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.

Jolly June's Iceland gender jolly

Jolly June with Iceland bishop Agnes Sigurdardottir                             Source: Twitter @BishopJuno 

I see from the Llandaff diocese web site that as we approach the season of Advent 'jolly' June's preparation for Christmas is another jolly, this time in Iceland from where she grandly tweeted:

"Such a pleasure to meet Bishop Agnes Sigurdardottir, the first woman bishop of the Church of Iceland and Porvoo colleague whilst at the Global Women Leaders’ Forum @ChurchinWales #PowerTogether @LlandaffCath".

I can understand June's affinity with the first woman bishop of the Church of Iceland since both their churches are in a downward spiral. More importantly, like jolly June, Agnes Sigurdardottir is a firm advocate of same sex marriage in church.

It was reported back in October 2015 that "the Bishop of Iceland has categorically stated that there is no possible way of interpreting Icelandic law to enable Church of Iceland priests to refuse to marry couples on the grounds of their sexuality." As bishop she would "never put forward any proposal which has the effect of enabling discrimination of this type."

No wonder it was such a pleasure for jolly June to meet fellow hard liner Agnes.

In an earlier tweet June wrote: "The Global Women Leaders’ Forum in Reykjavik begins with welcomes from extraordinary Icelandic women, the first ever elected woman President and the current Prime Minister. Thank you Iceland for your welcome and example of gender equality."

Such sentiments imply that these women occupy their posts not on merit but as a result of positive discrimination.

 In her latest tweet jolly June rails against presumed gender inequality:

"This figure for the G7 nations is shocking. For the UK 52% of men and 62% of women say they’d be ‘comfortable with having a woman head of government’.  That’s a problem for all of us and not just women who aspire to public service @ChurchinWales.

If jolly June aspires to public service she should look beyond parity towards suitability, something currently lacking in the appointment of bishops in the Church in Wales regardless of gender.

Along with bishop Agnes, June and the rest of the bench ignore conscience, dismissing Anglicans in their flock who have not fallen for the spirit of the age but who adhere to the historic faith of the Apostles as received.

Acting more like a politician than a bishop, jolly June's message is not about salvation. It is about queering the Church and gender equality, a euphemism for sexual discrimination in favour of women. It is naked misandry as demonstrated by the bishop of St Davids in her attempt to rid her diocese of retired elderly male clergy.

Her latest prodigy is following her bishop's example. In yet another article, Church in Wales' newest vicar on the church and being transgender, the Rev Sarah Jones the new vicar at St John the Baptist church in Cardiff talks of 'diversity in the church' with emphasis on transgenderism.

Disregarding the Great Commission Jones does not believe in "bashing people with the bible" or telling them what they should believe. Instead her ministry is built around transgenderism making it clear why jolly June appointed her over more suitably qualified clergy.

Given the parlous state of the Church in Wales one would have thought that June had more pressing work in her diocese and beyond to counter declining attendances but that does not have the same cachet as somewhat incongruously attending the Global Women Leaders’ Forum to promote gender politics.

Postscript [30/11/2018]

A tweet from the Church in Wales about the Global Women Leaders’ Forum informs readers that there were "400 leaders from 80 countries and the Bishop of Llandaff was one of them".

In June's linked blog "Stepping over the gender gap" the bishop of Llandaff puts her cards on the table with this revealing statement: "Faith is in the business of challenging entrenched attitudes and changing perceptions." Changing attitudes!

It not only sums up her ministry but the direction of the bench.

Changing faith

“Pride is the beginning of sin" said Augustine of Hippo. 

Not a sentiment shared in the rudderless diocese of Monmouth where the Vicar of St Augustine, Rumney has tweeted "proud to be hosting Changing Attitudes DC Conference here in Rumney in February."

The tweet has links to the usual camp followers but oddly not to St Davids diocese where the bishop of St Davids is in the forefront when it comes to matters LGBT. Instead a newspaper link is included: @ImpactCardiff @EsgobaethBangor @LlandaffDio @MonmouthDCO @Swanbrec @StAsaphDiocese @ChurchinWales @XtiansAtPride @OzanneFoundn @1Body1Faith @CymruMae @TheGatheringCdf @PoblDewi.

