of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) and its imitators, the Church of England, the Church in Wales and others following TEC's example of ordaining women, giving them a platform for their feminist ideology of 'gender equality and justice'.

The women's movement called for equality and social justice. Moving with the times.

In their charity the Anglican Church listened and gave way. The Anglican Church in the UK is now dominated by secular leaning clergy obsessed with LGBT+ issues leading to same sex marriage in church.

Ignoring the consequences of their actions in the Anglican Church, the feminist brigade is intent on doing for the Roman Catholic Church what it has done for Western Anglicanism, advance their secular cause at the expense of the silent majority.

Do-gooders keen to display their charity naively fall for the propaganda while those who want the Church to adopt liberal values which validate their chosen lifestyle eagerly climb aboard.

It quickly became obvious that the ordination of women was not the end of a campaign, it was the beginning. The stained glass ceiling has to be broken. 'Equality' requires parity and inclusion. Gender justice requires referring to God as she and so it goes on.

The ambitious sign up, moving quicker up the career ladder after the more able have left. Theology is replaced by sociology. Management techniques replace pastoral care designed to ensure that the remainers are on board. Disagreement is regarded as prejudice while dissenters are silenced with complaints of misogyny and homophobia.

The Tablet reported in May:

"The leader of the Vatican's doctrine department says the Church’s belief in a male-only priesthood is infallible teaching which should be held as an unchanging and 'definitive' part of the Catholic faith.

In 1994, Pope St John Paul II ruled that 'the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women' adding that this teaching should be 'definitively held' by all Catholics."

Thinking they know better Women priests demand place at Catholic altar.

Their message is the same secular message that is wrecking Anglicanism: The Catholic Church must continue to adapt itself to changing times in order to remain prophetic.

They know nothing of faith, only self, helping to pave the way to hell with bad intentions.

The Monmouth saga continues

Happier times? Bishop Richard Pain with the Archdeacon of Newport and the vicar of Caerleon
The Dean of Monmouth is behind them. Source: C in W

Martin Shipton stirred up a hornets' nest when he published his article in the Western Mail, Unholy row in Diocese of Monmouth. It was short on facts so readers were left in the dark about the cause of the row but that has not prevented people from taking their chosen side.

Comments appearing on this blog suggest that the lack of information about the row has led to entrenched positions making resolution more difficult. 

From the Introduction to the Church in Wales Disciplinary Policy and Procedure of The Clergy:

Good discipline is essential to the effective working of all organisations and the Church in Wales is no exception. Good discipline for clergy involves:

i) setting expected standards of behaviour;
ii) informing clergy of the standards expected and what will happen if those standards are not met;
iii) taking appropriate action if those standards are not met.

The Disciplinary Procedure applies to all Clerics exercising ministry in the Church in Wales. 

Disciplinary proceedings can be instituted where misconduct or poor performance is alleged to have occurred.  A single act or omission may be sufficiently serious as to justify instituting the procedure.

The grounds for instituting the procedure are as already set out in Section 9 of Chapter IX of the Constitution as follows:

(a)   teaching, preaching, publishing or professing, doctrine or belief incompatible with that of the Church in Wales;

(b)   neglect of the duties of office, or persistent carelessness or gross inefficiency in the discharge of such duties;

(c)   conduct giving just cause for scandal or offence;

(d)   wilful disobedience to or breach of any of the provisions of the Constitution;

(e)   wilful disobedience to or breach of any of the rules and regulations of the Diocesan Conference of the diocese in which such member holds office or resides;

(f)    disobedience to any judgement sentence or order of the Archbishop, a Diocesan Bishop, the Tribunal, or any Court of the Church in Wales.

All complaints should be forwarded to the Bishop in the first instance.  Where the complaint concerns the conduct, behaviour or performance of a Bishop the complaint should be referred to the Archbishop and where the complaint concerns the conduct, behaviour or performance of the Archbishop the complaint should be referred to the next most Senior Bishop.

