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| 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
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.
However much I may disagree with elements of what Martyn Percy has said (most specifically in relation to Philip North having to withdraw from his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield), it is apparent, on any objective analysis, that he is the victim of institutional bullying. That is not a nice place to find yourself. Just ask some of the traditionalist clergy in the Church in Wales.
ReplyDeleteWe spared no ink when volunteer ladies of a certain age were being bullied by the Dean of a certain cathedral; and the musicians became victims of the mindless bullying of a certain archbishop and archdeacon, without questioning the opinions of the victims. Nor, unless I missed something, do I remember AB encouraging crowd funding for those (like the Assistant Organist) who suffered real financial losses.
Bullying is bullying wherever it happens - and to whom. So why all the negative energy about Martyn Percy when he finds himself in such an awful situation, and those who are acting with Christian charity to support him?
Alwyn, I agree that bullying is unacceptable but I don't know how you reached your conclusion that it is apparent, on any objective analysis, that he is the victim of institutional bullying. As an article in the Guardian put it, "A formal complaint has been filed against the Very Rev Martyn Percy with the college’s governing body. Few people know details of what is being alleged, or who is behind the move. Even Percy is largely in the dark, according to his friends."
DeleteAs I understand the position the charge of bullying is being 'properly investgated'. You appear to have prejudged the outcome.
It has been standard practice for progressives to complain when challenged. You may recall a progressive bishop's complaint of discrimination because someone disagreed with her views.
Not that I agree with bullying on any level, but I wonder if Percy has wondered how Philip North felt when people reneged on the pact to guarantee mutual flourishing, of which he was the primary protagonist.
ReplyDeleteAB, you deserve an answer to your valid point. I didn't intend to prejudge the outcome, but made a call on the facts as they have been made public. The key lies in your own quotation from the Guardian: 'Few people know details of what is being alleged, or who is behind the move. Even Percy is largely in the dark, according to his friends.'
ReplyDeleteTo suspend someone, tell them that they are subject to a disciplinary process, but conceal the details of the complaint and the complainant(s), and then cause the one suspended to fight a 'blind' tribunal at his own (prohibitive) cost, is a particularly pernicious form of institutional bullying and worthy of Putin and his chums. Not even the Clergy Discipline Measure sinks so low. What the final outcome will be, I know not.
Nonetheless, I am glad we are agreed that bullying in any guise is intolerable - as are the cries of 'wolf' by progressive bishops who hold all the power when they are challenged over their sloppy thinking and cavalier treatment of others. The fact that Martyn Percy spear-headed the campaign against Philip North's nomination to the See of Sheffield, which led to Philip North withdrawing, could be constructed as bullying, is not in dispute. As you say, it showed flagrant disregard for the principal of mutual flourishing. But two wrongs don't make a right.
Does your citation of Dean Tonge accurately reflect what he wrote? (i.e. Are the spelling errors/typos his or yours?)
ReplyDeleteCopied from here http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/4531-2/
ReplyDelete