Apparently the whole parish of St Augustine is proud to be an inclusive church where "all God's rainbow people" are "welcomed, affirmed and included", something one might reasonably expect from any Christian church. The difference is that young, old and even pets are used to distort the gospel.

Preceding the quoted text is "So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples (John 6:31). 

Taken out of context the quotation is misleading, aiding the cause of the bench of bishops in their promotion of same sex marriage in church.

The Church in Wales is not alone in redefining faith. Jules Gomes in his Rebel Priest blog highlights how, in the last couple of years, Church of England cathedrals have "shocked Christians and the secular world by hosting events that are in conflict with scripture and church tradition."

His latest example highlights Derby cathedral where "graphic sex scenes, full female nudity, a pagan sacrifice and a satirical depiction of Jesus Christ" have been screened but has "banned a prominent conservative clergyman" from preaching at a student carol service during Advent.

Church involvement in gay pride parades has become commonplace but the church has gone far beyond flying the rainbow flag. It has been draped over the Holy Table while celebrating 'inclusive' LGBT Eucharistic services and over an Icon of Christ Crucified.

Muslims have been allowed to use Cathedrals to recite the call to prayer: "Allah is the greatest; I bear witness that there is no other god but Allah; I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" when Islam denies the divinity of Christ, and that He died on the cross to bring salvation to the world.

The Blackburn Cathedral event is acknowledged to be an error of judgement but elsewhere mistaken clergy continue to encourage the spread of Islam in the guise of interfaith dialogue which is one way channel to the acceptance of Islam as a faith equivalent to Christianity despite its many contradictory beliefs.

Tragically, the more commonplace these events become the more normal they appear, not changing attitude but changing faith.

"Pride goes before destruction,

    a haughty spirit before a fall."

- Proverbs 16:18

Caption corner 24 November 2018

Source: Twitter @gavinashenden 

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Mother god

The dream,

 Speaking at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on Monday evening Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said that God is not a father in the same way that a human would be – and that descriptions of God are always “to some degree metaphorical”.

The trap was sprung. The media pounced. Mail Online put it thus:

 'God is not male… OR female’: Archbishop of Canterbury says ‘the Father’ cannot be defined by human gender.

Newsnight kicked off [@28.20] in the context of gender fluidity with 'When the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests that God is not male, what should we think?'

The Rev Dr Margaret Joachim suggested that we should not pray to Our Father because the simple word father has an appalling connotation for people who have had unfortunate relationships with their fathers!

          

the reality

Are there no unfortunate relationships with mothers in Dr Joachim's book?

It is an odd notion that it is sexist to pray to the father but not if we pray Our Mother as women bishops are suggesting. 

Unlike pagan fertility godesses and Mother Earth Christianity is not about fertility, sex and gender.

The simple truth is that when asked how we should pray Christ said to pray 'Father, hallowed be your name'.

Metaphorical images of a female God in the Bible speak of motherhood. A mother's selfless care and nurture of her children, something feminists in the church fail to recognise.

They have marginalised many devout mothers of conscience who for millennia have been happy to pray Our Father as Christ taught us. I know who I would rather listen to.

A bird in the hand...

The knives were out before the Prime Minister outlined the negotiated Brexit deal to the House of Commons. 

Remainers have used every ploy to halt the process and remain in the EU despite a clear majority vote to leave in one of the highest turnouts of the electorate while the purists among leavers want only what they want as if their demands would be accepted if they shouted loud enough,

Mrs May presented a negotiated 'divorce' settlement which satisfies the main objective of many who voted leave which was to put an end to uncontrolled migration from Europe. It also guards against the 'cliff-edge' warnings about jobs, trade and medicine shortages while protecting the N. Ireland border.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman. 

Mrs May's mastery of her brief has impressed friends and foes alike. Many readers will not agree with some of her liberal policies but on this occasion she has delivered what she set out to do and deserves credit for that.