In this case it appears that the correct procedure was followed. The complaints were not upheld but the complainants refuse to work with the bishop.

Working relationships have broken down. Without the benefit of the facts of the case, parishioners have been left to speculate, championing the bishop or the complainants according to preference.

That may be based on personality, prejudice, having been favoured or disappointed when unpopular decisions have had to be made or conveyed, often by archdeacons.

That the bishop is reported to have been cleared may have come as no surprise to many. The bishops of the Church in Wales stick together under Barry Morgan's blanket of collegiality.

Their stance on same sex marriage, contrary to section (a), above, teaching, preaching, publishing or professing, doctrine or belief incompatible with that of the Church in Wales, does not encourage confidence.

Neither did the appointment of the former bishop of Oxford to validate Morgan's plan to reorganise parishes into ministry areas so how much confidence can there be in the appointment of 'independent investigators' in a cloud of secrecy?

The Dean of Monmouth was the first to defend himself. Coming from a supporter of such clerics as the progressive professor Dean Martyn Percy who works to the detriment of orthodox Anglicanism as he strives to secularise the Church, readers may draw their own conclusions. Not that the bishop of Monmouth or the rest of the bench have done anything in support of Anglican orthodoxy. In that sense they are all tarred with the same brush

Petertide Ordinations 2018              Source:@MonmouthDCO

 The bishop's style is not to everyone's taste as regular readers of this blog will have observed from previous entries.

Similarly, the dean's expressed progressive views are an affront to traditionalists who were promised appropriate sacramental and pastoral care as faithful Anglicans who could not, in conscience, accept the ordination of women.

That promise evaporated on the retirement of the late Bishop David Thomas.

The accused archdeacons have said nothing that I am aware of. Often having to convey unwelcome advice, or doing the bishop's dirty work as some would have it, they find themselves in a difficult position.

Accusations of bullying have been made. That is a serious matter. There is a procedure for dealing with bullying but it is unclear whether the correct procedure has been followed.

Until the facts are known, speculation and damaging accusation are destined to continue.

There have been frequent calls, particularly from the diocese of Llandaff, for Martin Shipton to investigate unease in the Church in Wales but the requests fall on deaf ears. The decline continues.

Update [11/01/2018]

"An end to Bishop of Monmouth’s long absence may be in sight"

Bishop is likely to return to work in February - Church Times

Wishing you a Joyous Christmas and a Peaceful 2019

Nativity, 1597, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid                                                                                  Source: Wikipedia

The Monmouth saga

Bishop Richard surrounded by his Archdeacons                                                                                             Source: Facebook    

When one says 'I follow the dean' and another says 'I follow the  bishop' the saga sounds familiar.

It is clear from comments received in response to my previous entry that some favour the dean's account, others remain loyal to the bishop. It will come as little surprise to regular readers that I favour neither. Both are slaves to the secular trends crippling the Church

Disappointed commentators who may have assumed that I have taken sides because their comments have not been published should note that 'anonymous' comments without a pseudonym are not published. 

Unholy row in Diocese of Monmouth

    The five months silence over the invisibility of the Rt Rev Richard Pain, Bishop of Monmouth, has been broken by an article in the Western Mail today headlined Parishioners left without a bishop after unholy row.

The absence of requests for prayers for the bishop and his family after missed engagements without explanation have been the cause of much speculation and rumours coming on the heels staff of movements with reports that the bishop was not sick.

A diocesan official has categorically stated that there is "no question of sexual or financial impropriety" adding to the mystery of why there has been no formal statement to end damaging speculation.

Apparently the Dean of Monmouth and other senior clergy in the diocese raised formal complaints that they could no longer work with the bishop.

Unable to resolve the impasse the Archbishop of Wales John Davies says that the bishop's absence will continue into 2019.

There is no mention of the situation on the Church in Wales web site or on the Monmouth diocesan site but the word on the grapevine is that the bishop will not be returning to work fueling further speculation.

Another shambolic episode in the recent history of the Church in Wales. 

As one onlooker put it to me, if priests and their bishop are unable to work together how do they expect others to follow their example?

Postscript [23/12/2018]

The Dean of Monmouth has defended his position in this message to friends and colleagues:

Dear Friends and colleagues,

I am sorry to trespass on your time at this busy season. 

I understand that some clergy in the diocese have, with the best of intentions, unwittingly been spreading erroneous report about me and the archdeacons within the diocese.  I had kept silent about this until now but it is further inflated and fabricated in today’s Western Mail.  These accounts appear to have their origins in malicious misrepresentation and I wanted you to be assured about this.  If you are in any further doubt the Archbishop of Wales will corroborate what I am writing and I therefore copy him in to this message.

My apologies to anyone who is not copied into this.  I do not have many people’s addresses and it is now getting late.  Do feel free to pass on this information to whomever you wish.

Please be assured that I bear no ill will toward anyone who has been misinformed or who has carried report with the best of intentions  Life is too short and there is a diocese to serve.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas

Lister.


The Very Reverend Lister Tonge
Dean of Newport
+44-(0)1633-259627

Mixed messages

Bishop of Bangor Andy John prepares to deliver.                               Source: Twitter @BishopBangor

It is the time of year when bishops feel the need to send their personal messages to the declining flock that is the Church in Wales, their Christmas messages.

Hot out of the blocks was +Andy of Bangor who tweeted about his Christmas message preparations which he was building around thoughts of a White Christmas.

In his videod message +Andy speaks of Generosity, something conspicuously lacking in the bench of bishops unless you are in their club.

Next out was ♀ June of Llandaff praising the Emergency Services. They began their carol service in Llandaff Cathedral with "the familiar phrase, that the ‘people who walked in darkness have seen a great light’. " True but they have seen the light as shed by the bench and left in droves.

Following on ♀ Joanna of St Davids portrays the Son of God as an asylum seeker who 'began his life as a refugee', something she has been experimenting with by attempting to displace retired male clergy in her diocese.

Swansea and Brecon's ++ John picks up on the refugee theme (brownie point there for Joanna) when considering hush time, a period to recall "the vital importance of things like justice and truth, generosity and compassion, love and forgiveness" as taught by Jesus Christ but completely forgotten by the bishops of the the Church in Wales unless directed at their favoured minorities.

St Asaph's + Gregory opens his Christmas message with a reference to 'Aunty Maud' as he wonders "what messages you’re hoping to hear this Christmas....whether you need reassurance, comfort or hope." - see above!

Mixed messages have been coming out of the diocese of Monmouth for months. There is no Christmas message, just the Waiting.

Archbishop of Wales shares frustrations

Archbishop of  Wales John Davies                                                                                  Source: Premier

In a pre-Christmas interview for Premier, the Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, reveals his "festive frustrations ahead of Christmas". 

Many Anglicans will know how he feels. Not over the tinsel, losing one's temper while putting up Christmas tree decorations but by being deprived of the opportunity to worship over Christmas and beyond without compromising one's faith by appearing to endorse the church's  slide into secularism. 

In his Christmas message the archbishop says, "I'm calling on people to pause and to reflect on what we're called to be, as Christians; the ambassadors, the agents, the advocates for the kingdom [Jesus] represents."

Many faithful Anglicans have been left with more than enough time to pause and to reflect on the time they spent preparing during the Advent season leading to joyous Christmas celebrations, now but a memory.

At the end of his interview the archbishop speaks [@9.00] of social justice, of homelessness.

As 'ambassadors' for the Kingdom the archbishop and his bench should pause and spend time reflecting on the spiritually homeless resulting from their policy of exclusion.

Self-interest

Click here for his "My generation betrayed the young generation."

In the above tweet 'mace grabbing' Lord Heseltine claims that "his generation betrayed the young generation" by voting to leave the EU. He talks of self-interest and is well placed to do so.