Grapevine

The above figures taken from the Diocesan Conference 2018 Edition of 'Monmouth Grapevine' illustrate the shift from the traditional parish priest to lay ministry. Rounding up the '.5' to 48 Stipends plus 20 House for Duty priests produces a figure of 68 priests for 175 churches averaging two or three churches per priest aided by 31 NSMs.

Consequently the laity are taking on more responsibility but not for the better. Anglican priestly ministry is being diluted in Wales.

Communion by Extension, "that is, where the sacrament is taken to a church from another church within the benefice, where the Holy Eucharist has previously been celebrated" is becoming commonplace. The sick and the housebound are more likely to be visited by a lay person than by a priest and funerals are conducted by LMEs (Readers).

In a postscript to a previous entry, Local Mission Areas mask decline of 24 October 2017 I wrote:

"The bishop of  Monmouth has proclaimed that 'A third archdeaconry is to be created in Monmouth Diocese following overwhelming support for the move at this year’s Diocesan Conference (21 October)'. He said, 'As Bishop I am charged with the leadership of this Diocese. Faced with such a challenge I could ignore it and almost certainly let the Anglican presence in the Valleys fade away. Or I could do – what any organisation would do – let alone the church – invest in the area and try and turn it around'."

Since her arrival the third archdeacon has been over the diocese like a rash, unlike the bishop. The 'Anglican presence in the Valleys' he referred to has not faded away but the bishop who is 'charged with the leadership of his Diocese' has. His prolonged unexplained absence has left his clergy in the dark and the diocese in limbo.

Peppered throughout the 2017 Conference Edition of Grapevine there is no mention of the bishop in the 2018 edition or elsewhere giving rise to rumours ranging from nervous exhaustion to all manner of other possibilities.

That is not to suggest anything irregular or to add to his difficulties but the current situation reveals a weakness in the governance of the Church in Wales when paralysis can exist with no apparent remedy.

In the event of an Archbishop’s incapacity or absence from the British Isles "the senior Diocesan Bishop willing to act and capable of acting and not then absent from the British Isles, as long as the Archbishop remains incapacitated or absent from the British Isles, shall be the guardian of the spiritualities of any vacant see, and shall have and exercise all the other rights of the Archbishop".

What of the spiritualities of a non-vacant see when the system breaks down?

On the broader front, under its Disciplinary Policy and Procedure of The Clergy provisions, disciplinary proceedings may be instituted on the grounds of "teaching, preaching, publishing or professing, doctrine or belief incompatible with that of the Church in Wales" (3)(b)(a) but while the bishops are of one  mind on matters incompatible with the official position of the Church in Wales, as on Holy Matrimony, they will not hold themselves to account.

There is a spiritual vacuum in the Church in Wales because the bench lacks godly men to teach the faith as received. The decline continues.

Caption corner 16 November 2018

Source: Pobl Dewi

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Interfaith week - for some!

 Asia Bibi, a Christian woman recently acquitted on false charges of blasphemy, is still 'in captivity'
   Source: Breitbart/AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary

People celebrating Interfaith week in the UK are fortunate that they are allowed to demonstrate their tolerance of other faiths. Not so in Pakistan where Asia Bibi was acquitted on false charges of blasphemy after spending nine years in prison but remains in custody. It's all about intolerance.

A Guardian report states that "The court established that Bibi, a Christian, was falsely accused by Muslim women picking fruit with her on 14 June, 2009. The allegation stemmed from a quarrel over the fact that she had taken a sip of water from a cup she had fetched for them, which in the eyes of her accusers she wasn’t allowed to touch."

Breitbart reports that "Bibi will remain in captivity, though not in a prison, until the 'finalization of the legal process,' despite Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordering her release. The Supreme Court is Pakistan’s court of last resort, yet the government brokered a deal with the radical Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party granting them an extra appeal on the case over the Supreme Court’s ruling." 

Mob rule prevails in Muslim Pakistan. Meanwhile, Church and State are encouraging the Islamification of Great Britain, cowed by claims of Islamophobia if anyone seeks the truth. 

The Church in Wales has been advertising an Interfaith Walking Tour in Cardiff ending at the Dar-Yl-Isra Mosque for a ‘Faith Speed Dating’ experience! 