In 1996 when Deputy Prime Minister he faced considerable condemnation after admitting that as a businessman he had delayed the payment of bills, thus putting self-interest above the interests of his creditors.

At the time the Government was consulting on whether companies should be entitled to interest on unpaid invoices. Up to £20bn was owed to UK companies, some of them facing financial ruin.

An ardent Remainer who is campaigning for a second vote in the guise of a 'people's vote', Lord Heseltine complains that "those who are the Brexiteers" are driven by obsessions of yesteryear.

They are "ignorant of the wishes of generations yet to come", he said,  perhaps attempting to add seer to his list of  aspirations.

Self-interest is rampant in the Brexit debate. In politics it is to be expected that political parties will exploit a situation for their own advantage but the animosity generated between factions has reached a new low.

Democracy is the loser. If hardliners do not like a result they campaign until they get what they want, even if it puts the institution they claim to serve at peril. Witness the decline of Western Anglicanism after the feminist onslaught.

It is claimed that people who voted to leave the EU did not understand what they were voting for or those who did could not have foreseen the outcome of the negotiations so the people need to be consulted again even though the majority of voters in a massive turnout voted to leave, no ifs or buts.

Far from betraying future generations many Brexiteers were anxious to safeguard their British identity before it is subsumed into an EU political model nobody voted for.

The Pew Research Center (PRC) reported in 2016:  Immigration to the United Kingdom has been one of the most important issues driving the debate over whether or not the UK should remain a member of the European Union.

The Guardian reports that more than three years after Europe’s biggest influx of migrants and refugees since the second world war, tensions between EU member states over how to handle irregular immigration from outside the bloc – mainly from the Middle East and Africa – remain high.

Since 2014, 1.8 million refugees have arrived in Europe, more than 1 million of them in 2015 alone.

According to PRC figures, the UK’s immigrant population more than doubled from 3.7 million between 1990 and 2015. As of 2015, about 13% of the UK’s resident population was foreign-born resulting in multiculturalism rather than integration.

There are regular reports of migrants putting their lives at risk by crossing the English Channel in unsuitable inflatable vessels to gain illegal access to the UK illustrating the determination of people to settle in the UK by any means.

One of the founding principles of the EU is free movement of workers and their families among member states. Further uncontrolled immigration is unsustainable in the UK where the infrastructure is already under considerable pressure.

The EU attitude is take it or leave it. The option was clear.

Caption corner 13 December 2018

Source: WalesOnline/Welsh Government

As usual captions will appear under Comments,

No male and female but yes to transgender!

Galatians 3:28 has for years been used and abused by progressives in the Church to justify their gender agenda. 

There may be no male and female in their book but officially there are trans-gendered.

Transgender people who were baptized into Christ and clothed themselves with Christ can now be re-clothed according to guidance issued by the Church of England.

New pastoral guidance encourages clergy to be “creative and sensitive” in using liturgy to enable people to mark a major transition in their lives. It formally commends the incorporation of the existing rite for the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith into services which mark gender transition. It advises that the occasion should have a distinct “celebratory character”.

The guidance emphasises that "the Church of England welcomes and encourages the unconditional affirmation of trans people, equally with all people within the body of Christ, and rejoices in the diversity of that body into which all Christians have been baptized by one Spirit."

"All people" should be interpreted as some people. Those who the progressives favour, not orthodox Anglicans.

The Church in Wales today

"Interfaith dialogue is not about telling everyone how great our angle on faith is and trying to convert them to it." - Bishop’s Officer for Interfaith Dialogue

It comes as no surprise that the Church in Wales is sinking fast when the Bishop’s Officer for Interfaith Dialogue in the archdiocese of Swansea and Brecon and the high profile vicar of St John's in Cardiff's city centre, the Rev Sarah Jones, express similar views which are contrary to biblical teaching: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" - Matthew 28:19.

 Perhaps ignorant of the fact that there is only one way to the Father, the Rev Sarah Jones told Wales Online, "I don’t believe in bashing people with the bible or telling them what they should believe".

From the Swansea and Brecon Interfaith page people can find information about many faiths and none. What they will not find is any reference to orthodox Anglicans, the only group excluded from the 'inclusive' Church in Wales.

Mark who?

Source: BBC

Whilst congratulating Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford on his election as leader of the Labour party in Wales and likely First Minister in succession to Carwyn Jones, it says much for Welsh politics and devolved government that many people in Wales, not to mention elsewhere, had to be told who he was.

Polling 53.9% of the vote in the second round after Eluned Morgan was eliminated Vaughan Gething the Secretary for Health and Social Services came a creditable second.

One must hope that the realisation of office will enable the First Minister to look beyond such matters as extending the smoking ban to town and city centres and giving the parents of newborn babies a 'bundle of essential items'.

The integration of health services and social care along with ending the M4 bottleneck for traffic coming into Wales need urgent attention. That is how he will put his name on the map, hopefully for the better.

Caption corner 5 December 2018

Source: Twitter @Reuters

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Birds of a feather

Dean Martyn Percy            Source: davidould.net    Dean Lister Tonge          Source; Church in Wales

I see from the GoFundMe page set up on behalf of friends and colleagues of the Very Rev Professor Martyn Percy £60,525 has been raised from 475 people in 24 days. The target was £60,000.

Of the larger contributions there have been four gifts of £5,000 and one of £3,000. It would be interesting to know the sources of such large sums but the gifts are anonymous.

Way down the list is a gift of £100 from one Lister Tonge. Given his unusual name and Oxford links, I take it to be from the 'adventurous' Dean of Monmouth who has successfully rearranged the seating in the re-named Newport Cathedral.

His views are similar to the progressive professor who readers will recall created an almighty fuss forcing the withdrawal of Bishop Philip North's nomination to become Bishop of Sheffield, probably egged on by his wife Emma Percy, Chair of the feminist pressure group (some) Women and the Church.

Following a letter in 2010 in which the Bishop of Norwich wrote about women bishops Lister Tonge commented:

"But, having voted for the Archbishops’ disastrous compromise (torpedoeing) ammendment, be aware that the Synod is likely to throw out any Code of Practice which undermines the episcopal integrity and authority of women which you and your male colleagues enjoy.

The game is up for those who would seek to stay and at the same time wreck the forward movement of the Church of England. Their bluff has been called by Rome. It now needs to be called by Canterbury." 
See previous entry The bizarre world of the Church in Wales 

The 'movement of the Church of England', and indeed of the Church in Wales, has not been forward but backward as illustrated by declining attendance figures. The Church of England stares at oblivion as "just 2% of young Britons say they identify with it".

The reasons seem clear when comparing growing attendance at churches such as St John's church in Hull. Their vicar is currently in hot water for holding "an orthodox line, just on the basic beliefs and basic Christian behaviour and discipleship."

Commenting on tensions in Oxford in 2016 David Ould wrote:

 "Martyn Percy is well known as a liberal theologian and has a record of public statements that challenge orthodoxy, particularly in the field of sexual ethics. He is an outspoken advocate for full LGBTI inclusion in the life and ministry of the Church of England, and the revision of the Church of England’s traditional understanding of marriage.

What lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians are asking for is bread, not stones (LK. 11:11).  And many of us now long to see this bread freely given; not at a price, or with conditions attached.  So, what I hope and pray for from the Primates’ gathering next week is an unequivocal ‘yes’ to lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians’ full and equal membership of the church, holding up a mirror to the full love and cherishing that God has already poured upon them, and also awaits them in heaven."

Bread not stones was the battle cry of the late Dr Una Kroll referred to in Twenty disastrous years of decline. She was eventually "called by Rome" but not until after she and her friends had inflicted their brand of progress on the Church which is crippling Western Anglicanism.