It is probably no coincidence that the mosque is listed as the Muslim Welfare & Education Centre.

Muslims regard Jesus as a prophet, not the Son of God, and reject the fact that He died on the Cross. 

The Son of God has become a victim of political correctness. By denying Muslims the truth they are being denied salvation and others are made more vulnerable to intolerance.

Peace and Reconciliation

German president lays a wreath at the Cenotaph                                                            Source: Mirror

There was a heart-warming gesture at the spot where the First World War ended when French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel embraced at a special ceremony which marked the centenary at Compiègne north of Paris.

The mood of reconciliation continued into Remembrance Sunday when German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier placed a wreath at the base of the Cenotaph.

President Steinmeier reverently bowed his head in a prolonged gesture which encapsulated the tone of the Royal British Legion centenary commemoration at the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday night and at the commemoration service in Westminster Abbey on Sunday evening.

A fitting tribute to all those who gave their tomorrow for our today. 'Their name liveth for evermore'.

Remembrance Day 2018

Armistice Centenary

Source: MailOnline

WW1 soldiers going into action.

 Source: ITV

72,000 shrouded figures commemorating the men who died in the

 Battle of the Somme whose bodies were never recovered.

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

 Lest we forget

Caption corner 9 November 2018

"Great gathering for Maecymru at Newtown. Inspiring words from @BishopJuno
'keep telling each other that you are powerful, beautiful and loved by God'."
Source: Twitter @CymruMae

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Welsh politics

To be brutally honest, Welsh Assembly Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, the front runner in the Welsh Labour leadership race, reminds me of M. Hulot, a character far removed from his creator, the multi-talented Jacques Tati.

Drakeford said that if he wins he will not look forward to question time in the assembly or media interviews that are part of the job.

How refreshingly honest.

It has often been said that the last person to be a bishop is someone who wants to be a bishop. Looking at the parlous state of the Church in Wales that has become increasingly obvious.

Drakeford will be rubbished for his honesty but good luck to him.

More honesty and less ambition shouldn't go amiss.

Off message

"Transgender Anglican priest" the Rev Sarah Jones 
Source: Twitter @SarahJonestoo

The Rev Sarah Jones prides herself on being the first transgender priest in the Church of England. She illustrates the fact on her Twitter account using her profile picture to push what she appears to regard as her prime priestly ministry.

Her appointment as vicar of the City Parish of St John the Baptist, Cardiff, in the heart of Wales' capital city sends a clear message regarding the priorities of the bench of bishops despite the rejection of their policies by the Governing Body.

Imported by the bishop of Llandaff as if there were no suitable candidates in the Church in Wales for this high-profile, civic church position, her message is clear. LGBT LGBT LGBT with transgender as the latest buzz.

Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

The reverse is happening.

Advocates of the ordination of women who claimed that there was no biblical objection to women presbyters now ignore clear warnings about morality, cherry picking verses that appear to support their case and ignoring others.

It has gone further. Men can now choose to be regarded as women and vice versa with a special welcome for transgender people in the Church of England while traditionalist Anglicans continue to be marginalised. Transgender people are actively encouraged to become Church of England priests on the pretext that "the church's reputation as being unwelcoming towards gay and transgender people is causing young people to stay away."

On the same wavelength as the four Church of England bishops in the diocese of Oxford currently in the news, the Welsh bench of bishops continue aping bishops in the collapsing US Episcopal Church despite many obvious signs of failure.

They need to be disciplined but there is no discipline. A law unto themselves, they do as they please. Hence the slide into obscurity.

The archbishop continues the disastrous policies of his predecessor, but faster. Bangor carries on regardless of endless criticism. Having lit the rainbow touchpaper the 'tree-eating' bishop of St Asaph sits back and contemplates the next copse. St Davids and Llandaff  dwell on misandry and the promotion of transgenderism while Monmouth fades away without explanation or comment.

There is no recourse. They continue taking the money and look forward to unearned pensions on the backs of pew sitters who are expected to dig ever deeper to support the unsupportable.

It could only happen in the Church.